Nighthawk M5 Ethernet port / data offloading

Question

There's so little documentation about this that I don't can't figure out the best way to phrase my question.

If you plug the M5 / MR5200 into a wired switch with it's own Internet access, will the M5 act as an access point?

If so... What happens if you wire two M5s together? Could one act as the Internet gateway, and the other as an AP?

StephenB · Answer

rolkergiv wrote:
If you plug the M5 / MR5200 into a wired switch with it's own Internet access, will the M5 act as an access point?&nbsp;

If you are asking whether the MR5200 has an AP mode, then the the answer is no.&nbsp; It only functions as a mobile router.

rolkergiv · Answer

Then what does the Offload Data function actually do?

StephenB · Answer

rolkergiv wrote:
Then what does the Offload Data function actually do?

&nbsp;
Thx for following up, your "access point" vocabulary confused me some.
&nbsp;
Per the manual:

https://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/MR5100/MR5100_MR5200_UM_EN.pdf

The mobile router can use a wired Internet connection with automatic failover supportso that you can connect the mobile router to an existing DSL, cable, or fiber-opticmodem. If the wired Internet connection goes down, the mobile router can automaticallyand seamlessly switch overto the backup Internet connection overthe mobile broadbandnetwork for continuous connectivity.
Always-on WiFi will route all traffic over the Ethernet WAN. If the Ethernet connectionfails, the device automatically switches to LTE
&nbsp;
Note that a modem (not a switch or router) is being connected to the M5.&nbsp; The M5 is always acting as the router - the route it uses for internet traffic is what is changing.&nbsp; This is not quite the same as an AP (which performs no routing functions).
&nbsp;
I don't know exactly what would happen if you connected the LAN port to another router that had its own set of clients (either directly or via a switch).&nbsp; But I doubt it would work properly.&nbsp;&nbsp;

rolkergiv · Answer

With no instruction to place a connected modem in bridged mode (and the ubiquity of multi-function ISP "modems"), I suspect that most people would end up with an additional subnet pointing to their existing gateway. That said, there's at least one review where the device is connected to the WAN port of a Draytek brand router (no details provided) to provide fail-over connectivity - whether that's a model with multiple WAN ports, getting unmetered Internet through another device, or one with DSL or other modem capabilities included, who knows.&nbsp;In the end, barring any issues with double-NAT or such it doesn't matter how it works as long as the connected clients can reach the Internet... I'll give it a try soon. The hope was that we could have one in a location with a strong cell signal, connected by Ethernet to a second device serving a room where cell reception is poor.

StephenB · Answer

rolkergiv wrote:
I suspect that most people would end up with an additional subnet pointing to their existing gateway.

If the M5 ethernet port is functioning as its WAN port (LTE down), then you'd expect to work as a normal double-route configuration.&nbsp; All clients (and the M5 WAN port) would get their IP address from the other router, and anything connected to the M5 wifi would get their IP address from the M5.&nbsp; So two clean subnets.
&nbsp;
What is perhaps under-documented is what happens when the LTE is up.&nbsp; One would hope that the WAN port would simply be ignored, and not switch to a LAN port.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Forum Discussion

Nighthawk M5 Ethernet port / data offloading

5 Replies