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Bridge Mode for a printer
I have an RAX50 connected to my modem (just bought - it's great) and my older R7000 that I just flipped to bridge mode. I also have an EAX15 because I have an old house with plaster and concrete walls and we didn't get wifi in the basement without it.
Network off the RAX50 is awesome, however now that I have an "extra" router in the R7000, I'd like to use that as wifi receiver for an old HP CP1518ni I inherited a decade ago. I flipped the R7000 to bridge mode and it seems perfectly happy, but:
1. When i put in the "home" IP into a computer wired into the R7000, I get the GUI for the RAX50 (so it's talking to the host router) - I understand this is normal for routers in bridge mode and if I need to change settings on the R7000 I have to reset the R7000
2. When plugged in (via ethernet) to the R7000, I do NOT have internet. It seems like the R7000 is not relaying the network, although (again) it's talking to the R7000
3. The printer does not appear in the devices list of the RAX50 GUI
4. The R7000 does NOT appear in the "network map" of the Nighthawk map (though the EAX 15 does)
I had thought bridge mode on the R7000 was for exactly this purpose - receiving the wifi and passing it to its ethernet-connected clients. What am I missing/doing wrong/didn't configure correctly?
Did you use Dynamic or Static IP address configuration for Wireless bridge mode? If Dynamic, then the R7000s IP address will change to something that the RAX router will give it. It should appear in the RAX connected devices list as a NETGEAR devices or may or should show up as maybe the R7000. However I have seen some routers in bridge mode that do not though they are passing internet traffic thru to connected devices behind the bridged router.
I recommend changing to a static IP address configuration, set a IP address of 192.168.1.70. You'll need to change the RAX50 default DHCP IP address pool range to .100 to .200. So that that static IP addrss can be used outside of the default IP address pool range. Then once thats configured, then you can access the R7000 web page while in wireless bridge mode.
Also be sure to not use any mixed security mode WPA2 and WPA3. Older routers like the R7000, R7800, and R9000 won't work in wireless bridge mode if WPA3 mode is present on the signal.
What FW version is loaded on the R7000?
I've noticed that most current FW is not stable for the R7000 in wireless bridge mode. Seem to fail soon after being connected. Older versions of FW work better.
4 Replies
Did you use Dynamic or Static IP address configuration for Wireless bridge mode? If Dynamic, then the R7000s IP address will change to something that the RAX router will give it. It should appear in the RAX connected devices list as a NETGEAR devices or may or should show up as maybe the R7000. However I have seen some routers in bridge mode that do not though they are passing internet traffic thru to connected devices behind the bridged router.
I recommend changing to a static IP address configuration, set a IP address of 192.168.1.70. You'll need to change the RAX50 default DHCP IP address pool range to .100 to .200. So that that static IP addrss can be used outside of the default IP address pool range. Then once thats configured, then you can access the R7000 web page while in wireless bridge mode.
Also be sure to not use any mixed security mode WPA2 and WPA3. Older routers like the R7000, R7800, and R9000 won't work in wireless bridge mode if WPA3 mode is present on the signal.
What FW version is loaded on the R7000?
I've noticed that most current FW is not stable for the R7000 in wireless bridge mode. Seem to fail soon after being connected. Older versions of FW work better.
#baller
Reconfigured the R7000 using static IP, reserved the IP on the RAX50 and it now appears in the device list and I can print to the static and reserved IP address of my printer. Thank you!
Glad you got it working. Be sure to save off a back up configuration to file for safe keeping. Saves time if a reset is needed.
https://kb.netgear.com/24231/How-do-I-back-up-the-router-configuration-settings-on-my-Nighthawk-router
Enjoy. 📡
What is the printer and how is it connected?
USB? Wifi? LAN?
Google isn't that helpful when you throw "HP CP1518ni" at it. Some of these things offer several interfaces.
The usual way to fix wifi printers is to find the printer maker's utility, the software that runs on your operating system. Then use that to connect the printer to the wifi.
The router just broadcasts wifi. It is then down to the printer to play ball. There isn't much that you can do on a router, beyond fixing it to a particular IP address, that affects what the printer gets up to.
Where possible, using the WPS feature can simplify things.
