I have the G3100 Fios Router & E3200 Fios Extender. I use pihole for DNS and DHCP. I do not see the Extender listed in the Pihole active dhcp leases. Everything is working except I am unable to access the extender either through the router or directly into the extender web address. I know it is working because I can access the web when I hardwire connect to the extender. Am I missing something? Appreciate your help. Thanks.
You could monitor and search your pihole.log for your extender's DHCP requests:
sudo grep DHCP /var/log/pihole/pihole.log
Do your extender's DHCP broadcasts register in Pi-hole's logs?
Anyway, I somehow suspect this to be related to your specific Extender.
As it is advertised working only with a limited set of routers (even as offered from Verizon), I'd guess that it would need explicit pairing with some router specific software that may require the DHCP server IP to be the same as the gateway IP.
But that's quite a bit of speculation on my behalf.
You probably should consider to also consult your router's/extender's support channels.
Thanks for your assistance!. When I looked at the pihole.log (as per your suggestion), it repeated these lines numerous times:
Nov 28 00:42:41 dnsmasq-dhcp[13794]: DHCPDISCOVER(eth0) 3c:bd:c5:49:1c:e2
Nov 28 00:42:41 dnsmasq-dhcp[13794]: DHCPOFFER(eth0) 192.168.1.100 3c:bd:c5:49:1c:e2
Then listed the devices that have static ip addresses, then repeated the above again. What does this mean? Thanks.
A complete, successful DHCP negotiation sequence would have DHCPDISCOVER (client), DHCPOFFER (server), DHCPREQUEST (client), DHCPACK (server).
A client's request to renew a lease about to expire would be shorter, starting with DHCPREQUEST.
The short excerpt you shared demonstrates that your Extender's DHCPDISCOVER broadcast has been received and answered by Pi-hole with offering 192.168.1.100 as IP address, but your Extender does not confirm to use that address with a DHCPREQUEST.
This could happen if
a. Pi-hole's DHCPOFFER never reaches your Extender
b. your Extender disregards the offer because it is not satisfied with it.
If your extender allows it, you could check its logs to preclude a..
In case of b., your router perhaps may insert some vendor-specific information in its DHCPOFFER that your Extender is looking for, its absence prompting your Extender to discard the answer and keep searching for a DHCP server with the expected offer.
Again, that is quite a bit of speculation on my behalf.
You may want to bring this up in your router's support forum.
If not for the DHCP specifics, perhaps try at least to seek confirmation whether the Extender can be used when the gateway cedes its DHCP duties to another DHCP server.
I want to thank you for your help, you were spot on. I am still in a learning process. Much appreciated.
If you can login to the router, look at its full "My Network" list to see if it is connected and gives an address. It may be by a coaxial connection. I'd give you more details, but it looks like my extender is offline. lol.
The Verizon E3200 extender expects additional information from the Verizon E3100 or CR1000A router in its DHCP handshake to let it know its paired with a compatible router.
To fix it you can put a file named 11-verizon-options.conf in the /etc/dnsmasq.d/ folder with the following lines. Put your router's serial number and model number in the last two lines
# 11-verizon-options.conf to provide additional DHCP information required for E3200 extenders
# Announce ourselves as a Verizon ARCADYAN router at all times
dhcp-option=option:vendor-class,ARCADYAN
# For Verizon devices that identify themselves
dhcp-vendorclass=set:VerizonFiOS,Verizon BHRx1 DHCP Detect
# Emulate Verizon router
dhcp-option=tag:VerizonFiOS,vi-encap:3561,4,880355
# replace with your Verizon Router's serial number
dhcp-option=tag:VerizonFiOS,vi-encap:3561,5,ABC12345
# Verizon Router model, G3100 or CR1000A or CR1000B
dhcp-option=tag:VerizonFiOS,vi-encap:3561,6,G3100
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This worked!. Not sure how you came up with it, but the extender is now listed in the currently active DHCP leases of the Pi-hole. I went ahead and made it static as well unless you think otherwise. Again, much appreciated!!
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