For more info see my blog post on the subject:

http://telusinternet.blogspot.ca/2012/10/using-your-own-router-in-tandem-with.html

You’ve hit the nail on the head! The Actiontec does NOT integrate well with existing home networks. It sucks for anyone who is even remotely network saavy, let alone more advanced users like me. It makes me want to switch back to Shaw.

When I was on Shaw, I used an Alix router running the very powerful pfSense router/firewall software. It can do almost anything, including being an OpenVPN endpoint.

Currently I am running my pfSense router in DMZ mode behind the Actiontec crap. Unfortunately, one of my network segments is still on coax so I need to use the HPNA adapter on the Actiontec. That means I’m still connecting my PVR and other digital TV boxes directly to the Actiontec. So I have some devices connected to the Actiontec (on the 192.168.1.0/24 network) and some other devices connected to the pfSense router (on a separate 172.x.x.x network). My main server straddles both networks so I can share printers, files, streaming movies, etc, to both networks.

The good news is that yesterday I finally replaced the last segment of coax cable with Cat 5e cable. I will soon be putting EVERY device behind the pfSense router. I tested this scenario several months ago and it worked great, even with IPTV. The trick was to use IGMPProxy, which comes with pfSense. I also created traffic shaping rules to prioritize the IPTV traffic.

I hope to roll that solution out in a few weeks time, at which point I’ll probably post a story on my blog.

In the meantime, I have written a couple of interesting stories about connecting additional wireless access points to the Actiontec. I even fixed the IGMP flood problem. See these:

How to Block IGMP Multicast Flood on a WLAN When Watching Telus Optik TV (IPTV)

Cannot Access Windows Network File Shares Via WLAN on Telus Actiontec V1000H Modem Router

While I’m at it, here another story about some gripes with Optik TV:

Telus Optik TV is Great But Needs a Few Improvements

Regards,
Joe

To get full access to all the pages on the Actiontec, you could upgrade the firmware on the device to the one in the DSL Reports forums (do a google search for telus actiontec firmware). The instructions there should be easy to follow, but let me know if not and I’d be happy to help.

One problem though is that Telus has recently remotely updated the firmware on many Actiontec devices to a version that tries even harder to prevent you from customizing some of the settings, including upgrading to the firmware from the DSLReports site.

Visit 192.168.1.254 (the Actiontecs setup pages) and look on the very first page for the firmware version. If you have “31.30L.48,” then you can use the firmware from DSL Reports. Otherwise, you’ll have to find out the root password for the firmware version currently installed on the router.

The tricky part is in finding someone who knows this password. I don’t, but I believe there are a handful of people on the DSLReports forums that do. You would have to create an account on that site, and then send a private message to someone who sounds like they may have it (or has recently asked for it).

I hope this answers your question, but post here again or go to spaceman.ca and click the “Contact Me” link at the bottom of the page to send me an email, and we’ll see what we can do!

Cheers,
Kerry

Just like to say, I can completely relate to telus support.’switching to shaw soon 😀

Hey Drew,

I have the Actiontec and my own router providing two Wifi signals for our condo. The key for me was to set my router into “bridge” mode and then plug it into the Actiontec, which basically means it hands off all the administrative stuff (DHCP, port forwarding, UPnP, etc) to the Actiontec, meaning it will play nice. Then if you want to configure port forwarding for example, you’d do so on the Actiontec. If you’d like more details or more help, just post here and we’ll get it figured out 🙂

I generally like Telus’ Optik internet, but there have been some growing pains getting everything figured out (and they sure don’t make it easy).

Cheers!
Kerry

After everything I tried, I ultimately decided to just live with Telus’ Actiontec V1000H as my main router and plug my own router into that one (with my router in bridged mode so that the Actiontec handles everything). My router basically acts as an extra set of ethernet ports now, and provides a 5GHz wifi signal in addition to the 2.4GHz signal from the Actiontec. But pretty much everything (port forwarding, etc) I’ve set up on the Telus router.

The reason Telus doesn’t want you to use a different router is because they’ve programmed theirs to prioritize Optik TV data, which is necessary if you don’t want your TV to cut out whenever you download a large file since they’re both served over your internet connection. They don’t trust nor provide instructions on how to prioritize the TV data on other routers. Therefore, the best thing you can do is use theirs and work around it.

The best place to go to find out about these routers on Telus is the DSLReports forum.

I have heard that you can use your own router if you put it in the DMZ zone on the Actiontec, but I haven’t tried it personally (and Telus too told me it’s “not supported”).

Thanks