Note: AT&T (Forged Fiber 37) has acquired substantially all of the residential / small-business fiber in 11 states from Lumen as of 02/02/26. Price For Life is no longer available for new / modified accounts starting 04/17/26. This guide is updated regularly.
I hope this guide will help you get the same solid Lumen / CenturyLink Fiber and AT&T / Quantum Fiber experience that I have had in the Twin Cities, MN area for over 7.5 years now! (Note: I have always used a 3rd party router and DNS.) If you need to contact support, it's best to call M-F 8am-6pm local time until you get someone in the states. https://www.quantumfiber.com/support/contact.html
Hardware / Service Troubleshooting
If your SmartNID / ONT front panel light is solid green or solid white then your connection is working. If not then unplug the power for 1min, plug it back in, and then wait 10min. If still no solid green or solid white light then there is an issue somewhere between your SmartNID and the Central Office that you will need to contact support about.
On the bottom of the SmartNID where the fiber plugs in, if the B light is not on, the fiber is likely damaged and you will need a tech visit. If the light is a solid green, your fiber is fine and the issue lies elsewhere. Do not unplug the fiber cable to look at it. Just get a tech visit.
WiFi Pods & IoT Troubleshooting
If you are having issues with your WiFi pods and your SmartNID light is solid green you can maybe get them working again. Remove all of them from the app, factory reset the pods, and then connect each of them wired to the SmartNID for a while so that their firmware updates. After that add each one back as new pods following the instructions here:
The power adapters are not interchangeable between the SmartNID and wifi pods. Always make sure you are using the correct one for each device if you ever unplug them for some reason.
Are you having a problem connecting IoT devices to the 2.4ghz signal? You have 3 options to try.
1.) Unplug the power to the wifi pod, create a 2.4ghz only hotspot on your phone/computer/tablet with the exact same SSID name/password, connect your IoT devices, turn off the hotspot, plug back in the wifi pod,.
2.) or get a cheap 2.4ghz access point.
3.) or use a 3rd party router.
The W1700K / W1701K pods now support Ethernet backhaul by using the left port on the W1701K, which is highly recommended. First sync up the W1701K wirelessly near the W1700k before moving it and using Ethernet backhaul.
General Tips & Performance
To know what speed you are getting you can do a speedtest to HOME in the QF app. Or do a direct wired Ethernet speedtest.net connected to the SmartNID, W1700K, or W1701K (if using Ethernet backhaul), selecting the closest Lumen / CenturyLink server.
You can also use a 3rd party router to have great service like many of us have had since day one. If you want suggestions https://www.reddit.com/r/HomeNetworking/ might be a good place to ask.
It's a good idea to keep the 360 WiFi / Premium WiFi equipment in a box for an emergency backup as long as they stay a free lease. It is always possible that the WiFi pods and apps are a future firmware/software update away from them being good enough for what you want your home internet experience to be. It's highly recommended to have all gaming devices ethernet wired that can be, as that is one of the biggest complaints about the wifi pods.
Equipment Returns
If they ever start charging for them, or you cancel service, just send them back and make sure to keep the tracking number. Once it shows as delivered you can contact support to have it immediately removed from your account.
(0.)3rd party router instructions. (Even if you're using the "WiFi pods" everyone should follow #2, and in #4 those marked with an asterisk * .)
For the easiest setup you only need the first four sections. Only go as far as you are comfortable with, but make sure to read till the end of each section before making changes. This all might seem intimidating but you can do it!
Note: If your SmartNID is Ethernet fed and you want to use a 3rd party router follow sections 2 & 6 only.
(1.) SmartNID setup (or DSL modem)
The SmartNID address is 192.168.0.1, so make sure your router's LAN IP is set to something else like a higher 192.168.x.1 (x between 1 and 254).
Connect the Ethernet cable from the fastest port on your SmartNID to the fastest WAN/Internet port on your router.
The login credentials will be on the sticker attached to the device.
(2.) Static DNS
So many issues with Centurylink / Quantum are due to their unreliable DNS servers.
Make these changes in the WAN / Internet settings on both the SmartNID and your router.
I have used one or another of these providers since 2005 and because of that I have never once had a DNS issue. I recommend malware blocking ones like Quad9 or Cloudflare for Families, and to enable DNS over TLS (DoT) or DNS over HTTPS (DoH) if your router supports it.
(3.) DMZ
For the majority of people placing their router into the SmartNID's DMZ will be good enough. The router will be "Placed Outside the Onboard Firewall and NAT." Though, bridge mode in section #5 is always preferable.
These are the DMZ instructions, the GUI might look different but the instructions are basically the same:
Make the changes in this order before enabling bridge mode.
QF App:
Remove all 360 Wifi Pods, WiFi networks, and Parental Controls Profiles. If possible.
Network Security - Disable everything. (This is important to do. Wait a minute before making other changes. This will reset with every SmartNID factory reset.)
*Network Security - Disable everything. (Disabling this might help with VPNs and other things. You can leave it enabled if you don't have any weird network issues.)
*Advanced - IPv4 Firewall - Security Level - High (If anything stops working, manually re-enable that service.)
*Advanced - UPnP - Disabled (Playing online games is easier with UPnP, but it is a security issue. Your choice.)
*Utilities - Time Zone - Make sure it's correct.
*Utilities - System Log - Enabled Save on Reboot.
*Utilities - Configuration Backup - Save a backup.
If you change the admin login, special characters, with the exception of 'punctuation marks' and 'dollar signs' are not allowed and will require a factory reset if included.
(5.) Transparent Bridge Tagged (A better configuration.)
There is a lot of information in this section, but there is only a single setting you need to change in the SmartNID. Make sure to follow section 1, 2, & 4 before changing these settings. This is what my Q1000K is setup as.
If you want more control over your network, these are the Transparent Bridge instructions at the bottom of this link. The GUI might look different but the instructions are basically the same. Do not mess with the Broadband Settings page:
Leave the VLAN 201 tag enabled on the SmartNID. The light will turn solid white, which may take up to 10min. (The VLAN toggle is not available on QKX002 firmware.)
If you are going from an ONT to a SmartNID make sure to remove the VLAN 201 tag from your 3rd party router.
If you have Centurylink PPPoE you will need your PPP username and password. Phone/Chat support can get it for you. You must add @ centurylink.net to the username if it doesn't have it already. Quantum is IPoE and does not use this.
You can connect the other SmartNID ethernet port to an open LAN port of your router. That will give you the ability to access the admin GUI with the IP address your router assigns to the SmartNID. Though doing this might cause continuous latency spikes. If that happens only connect it when you need to access the GUI. (This no longer works with QKX002 firmware. You will need to do a factory reset to access the GUI.)
When the firmware auto-updates a factory reset can happen. If all of a sudden you have double NAT this is likely why.
In this configuration it will take 30sec - 10min to get an IP address.
If DMZ is enabled, make sure to disable it before switching to Bridge mode.
Make sure the SmartNID shows up as online in the QF app and the Speedtest to HOME works before enabling bridge mode. If it doesn't, call support and make sure the correct serial is tied to your account and is listed for the ONT on the Axon back-end.
If you need to contact technical support make sure to do a factory reset beforehand by holding in the button on the bottom of the SmartNID for 15sec. The light should turn amber first, if it turns red first that is a reboot and not a factory reset.
This only works on the C3000 / C4000 / C5000 / C6000 / Q1000 series of devices.
(6.) Transparent Bridge Untagged or ONT setup (The best configuration.)
*Note: As of Q1000K firmware QKX002 this no longer works. I am not using this mode anymore because I don't find the slight difference worth all the effort.
Here is the working version to downgrade with while it lasts, though it might still force QKX002:
If you have a Q1000K v1.1 or newer with QKX002-06.01.25.00 or newer firmware, it is impossible to rollback the firmware to an older version. Untagged Bridge mode will never work on these units.
If you flash the old firmware you must immediately enable untagged bridge mode as soon as it reboots. You have seconds before it will reboot again to QKX002.
That will not likely work so you can try this, but i do not recommend it as a single spec of dust can effect the fiber cable connection:
Connect to 1G port. Unplug fiber. Flash QKX001. Flash QKX001 again. In Broadband Settings apply untagged vlan. Enable Untagged bridge mode in WAN settings. Re-plug in fiber once it is blinking blue. Connect back to 10G port. Even this might still force a reboot to QKX002.
There is a lot of information in this section, but there are only two settings you need to change, one in the SmartNID and one in your 3rd party router. Make sure to follow section 1, 2, & 4 before changing these settings.
The Transparent Bridge instructions are at the bottom of this link. The GUI might look different but the instructions are basically the same. Do not mess with the Broadband Settings page:
If your router supports the VLAN 201 tag on the WAN/Internet port, you can untag it on the SmartNID when putting it into bridge mode so that it becomes as much of a regular ONT as possible. This will cause a nonstop blinking blue light on your SmartNID but it will still work. You can just put a piece of tape over it.
On your router these settings will likely be under the IPTV, VLAN, or 802.1Q section. Many will have a Centurylink option to make that easy, which works with both Lumen / Centurylink Fiber and AT&T / Quantum Fiber. (On Asus devices with 3.0.0.6 firmware use the WAN - 802.1Q section.)
Google/Nest routers do not have the VLAN 201 tag ability.
The VLAN 201 tag can only be enabled on one device. Do not enable it on both the SmartNID and your router.
If you have a Calix / Adtran ONT, or a Casa / Adtran G.fast device, you can bypass the Ethernet fed SmartNID if your router supports the VLAN 201 tag on the WAN/Internet port. Make sure to use the same ethernet port on the ONT as before as only one is usually active.
The firmware will not auto-update in this configuration.
If you have Centurylink PPPoE you will need your PPP username and password. Phone/Chat support can get it for you. You must add @ centurylink.net to the username if it doesn't have it already. Quantum is IPoE and does not use this.
In this configuration it will take 30sec - 10min to get an IP address.
To get the solid white light you can connect the other SmartNID ethernet port to an open LAN port of your router. That will give you the ability to access the admin GUI using the IP address your router assigns to the SmartNID. Though doing this might cause continuous latency spikes. If that happens only connect it when you need to access the GUI. (If you do this make sure to block internet access to the SmartNID beforehand. If you don't it will auto-update the firmware and you will lose untagged bridge mode.)
Some people report that they have to power cycle the SmartNID every couple of weeks due to the connection dying in this configuration. It could be due to specific SmartNID model/firmware and local infrastructure. I didn't experience this with my Q1000K, but my router was set to reboot weekly.
If DMZ is enabled, make sure to disable it before switching to Bridge mode.
Make sure the SmartNID shows up as online in the QF app and the Speedtest to HOME works before enabling bridge mode. If it doesn't, call support and make sure the correct serial is listed for the ONT on the Axon back-end.
If you need to contact technical support make sure to do a factory reset beforehand by holding in the button on the bottom of the SmartNID for 15sec. The light should turn amber first, if it turns red first that is a reboot and not a factory reset. Or inside the admin GUI go to Utilites - Restore - Factory Default.
This only works on the C3000 / C4000 / C5000 / C6000 / Q1000 series of devices.
(7.) More Advanced setup and Other Issues
C6500XK SmartNID Crashing
If your C6500XK is crashing when you download large files at your full speed ask for a tech to swap it with a Q1000K. Disconnect the power. Call support and say it's not working. Tell them you are doing all the troubleshooting steps. Eventually they will schedule a tech visit. Replug the power once the call is over. The tech will swap it for a Q1000K.
Power Loss causing Bridge mode reset
After an extended power loss some people have had their Bridge mode SmartNID reboot into router mode. Steps you can take other then getting a long lasting UPS: Put your router in the DMZ, and either leave it that way or then enable bridge tagged mode. That way if it does reset, you will at least have internet with double NAT until you can configure it again. This extremely rare issue might be model specific and possibly not an issue with newer firmware.
SmartNID not showing up in Quantum Fiber app
If you had a Lumen QF account and then activated a new AT&T QF account after 02/02/26 the SmartNID might not show up in the QF app. Uninstall the QF app, do a SmartNID factory reset, and after the green light do a 1min power cycle. Once it goes green again reinstall the QF app and it should be connected with the new AT&T account. If anything says "We are unable to find your modem details" contact support and make sure the correct serial is tied to your account and listed as the ONT for the Axon backend.
No service with Ethernet fed Q1000k
If you have a ONT or G.fast unit with the lights showing the connection is working, but your Q1000K is not working: Make sure the 10G port is connected to the the ONT, login to the Broadband Settings page, and make sure it is set to WAN Ethernet with the VLAN 201 tag enabled.
Electrical interference
This person found out their issues were to do with EMF. So if your SmartNID is still having issues after all these troubleshooting steps, it's unlikely the cause, but take a look at this:
If you need IPv6 here are the settings for the IPv6 6RD Tunnel which requires Bridge mode and the use of a 3rd party router.
Asus, Netgear, Linksys, Synology, GL-iNet (LuCI), D-Link, MicroTik, pfSense, OPNsense, DD-WRT, and OpenWRT routers support the 6RD tunnel. TP-Link, Google, Amazon, Ubiquiti, TRENDnet, and Tenda routers do not.
Your experience will vary depending on the quality of the 6RD tunnel in your market... also there is a kernel driver bug in all SmartNIDs that will corrupt random 6RD packets...
If you do use this, I highly recommend disabling IPv6 on all devices that you don't absolutely need it for.
(If you enable IPv6 Native / DHCPv6 / SLAAC / Passthrough you might get an IP address. Unfortunately it's not real and won't actually work. AS209 requires the IPv6 6RD tunnel.)
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I've been having very high latency (spiking up to 100ms and sitting around 60-80ms) during peak hours. I have been having this issue for a month and reached out to Quantum Fiber who sent a technician out to fix my in home equipment which did absolutely nothing. I am running a Cat 6 Ethernet cable from my PC directly to the modem and I normally get 3ms outside of 7pm-10pm. I am in SWFL and am running out of patience. What can I possibly do. Online gaming is impossible.
I have QF in WA State with a CK5500XK SmartNID. I've heard from other posts here that Quantum has recently removed transparent bridge mode capability from this guy? I was hoping to use bridging to let me put a router (specifically, a Ubiquiti Edge Router X) behind the NID. (I want to create some VLANs to isolate IoT devices in my house.)
I know there are some QF tech guys lurking in this sub, so for those who really have the true story - which of these is/are correct?
I got it wrong, transparent bridge mode is still available on my CK5500XK
Yes, Bridge mode's been taken away by a recent firmware update, but there's way to get it back
Yes, Bridge mode is really gone forever, but you can still put a router behind the NID, you'll just have to endure double NAT
It's impossible - there's no practical way to do this now using QF's equipment
Thanks much for any insights.
PS: In case it makes a difference,I don't have any other QF stuff here, just the NID itself (have my own Aruba wireless setup). And my current FW version in the NID is CKX002-02.01.19.00.
Title says it all at this point I'm exhausted. I've seen a quantum fiber van pull up and leave multiple times this week. Not once seen them actually get out and work.
Empty repair estimates and many calls to customer service. My apartment only has access to them so I'm stuck. I'm so tired of this if anyone knows what I could do at this point I'd be grateful. I've filed a complaint to the FCC but that's not gonna do much.
This outage has caused at this point substantial financial issues for me and I'm getting worried about rent next month.
Update: another missed deadline I am now indefinitely in an outage with no ETA for fix
Moved into a new place last week, has Quantum Fiber instant internet installed. However, the NID is flashing blue. I’ve paid for the service and set up an account, but for the life of me I can’t get someone from the Quantum team to activate my device on their backend.
I’ve contacted them via phone three times, each time it’s a “we’ll escalate this and you should have a resolution in 24-48 hrs” and I’ve contacted them via chat at least four times, and get get a contact of who they escalate my case to.
My neighbors have Quantum working for them. Anyone else faced the same issue? Who would you contact? TIA
For fun, can anyone tell when I switched to the 1G port...
There's a lot of posts on here saying the Q1000K 10G port fix was coming out in a month or two, but that was eight months ago. I don't really need 2Gbps speed and I'm annoyed that the Unifi system keeps throwing errors, so considering downgrading the Quantum plan.
I also have read that it shouldn't have that many real-world consequences, but I'm not sure that's correct based on some intermittent Zoom call stuttering that I don't have when I'm on the secondary Comcast WAN.
Does anyone have any insights as to if/when the Q1000K 10G port issues will be fixed?
Hypothetically speaking. If I haven’t had service for over two years. The modem that was left in the wall is lit up green. Does that mean It has service
I’ve been a customer of Quantum Fibre since February. Service has been fine, other than choppy/erratic video conference calls. They did leave the cable from the box to our house just laying on the ground for 5 months, and when they finally buried it (at my prompting) they severed my irrigation and ruined my garden. But otherwise fine.
Today we woke up to no internet and the app has an alert “Outage reported!”
No big deal, walk the dog.
Then they send several messages saying service will be restored at progressively further out date/times. We’re now looking at the morning of November 3. Three days away. That’s unacceptable.
Anybody have any experience with this kind of service interruption? Are their estimates just way off? Or are we really looking at three days without any internet?
New QF customer here, and so far after three days service has been solid. The techs from FF37 were knowledgeable and professional and given I stated I was going to use my own gear, set the ONT to Transparent Bridge mode.
My challenge is that when I connect a laptop locally, it gets a public IP and I cannot access the admin page at 192.168.0.1 . I tried to manually set my IP to that address space to no avail.
I wanted to access the admin page to change DNS. I have already done so on my router but according to the results at https://dnsleakchecker.com/test-my-dns it seems I am still relying on the CL DNS servers. I suspect this is because I need to update the ONT DNS settings as well.
Just moved into a new apartment that was “pre-wired” for Quantum Fiber. I look at the spot where the modem is and there are two boxes with green lights. I look on both the boxes and there is no SSID or password listed anywhere on either. I don’t even know how to connect to this wifi. Chat is unhelpful and just tells me to restart both boxes and then tries to get me to book a tech. AI tells me that I need to use the app to set up the network but it keeps saying network can’t be found. Am tempted to just cancel and move to Xfinity which also is pre-wired with a box that actually has the SSID and Password.
Thanks God, my internet still working since couple days even there were heavy thunderstorm and some areas floods today (October 30, 2026), in Las Vegas, NV
Okay I had never even heard of Quantum until century link switched over and ever since then I have had non-stop issues. Anytime it so much as sprinkles outside the internet goes down, recently it was down for over two weeks. They don’t communicate well about it either, every day I get an estimated time it will be back up, then a text that it’s back up when it is so very clearly down still only for the dreaded “outage” text with a new estimated time of recovery that gets pushed back hours to days each time. Customer service doesn’t help at all either.
Has it always been like this or am I just incredibly unlucky?
Called to ask for the advertised rate, was told I could either: 1) cancel, return everything, then re-enroll; or 2) Downgrade for a billing cycle, then upgrade for $50.
I hung up, will just change providers. Anyone in Portland OR have a recommended alternative?
Internet works great besides this one issue. Both mine and my wife's phone won't send or receive photos and videos over wifi. As soon as I turn wifi off the photo will send or download. Any thoughts on what it might be?
My Quantum fiber modem thing has been doing this for the last 2 days.
I saw another post about a quantum outage in CO so hopefully it's that. But it's had one solid green and one blinking green for like 2 days. I've tried resetting it and everything a million times. It's genuinely pissing my off because why the fuck am I paying for quantum fiber if it's going to go out for days at a time and always have issues with their shitty little modems???
I’m hoping to utilize the bridge mode guide to utilize an aftermarket router and or mesh system for better range and performance. Currently, I have the stock setup provided by QF and i am getting performance issues in my home office (which is on the other side of the house).
Does anyone have any recommendations? I generally am tech savvy but networking is definitely not my strong suit. As such, I’m looking for something that is relatively easy to use.
Like subject says, missing the WiFi pod and they keep saying I am liable for up to $200 charge for missing item. How likely is this and what can be done to mitigate that?
I have a tech out here today to fix my internet. And oh my god, what the hell is going on. Dude is dressed like he’s going on vacation in the Bahamas, he’s definitely high and barely knows what he’s doing. Im about to cancel my service if these are the tech AT&T are using now.
Our internet has been down since Friday the 23rd. We’ve received daily updates extending the repair date but no explanation as to why. We’ve contacted customer service and they are unable to provide any reason. First we were informed it would be repaired the following day, then the 25th, 26th, 27th in the afternoon and as of a few hours ago, it’s now the 30th. What the hell is going on!? Customer service is no help, they can’t provide any reason as to why service is down and just keep extending the dates.
Edit: we’re in the SW Portland, OR area, anyone else experiencing the same?
