Vigor 166 - Router Mode Setup Guide

The Vigor 166 is a pre-configured G.fast (Ultrafast Fibre) & VDSL2 (Superfast Fibre) modem that takes a G.fast or VDSL2 connection and performs PPPoE pass-through to the LAN / Ethernet port, which can then be used by a device such as a router to connect directly to the internet.

If required, the Vigor 166 can be easily reconfigured into Router Mode so that it behaves in a similar way to the simple router that might have been provided by the ISP.

This configuration can sometimes be useful if you have not purchased the router/firewall yet. Note that your Vigor 166 also comes with some basic firewall functionality and other limited features, but it is designed to work as a modem and it is pre-configured that way by default.

Once in router mode, the Vigor 166 should usually be configured to use PPPoE (depending on ISP).

Here are the Setup Steps:

1. Connect the RJ-11 port (marked 'DSL') on the Vigor 166 to the G.fast or VDSL2 line.
2. Connect the RJ-45 Ethernet port on the Vigor 166 to the Ethernet port of your computer.
3. Set your computer IP address up to a static one from the 192.168.2.x /24 range. For example, use 192.168.2.10 so that it can communicate with the modem (192.168.2.1).
4. Now open your browser, and type 192.168.2.1 and login to the Vigor 166 modem using default credentials: admin / admin
   
5. You can see the Dashboard GUI of Vigor 166. Open the Operation Mode section from the menu on the left hand side
   
6. Select Router Mode, and press Next
   
   
7. You can see the [Operation Mode] > [Router Mode] WAN Interface wizzard page. For DSL Mode set it to Auto / VDSL2 only / ADSL only / or G.fast only. Then press Next to continue.
   
8. The Connect to Internet page should appear.
   a. Select your Protocol from the drop-down list. Most UK ISPs use PPPoE / PPPoA when credentials are provided. Please check their support documentation for details.
   b. Set Fixed IP to No(Dynamic IP) unless you have been provided with a static IP address by your ISP.
   c. For Primary/Secondary DNS use 8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4 or 1.1.1.1 or any other IP addresses that your ISP has recommended. DNS is used to translate websites names into computer IP addresses so that humans don't have to remember random (IP) numbers.
   d. Important! Make sure that VLAN Tag Insertion is enabled, and set to 101 for the UK, or 10 for Ireland.
   Click Next to continue.
   
9. This step allows you to define if your Vigor 166 should continue to use its default 192.168.2.1 IP address. This can be changed to e.g. 192.168.1.1. If you make a change, make sure that your computer's static IP address is also updated as mentioned in the intro section of this article. Alternatively, enabled DHCP Server on Vigor 166, and then enable dynamic IP address configuration on your computer so that it can obtain it automatically from the modem.
   
10. The summary page should lists all the settings applied. Hit Apply & Reboot button to save the settings.
    
11. Your Vigor 166 will restart, and should be responding on the IP address appearing on the Reboot System page within 40 seconds.
    Here, we will use its default 192.168.2.1
    
12. Login again to your modem with the same DrayTek username and password used in point 4.
    
13. If your ISP has given you credentials, you need to configure your PPPoE protocol. Go to [Internet Access] > [PPPoE/PPPoA]
    a. Enable the protocol
    b. Enter the ISP Access Setup credentials. Leave the Service Name blank unless provided by the ISP (unlikely), and enter the Username and Password. Save the settings and reboot the device when prompted to do so.
    
14. After the reboot, Vigor 166 should come with some additional features such as basic LAN, Routing, NAT, and Firewall functionality. If you need a more advanced set of features, consider upgrading to Vigor 276x series or one of our load-balancer such as the Vigor 286x series.
    

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