Setting Up Your New Router with Hawaiian Telcom

The short version

Right now, plugging the new router straight into the ONT doesn't work on its own. That means Hawaiian Telcom needs to give you a username and password for the connection, and possibly one more code called a "VLAN ID."

There's also a wrinkle: since TV service is bundled in, Hawaiian Telcom's own rules say their box is required to make TV work. That doesn't mean this is impossible, it just means you need to ask about it directly on the phone call in Step 1 below.

Step 1: Call Hawaiian Telcom

Call (808) 643-3456. Tell them you want to use your own router instead of renting theirs.

• If the first person you talk to doesn't know, ask to be transferred to someone who handles networking, not just billing or general support.
• Write down whatever they give you: a username, a password, and possibly a short number called a VLAN ID.
• If they say TV won't work with your own router, ask if there's a way to keep their box just for the TV boxes while your new router handles the internet. If that's not possible, the choice becomes: keep TV and their box, or drop TV and switch fully to your own router.

Step 2: If they won't give you the info over the phone

Sometimes you can find this information yourself, straight from the current Hawaiian Telcom box, before it gets unplugged.

1. Look at the current router/box for a small sticker. It usually has a web address (like 192.168.1.1) and a password printed on it.
2. Type that address into a web browser and log in using the password on the sticker.
3. Look for a menu that says something like "Internet Settings" or "WAN Settings."
4. There should be a username and password there for the connection. The password might show up as dots instead of letters, that's normal, it's just hidden for privacy.
5. If you get stuck unhiding the password, that's a good moment to call me and I'll walk through it with you on a screen share.

This only works if there are two separate boxes (one from the fiber into a small box, then a separate router box). If it's all one unit, skip this and go back to asking Hawaiian Telcom on the phone.

Step 3: Set up the new router

1. Plug an ethernet cable from the ONT into the port on the new router labeled WAN or Internet.
2. Open the UniFi app on your phone or computer.
3. Find the internet/WAN settings and change the connection type to PPPoE.
4. Type in the username and password from Step 1 or 2.
5. If you were given a VLAN ID, there's a separate field for that, enter it there too.
6. Save it, and give it a minute. If it worked, you should see it show a connection and get an internet address.

If it doesn't connect: double check you typed the password exactly right (it's easy to misread a letter), and try it once with the VLAN ID and once without, in case you're not sure if it's needed.

Why this is even necessary

Hawaiian Telcom's official policy actually does allow using your own router for internet, no extra charge for doing it. Here's the exact wording, if it helps to read to a support rep who pushes back:

In plain terms: internet-only is fine to swap. TV bundled in is where it gets complicated, and worth asking about directly rather than assuming.

Where this information came from

• Hawaiian Telcom's own official rate and terms page (checked and working as of this writing): hawaiiantel.com/about-us/terms-conditions/standard-rates-for-hawaiian-telcom-services
• A public forum where other Hawaiian Telcom fiber customers describe using their own router (checked and working as of this writing): punaweb.org/forum/showthread.php?tid=22128

Nobody online has posted the exact username/password format or VLAN number Hawaiian Telcom uses, that's just not public information. That's the whole reason for Steps 1 and 2 above.