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How do I Reset Orbi as Access Point
The root issue is that I have not been able to connect to my wireless printer from my windows 10 desktop for a several weeks. My destop is having connection issues with the devices attached to the Orbi. I can log directly into the Orbi through the app and see the devices but they don't seem to be visible from the desktop or the ATT router. The devices attached to the Orbi can interact with each other and are able to access the internet.
I just replaced the ATT router thinking that was the problem. My configuration is an ATT router is connected to the internet withare 4 ethernet connections to it including one to the desktop and one to the Orbi. The desktop and the Orbi are connected to the same the home network.
What makes me think the desktop can't see the Orbi is that it can't detect the wireless printer attached to the Orbi and if I type the Orbi addess (http://192.168.1.1 or 10.etc) into a browser, it times out.
I tried following the directions on the netgear site to resetup the Orbi as a access point. The netgear site instructs you to go to advance settings in the app but I don't see that option in the netgear orbi app. Obviously I can't change it from the desktop since it can't see the Orbi in its browsers.
Do I have any options others than to reset the orbi back to factory settings?
By the way, its disappointing that I can't log a online support case. Netgear used to let you do that even if the inital support period ended.
I reset the Orbi to be an access point. I temporarily lost access to the printer and music server but restarting the Orbi and the PC fixed that.
(It looked like the Orbi automatically restarted when the change was made, but apparently that was not the case.)
We will see if the issue with internet access re-occurs again. Maybe this has solved the problem. Thanks for all your advice. (This is better than waiting days for a response from Netgear.) I will let you know tomorrow if this solution worked.
13 Replies
Orbi can't be changed to access point mode from the app. It needs to be done from the browser.
If the orbi isn't in AP mode right now, simply disconnect the orbi from the att router, leave the pc connected to orbi, and simple reboot both. The pc should pull an ip address from orbi and you should be able to log into it using that. then switch it to AP mode and reconnect it to the att device.
I tried rewiring the ethernet cables as you suggested and that did the trick. I plugged the desktop into the Orbi and left the Orbi connected into the wired router and was then able to access both the Orbi wireless devices and the internet with the desktop.
For some reason, the devices connected to the back of the ATT router can acess the internet but not each other. There must be either a firewall preventing that or a network needs to be setup in windows. Good luck trying to get that information from AT&T. If the automated answering system does not hang up on you (it uses covid-19 as the excuse) you end up speaking to a tech after waiting an hour that does not know what to do because it's not in his script. It was an ATT tech that had me move my ethernet connections from an ethernet switch to the back of the router after which I lost the ethernet connection to the Orbi.
It reminds me of the running joke on John Oliver where people in developing countries feel sorry for us because we have ATT.
If any one knows who to get the ethernet devices plugged into the router to talk to each other, it would be helpful.
If you get it setup and wired properly:
ATT modem\router-----orbi (ap mode)---Devices
|
|
Devices
then reboot the (not reset) the whole network and devices. This will ensure they're all on the same subnet.
Also, make sure all your windows devices are setup on a "private" connection and not set to "public"
that should allow them to "see" each other.
