Nighthawk AC3200 and Nighthawk AC1900:

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jimgeorge28 wrote:

I have been using my AC3200 with grate sucess.  But, the signal strength in my familyroom is weak.  As I have a bright house TV cable access avaialbe in the family room, I purchased the AC1900 Model C6900 Cable modem wifi router.  I have yet to install or set up the AC1900.

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You didn't need to buy a router with a cable modem.  Presumably, you already have a cable modem connected to your AC3200.  A second cable modem doesn't serve any purpose and is a waste of money.  You might want to return it for something without the cable modem.  Get either a router or a range extender.  Read on to decide which to get.

I would like to know if these two wifi systems can be "joined" so to work together or do I just have to set the AC1900 up as a totally seperate wifi system?  I read a support artical about "AP" access port mode - is this the direction I need to go? 

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Yes, AP mode is preferred.  It, however, requires a wired connection back to your AC3200.  This can be, in order of best performance/reliability to worst, Ethernet, MoCA over coax or Powerline.  If a wired connection is not possible, then you'll need a range extender instead of an AP.

If I am using the AC3200 as the main unit and WIFI system (with it's Netgear Genie set up and control), how do I set up the AC1900 as an Acess Point or in laymens terms, as a range extender? 

 

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By convention, an Access Point uses a wired connection back to the main router while a range extender is completely wireless.  Somewhat confusingly, some range extenders have a setting that enable them to be used as Access Points.

Any router can be used as an Access Point.  Some have a simple setting to enable it.  Those that don't can still be set up as an Access Point with a little more work by disabling the DHCP server, setting an appropriate static IP address and connecting one of its LAN ports to the network (i.e. the WAN is unused).  A range extender with support for Access Point mode will also have a simple setting to enable it.  On a few models, the setting is controlled by a physical switch.

To set up a range extender, follow the instructions, which will walk you through the process of joining the extender to your existing Wi-Fi network.  Most extenders will broadcast a new Wi-Fi network, but you may be able to change it to use the same name and password as you existing network to make things simpler.

Does my current Netgear Genie software on the computer connected to the AC3200 reconize and or control the AC1900 once I plug the AC1900 in and connect it to the TV cable? Or, do I need to do the set up on the AC1900 with another (portable) computer (my lap top) to set up the AC1900?  If so, then how do i get the Net Gear Genie software on my main computer to "see" and control the AC1900?

I don't use the Netgear Genie software, so I can't tell you if it can manage more than one Netgear device.