Setting Up a CLEAR WiMAX Modem With a Linksys Router

Because the current modem offerings from CLEAR WiMAX will not allow for a full bridge mode (which is just crazy) the settings below will give you the best chance for allowing access to devices and services running behind a NAT router. Many of us prefer to have our router handle our LAN network DHCP and NAT translation along with Quality of Service (QOS) settings that are missing from CLEAR’s modems. These instructions are geared toward the Motorola CPEi 150 modem, but should work with the Motorola CPEi 725. We have not tried it on the Series G modem.

Update 7/15/2010: We can now confirm that these settings will work for the Motorola CPEi 725 modem. Just use port forwarding instead of the DMZ.

After spending a frustrating amount of time trying to get CLEAR internet service to consistently work with VoIP servers, sling box, and security camera monitoring applications, we have found these settings to work best. Only recently did we come to the realization that the DMZ setting in the CLEAR modem is flaky at best. It seems to break when it had been working. It is for this reason, we do not use it anymore. From here on out, referrals to “modem” mean the CLEAR modem, and router is a Linksys router.

There is a pdf version of this procedure at the bottom of this page. You may want to print it out so you can reference it while setting up your modem and router, as you will likely be without internet while doing so.

CLEAR Modem Settings:

Plug an ethernet cable between the CLEAR modem and the ethernet port on your computer. Open up a web browser and type in 192.168.15.1 which is the IP address of the CLEAR modem. You should get the modem password screen. Type “motorola" into the password box and enter. Note: some modems may not work with “motorola" as the
password. If it does not work, try "CLEAR123" :

On this page, make note of  the two "DNS Servers" Clear is using (write them down). We will be using these later on when setting up our router. Unless you prefer to use other DNS servers such as Open DNS, the ones found here will work just fine for most applications. Click on the “Internet” button in the top menu.

Click on the “Firewall” button on the side menu on the resulting page:

Uncheck the “Enable Firewall” box on the firewall page:

Click the “Apply” button on the bottom right. If you use a DDNS account for tracking your dynamic IP address from your ISP, click on the “Dynamic DNS” side menu button. Check “Enable DDNS”  and put in your DDNS account information. Click “Apply”:

Now click on the “Port Forwarding” button in the top menu. Uncheck the “Enable UPnP IGD” box and leave the “DMZ IP Address” blank. Remember, the DMZ function in the CLEAR modems seems to be flaky, so don‘t use it. When done, click “Apply”, then click on the “Forwarding” button in the side menu:

Click the "Add" button down at the bottom. Enter the information in the blank spaces as you see here. "The "LAN IP Address" will be the address we later set up as a static IP on the WAN port of the Linksys router.  Once you enter the information for TCP protocol, Click apply, then "Add" again. Enter the information for the UDP protocol. Click "Apply":

You are now done with all the settings needed for the CLEAR modem. In the "Local Address" menu,  you can find the DHCP server settings. It is on by default. You can go in and turn it off if you'd like, but it won't affect anything by leaving it on. It's actually better to leave it on, in case you need to come back later and hook directly to the modem again. This way, it will automatically assign you an IP address and allow you to get back into the modem admin pages.

If you leave the modem DHCP server on, you need to go in and set the starting IP address to something higher than 192.168.15.2. This way, you will not have a problem with another device receiving this address and conflicting with your router. When done, unplug the ethernet cable from the modem and power it off.

Linksys Router Settings:

Now for the Linksys router settings. My particular router is running dd-wrt firmware, so it's going to be a little different in the screen shots. Most Linksys (and many other brands) have easy to find settings for each of the areas we are going to set up. Dig around a little, and you will find them. This set up is aimed at those that are not that familiar with setting up routers. It is very basic, but will allow for your CLEAR modem to act similar to a bridged, cable or DSL modem you’re probably used to.

Plug an ethernet cable into one of the LAN ports of the Linksys router and into the ethernet port of your computer. Most Linksys routers by default have an IP address of 192.168.1.1. Once you type this into a browser address bar and hit enter, you will be taken to the login screen. If you have never changed this information in the past, then leave the user field blank, and type "admin" into the password field. Now hit enter and you will be taken into the initial set up screen:

The first thing we want to do is change the way the router gets an IP address. For dd-wrt, this setting is under the WAN connection type, but if your router is running Linksys firmware, it is most likely labeled Internet Connection Type. We want to change this from the default "Automatic Configuration - DHCP" to "Static IP".

Once you select Static IP, you will get settings similar to the ones below. Enter the information exactly as you see here except for the "Static DNS 1" and Static DNS 2" settings. Use the DNS servers you wrote down from the CLEAR modem status page.

Next we want to set up the DHCP server settings under “Network Setup.” This should be on the same admin page. By default, Linksys routers usually use 192.168.1.1 for the local LAN IP address. If you have gotten this far, this is what you should see in the Router IP area. Set it as you see here, or just leave it alone if it’s already this way.

The DHCP server settings are enabled by default, and will look similar to those above. The only thing you need to do here is make sure the “Start IP Address” is larger than the 192.168.1.1. It’s a good idea to have the starting address in a higher range so you can later reserve IP addresses in the lower range for devices you want to always have the same IP address, such as game consoles, servers, sling boxes, security cameras, etc..

Click on “Save” or “Save Settings at the bottom of your page, and that’s pretty much it. Power off your router. Remove the cable from the router LAN port. Now run an ethernet cable from the CLEAR modem to the "WAN" or Internet port on your router. Power up the CLEAR modem and let it get a signal. Power up the router, and you should be good to go.

You will need to set up your router’s Wi-Fi, Port Forwarding, and QOS settings just as you would have done using a cable modem or DSL modem, but we don’t get into that here. We’re just trying to get you set up so you have the best possible chance of everything working, just as it would if you had a fully bridged modem.

Understand, that the CLEAR modem is still running a NAT translation, and you are still running through a “double NAT”. Not everything is going to work with this situation, but these settings will give you the best chance while we wait for CLEAR to allow for full bridging of their modems.

Click on the link below to get a pdf version of these instructions. Might come in handy while your setting up and have no internet access:

Clear Modem and Linksys Router Set Up - pdf Document