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Forum Discussion
R7500 with WNDR3700 as Access Point/Repeater/Extender
Model: R7500v2 Firmware: 1.0.2.2 Model: WNDR3700 Firmware: Not sure I recently purchased the R7500 router to replace my WNDR3700. As the R7500 is in my basement, I'd like to use the WNDR370...
Thank you for the quick response. Will the WNDR3700 work as a repeater? From what I understand, repeating and extending a wireless network are two different things.
If not, I suppose I'll have to find a way to run a wire and use the WNDR3700 as an AP. If I go that route, is there anything special I need to know in terms of configuring channels, IP range for the AP, etc?
It depends on how you define "repeating" and "extending." Regardless of the exact definition, the WNDR3700 will not work as a repeater.
The instructions for setting up the WNDR3700 as an AP start on page 127 in the manual. Unlike older routers, the WNDR3700 uses the WAN port to connect to the main router, even as an AP.
There is no IP range to manage because the DHCP server is disabled in AP mode. All wireless clients that connect to the WNDR3700 will obtain IP addresses from the main router.
The WNDR3700 will still have its own IP address. It will either obtain from the main router using DHCP, or you can statically assign an IP address. You will see this option once you enable AP mode.
You can set up the AP to use the same SSID as your main router but be sure to use a different channel. Otherwise, the AP and main router will interfere with each other and negatively impact Wi-Fi speeds.
Thank you again for the comprehensive response. One last question:
The manual you linked above is for WNDR3700v5. My router only says WNDR3700 on the bottom (no v1, v2, v3, etc.), and oddly enough the serial number box is blank. I believe it's at least v3 since I did have ReadySHARE capabalities, but how would I pinpoint exactly which version I have to make sure I'm using the correct documentation when setting up the AP? Thank you!
If you log into the router and see the Netgear Genie homepage, then you should see the model and version on that page.
Alternatively, you can look for the firmware version installed on your router on Netgear's download center and infer the router version from that.
So for the past several days I've been trying to get the WNDR3700 set up as an AP. I connect the WNDR3700's WAN port to a LAN port on the R7500, and from there I can see the wireless network from the WNDR3700 being broadcast. When I log in to the web UI, it notifies me that the IP address for the WNDR3700 has been changed to 10.0.0.1 due to a conflict with the R7500. I can connect to both the 2.4G and 5G wireless networks as well as via wired connection from the WNDR3700 with no issue at this point.
The issue arises when I try to change the WNDR3700 to AP mode. Once I click Apply to make the change, the web UI crashes and I lose all network connectivity, both wired and wireless from the WNDR3700. The R7500 continues functioning with no issue. From here I have to reset the WNDR3700 to factory settings in order to regain access.
I've tried accessing the web UI via routerlogin.net, entering the IP address (10.0.0.1), and both the Genie desktop and mobile apps, and nothing.
I also tried setting up the WNDR3700 as an AP using the LAN port instead of WAN, and disabling the DHCP server, and I wasn't successful with this method either.
Any help is greatly appreciated, as I'm at my wit's end as of now. Thank you!