Sep 27 2013

How to Set the Cisco DPQ3925 to Bridge Mode

I am visiting my folks at the moment and there are a few IT things lined up that needed addressing. One of those items was the removal of their Wi-Fi router when the cable modem was replaced due to suspected fault. The new Cisco DPQ3925 modem is also a Wi-Fi router but its performance when network traffic gets heavy is rather disappointing as is its Wi-Fi range. Plus, you can only get it to work on 2.4GHz or 5GHz at any given time – you can’t run both bands simultaneously (at least on the firmware on this cable modem).

Fortunately, you can change it back to being a dumb modem and hook it up to your chosen Wi-Fi router with a little fiddling:

  1. Connect your computer to the modem using an Ethernet cable and turn off the Wi-Fi on the computer,
  2. Using Firefox, login to your cable modem (usually at http://192.168.0.1 with the appropriate username and password,
  3. Click on the Wireless tab,
  4. Set Wireless Network to disabled,
  5. Click Save Settings at the bottom,
  6. Click on the Administration tab,
  7. Press Alt + V on the keyboard to bring up the View menu,
  8. Click on Page Style then No Style,
  9. The page may now look weird but continue on 🙂
  10. Next to Working Mode select the option for Bridged Only,
  11. Click on Save Settings at the bottom,
  12. Once your modem has rebooted you will need to turn it off, unplug the Ethernet cable from your computer and plug it into your preferred Wi-Fi router before turning the modem back on,
  13. From this point you should configure your chosen Wi-Fi router to your preferences.

It is a bit of a journey to get the modem to play dumb again (and annoying that the option isn’t there at all for more savvy customers in the user interface) but it can be done if you want to do it.

Boydo

My name is Boyd and I’m a Service Management Specialist with a knack for operational data gathering, transformation, analysis and reporting.

In 2012, I obtained my Masters of Science in Information Technology through the University of New South Wales @ The Australia Defence Force Academy (UNSW@ADFA).

I was also part of an online community known as the Panasonic Insider Crew in the capacity of “Insider Guru” for Panasonic Australia where I interacted with other tech enthusiasts and find out more about Panasonic's latest gadgets.

I love technology, gadgets, and the Internet and maintain a keen interest in these areas locally, nationally, and globally. I hope by sharing my views on these topics that people will receive an honest point of view from someone with a genuine interest in these topics.

I have also written and edited articles for Neowin - you can check out my articles over @ https://www.neowin.net/news/poster/boyd_chan

I hope you enjoy reading my blog!

4 comments

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    • Gerard on March 1, 2015 at 01:15
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    I have the Cisco DPQ2925-X Cable modem. I noticed it has a USB port and was wondering if I plugged my external hdd into it if it could be setup to act as a cloud so I might access all my files from anywhere on the net. If it can be done could you please talk me through all the steps and point me towards any additional software or drivers I might need. Thanks, Gerard.

    1. Hi Gerard,

      Without actually having this modem I can’t really answer this question for you. However, my expectations would be that the customised firmware on the modem from the ISP would probably not support what you are after anyway.

      I would probably encourage you to use something like OneDrive (with or without Office 365) or Dropbox instead of relying on a router modem with firmware outside your control. Otherwise, a dedicated NAS might be better suited to your needs if you are after a private cloud solution.

    • Dean Baker on October 25, 2016 at 11:06
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    Hi Boyd, thanks for the instructions, worked like a treat. If I want to set the router back to DHCP how would I go about doing this because the admin IP address obviously doesn’t work anymore?

    1. See if going to http://192.168.100.1 works – if it doesn’t then you’ll need to reset the modem.

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