How to Activate Your DSL Modem

A Changing World

At ModemGuides, we know first-hand how difficult it can be to activate your own modem without assistance from an in-home technician. Internet service companies in the US have had to adapt to the ever-changing climate caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and many are no longer offering in-home installations for customer-owned modems and technical support. As a result, DSL internet customers have had to rely more on over-the-phone technical support, customer service and remote assistance with activation. Luckily, we’ve been helping our customers get their customer-owned DSL modems activated with various providers for years!

Our Mission

Our mission has always been to improve the ease of access to customer-owned equipment in order to help our customers save on monthly modem rental fees, while simultaneously saving thousands of pounds of e-waste from entering our landfills. Even if you choose to purchase your DSL modem elsewhere, we’re still here to help you get it working with the hope that you’ll be able to save money on your internet bill and give less money to large corporations and media conglomerates. Here’s a brief rundown on activating equipment with most US DSL providers. If you’ve read through the instructions and still need more support, feel free to check out our product manuals page for model-specific information or, you can leave a comment below and one of our technicians will help you out as soon as possible!

Whether you’re starting new service or just replacing your old equipment, activating your customer-owned AT&T modem takes anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour. Make sure you’ve set aside enough time so that you don’t feel rushed while performing your activation as that can add stress and make the process more difficult. On the right, you’ll find a list of items that are required or are helpful during activation. We recommend having all of those items handy and ready to go before you start your activating process to ensure a smooth activation with AT&T internet service.

Step 1

Plug in your modem the same way as the one you are replacing. Wait ~5 minutes for the modem to power up.
Next, connect one end of the phone cord into the green “DSL” port on the modem and wait 4-6 minutes.

Step 2

Turn on or restart your computer. Connect one end of the Ethernet cable into your computer and the other end into any of the yellow Ethernet ports on your modem.

Step 3

Next, open your internet browser (Firefox, Chrome or Safari are preferred) and try to connect to any website. Your AT&T’s activation portal should come up automatically. If it does not, you’ll need to call AT&T customer service for a manual activation. AT&T technical support phone number: 1-800-288-2020

Step 4

AT&T’s activation portal will walk you through activating your modem after you log into your account. Once finished, test that you have internet connectivity by going to any website while connected to your modem.

Step 1

Plug in your modem the same way as the one you are replacing. Wait ~5 minutes for the modem to power up.
Next, connect one end of the phone cord into the green “DSL” port on the modem and wait 4-6 minutes.

Step 2

Turn on or restart your computer. Connect one end of the Ethernet cable into your computer and the other end into any of the yellow Ethernet ports on your modem.

Step 3

Next, open your internet browser (Firefox, Chrome or Safari are preferred) and try to connect to any website. Your provider’s activation portal should come up automatically. If it does not, you’ll need to call CenturyLink for a manual activation. CenturyLink customer service phone number:  1-866-642-0444
Step 4

CenturyLink’s activation portal will walk you through activating your modem after you log into your account. Once finished, test that you have internet connectivity by going to any website while connected to your modem.

Step 1

Plug in your modem the same way as the one you are replacing. Wait ~5 minutes for the modem to power up.
Next, connect one end of the phone cord into the green “DSL” port on the modem and wait 4-6 minutes.

Step 2

Turn on or restart your computer. Connect one end of the Ethernet cable into your computer and the other end into any of the yellow Ethernet ports on your modem.

Step 3

Next, open your internet browser (Firefox, Chrome or Safari are preferred) and try to connect to any website. Your provider’s activation portal should come up automatically. If it does not, you’ll need to call Verizon for a manual activation. Verizon Fios customer service phone number: 1 (800) 837-4966

Step 4

Verizon’s activation portal will walk you through activating your modem after you log into your account. Once finished, test that you have internet connectivity by going to any website while connected to your modem.

Step 1

Plug in your modem the same way as the one you are replacing. Wait ~5 minutes for the modem to power up.
Next, connect one end of the phone cord into the green “DSL” port on the modem and wait 4-6 minutes.

Step 2

Turn on or restart your computer. Connect one end of the Ethernet cable into your computer and the other end into any of the yellow Ethernet ports on your modem.

Step 3

Next, open your internet browser (Firefox, Chrome or Safari are preferred) and try to connect to any website. Your provider’s activation portal should come up automatically. If it does not, you’ll need to call Windstream for a manual activation.

Step 4

Windstream’s activation portal will walk you through activating your modem after you log into your account. Once finished, test that you have internet connectivity by going to any website while connected to your modem.

Step 1

Plug in your modem the same way as the one you are replacing. Wait ~5 minutes for the modem to power up.
Next, connect one end of the phone cord into the green “DSL” port on the modem and wait 4-6 minutes.

Step 2

Turn on or restart your computer. Connect one end of the Ethernet cable into your computer and the other end into any of the yellow Ethernet ports on your modem.

Step 3

Next, open your internet browser (Firefox, Chrome or Safari are preferred) and try to connect to any website. Your provider’s activation portal should come up automatically. If it does not, you’ll need to call Frontier for a manual activation.

Step 4

Frontier’s activation portal will walk you through activating your modem after you log into your account. Once finished, test that you have internet connectivity by going to any website while connected to your modem.