On Free you put the Freebox in bridge mode and your MikroTik takes over the public IPv4 address by DHCP. There is no VLAN number and there are no credentials. The work is not in the configurator but in the Freebox: as long as it keeps routing, you are behind two routers.
What the preset fills in
Pick Free from the provider list at the top of the WAN / internet section:
- Type DHCP.
- No VLAN id on the WAN port: the field is cleared.
- The MTU field is cleared.
- A comment
Freeon the uplink.
Nothing more. This preset does not turn IPv6 on and leaves your IPv6 settings alone; if IPv6 is already on, only its WAN interface is moved to this uplink.
Putting the Freebox in bridge mode
You do that in Freebox OS, under Paramètres de la Freebox, at Mode réseau, where you select bridge mode. Be aware of what that means: in bridge mode the Freebox no longer does router and Wi-Fi work, so everything that depended on it moves to your MikroTik.
The Freebox restarts after the change. If you then have no address on your WAN port, connect the MikroTik and restart the Freebox once more so the address goes to the new device.
IPv6
For Free we fill in no prefix length, and that is deliberate: a bridged Freebox does not delegate a prefix the way the other providers in the list do. If you want IPv6, go to the IPv6 section and set it up yourself, after checking what your line and your bridged Freebox actually offer. Make it a deliberate choice: on with the right method, or off. Half on is the worst of both.
Television and telephony
Free's TV service and telephony are not in this preset, and we do not state here how they behave behind a bridged Freebox. If you use them, ask Free what is needed before you switch over; it is quite possible that part of it stays tied to the Freebox.
If TV turns out to arrive as multicast over your connection, turn IPTV on in the WAN section and IGMP snooping on the bridge. See Recipe: IPTV.
What you still do yourself
The WAN port. The preset leaves the port that was already set and otherwise takes your model's default WAN port, usually ether1. That is where the cable from the Freebox goes.
Wi-Fi. With the Freebox in bridge mode, your MikroTik provides the Wi-Fi. So fill in SSID, password and country; see Wi-Fi settings.
A fixed address. If your subscription includes a fixed address or block, set the type to Static IP address and fill in the address, gateway and DNS as Free gave them to you.
Checking that it works
/ip dhcp-client printshould readboundon your WAN port./ip address printshows the address you got. If it is a private address, the Freebox is still routing and you are behind double NAT./ip route printshows a default route.- If you set IPv6 up yourself, check with
/ipv6 address printwhether there are addresses on your LAN.
What usually goes wrong
- The Freebox is still in router mode. Internet works, port forwarding and VPN do not. See Port forwarding.
- No address after the change. Restart the Freebox with the MikroTik already connected.
- Wi-Fi is gone. It lived in the Freebox; your MikroTik does it now.
- No IPv6. Expected: the preset does not turn it on.
Never paste the script while you are on Wi-Fi yourself, or through the port that is about to become WAN. Use a cable into a LAN port.
If you got something working on Free that is not described here, IPv6 behind a bridged Freebox for instance, tell us through the feedback form.
Read on: Provider presets, WAN and internet and Example: replacing the provider's router.