How to use SmartLink and a Flex-6600M connected to a PACE 5268AC gateway?

W4AFK Bruno · May 23

"CoPilot AI" says that a Flex-6600M cannot be setup for SmartLink when connected to a PACE 5268AC fiber gateway (1 Gbps U/D fiber here at home)

It says that I need to install a (low cost) router, then configure the Flex and the router to port forward 4993 and 4994, then tell the PACE to place that router in DMZ+

I'd like to hear back from anyone who has experience with this setup and fiber gateway.

Note that this radio will NOT remain in my home but will be used at a remote site to replace a 6400 being sent for repair. I confirgured the radio at home BUT encountered this problem after I registered SmartLink. Registration is confirmed but 4993 and 4994 are not forwarded, so no SmartLink (test comes back RED).

If push comes to shove, I can assume that all is OK for the remote site although I'd hate having to head up to the mountain site (5600 feet level) to find our it doesn't work. This being said, as the current 6400 works fine, my assumption is 99% certain (never say "100%" LOL) that this 6600M will also work. At the mountain site we do NOT use UPnP but manually forward for security reasons

Mike-VA3MW · May 26

My thought, based on this post and your previous is that uPNP is not turned on. Do, I asked Claude to dig into it. You need to confirm that uPNP does or does not work on your router.

We do sell a service if you want us to configure it. In either case, open a support ticket.

Good research gathered. Here's a clear breakdown of what's actually true vs. what CoPilot got wrong, and your CGNAT question:

Is what CoPilot said true?

Partially, but it's misleading. The core problem is real and well-documented, but the framing is wrong.

What's actually true about the PACE 5268AC:

The 5268AC does not support UPnP. This is confirmed across multiple sources. Since SmartLink's automatic port configuration relies on UPnP, UPnP will fail on the 5268AC, but manual port forwarding should work if you configure the ports correctly on both the router side and within SmartLink setup. PureVPN FlexRadio Community

Proof from our own community: At least one user on AT&T uVerse with a 5268AC confirmed SmartLink automatic gives a red light (consistent with no UPnP), but was ultimately successful after manually configuring the gateway. FlexRadio Community

So CoPilot's claim that it "cannot be setup for SmartLink" is wrong. It can work, it just requires manual port forwarding rather than UPnP auto-configuration.

The DMZ+ approach CoPilot suggested (add a secondary router, put it in DMZ+) is one valid workaround, but it's not the only option. Direct manual port forwarding on the 5268AC itself is also documented as working.

Could the customer be on CGNAT?

Possibly, but AT&T fiber is less likely than AT&T mobile. AT&T uses CGNAT for both mobile and fixed broadband services, but it's not universal on their fiber product. PureVPN

The easy way to check is whether the WAN IP on the gateway starts with 100.x.x.x, which would indicate AT&T is using CGNAT. If his WAN IP is a real routable address (not in the 100.64.0.0/10 range), CGNAT is not the issue. PureVPN

That said, the customer himself seems to suspect it's not CGNAT, since he notes his remote mountain site with manual port forwarding works fine for the existing 6400, and assumes the 6600M will work the same way there. The problem he's experiencing at home is almost certainly just the UPnP issue on the 5268AC, not CGNAT.

Bottom line for a reply:

The radio can work with SmartLink on that gateway. He needs to configure SmartLink for manual port forwarding (not automatic/UPnP), forward 4993/UDP and 4994/TCP on the 5268AC pointing to the radio's static LAN IP, and make sure the SmartLink setup in SmartSDR has the manual ports entered. Before going up the mountain, he should verify his home WAN IP doesn't start with 100.x to rule out CGNAT.

How to use SmartLink and a Flex-6600M connected to a PACE 5268AC gateway?

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