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Can't Connect to NetGear WiFi Extender Dashboard
My main router is a Netgear CM500 and I'm using a Netgear EX2700 Extender. The issue I'm having is with the extender. In the past, I've been able to log into the dashboard to check firmware, logs, settings, etc. For the life of me, I can't access the extender anymore and have given up. I am hoping someone can help me figure it out. Honestly, I'm comfortable with all things tech, but this is unnecessarily difficult and finicky with connections. I'm about ready to take a hammer to it for mental therapy and buy a new extender (different brand this time) unless Netgear can make this work.
I'm on a Mac computer and have attempted this with Chrome and Safari web browsers. I made sure I was connected to the extender network and not the main Netgear network. I power-cycled the modem and the extender. I also restarted my computer and made sure it was connected to the extender network. I also went into my network advanced settings and renewed the DHCP Lease and restarted my computer. Nothing.
According to the manufacturers instructions, you simply point your browser to (my wifi ext .net) and when I do that, I see a webpage with information on it for Windows/Mac, etc. and it instructs me to go to (my wifi ext .local).
*This forum does not allow me to include the url link to mywifiext, so hopefully you understand the paragraph above.
The request times out every single time and it simply won't connect. Doesn't matter what I do, it won't connect. Please advise!
https://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/EX2700/EX2700_UM_EN.pdf
Ok, I looked at the Genie manual and there's a whole section on remote managment. It turns out that Remote Management does NOT need to be enabled on the router. Remote management with Genie uses a different mechanism. You need to create a remote management account and register your router. Follow the instructions in the manual to set it up. They look easy to follow.
Having said this, I would be a bit wary about using this. The use of a remote managment account implies that remote access is faciliated by a Netgear server. After the initial setup, it's unclear how much Netgear is involved whenever you log in remotely. Hopefully, your login session doesn't go through any Netgear servers. That would be a huge privacy concern. What would be preferred is that the act of registering your router for remote management merely opens a port on the router and Genie opens a direct connection to router. Unfortunately, you have to log into the remote management account in order to access your router, so that suggests that Netgear is still involved.
Unless Netgear is willing to share more details about how this works, I would stay away from this feature and stick with the basic, browser-based Remote Management available on the router.
My $0.02, of course.
4 Replies
The cm500 isn't a router. its a modem.
Do you have a router?
You connect the EX2700 to a router.
Have you tried going through setup while hardiwred into the extender and not connecting via wifi?
Thank you for correcting that mistake! You are correct. The CM-500 is a modem. I do have an Apple Airport Base Station setup as my router. The EX-2700 is the extender and it works fine, but I can no longer log into the dashboard via web browser to update firmware, change settings, etc. It's set up and I'm hesitant to go through the setup process, or reset to factory defaults in fear of losing an entire day fighting with something that should work. All of that aside, I'm open to troubleshooting methods.
If you log into the apple airport and look up the ip address for the extender, can you use that to connect to it?
