pfSense and ACT Fibernet....refuses to work!

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delphinusneohel

Messages
5
Location
Bangalore
ISP
ACT Fibernet
Hello! I'm new here, so kindly forgive any mistakes, or do point out what I did wrong.

So I have ACT Fibernet with a Static IP address. If I connect the ethernet cable from ACT directly to my laptop or desktop, I can navigate to https://selfcare.actcorp.in and login with my credentials, after which the internet works perfectly.

However if I try to configure it on my pfSense router, it just doesn't work! I configured it like this.......Interfaces/WAN - Connection type set to PPPoE and ACT username and password specified. Everything else left at default.

Doing so however just shows the Gateway as offline with 100% packet loss. If I go to Gateway settings and disable monitoring, the WAN link shows as up, but the internet doesn't actualy work! I've tried specifying other IP's for the Monitor IP section, no luck.


If anyone here has ACT Fibernet with a static IP and is using pfSense, kindly help me set it up.
 
I guess you should set DHCP not pppoe ? Then you still need to visit the login page...
 
I've tried that as well. I then don't get my static IP and also I cannot open the login page either.

Customer Care specifically said PPPoE needs to be used. I have used it in the past on a regular basic router and it works, just not working here with pfSense.

I've also used this same pfSense setup with Airtel Xstream Fiber and a PPPoE configuration, it works perfectly fine. Just not working with ACT. So something extra needs to be configured, I just don't know what that is.
 
I am using ACT with static ip and pfsense. And can confirm that you need to setup with pppoe.

However, it is city dependent. In another city i had to specify the static ip directly in pfsense.
 
@delphinusneohel do you have a static IPv6 or IPv4? Also, remember if you're on a static IPv4 it is possible you wont get a v6 IP. Not sure how ACT is configured but Indian ISPs generally make it mandatory to have a PPPoE connection and a dynamic v4 IP (cg-nat or public) to request the v6 address. OPNSense is pretty straightforward like pfSense about setup you should be having no problems. Could you share screenshots of your WAN setup page?
 
Mac address cloning required,?
 

@vishalrao you have a point there but it seems to be working when directly attached to the PC. So not exactly sure if MAC cloning is required. He can try it though.
 
My bad. Probably DHCP client enabled on the pfsense router and is getting wan link working.

Then for computer to get connected the pfsense needs DHCP server or relay enabled?

Sorry I'm not familiar with pfsense itself but it depends on the act side of things whether they provide single IP to DHCP discover request or allow multiple.
 
Thank you for all your replies so far everyone! So it's possible that i don't actually need any extra settings in pfSense for this to work.

I borrowed a regular basic TP-Link router from a friend and configured my credentials with PPPoE in the router. Same problem, no internet! The static IP shows up though. 😵‍💫😵‍💫

I've been on multiple calls with customer service so far. It is possible that it is not working because my account still shows my old address where I'm no longer living. It seems they've only reactivated my connection and not moved it fully. Logically all this should not be required, it should just work, but it isn't. 🙄🙄

@Chip: I have a static IPv4 address assigned. Not using IPv6. I can anyway ask their Engineer/Executive about it who will be coming to my house shortly. Although I have a feeling he may not know much about it. 😄

@Vishal Rao: I don't think MAC cloning is needed. Besides, like I mentioned earlier and Chip also said, it works fine if I plug in directly instead of through a router.
 
vishalrao said:
My bad. Probably DHCP client enabled on the pfsense router and is getting wan link working.

Then for computer to get connected the pfsense needs DHCP server or relay enabled?

Sorry I'm not familiar with pfsense itself but it depends on the act side of things whether they provide single IP to DHCP discover request or allow multiple.
Click to expand...
Yes, DHCP is enabled, but for my LAN interface. WAN is configured with PPPoE, so no DHCP. I've anyway tried DHCP for WAN, doesn't work.
 
Yeah if you plug in direct and it works meaning your computer is using DHCP and act is responding with the IP address.
 
Try cloning your computer mac address to the pfsense router wan port?

Have you earlier provided your computer Mac to act during account activate?
 
UPDATE:

It's WORKING!! The fault was on their end, nothing to do with pfSense. For some reason, my static IP was either misconfigured or actually deactivated. The guy who came here tried multiple times with the basic TP-Link router, no luck. He then had multiple calls with the admin team, and they finally resolved it by giving me a new static IP address.

Once he left, I disconnected the TP-Link router and re-configured in pfSense. Voila....instant WAN link up status! 😎😎
 
May I know, how much are they charging you for static IP allocation?

I faced same situation several times, in Hyderabad they do MAC - IP binding, I had to change my mac on pfsense to get the static.
Also with open ports there are so many pings which pfsense has to block, hence i have opted out of it now.
 
I have a static ip as well on my ACT fibnernet connection . The have revised the charges effective 1st October and the new charges are 250+gst for me as per the latest email i received from them 2 weeks back.
 

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