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Nighthawk AX4 in AP mode connect to XR300
I hope this is the correct place to post this. I have a XR300 router. I have connected it with a LAN cable to AX4 router that I setup in AP mode. The XR300 will not connect to the AX4 router. (My old setup was a spectrum router with AX4 in AP mode. SSID and passwords are the exact same and it works great.) When I switch out to the XR300 as my main router the LAN light on the XR300 blinks red every 5 or so seconds on the port I have connected the AX4. When I put my old spectrum router back in place the AX4 router works great. The cable distance is about 100 feet. I brought the AX4 router next to the XR300 and connected it with a 6 foot cord and the LAN light light up white and seem to have connected. Took it back to my outside building and connected it the light went back to red and the AX4 has no access.
I performed a factory reset on AX4 and the XR300. Set AX4 backup as AP and XR300 as main router and the AX4 still did not work. The SSID's and passwords are exactly the same. Could this be a distance issue for the XR300? Cat5e cable has a limit of about 300 feet but it works great with my spectrum router setup as my main router. The XR300 is set to DHCP and everything else seems to work just fine when except I can't get it to see the AX4.
Thanks for any help
I might look at going with a wireless solution because the cable will be very hard to replace.
How much speed do you actually need in this building? How many people are using the internet there at the same time? 100 mbps is slow for copying really large files, but it is ok for web browsing, email, wifi calling, and even video conferencing and streaming. So one option is to just live with fast ethernet speeds.
On replacing the cable - It might be easier to run a new cable (perhaps in another conduit) than to replace the old one. Though that depends on what else is in the conduit. If it is only the one cable, then it might be possible to pull a new cable through it (attaching a thinner nylon cord to the existing cable, pulling the existing cable out - leaving the cord in the conduit, and then pulling the new cable using the nylon cord). There are several youtube videos on this topic that you could explore. Another option (requiring ethernet transceivers on both ends) would be to pull fiber, which is thinner.
As far as wireless goes - there are point-to-point wifi solutions that can be used as a substitute for the cable (one unit on each building, with line-of-sight between them). I doubt you'll get gigabit speed, but you likely can get something faster than 100 mbps.
19 Replies
The WiFi SSID is not material to the discussion. There is no harm in having WiFi routers that are 100ft apart having the same WiFi credentials (and certainly makes it easier to move a mobile device between them). As long as you are aware that they remain separate WiFi routers. A mobile device will not actually roam between them as it would between units of a mesh WiFi system. What will happen is that performance when connected to one router will drop (and drop) until finally the device "gives up". Drops the WiFi connection as unusable. and begins searching for a suitable WiFi connection.
When the Spectrum router is replaced by the XR300, does the XR300 "work"? i.e.
- The XR300 reports having internet access.
- User devices connected to the XR300 function correctly?
Interesting that the LED on LAN ports blinking red every 5 seconds is not a condition shown in the R300 user manual:
100 ft. of Cat5e Ethernet cable is adequate for this application, provided that the cables are terminated correctly. As the problem is described, it appears that "something changes" when the AX4 is connected to the Spectrum router or the XR300 router. Does this 100ft Ethernet cable run directly from one router to the other, or are there any patch cables or switches involved?
The Xr300 works and has internet connection. All the wireless devices attach and work fine. I have issues seeing color so I am going to assume the blinking light is amber and not red as I said before. The cable goes from XR300 port #4 direct to port 4 on the AX4. It is also the same cable the I use to connect the spectrum router to the AX4.
It has to be a LAN port on the XR to the internet port on the AX then it will work
The cable goes from XR300 port #4 direct to port 4 on the AX4.
If the AX4 is in AP mode, then normally you'd connect the cable between an XR300 LAN and the AX4 WAN port.
Yes, it is connected from XR300 LAN port 4 to AX4 (in AP Mode) LAN port 4. I have tried different ports. I have not connected it the WAN ports because I am positive that will not work.
I don't know which X4 model you have
There are several models which include AX4 as part of the description.
AX4:RX35 firmware Ver: 1.0.4.102_1.0.1 Hardware Ver R1.05
RAX35, user manual page 90:
I connected the main XR300 router from local ethernet port #1 to the RAX35 router (in AP mode) to the yellow port (WAN). Still do not get a connection. the XR300 lights that show which LAN ports are active is still blinking amber every 5 seconds.
Not sure is helpful but the other thing I noticed last night is when I am in the device manager on the XR300 it shows a network diagram of what is connected. I see a symbol that says "Offline". I assume it is my RAX35 because it shows that my garage cameras and other things are connected to it. When I select my camera it gives me the MAC address however it does not have an IP address. I assume the "offline device" showing in the diagram is my RAX35 in AP mode. If I disconnect the data cable from the XR300 that goes to the RAX35 the "offline device" still shows up in the network diagram with all of my wireless equipment connected to it.
Thanks for helping with this issue.
I connected the main XR300 router from local ethernet port #1 to the RAX35 router (in AP mode) to the yellow port (WAN). Still do not get a connection. the XR300 lights that show which LAN ports are active is still blinking amber every 5 seconds.
If you connect a PC to one of the RAX35 LAN ports, can you still reach its web admin page?
How about when connecting to its wifi?
I assume it is my RAX35 because it shows that my garage cameras and other things are connected to it.
Does the MAC address for that device match the one that is printed on the RAX35 label?
There are two "standards" for RJ45 connectors: T568A and T568B. Can you verify that the cable pairs are wired the same way on both ends? (A vs B)
While ordinary cable testers can detect when a pair of wires is not connected, there are some (very expensive) cable testers that can report the distance of a fault from the tester.
- If it appears that the fault appears to be as far from the tester as the cable is long (or actually at the tester location), that might be helpful to know.
- It might be entertaining to call someone who installs Ethernet cable commercially and ask them how much they would charge to look at the cable with a sophisticated tester.
Both sides of the cable are T568A standard. I know things like fluke meters can detect breaks in cables and give a general distance. I might look at going with a wireless solution because the cable will be very hard to replace.
Thank you to everyone for the help. I have tried to use a small hub to step down from 1 gigabit to 100MB and that did not work so I am going to attempt a line of sight wireless connection. The building is metal so I am not sure how well this will work, but it is my only option for now. If the line of site fails to provide enough bandwidth I will have to wait until I can replace the cable which will not be easy or cheap. If I replace the cable I plan on using gel filled CAT 6 and I will have to do some digging and hope I can use the old cable to pull the new cable through the underground conduit. If for some reason the underground conduit has collapsed I will have to install a new conduit.
Thanks again everyone for the assistance.
