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Nighthawk CAX30S LAN Configuration
I have a Netgear Nighthawk CAX30S that I am beginning to configure. In the Attached Devices section, I see a wired device that automatically was assigned an IP address of 192.168.1.2 before I even b...
For what it’s worth, I worked out the source of my trouble: an addled brain…. A large part of my confusion is that my tablet and iPod are in fact using two MAC addresses thanks to a privacy feature called Private Wi-Fi Address, which either is turned on by default and went unnoticed by me, or I turned it on when I first got those two devices and then promptly forgot all about that feature. This means the Attached Devices list is correct, and my “need” for adding the “correct devices” as reserved addresses in the DHCP pool to “force” my router to recognize those devices never existed so I deleted them. My LAN configuration is clean now with everything working as it should--with the possible exception of my brain….
ecolucci wrote:
In the Attached Devices section, I see a wired device that automatically was assigned an IP address of 192.168.1.2 before I even began to configure anything. This address appears to be assigned as a static IP I assume by the router itself since I did not do it. To what device does this address apply?
What else is connected to the router? Your PC?
Why do you think it is a "static" IP address. The modem/router doesn't control those.
It does allow you to make an "Address Reservation" but that is something else.
It is down to the devices you connect to assign their own "fixed" IP addresses. Do you have anything set up like that?
Maybe what you see is a feature of the fact that the CAX30S is a cable modem/router.
While many questions about routers are generic and could be answered anywhere, some things need specialist knowledge.
You might get more help, and find earlier questions and answers specific to your device, in the appropriate section for your hardware. That's probably here:
Cable Modems & Gateways - NETGEAR Communities
You might like to search there for messages related to your problem.
I will ask the Netgear moderator to move your message.
In the meantime you could visit the support pages:
Support | NETGEAR
Feed in your model number and check the documentation for your hardware. Look at the label on the device for the model number.
Check for various troubleshooting tips.
You may have done this already. I can't tell from your message.
I mention it because Netgear stopped supplying printed manuals and CD versions some years ago and people sometimes miss the downloads.
I will try to address your questions in sequence. You write, "What else is connected to the router?" Yes, my computer also was attached at the time, but it was assigned a different IP.
"Why do you think it is a "static" IP address." Because there was nothing else attached initially. All other devices either were off-network or offline (powered off) at the time.
"The modem/router doesn't control those....It is down to the devices you connect to assign their own "fixed" IP addresses." I do know the difference between statically and dynamically assigned IPs. Actually, the devices themselves (computer, smart phone, printer, etc.) do not assign their own IPs; this is something that generally is done manually by a human. The fact that before I configured any such IPs on any of my devices an attached wired device with IP 192.168.1.2 appeared in the list made me "suspicious."
"Maybe what you see is a feature of the fact that the CAX30S is a cable modem/router." This is my suspicion, but I am not certain since previous modem-routers were not configured in this manner. After spending an hour or so searching various posts and threads, I could not locate anything specific to my situation so I started a new topic hoping someone might have the answer. I did check Netgear technical support but was directed to this community, which is my reason for submitting my question(s) here first.
"Some things need specialist knowledge." Yes, I think I might need to speak to a Netgear technical-support specialist. The Netgear CAX manual refers to Ethernet link aggregation as using/requiring static IPs, but link aggregation is something else. That is not what I am addressing, and link aggregation is turned off in my settings in any event.It also is possible that the CAX30S/CAX30 does not support static IPs—unless aggregated—because I since have configured multiple devices with static IPs and notice that the CAX30 assigned numerous dynamic IPs to various wireless devices that are the same as the IPs that I configured statically to some of my wired devices. That is, I now have certain wired and wireless devices using the same IPs on my network, which (obviously) should not happen.
Thank you for trying. I will attempt to locate a specialist at Netgear to call. There must be a way for me to assign static IPs to certain devices and have the CAX router recognize those static IPs so that the router does not assign those same IPs to other devices and create traffic conflicts.
ecolucci wrote:
There must be a way for me to assign static IPs to certain devices and have the CAX router recognize those static IPs so that the router does not assign those same IPs to other devices and create traffic conflicts.
If you assign what you call a "static" IP address to a device, then that IP address will show up in the router as an attached device. (It isn't an exclusive use of the "static" term, but that is often used for your WAN IP address, which is why Netgear uses that label when it talks about the settings from your ISP.)
Giving a device an IP address on your network does not make it invisible to the router. It will add it to your table of devices
I see this all the time for the NAS storage and printers on my network.
I don’t think we are communicating. I am not sure what you are getting at when you refer to my use of the phrase static IP address. I am not using the phrase incorrectly if that is what you are suggesting. In any event, that is not my point.
My point is that I manually am configuring certain of my devices with static IP addresses; I do not want my router to dynamically assign IPs to those certain devices. However, my CAX30 modem-router is not automatically registering these devices as having static IP addresses and dynamically reassigns those same IP addresses to other devices on my network. This creates a conflict whereby multiple devices on my network simultaneously have the same IP address, which should not happen.
My understanding is that when a router is not able automatically to recognize a device having a static IP address, there usually (always in my 30-some-years experience) is a way to force the router to do so. Although I have used many pieces of Netgear equipment in the past including older routers, I am not as familiar with these newer models and their software. So as yet, it has not been evident to me where this is done in the online administrator software.
You wrote earlier, “It does allow you to make an "Address Reservation" but that is something else.” Actually after five phone calls and several hours with multiple Netgear technical-support specialists (I just got off the phone with them), it turns out that is precisely where I am to force my router into recognizing my assigned static IP addresses.
After I logged in, I was instructed to select the Advanced tab, then select Setup in the left navigation menu, and then select the LAN Setup submenu. Once on that page, there is a location near the bottom whereby I can add those devices under Address Reservation. Once added and saved, the router supposedly no longer dynamically will assign those specific IPs to any other of my devices.
I emphasized supposedly above because when I check a different section of the CAX30 router software (Advanced > Administration > Attached Devices) I still see two devices with duplicate IP addresses to the devices listed under Address Reservation. I know they are different devices because they have different MAC addresses. Meanwhile, those same two devices with the “correct” MAC addresses are not listed under Attached Devices. My other devices now listed under Address Reservation correctly appear under Attached Devices; only two do not. So although this appears to be the correct solution to one problem, this solution does not appear to be working entirely as it should.
When I spoke to Netgear tech support, I queried whether this could be a bug in the firmware (I just installed a recently released update last night). I was told they don’t know the reason for this discrepancy but are escalating the problem among their support staff and will get back to me sometime during the next 24-48 hours. Hopefully, they will have a solution. If not, I probably will drop the matter since this already is taking more time to resolve than it should take. If only two/four devices on my LAN have potential traffic conflicts, I think I can live with that….