NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Forum Discussion
dmuir
Jun 08, 2018Aspirant
Accessing routerlogi.net/com when router is in bridge mode
I have two R6400v2 routers, one set up in bridge mode so non-wifi hardware can be used in another room. With the recent reports of malware aimed at routers, I follow the recommendation to update firmware. Went fine in the non-bridge router. The router in bridge mode, though, returns the following message
"To access routerlogin.com, your device must be connected to your Router's WIFI network."
And of course, in bridge mode that router's wifi network is disabled.
I have searched and found the "Can't access routerlogin.net/routerlogin.com or default IP" thread, which would have me factory reset the bridged router, then disconnect my existing network from the modem, connect the formerly bridged router to the modem long enough to update firmware, then reconnect everything and go through the bridge process all over again. That's a pretty big PITA.
So my questions:
Do I NEED to update firmware on the bridge router, since it is accessing the internet through another router that has already had its firmware updated?
If "yes" to that question, is it really the case that the only way out of bridge mode is a complete factory reset? Any other solution?
I'd really like to hear from a moderator.
Thanks in advance for your assistance.
> [...] The router in bridge mode, though, returns the following message
> [...]
When you do what, exactly? That message does not come from your
R6400v2-as-bridge. You were (your web browser was) talking to a Netgear
server which returns that misleading/useless error page:
https://community.netgear.com/t5/x/x/m-p/1365830
> I have searched and found the "Can't access
> routerlogin.net/routerlogin.com or default IP" thread, [...]
With my weak psychic powers, I don't know which "the [...] thread"
that might be. An actual link would be more helpful.
> [...] which would have me factory reset the bridged router, then
> disconnect my existing network from the modem, connect the formerly
> bridged router to the modem long enough to update firmware, then
> reconnect everything and go through the bridge process all over again.
> [...]
It's not quite that bad. You don't need to connect the reset router
to your modem to do the update. You could download the firmware kit to
your computer, reset the bridged router, connect (only) your computer to
the now-in-router-mode router, update its firmware manually (from the
downloaded kit contents), and then do the bridge configuration again.
The router-to-be-updated does not need to be connected to the Internet
for that, only to your computer (with the downloaded firmware kit).
> Do I NEED to update firmware on the bridge router, [...]
Perhaps not. I don't know how susceptible it would be in that mode.
It's not as if the firmware Release Notes would tell you anything useful
about this. I'd probably do it.
> [...] is it really the case that the only way out of bridge mode is a
> complete factory reset? Any other solution?
If the R6400v2-as-bridge is completely transparent, then it may not
be possible to talk to it in that mode. If it appears as a device on
your LAN (in an Attached Devices report on the main R6400v2-as-router,
for example), then you should be able to point your web browser at its
IP address (instead of trying to use any of those names like
"[www.]routerlogin.net", which are guaranteed to fail). If it's truly
invisible in bridge mode, then setting it back to non-bridge mode would
seem to be a requirement.
> I'd really like to hear from a moderator.
I can't help you with that.
4 Replies
> [...] The router in bridge mode, though, returns the following message
> [...]
When you do what, exactly? That message does not come from your
R6400v2-as-bridge. You were (your web browser was) talking to a Netgear
server which returns that misleading/useless error page:
https://community.netgear.com/t5/x/x/m-p/1365830
> I have searched and found the "Can't access
> routerlogin.net/routerlogin.com or default IP" thread, [...]
With my weak psychic powers, I don't know which "the [...] thread"
that might be. An actual link would be more helpful.
> [...] which would have me factory reset the bridged router, then
> disconnect my existing network from the modem, connect the formerly
> bridged router to the modem long enough to update firmware, then
> reconnect everything and go through the bridge process all over again.
> [...]
It's not quite that bad. You don't need to connect the reset router
to your modem to do the update. You could download the firmware kit to
your computer, reset the bridged router, connect (only) your computer to
the now-in-router-mode router, update its firmware manually (from the
downloaded kit contents), and then do the bridge configuration again.
The router-to-be-updated does not need to be connected to the Internet
for that, only to your computer (with the downloaded firmware kit).
> Do I NEED to update firmware on the bridge router, [...]
Perhaps not. I don't know how susceptible it would be in that mode.
It's not as if the firmware Release Notes would tell you anything useful
about this. I'd probably do it.
> [...] is it really the case that the only way out of bridge mode is a
> complete factory reset? Any other solution?
If the R6400v2-as-bridge is completely transparent, then it may not
be possible to talk to it in that mode. If it appears as a device on
your LAN (in an Attached Devices report on the main R6400v2-as-router,
for example), then you should be able to point your web browser at its
IP address (instead of trying to use any of those names like
"[www.]routerlogin.net", which are guaranteed to fail). If it's truly
invisible in bridge mode, then setting it back to non-bridge mode would
seem to be a requirement.
> I'd really like to hear from a moderator.
I can't help you with that.> If the R6400v2-as-bridge is completely transparent, then it may not
> be possible to talk to it in that mode. [...]
For those in suspense, I've now had a chance to try this using an
R7000 (V1.0.7.12_1.2.5 -- yes, it's old). The router-as-bridge does get
its own LAN IP address, it does appear in the main router's BASIC >
Attached Devices report, and its ADVANCED > Administration > Router
Update page gives every indication of a willingness to perform an
update while in Bridge Mode.- dmuirAspirant
Thanks for posting this. I clicked on "solved" first and it seemed like I could not then post a reply.
Yes, the solution worked perfectly. I found the bridged R6400 router in the main R6400 router's Attached Devices list, logged into the IP address listed, and updated my firmware without any problem.
Easy once you know how but it sure wasn't intuitively obvious to me. Thanks for the clear and prompt advice.