# Bell 2Wire modem and Apple TimeCapsule



## mgl (Feb 14, 2004)

I didn't ask for it, but Bell shipped me a new 2Wire wireless modem/router to replace my old one, likely because they shifted me to their new Fibe plan. 

1. Do I need to switch modems? My old non-wireless modem is working fine.

2. If I need to switch modems, is it better to put the 2Wire modem into bridge mode or the TimeCapsule? I read elsewhere that Bell says you can't use their modem in bridge mode but it seems quite possible. What are the pros and cons of both?

Thanks,

Mike


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## polywog (Aug 9, 2007)

Just enter your PPPoE information on the Time Capsule, and you're good to go. No need for bridge mode. Disable what you don't need on the 2wire, such as wireless.


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## Bogi094 (Sep 6, 2008)

Same setup here. I have the old non dual band Airport extreme. My way of setting things up it using the 2wire for my wireless G network and using the Airport as my wireless N (5.8ghz band I believe). Does the trick well. If you have a newer one do it all in one!


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## mkolesa (Jul 22, 2008)

i went to the fibe plan about a month ago. bell told me i had to upgrade my old modem (a non-wifi siemens i think) to take advantage of the new service. the provided an alcatel cellpipe wi-fi router and during the setup i just made sure it was set to not transmit. otherwise, the hookup was the same phoneline to bell modem, ethernet from modem to AE.


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## wellaged37 (Jul 24, 2011)

*Bell 2wire and Time capsule*



polywog said:


> Just enter your PPPoE information on the Time Capsule, and you're good to go. No need for bridge mode. Disable what you don't need on the 2wire, such as wireless.


How do I connect the 2wire to the time capsule? That is what ports do I use on each device?

At the moment I am using the 2wire as router and modem, and the time capsule as a wireless hard drive. There is no cable connected between the two. Unfortunately, when I go to backup to the time capsule it takes forever and seems to interfere with browsing to other sites.

What I would like to do is use the time capsule as wireless transmitter and the 2wire as a modem. Do I need to erase the network I have now and start over or is there a way to modify my network?


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## mkolesa (Jul 22, 2008)

from your description i'm not quite sure how you're getting your internet... are you using a laptop or desktop and what is connected to what? anyway, you connect the router via an ethernet port using an ethernet cable to the wan port on the time capsule. i'm not sure if you'll have to change your set up or not, but if you get no internet connection you can always run the network utility (in the utilities folder in the apps folder) and follow the prompts. after the initial back up via time capsule the subsequent back-ups shouldn't be that disruptive, but yes, it is using wifi bandwidth which is why web browsing is slow. if the router is transmitting it's possible that that signal is interfering with your wifi reception which is why you shold make sure that it's not transmitting (other possibilities are cordless phones, microwave ovens, other wifi networks in the area). it may help to use a wifi sniffer to see what wifi channels are occupied and then set the time capsule to a free channel.


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## wellaged37 (Jul 24, 2011)

mkolesa said:


> from your description i'm not quite sure how you're getting your internet... are you using a laptop or desktop and what is connected to what? anyway, you connect the router via an ethernet port using an ethernet cable to the wan port on the time capsule. i'm not sure if you'll have to change your set up or not, but if you get no internet connection you can always run the network utility (in the utilities folder in the apps folder) and follow the prompts. after the initial back up via time capsule the subsequent back-ups shouldn't be that disruptive, but yes, it is using wifi bandwidth which is why web browsing is slow. if the router is transmitting it's possible that that signal is interfering with your wifi reception which is why you shold make sure that it's not transmitting (other possibilities are cordless phones, microwave ovens, other wifi networks in the area). it may help to use a wifi sniffer to see what wifi channels are occupied and then set the time capsule to a free channel.


My network is: a Dell pc connected to the 2wire by an ethernet cable, a MacBookPro connected wirelessly to the 2wire, an iMac connected wirelessly to the 2wire, a Canon printer connected wirelessly to the 2wire, and the time capsule connected wirelessly to the 2wire.

Thanks for your answer. I got a bad feeling that I going to need to create a new network from scratch.


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