Need help with few settings of Huawei EG8141A5 ONT modem

I have got my new Keralavision broadband connection today. They gave a Huawei EG8141A5 ONT modem with it. Previously I was using ADSL connection from BSNL and modems of D-Link, TP-LINK, Netgear etc. and am somewhat familiar with the common terms.

1. In this Huawei there is a normal login as user and a hidden admin account. (came to know of this from a YouTube video). Is it safe to use the admin mode? some of the changes I want such as settings the time (it is presently showing a 1980 date!), setting a different DNS server are not available via regular user login.

2. This modem uses 192.168.18.1 as the default address which is far different from the 192.168.1.1 that was used by other previous routers. There seems to be an option to change this to whatever I want, but will that break anything?

3. Is it possible to set the wifi to N only mode rather than b/g/n? There is no obvious option such.

4. What is Wifi Coverage Management? There are 2 headings in this - one is Configure 2.4G parameters and other is Configure 5G parameters. As this has no AC option in wifi, what is meant by 5G here? Is it for mesh networking or something? Does it mean that my signal is being shared with neighbours? Can I just delete the single entry there?

I don't expect answers to such question from my local cable guy.

W

1. There is always a risk when changing settings in a "cable ISP provided modem" but I think date time setting should be safe but do post the screenshot of settings page here before making any change. As for dns server you can set it in your pc/laptop & it will override any modem configured dns.

2. Better leave it unchanged as it may be related to their internal network & there really isn't any need for it other than familiarity with 192.168.1.1 because it works same in all other aspects.

3. If it isn't there then probably it is locked but as long as no b/g device try to connect to wifi network it should practically work as N only network for speeds upto 40-50mbps over net connection.

4. 5Ghz band is not exclusive to AC, it can also be used by N wifi standard but dual band N wifi devices are/were rare. 5GHz band has less range but more bandwidth so it is better for high speed wifi transfers(HD/4k streaming) & net connections(70-80mbps+) if you are close to router.

Screenshots of 2 pages under 'Wifi coverage management'

Another thing I have noticed - I generally give a static IP to each of mobile devices at home. Doing that also means providing DNS. Using anything other than Google DNS means the phones says 'connected, no internet'. This did not happen before with any other modems.

I may be able to work around this by connecting a separate router in AP mode and setting the DNS there.

J

sling-shot said:
I have got my new Keralavision broadband connection today. They gave a Huawei EG8141A5 ONT modem with it. Previously I was using ADSL connection from BSNL and modems of D-Link, TP-LINK, Netgear etc. and am somewhat familiar with the common terms.

1. In this Huawei there is a normal login as user and a hidden admin account. (came to know of this from a YouTube video). Is it safe to use the admin mode? some of the changes I want such as settings the time (it is presently showing a 1980 date!), setting a different DNS server are not available via regular user login.

2. This modem uses 192.168.18.1 as the default address which is far different from the 192.168.1.1 that was used by other previous routers. There seems to be an option to change this to whatever I want, but will that break anything?

3. Is it possible to set the wifi to N only mode rather than b/g/n? There is no obvious option such.

4. What is Wifi Coverage Management? There are 2 headings in this - one is Configure 2.4G parameters and other is Configure 5G parameters. As this has no AC option in wifi, what is meant by 5G here? Is it for mesh networking or something? Does it mean that my signal is being shared with neighbours? Can I just delete the single entry there?

I don't expect answers to such question from my local cable guy.

I'm not familiar with a Huawei router. However, configurations are similar.

1. I've not come across a user mode. It sounds like a limited user with less privileges. Do use Admin account for all cases as I don't see the need for the other.

Also its a good idea to take a backup of the router config (.cfg) file. So you can restore if you mess up.

2. There should be an option under LAN Settings.

Refer Guides on Huawei Page - Huawei EchoLife EG8141A5 Configuration Guide - Configuration & Commissioning

3. Your devices should use the best possible connection anyway i.e. 'N'. Refer to the guide from the last point.

4. In an nutshell. 2.4Ghz & 5Ghz are Frequencies.

5Ghz- Not as crowded and in theory should provide good strength.
2Ghz- Widely used and may interfere with other devices operating in the same frequency.

Hope this helps.

I thought the admin mode is for ISP people.

Anyway, I have used admin mode to change the DNS to Cloudflare.

I am assigning static IP to devices based on MAC address.

5 G signal is not visible to any of the devices I own. I am planning to disable it.

A strange thing I have noticed with the Huawei website is that it needs a login to even view support information. I have not yet tried to create an account there.

J

I've disabled 5Ghz on my router as well.

Yeah Huwaei support site needs registration from what I saw yesterday.

W

Those default 5G parameters are not secure, encryption should be wpa2-personal(like in 2.4G parameters) instead of wpa-wpa2-personal. To receive 5G signal your device should also be 5G wifi capable & these are still not as widely available.e.g.many mobile phones & laptops still come with only 2.4GHz wifi support & not 5GHz wifi support.

I kept it pending until my understanding improved.

Now I will go ahead and just disable the useless 5G altogether. No signal, no worries.