The arris NVG589 is a not my favorite router. ATT and Frontier both use Arris devices, and they are the ones that are compatible with Nokia DSLAMS that give the best speeds. On the good side, setup is pretty much automatic. On the downside, they don't support static addresses and are generally inflexible in configuration. If you are on AT&T or on a bonded line from Frontier, you pretty much are forced to use an Arris device.

Note that this device is interchangeable with the BGW210 device.

The Arris configuration is generally automatic. If you take one of these devices, blank the configuration by hitting the reset button for twenty seconds, then plug it ito a line, it will set up automatically and connect. The default wifi name and password will be on a sticker on the side of the router.

In these instructions we will go through the setup in a little more detail, and show you how to get into the router configuration interface where you can change things like the Wifi network name and password.

Cables

The plugs on the back of the device are clearly labeled. Plug power into the power jack, plug the DSL (telephone) line into the DSL/WAN port, and connect an ethernet cable from your computer to one of the four ethernet ports. If your computer doesn't have an ethernet port, borrow a computer from a friend or buy an ethernet adapter for your computer. In theory it is possible to configure this device with Wifi but we don't support that because it is very difficult. It is much easier to get a computer with ethernet.

Lights

Once the router has started up you can see the status of the device on the lights on the front. Any time you have trouble with your line the first thing we will ask you is the status of the lights.

Make sure that you have good DSL signal. Broadband 1 and 2 are the DSL lines. If this is a bonded service there will be two lights, otherwise for standard dsl there will be only one.

You need to have a good signal before you try to connect or configure anything. Configuration will not fix your service if you have no signal.

Connect to the Router

The router has a web page inside.

Make sure you have a good DSL signal by checking the lights on the front of the router.

Open your browser such as Chrome, Safari or Firefox and enter the numerical address 192.168.1.254.

You will pobably see something like this:

If the DSL type is already set, it may take you to the HOME SCREEN which is shown a few paragraphs below.

The router may ask you for an access code. This is on a sticker on the side of the device.

If the device is not able to sense the type of connection it will start complaining. It suggests to call AT&T. Don't do that (unless you are an AT&T customer).

First, check to make sure the router is getting a good signal.

Has the DSL been turned on yet? Often this is the problem.

Is the telephone cord connected to the right port? The right wall jack?

If you can't get a signal, don't waste your time trying to configure. Give us a call and we will help.

If there is no signal but you just want to configure the router, we can go to the next page. Hit "Continue".

It will ask us to identify the line type. In our case, it will usually be VDSL. If that's not availble choose DSL. Do not choose IP-DSL.

This will take us to the home screen.

Home Screen

This is the main screen in the router setup page. If your router is already configured and online, when you connect to the router, you will land here.

If you want to configure your DSL line, that's under broadband. Unfortunately, most of the settings are locked so you can't change much.

If you want to configure your Wifi, that's under home network.

Wifi Setup

From the home screen, select "Home Network" and then "Wifi".

You will see the screen shown below.

The key settings are Network Name (SSID) and "Key" which means the network password.

Go ahead and set these to anything you like.

Conclusion

Most of the settings for this device are automatic. If you wipe the configuration and plug it in to a live line, it will probably work. It's hard to set anything else. Usually the only thing you would want to change here is the Wifi Network and Password. If you are setting it up, make sure you have a good signal according to the lights on the front, before you waste time on configuration.