Today, as soon as I got home, I was tortured by the WiFi again. Because the community is quite old, the fiber optic line was only buried with one port, resulting in only my parents' room being able to install a router.
The space at home is relatively large, and the walls are quite thick, which has left my room in a signal desert. At night, lying in bed playing on my phone, I still can't use WiFi, and I've been tortured for four years o_o ....
Two years ago, I installed a TP-Link signal booster in the living room, which was effective, and my sister's room achieved network coverage, but mine is still in the desert (;´༎ຶД༎ຶ`)
Recently, I read an article that introduced the differences between routing and bridging in the dialing method when applying for a public IP. The first thing I did when I got home was to try this.
About Dialing Methods#
Most operators now use fiber optics to the home, and then convert it through the optical modem. Most optical modems now have two modes: routing mode and bridging mode. The differences between the two modes are as follows:
Routing Mode: The optical modem completes the optical-electrical conversion, dials, and routes to other devices, which puts a heavier load on the optical modem.
Bridging Mode: The optical modem only completes the optical-electrical conversion, uses the next-level router to dial and route, which lightens the load on the optical modem. The main tasks are completed by the router.
Because the optical modems provided by operators are generally relatively weak in performance, for families with many devices and a lot of tinkering, the optical modem usually cannot meet the needs due to the large number of devices, port forwarding, etc. Therefore, most people choose to bridge the optical modem and let the router handle the dialing, preferably selecting a more powerful router.
There are two methods to change the optical modem to bridge mode: one is to call customer service, and they will sync in the background to change the configuration to bridge mode; however, when I called, Hubei Telecom refused to provide this service, which was frustrating; the other method is to obtain the super administrator password and modify it yourself. I also called to ask them for the super administrator password, but they still said they didn't have it, and they didn't help at all.
How to Obtain the Super Admin Password#
I tried many methods online and concluded that most posts are outdated; China Unicom, Telecom, and Mobile are not foolish and won't allow some universal passwords. Now, each optical modem should have its own unique password, so it's better to look for newer tutorials rather than older ones.
I successfully followed this video: 100% Get Super Admin Password for Telecom Optical Modem, Change Optical Modem to Bridge Mode, Return Password via Xiaoyi Manager_哔哩哔哩_bilibili
I mainly used Xiaoyi Manager and a packet capture software; the tutorial used httpcanary, but since I was on iOS, I switched to stream. The thought process and flow are the same as in the video, so I won't elaborate further.
I want to add one point:
Often, when following online tutorials to make some configurations, you can't just blindly follow; you still need to have some basic knowledge so that you can replace some parts yourself. For example, with this packet capture software, in the past, I might have borrowed an Android device and insisted on following the tutorial step by step, but recently I've been learning about HTTP request headers and related browser knowledge, so I understood why I was doing this step and found an iOS packet capture software myself. The interface and everything in the software are different, but as long as you know why you're doing this step, you can often apply that knowledge to other situations.
Router Change to Bridge Mode#
Connect to the optical modem's WiFi, enter the optical modem management backend using the super admin password. For specific setup guidelines, you can refer to the article below, which is quite detailed, but there are two points you should not follow:
Optical Modem Bridge Mode Setup Guide - Zhihu (zhihu.com)
Super Admin Password: nE7jA%5mIncorrectDisable the DHCP service on the optical modemNot necessary and not recommended
The following image is a screenshot of my configuration.
Optical Modem Connecting to Router#
In routing mode, the optical modem performs both optical-electrical conversion and dialing, which is a heavy load; after switching to bridge mode, the optical modem only completes the optical-electrical conversion, and dialing is handed over to the router.
The problem is that I don't know the broadband password at home, but fortunately, the services are getting better and better, and you can directly check and modify it online. Here is the link
Enter the router's backend management system; I use TP-LINK. In the internet connection settings, use Broadband Internet, and enter the username and password to complete the setup. Network speed test: Speed Test - Professional Speed Test
After finishing, the network has obviously improved a lot. The process sounds simple, but it took me several hours (;´༎ຶД༎ຶ`). However, this successful DIY is also super satisfying.
