iPhone and PPPoE

do you have the latest 2.2 update?

Your description mixes a lot of things together that should not be related.

First, if you have a router that is doing PPPoE, then the router should have a username/pwd for your ISP and your router should connect automatically. Anything behind the router (in your home) that gets on the network will use the router, and does not need it's own PPPoE setttings.

Your mac, should use DHCP information handed out by the router. Same with your iPhone.

I have this exact setup myself. I have windows and macs behind a PPPoE DSL connection. It is up all the time. The machines (windows, mac, iphone) get DHCP from the router and connect fine.

It sounds like you have everything close to correct, although I am not sure how your mac could use PPPoE if it is going through your router.

One place that things tend to not work right is with DNS. The router should get DNS settings when it connects and pass those to its DHCP clients. If your iPhone can connect to the router, then WPA is correct. Check DNS. Go to your desktop that works and ping google, yahoo, or something so that you can get an IP address. Enter that into the iPhone browser while on Wifi. If the site comes up, then your router is not passing DNS info. There are settings for the router to do DNS or to pass DNS.

Your ISP is wrong on the PPPoE stuff regarding macs. They network just like windows machines. Nothing to do with the OS.

Hello Causey100,

There are a few things that may be causing your issue. For the most part, these will have to be addressed by your Internet Service Provider (ISP).

When you mention that you have your Network Preferences on the iMac setup to use PPPoE, it tells me that your modem/WiFi router is not set up to provide DHCP addresses to the client computers and devices on your "internal" WiFi network.

This type of setup is generally referred to as having the modem/router set up in "bridge mode." which is not really workable if you have more than one client computer or device on your internal WiFi network.

Most combination modem/WiFi routers can be thought of as two separate network devices inside one box:
The WAN or Wide Area Network or Modem section (the part that connects to your Internet Service Provider and the Internet)
The LAN or Local Area Network or Router section (the part that connects to the interior of your location and your computers and iPhone).

In order for this network to support multiple clients, the modem/router has to be setup for NAT or Network Address Translation. NAT allows multiple clients/devices inside your network to connect to your ISP using one PPPoE address.

The modem portion would be setup using PPPoE settings and the router/WiFi network should be setup to distribute IP Addresses to your internal network using DHCP.

Some ISP's don't support using NAT on their modem/routers, so you'll have to check with your own ISP to see if they can assist you in configuring the router.

You may find portions of this article helpful:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1714


Hope that helps,
Charles H.