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Nighthawk router in AP mode
Hi
I want to put my Nighthawk mesh router in Access Point (AP) mode so that network connected devices will be in the same IP address range of the internet connected device (I have a Netgear Nighthawk portable wifi6 device that provides internet via a sim card and the mesh router is connected to it with an ethernet cable).
In mesh mode I am not allowed to have the same IP address range as my internet device for some reason.
It needs to to be in the same IP address range because I want to connect a NAS device to the mesh router with an ethernet cable but the NAS will not work unless it is on exactly the same IP address range as the internet device.
I can get the NAS to work if i plug it directly into the ethernet port of the Netgear Nighthawk portable wifi6 because then the NAS is in the same IP range. However if I do that I cannot use the mesh router and its satellite.
My questions are:
1. If I put the mesh router in AP mode will the satellite still work? Will the satellite also be a wireless AP that connects to the mesh router in AP mode and will that mesh routing between the router and satellite operate as a mesh network?
2. Would I be better off putting my Netgear Nighthawk portable wifi6 in bridge mode? Is that possible with a Netgear Nighthawk portable wifi device?
Any advice appreciated. Thanks.
In ap mode, the satellites will still function fine. I use it all the time. Don't worry about that.
I would put the hotspot in passthrough mode. I'm willing to place money on whatever mesh system you have (you don't say) has a better processor than the hotspot. the hotspot is going to be power limited and heat limited versus the mesh system will usually have a decent heatsink and active power to dissipate heat. That'd be the router I'd go.
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In ap mode, the satellites will still function fine. I use it all the time. Don't worry about that.
I would put the hotspot in passthrough mode. I'm willing to place money on whatever mesh system you have (you don't say) has a better processor than the hotspot. the hotspot is going to be power limited and heat limited versus the mesh system will usually have a decent heatsink and active power to dissipate heat. That'd be the router I'd go.
Brilliant! Thank you so much
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I have a Netgear Nighthawk M6 (3 of them) and I also have a Netgear Nighthawk M5. These are portable internet devices that connect wirelessly to the internet negating the need for an in the wall DSL connection.
I have noted that the M6 seems to run hotter than the M5 and I suspect that is because the M5 is wifi5 whereas the M6 is wifi6.
So I assume using passthrough will disable the wifi on the M6 and that will reduce heating on the M6 (ditto for the M5 too), Can I also assume that the IP address range will only be one range? I think that is what you mean by "passthrough". So as long as the NAS only sees one IP address range it will connect,
If this works passthrough will solve the IP address issue (without passthrough the M6 has its own IP address range and the Mesh as its own IP address range and the NAS device does not like that),
You are spot on about the M5/M6 overheating in my opinion. I was disappointed that the M5/M6 devices were overheating, I even attached after market mobile phone fans to the outside but this caused condensation inside the unit and the fan was noisy so I gave up with that idea.
I run the M5/M6 devices plugged into the USB C charger all the time 24/7 and have pulled out the battery to save it from burning out needlessly.
The Netgear designers did not anticipate that people like me prefer a portable wifi internet connection as opposed to an in the wall DSL, If they knew I would use the M5/M6 as a total solution they would have designed a decent heat sink as you have noted. This would make the unit bigger but that is how the next generation of Netgear Nighthawk Mn should be designed, Why use a DSL when you can have portable wifi, especially when 5G is in the cards.
Having portable wifi solves so many problems for me because I need wifi in 4 different addresses and I want to take my wifi with me when I travel too. I think that the days of in the wall DSL are numbered. Even if the in the wall DSL survives new tech for me it is not as convenient as wireless and portable internet.
I will try passthrough and test that it solves the IP address range problem (if I get only one IP range the NAS will be able to connect) and I will also test to see if the Netgear Nighthawk M5/M6 units run cooler which I expect they will if they are not transmitting LAN wifi. So I wont take your bet because I think you are right on the money.
Give me a few weeks and I will post back my test results to confirm.
Thanks again 🙂
read detailed information with concise instructions about M6 Passthrough carefully in the M6 User Manual (p51)
these instructions explain everything you need to know to enable or disable Ethernet via the Roaming Data setup page.
you'll be quizzed on it later.
"Brilliant!"
