RAX70 on Vodafone full fibre

Question

Hi everyone,&nbsp;I have had Netgear routers before and they were great, so having paid for the 910Mbit Fibre to Property Vodafone package, I ordered a Netgear AX6600 6E router, specifically for the Wifi beam-forming capability. The fibre was installed last Thursday and I connected the Vodafone router to the POS wall unit. Everything is fine, moderate capability and reasonable speeds around 580Mbit down, 135Mbit up.&nbsp;So, I connected the AX6600 via the Nighthawk app, as directed by Netgear - nothing. The Internet LED stays amber throughout and no internet. Obviously I can connect phone, laptops and my work (from home full time) PC via wifi and also via ethernet, but no internet at all. I spent 2.5hrs on Netgear Support through Friday morning, missing meetings etc, but with firmly crossed fingers. Still nothing. We tried connecting via the Vodafone router, direct into the POS box, installing via the app, inputting the ISP provided user and passwords, but nothing.I packed the router up and went through Amazon returns on Friday afternoon (who were brilliant) and a second new AX6600 was delivered on Saturday morning. Went through the same rigmarole as advised by Netgear Support - inputting everything manually, then out of increasing frustration using the Nighthawk app instructions again, but still no green Internet at all.&nbsp;Has ANYONE been successful with setting up an AX6600 on Vodafone....how did you manage it? Hopefully I won't be returning this router and buying an Asus or Linksys instead.

michaelkenward · Answer

MarkETGP&nbsp;wrote:
Indeed I have.
I have tried connecting the Netgear AX6600 via the working Vodafone router, as directed by the Nighthawk app. I can connect to the router, but it has no internet.

Bad idea. Router after router is a recipe for chaos.
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Two routers on your network can cause headaches. For example, you can end up with local address problems. Among other things, the other router can misdirect addresses that the Netgear router usually handles, such as routerlogin.net or the usual IP address for a router, 192.168.1.1.This explains some of the other drawbacks.What is Double NAT? | Answer | NETGEAR SupportIf you want to try use two routers you should set up the second router as a wifi access point.
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How do I change my NETGEAR router to AP mode? | Answer | NETGEAR Support
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Netgear advises this, as does just about every site you will visit.But that has its own drawbacks:Disabled Features on the Router when set to AP Mode | Answer | NETGEAR SupportFrom your point of view, you will still be able to use the router's WiFi if the RAX70 is an AP mode.
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Without a working internet connection, I can't update the firmware from v1.0.3.92 to the latest v1.0.13.128, but I wouldn't think this is stopping the router from working.
You do seem to be getting some duff advice from the people you talk to.
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It is a straightforward job to update the firmware on a router without an Internet link to that router.
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Use the Internet connection you are on now to download the firmware and update your device manually. Experienced users always use that approach because it is safer and more reliable than any of the "automated" processes.
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How do I manually upgrade firmware to my NETGEAR router? | Answer | NETGEAR Support
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As a PC builder, I am sure that you have done the same thing when updating the BIOS. Same approach. Download and update from the binary file.

michaelkenward · Answer

MarkETGP&nbsp;wrote:
The fibre was installed last Thursday and I connected the Vodafone router to the POS wall unit. Everything is fine, moderate capability and reasonable speeds around 580Mbit down, 135Mbit up.&nbsp;
So, I connected the AX6600 via the Nighthawk app, as directed by Netgear - nothing.

What layout did you end up with after that?
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Did you remove the Vodafone router and replace it with the RAX70?
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MarkETGP · Answer

Hi,To be honest, I have a business to run and in total so far, I have spent about 8fruitless hours trying to get these AX6600 routers to work. They simply aren't connecting to the internet either direct or through a working Vodafone router, so I'm ready to give up.I did try Netgear Support again yesterday - was asked to hold a minute whilst I was directed to the correct support technicians, but after over an hour of listening to hold music, my phone battery died. I haven't recerived the promised call back and can't get through to support this morning, so I'm not terribly impressed tbh.

michaelkenward · Answer

MarkETGP&nbsp;wrote:
Hi,
To be honest, I have a business to run and in total so far, I have spent about 8fruitless hours trying to get these AX6...

Me too, but if you can't answer a few basic questions then you probably should return this thing and get your money back. This place is made up of unpaid volunteers who have seen a lot of questions rushing by, so they know where to look for problems, and what questions to ask.
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There are just too many variables in there that Netgear's support people aren't likely to have encountered them all, especially when t comes to Vodafone.
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Did you find time to try this?
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Search - NETGEAR Communities – vodafone

MarkETGP · Answer

Indeed I have.I have tried connecting the Netgear AX6600 via the working Vodafone router, as directed by the Nighthawk app. I can connect to the router, but it has no internet.I have connected the router directly to the internal fibre POS box. Again, the router fires up its wifi, but no internet.I connected a laptop via ethernet, used routerlogin.net and also the direct IP address, but again, even when inserting the ISP user and password - as instructed by Netgear support. The wifi connection is fine, but no internet.Without a working internet connection, I can't update the firmware from v1.0.3.92 to the latest v1.0.13.128, but I wouldn't think this is stopping the router from working. Vodafone support have been helpful in providing me with the user and password, but as the Nighthawk is a third party router, are unable/unwilling to help further. I have been building PC's for over 30yrs and wanted to connect wirelessly to my 'work at home' PC using the wifi 6 beam forming - hence the Nighthawk purchase. But is neither Netgear or Vodafone can resolve the non-connection, then I will reluctantly need to buy an alterative router that will work.

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RAX70 on Vodafone full fibre

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