How do I bridge a Technicolor NH20T so I can use my own router?

[DrSpecimen]

I see that in this gateway's WAN UI there is a choice of Routed, Full Bridged, and Bridged Port 1 (paraphrasing from memory), which leads me to presume that bridging is possible, though I have never seen this array of options. Plus, over the years I have faced ISP gateways that also require disabling DHCP and Firewall plus other internal settings needed before being able to use a 3rd party router -- especially if I want to use a VPN with it. And then there's the issue of losing access to it on the LAN once bridged. So I'm being careful and seeking docs or first-hand advice on dealing with this particular gateway deployed by Telus.

[Nighthawk · Accepted solution]

There are no documents for the NH20T. There was a discussion from yesterday about bridging the NH20T and the difference between full bridge and just bridging the 10G port.

If you're going to bridge the 10G port, you do not need to disable anything as bridging bypasses DHCP etc. on that port. I have had a third party router in use without disabling DHCP on the Telus gateway and it worked fine for what I was doing. I just had to make sure the third party router was using an IP range that wasn't 192.168.1.x. You also need to consider that on a number of different brands of third party home routers, that there are unpatched security vulnerabilities so exposing them directly to the internet could also have negative consequences. You'll need to make sure your firmware is up to date and that you're regularly checking for updates.

When you talk about a VPN, is that you connecting out through a VPN (ie NordVPN etc.) / connecting to a work VPN, or are you trying to VPN remotely into your own router / home network? Is there something you're trying to do that requires a third party router, that cannot be done with the NH20T itself?

[DrSpecimen]

My interest in using a 3rd party router is the availability of parental controls.  The VPN capability to which I refer is using the router as a VPN client, for connecting to a VPN service so I can, for example, watch the USA version of YouTube.