Where to set up Mercury Tenda router MAC address cloning? I got a new machine and couldn't dial the number through broadband, so I cloned it and got it back.

Last year, I helped my neighbor Xiao Lu replace a Mercury D191G. The old TP-LINK had been used for five years and the antenna broke. Connect the new machine to the optical modem and enter 192.168.0.1 Fill in the broadband account password, click connect, and after a long time of transfer, a 691 pops up. I asked him to check the account password against the operator's text message three times. Every word was correct, but he couldn't dial it.

We called the repairman, but before he came to the door, he just asked us and knocked us down.: 「Are you still using your old router? The broadband is connected to the MAC. 」Later I learned that when installing broadband, many operators will register the MAC address of your current router in the computer room. If you change to a new machine, if the MAC does not match, even if the account and password are correct, you will be kicked back. In this case, there is no need to ask for help. There is a MAC address clone in the background of the router, and the new machine can be disguised as the old machine. Today I will clearly write down the entrance locations and operation sequences of Mercury and Tengda.

First make sure you really have this disease, don’t clone a lonely person

This error 691 will pop up in three situations: incorrect account password, broadband arrears, and MAC binding. Don’t clone it as soon as it comes up. I usually put it in this order:

1. Connect your mobile phone to the old router (if it has not been dismantled) to see if it can still be accessed. The old machine can be accessed, but the new one cannot. The biggest suspicion is that the MAC is tied. ；
2. Call the operator's customer service to check if the broadband is out of service. You can find out in 30 seconds. ；
3. Check your account and password again. Pay attention to distinguish between uppercase and lowercase letters and letters O and numbers 0. Don’t laugh, I’ve seen people really fall for this. ；
4. If the first three items are eliminated and still 691, or 678 timeout is reported, then it is 90% likely that the MAC is bound and cloned.

There is another premise to say: Cloning only solves the problem of "operators binding old equipment". If your home broadband has never been connected and any router you change is just plug and play, then 691 has another reason. If you can't find the broadband account password, go to what I wrote first. How to check if I forget my broadband account password? , don’t rush to clone.

The clone entrance of the Mercury router is hidden in the advanced parameters of the Internet settings.

This is how Xiaolu’s Mercury D191G enters: Open browser 192.168.0.1 or melogin.cn , enter the management password, click "Routing Settings", and then click "Internet Settings". In the middle of this page is the box for broadband account and password. Scroll to the bottom and there is a small link for "Advanced Settings" or "Advanced WAN Port Parameters". Click to expand it, and there is a column for "MAC Address Clone".

The Mercury column is not complicated and usually gives two options.: One is to "use the MAC of the current management PC" and the other is to manually fill in the MAC address. Choosing the former is the easiest, provided that the computer on which the router is set up is the "original owner" you want to clone. For Xiao Lu's family, the dial-up function in his family is always the router, not a certain computer, so he cannot select "Current Management PC" - the MAC of his computer's network card has nothing to do with the one recorded by the operator.

This is where the first rollover occurred. Xiao Lu quickly selected "Use the MAC of the current management PC" and clicked Save, still 691. Because the operator's computer room records the MAC of his old TP-LINK, not the MAC of his laptop's network card. The correct way is to copy the MAC of the old router and fill it in by hand. In the backend of the old TP-LINK, the page "Network Parameters → MAC Address Clone" directly says the current MAC. Copy it and fill it in the clone box of Mercury, save it, click Connect again, and it will be dialed in a dozen seconds.

If the old router has been sold or is broken and you cannot access the backend, there is a remedy.: The Mercury clone page will display "Current MAC", which is Mercury's own factory MAC. ； You can also call the operator's customer service to report your broadband account and ask the computer room to unbind or rebind the new MAC. China Telecom and China Unicom will accept this, but sometimes it will take a few hours for it to take effect. One more word about the two boxes on the Mercury clone page: 「"MAC of this management PC" shows the address of your current computer's network card. "Current MAC" shows the address being used by the router's WAN port. After cloning is successful, you will see that the current MAC has changed from the factory value to the string you filled in. You can check it by entering this page later. The Mercury DNS settings are also close to the advanced parameters of the same WAN port. I wrote down the convenient things in How to set up DNS on Mercury router Inside.

Add one more detail about Tengda: There is a "Factory MAC Restore" button on the cloning page of the new AX12 firmware. If you slide your hand over it, the clone will be in vain and you will have to fill it out again. The old firmware of AC10 has an "Import from old device" option, which can directly detect the upper-level device. What is actually detected is the MAC of the optical modem instead of the old router. In my home, the optical modem dial-up method and the router only sends the address are not applicable. Don't click on it if the name is pleasing to the eye.

The clone location of Tenda router, the new firmware is different from the old AC10 firmware

I have used two Tenda machines. New firmware for AX12: Open browser tendawifi.com or 192.168.0.1 , and you will find the "Internet Settings" page. There is a "MAC Clone" entrance on the right side or at the bottom of the page. In some versions, you have to click "Advanced Features" before you can see it. The firmware of the older AC10 is separated from "System Settings" and "Internet Settings". The clone is hidden in the "Internet Settings → MAC Clone" tab. The name is called MAC Clone without the word "address". It is easy to find the wrong way on the first trip.

The operating logic of Tenda is the same as that of Mercury: Either clone the current computer's MAC or fill it in manually. Also remind me, what you want to clone is the MAC recognized by the operator - most likely the old router, not your current computer. Pay attention to the format when filling it in by hand. There are 6 groups of two-digit hexadecimal, separated by colons or horizontal bars. Generally, copying and pasting directly from the background of the old router is the most stable. It is easy to copy B into 8 and 0 into O when copying by hand.

After filling in and saving, Tenda will prompt you to restart or reconnect the WAN port and let it restart. Then look at the connection status at the top of the "Internet Settings" page, change from "Connecting" to "Connected", get the IP for the WAN port, and it's done. To determine whether the optical modem is in bridge mode, which causes the router to dial up, you can read my other article. How to determine whether the optical modem is in bridge or routing mode , don’t just ignore the fact that you are still stuck on the router dialing in routing mode.

Don’t call it a day after cloning, do two things

Cloning, saving and dialing are successful, but the job is only half done. Xiao Lu's family didn't do the next two steps at that time, and I called them back the next day.

The first thing is to copy the "clone MAC" of the new router and save it. If you change routers in the future, directly enter this MAC into the clone box of the new machine, so that you won't make the same mistake again. I am used to taking screenshots of my broadband account and password and saving them in an encrypted photo album on my phone. This is a waste of time but a life saver. If one day you want to do IP binding for the device, that is another function. The entrance is here How to fix IP for Mercury Tenda router As mentioned here, it is not the same page as clone, so don’t confuse it.

The second thing is to restart the router and check again. Successfully saving the clone page does not mean that it will still take effect after a power outage and restart. Some old firmware has this problem. Unplug it for 10 seconds and then plug it back in to see if it can automatically dial the number. It is really stable when it is dialed back automatically. If it still fails after restarting, go to the clone page to see if the MAC has been restored to the factory value. If it is restored, the firmware is not saved. Upgrade the firmware and try again. I have written the firmware upgrade path for the Mercury version. How to upgrade Mercury router firmware .

Three questions and three answers to put an end to the confusing points

As I write this, I have answered three questions that people around me have asked me.:

Sequential summary: First check the account balance, confirm that the MAC is bound, then go to the advanced parameters of the Internet settings to find a clone, fill in the old router MAC by hand and save it, restart the verification, and finally copy the cloned MAC for record. It took less than 20 minutes for Xiao Lu's family to go from being unable to dial a number to finishing everything, which was much faster than waiting for the installation technician to come to the door. If your Mercury or Tenda has a new machine and you can't dial a number, and the number is 691, follow this sequence and you'll most likely be able to get it back in one go.