Bypass the Bell equipment, or put the modem in bridge-mode?

[ChrisG1]

I'm getting Bell Fibre (1.5Gbps) installed next week and I wanted to see if there's any possibility of bypassing the Bell equipment, or at the very least put the modem in bridge-mode? 

I called Tech Support and they didn't seem to know what I was asking. I've done a bit of research online and it seems the HD3000 can be bypassed by placing the SFP into your own CPE. The HD4000 however does not have this functionality since it is soldered on the board. 

Can I use my own GPON CPE and have it whitelisted by Bell? If not,
Can I request a Bell whitelisted SFP only so that I can plug it into my CPE? If not,
Can I request a HD3000 or purchase one myself for the upcoming installation? 

Thanks for your assistance.

[ZaneP · Accepted solution]

Hi @ChrisG1 ,

Re your questions, here's what I know. 

1. Bridge-mode for modem: true bridge-mode is not available. You can use PPPoE or ADMZ (Ontario and Quebec) or DHCP (Atlantic Canada) to connect your own router to Bell's gateway modems (most likely the Giga will be supplied to you, as it's replacing the HH4000). There's the potential for double-NAT.
2. HH3000: as a new subscriber, you will not get this modem (see below)
3. As you found out, the SPF is soldered onto the board of the HH4K and Giga modems. It can't be bypassed easily.
4. You can't use your own GPON and have it whitelisted. There is a MAC address issue: the components supplied by Bell are registered to subscribers.
5. You could beg the installer to supply the HH3000 if it's on their truck. But that's a long-shot and it's unlikely you'll get one. 
6. CPE modems are not allowed on Bell's network.
7. Bell Tech Support's primary focus is supporting customers on Bell-provided equipment. So there won't help on connecting CPE.

There are very good threads on the DSLR - Bell forums which discuss many of your questions extensively. Be forewarned that some of the conversations are very long. https://www.dslreports.com/forum/sympat

You could also have a look through the Bell subreddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/bell/

And you could search through this forum, if you haven't had a look yet.

Cheers,

ZaneP

I don't work for Bell, I'm just a customer

[Shield21]

Yes you can ditch the Bell Modem Al To gether - and use you're you are resposiable for you're own Equipent that rule with Bell hasn't Bell Rogers teksavey  are all the same they can't not stop or force you to there Equipmnt- for Bell you can By-pass bell Gigahub 400.Giga Huns you get you're SGGPON royter or server that is 10 GB in put the SFP has to compatable Amazon has them On Sale 10 GB SFP you get the Black 10gb Injector or Ubiqitty Modem/router All in One just supply the sfp the equipment is $400- the sft $85 just you're user name and passwrd you use in your'e reg router setting then call Bell tell to add your'e using you're orn, thats all in side the setting there only required to the tv and phone vlan sets that all the rest you're responciable .this no Big secret to any Bell user this has been this bell cannot tell you the ctrc rules already laid out .And bell still muct povide you the service your'e paying on you're Bell Account like any other server provider .

[Flafle · Accepted solution]

Hello @ChrisG1. I know it's a 2 years post, but I had the same problem. I reply to other people could have the same situation. I just switch to Bell intenet and want to use my hardware (Ubiquiti). I have found out the 2 way to bypass Bell equipment.
1- You can use PPPoE passthrough. It mean to connect your router on Bell HH4000 on any port (if you have internet higher then 1 Gbps use the 10 Gpbs port) and connect it in the wan port of your router. In your router, configure you WAN in PPPoE mode and put Bell username (b1******) and the password. Et voilà! You will have wan address IP on your router and bypass Bell modem.

2- You can use DMZ (demilitarized zone). It's a little more complex. I can't explain it. But Google it and you should find how.

The PPPoE passthrough is easier to setup but the performance could be less vs DMZ (for internet speed higher than 1 Gbps), but DMZ is more instable (as per google research). Didn't have time to test my config yet.