helix bridge mod - android app performance

[a_climan]

hello,

hoping someone might be able to help!

i recently got the Helix hardware and opted to use my linksys EA7500.

In short, several android apps on my phone and tablet no longer function properly. Apps like the weather network fail to load data and end up "loading" indefinitely. Uber eats, kindle and Wikipedia all load very slowly. This never happened with the Illico system. Oddly my iphone apps work perfectly.

to be clear, here are some tests i made to see what i can discover:

- apps on android work fine on LTE

- it ONLY happens when using the bridge mode (regular helix wifi works fine on said apps)

- iphone seems unaffected

- i have tried rebooting, resetting etc several times to no avail

it seems the issue has something to do with the helix modem in bridge mode and the signal my android devices are receiving.

anyone have any solutions (other than tossing out my linksys router)

[HMatrix]

Hi, I wonder why you want to use bridge mode?

If you want to keep your old linksys router setup, just plug the wan port of the linksys to eth1 of Helix, yeah you might say this is a double nat, but who care, I did that setup to linkup my old router network to the new Helix and everything work like a charm, I have over 43+ wifi devices in the house.

I have a VPN server on my old router so I just need to port forward 1194 from the helix to my router and it is working, I can from my Android phone VPN to my home network and watch internal wifi camera that is still connected to the old router.

You can either use your old router wifi or the new Helix wifi(in router mode), in my home I just give new ssid name for the Helix wifi and keep using my old but good router ASUS AC-68P, so all the devices just keep working until if you want to connect to the new Helix wifi then you just connect to it.  I keep password the same.

Please don`t toss your Linksys EA7500, it is a fine router.

I just keep seeing people wanting to use bridge mode but they never say why beside to emulate the old cable modem style that is bridged by default.

[number666]

Wouldn't the double NAT cause potential problems for your devices connecting each other if they are scattered to two different LAN (IP subnet)? For example, if your Chromecast devices are connected to Helix wifi (LAN) and your mobile phone on another (from Linksys), or vice verse, can you still cast video?

I put my own wifi mesh in bridge mode while still offers its own wifi under a different SSID. So I have two wifi access points connecting to the same LAN (sub net). 

[HMatrix]

You are correct about one LAN subnet reaching the other like the Chromecast because Chromecast and friends are using mDNS multicast for discovery on the same subnet.

Like I said earlier, I keep my "old" wifi on the "old" router, so all the 43+ devices still rolling, my old wifi is still good, 802.11ac 3x3, same 3x3 on 2.4G, all casting devices still on old router.  Your Linksys like I said it is a very good router.

My only concert when I do the double-nat was my VPN server, however it is working with port-forwarding.

The number of ethernet ports on Helix is ridiculous, i.e. 2, so no wire device goes there beside old router.

The only reason switching to the new Helix is to have a better package deal with videotron promotion.

I looked at the wifi on the Helix, on 5G it is a 4x4 802.11ac wave1 Quantena chipset, but who cares about 4x4 because there are no clients devices that support 4x4, and on 2.4G it is 2x2 Broadcom, not the best chipset, when I worked at HP/Aruba Networks, Broadcom chip is used for our low end access point. Your router is a Qualcomm chipset, that is "la creme de la creme" chipset so if I was you, I would keep using the old Linksys wifi and put the Helix wifi on a different SSID name and channel.

My biggest deception was the new Helix even though has phone ports(2) it is useless, not enabled, so I have 2 cables modem, new Helix for TV+internet and old one Harris for voice only.  Please tell me it is bad.

[number666]

I am not the person asking the original question in this topic 😉. I have similar issue/situation so I added above comment. In my case, I do have some devices directly/wired connected to Helix via a local switch (yes otherwise the 2 Ethernet ports from Helix Fi is not enough). So if I use both router as double NAT, I cannot access my NAS (on Helix network) from my phone (on my wifi router). By enabling the bridge mode on my Wifi network makes all devices on the same LAN so see each other. I still enable the Helix wifi (my Helix TV is on it) otherwise it's kind of wasted.

[AC]

Greetings,

i have just switched to Helix Borne fi.

Before I had had two Lynksys routers EA6500. Main and the socond one attached via a bridge mode. 
To the second one there is a Linksys Eth Hub attached.

this is due to sever NAS drives attached to the both Lynksys routers.

Now having a new Helix Borne fi piece oh hardware I would like to keep all my network configuration in the simplest way.

is it possible to just connect to it my old Lynksys router with attached to it the second, bridged one? Will it work?

shall I set the first one in the bridge mode, then the second in chain will follow it?

In other words, can I just insert the Helix router between the Videotron terminal cable and my two routers as the chain keeping all attached devices and all present configuration/setting and functionality?

thank you very much for any guidance/ elucidation.

[AC]

Greetings,

I have installed the Helix fi 2 router/modem.

Previously I used two Lynksys EA6500 routers in bridge mode.

The first (A) router was connected to the old Vidéotron modem (still using for the phone) and the second one (B) is bridged to the A.

Each has a separate network name, A and B. There are some devices connected to them (NAS, external HDD).

I have tried to set the Helix fi Hub to the bridge mode. I connected my two spared Lynksys routers to the Helix.

The internal home network device ware seen but there was no external/internet connection at all.

No solution has been found by a Vidéotron technician.

Thus he suggested conning the spare routers to the Helix in a normal mode. I have connected them - B -bridge mode- A - Helix (New name network C).

Now the internet function well.

But I can only see the internal home network devices being connected to he network A or B. Not (via wi-fi) to the C one.

As if the Helix does not recognise the connected routers and their devices.

I have also noticed that the speed of the network’s A and B reaches only around 100 Mbps whilst being connected to the Helix Wi-Fi source it jumps to almost 400 Mbps.

Is there any possibility to get the Helix fi talk to my spare routers when connected to it as the C network (by the network I mean the name and the device pointed)?

Is there any setting to be made on both Helix and routers level?

I am quite network ignorant.

I would appreciate any helpful indication, direction to search or any guidance.

Thank you in advance.