ATT BGW-320-505 - Ethernet PiHole Commection issue

VPN
1

I successfully setup my TPLink Router with an IP passthrough enabled via the ATT router.

Synopsis:
-Disabled IPv6 and DHCP on ATT router
-Turned off WiFi on ATT router
-Disabled DHCP on TPLink
-Enabled PiHole DHCP
-Released and renewed leases
-Confirmed all my WiFi connected devices are getting their ads blocked by PiHole.

Issue:
On my Ethernet connected windows laptop and PC, the connection appears to be directly with the ATT modem and not being routed through the ATT WiFi router (maybe my understanding of this is incorrect and I would like to be corrected if that’s the case).

Additional note: My devices are not directly connected to the TP router ports. They are connected to the RJ45 ports on my room’s wall.

I believe that is the reason why I don’t have ad blocking on the PC and laptop.

Attempted fix:
-Manually configured each device to the PiHole’s Static IP per the PiHole documentation- No dice.

Any suggestions are much appreciated.

Edit: Commection > Connection

Update: I am going to test a theory on whether setting up Wireguard via PiVPN on my PiHole will allow me to utilize a VPN profile for my PCs to connect to the PiHole’s DHCP network. I’ll post an update here with results for the curious.

Update 2: The VPN solution worked, however, the internet speed took a big hit as I’m routing my traffic over VPN. I’m not sure how to work around this. My upload speeds on the network are around 700-800 so I am curious if the slowdown is related to Wireguard.

2

Did you renew your leases after changing DHCP servers?

Supplementary question: Of the two DHCP servers you had, were neither of them sufficiently configurable, so you had to enable Pi-hole’s DHCP?

3

Hey folks, I know this is old, but with the new Pi-hole / Raspberry Pi versions and AT&T continuing to be absolutely awful, I decided to write up a how-to, step-by-step guide. It includes setting a fixed IP on the Pi-hole, using the device for DHCP, and properly configuring the router, in the right order. I hope it helps! https://github.com/FlipperPA/at-t-pihole/blob/main/README.md

4

You need to trace where the ports where your laptop and PC are connected … an easy way is… I’d imagine you have a switch somewhere… is to take a picture of the switch lights then turn off the PC and laptop and then see which lights got turned off at the switch by comparing pictures. If you’re an IT guy then use a toner. Also, for the DHCP changes to take effect you need to restart ALL the devices after the change. Have you restarted the PC and the laptop?

5

Question, you mentioned the PC is connected to the wall. But where does that connection terminate? Is it linked to your pihole through a switch? Or does it terminate directly to the AT&T gateway? Cause that will make a difference

6

Hey folks, I know this is a few years old, but with the new Pi-hole / Raspberry Pi versions and AT&T continuing to be absolutely awful, I decided to write up a how-to, step-by-step guide. It includes setting a fixed IP on the Pi-hole, using the device for DHCP, and properly configuring the router, in the right order. I hope it helps! https://github.com/FlipperPA/at-t-pihole/blob/main/README.md

7

Yes, I renewed the leases post changing DHCP servers.

The ATT router unfortunately does not allow advanced configuration of their DHCP to where you can define your preferred DNS.

Based on several articles, the secondary router’s DHCP will also not let PiHole work correctly and the suggestion was to enable PiHole’s DHCP.

8

This is GREAT. I appreciate the update. We’ll be moving soon and I’ll probably have ATT as my provider so I’ll let you know how this holds up! :slight_smile:

9

I have not restarted either. I’ll try that next. I’m not quite sure if I understand your suggestion to trace the ports. Is it to try and establish where the wires are connecting to from the wall?

10

It terminates directly to the ATT gateway.

11

Hmm.

Is Pi-hole’s static address, actually a static address? As in, configured client side, without dependency on MAC address reservation from a DHCP server you’ve disabled?

12

That’s a problem. The AT&T gateway is in front of your router. So anything connect to the gateway cannot be seen by anything behind the router. It’s literally two routers. You need to have your whole network on one side or the other. So you need to manage to get lol your devices behind the TP link router since it’s the one managing your network. (DHCP, DNS, etc etc). The AT&T gateway is a modem and a router too. So it has its own network. I hope this helps if I understand your dilemma correctly.

13

Now that you mention it, the static IP is an artifact from the TP router’s now disabled DHCP server. I would imagine if this IP wasn’t static, I probably would not have been successful in getting ad block working on my WiFi connected devices as they are now without accounting for a change in IP.

14

Yup! I forgot to update here but that’s exactly the issue. I decided to create a cloud deployment of PiHole connecting via Wireguard. It’s worked out great since I only route my DNS traffic through to it and doesn’t eat up too much from the minuscule server it’s running on. Wish ATT allowed more customization for a reliable on-prem solution.

15

Since Pi-hole’s DHCP server won’t address itself, if the static addressing of the Pi-hole host came from a now disabled DHCP server and you’re still able to access the host via that address, it only really leaves two three options (at least from my perspective):

  • The router performing the MAC address DHCP reservation is pulling some shenanigans, either accidentally or intentionally, and isn’t actually completely disabling its DHCP server, keeping the lease live

  • The Pi-hole host never had its lease renewed

  • Magic

16

Let’s go with Magic :slight_smile: