Help connecting to hopper with wired internet

[backdrop001]

Hi guys, my father is wanting to connect his internet to his dish hopper to watch some streaming apps. He Do NOT have wifi, he said he tried just plugging his ethernet cord into the back of his dish box and it didn't work, He talked to customer service over the phone and they were trying to walk him through it with settings and they said he would have to get a wifi booster. Maybe this is a dumb question but how would a wifi extender help if he's not connecting through wifi.

The wanted him to pay $200 for it which i said if its a wifi extender you can get one for like $20 so i'm wondering if he misunderstood that.

He has a modem but i do not believe he uses a router . I can get him hooked up with that if necessary but l need to know what he needs and how to set it up for him.

 

[TheKrell]

If his wired Internet is working, then just plugging it in should make it work. Adding a WiFi router won't help because it's wired as well on the WAN side.

I think something is wrong on the wired side. If he has a modem but no router, then he may not be able to add anything without unplugging what was working before. Can you get some more detail on what he has for a modem, and what he has for a router (if any)?

 

[Jim S.]

Aren't there two ethernet ports on the Hopper? Maybe you have to use a specific one..

 

[Bobby]

An internet modem usually has just one ethernet out and that usually goes directly to the computer. If that is the case you need either a router, non wifi is OK, or an ethernet switch to be able to get more than one device from the modem.

 

[Jim5506]

My H3 has two ethernet ports and my network cable is plugged into the top one.

Works fine.

 

[bobc469]

My H3 has two ethernet ports and my network cable is plugged into the top one.

Works fine.

Mine is plugged into the bottom connection and works fine.
If you go to the diagnostics screen and go down to Network on the left it will show which LAN connection is being used.
It sounds like the person in support really didn't have a clue.
As others have mentioned, where does the LAN cable that is plugged into the back of the H3 go? Are you just using a modem with a single output?

 

[Miner]

it sounds like your father may have only a cable modem directly into a single computer. Or possibly a modem into a switch that is not a router. If so, the cable modem will only support 1 network connection at a time and would have to be rebooted every time he wants to switch what he is trying to connect with.

the hoppers 2 Ethernet ports are part of a smart switch, but do not Have routing and NAT capability.

If this is the case, a simple router (wired or wireless) would do the trick. I’m always a fan of using wired Ethernet over WiFi due to less overhead.

another possible cause could be if he has a router, it could have automatic IP (dhcp) turned off. That is highly unlikely, though.

 

[DishSubLA]

It does not matter if you connect to the top or bottom connection RJ45 Ethernet connection. Try going into Settings, Internet, and look for an option to RESET NETWORK (or CONNECTION), any way, it will then actively seek the router and attempt to acquire/request an IP address from the router(DHCP). Very rarely (like 3 times a year) my H3 can't access the internet, so I go to diagnostics and force the H3 to RESET Internet Connection, which is initiating a DHCP, and then a few seconds later, I have access to the internet for download or streaming of VOD or the Apps.

Also, confirm the lights are on/blinking after you connect the cable. You can also try a different Cat cable (AKA, Ethernet cable) because maybe the one you are attempting to use is BROKEN. It is pretty easy to damage Cat cable and not know it. Once, I had a heck of at time trying to get a device to re-connect to the router, and while the Cat cable did NOT appear damaged from what I could see, I finally decided to try a new/fresh cable, and that SOLVED the problem. Cat cable must never be bent or under anything of any weight. It is VERY easy to break Cat cable even if it appears to have never been bent nor mistreated, but sometimes it is too tightly wound for storage. Best of luck.