I'm back to trying to configure the router as a bridge. See attached steps I took. After completing these steps, the R6300 didn't seem to function as a bridge.

I made a real "rookie" mistake during the configuraiton. I thought my home WiFi networked used WPA when in fact it was WPA-2. I had assumed the R6330 would give me an error when it didn't connected to the WiFi network and not show "Internet Staus: GOOD" on the main page. I've attached the steps used to get it configured properly for me that include screenshots.

Bridge Mode on AC1600 Model R6330

7 Replies

antinode
Guru
Jul 23, 2021
> I'm back to trying to configure the router as a bridge. [...]

   For latecomers:

      https://community.netgear.com/t5/x/x/m-p/2109030

> [...] After completing these steps, the R6300 didn't seem to function
> as a bridge.

   "didn't seem"? A vague description of what does _not_ happen is less
useful than a clear description of what _does_ happen. A vague
description of what does not _seem_ to happen is even less useful.

> Netgear config as wifi bridge.pdf

> 2. Connect to router over WiFi to default SSID

   "Connect" from the Windows system?

   If my ultimate goal was to use an Ethernet connection between my
Windows system and the R6330, and to use the wireless stuff on the R6330
to communicate with some other router ("wireless bridge mode"), then I'd
start out using an Ethernet connection between my Windows system and the
R6330, and disable the wireless interface on the Windows system.

> I plugged LAN1 on the router to the computer and got the following IP
> Config.

   The main router's at "192.168.1.1"? Your Windows system's Ethernet
interface seems to have gotten a valid IPv4 configuration from it (using
DHCP, I assume), which suggests that it's able to communicate with that
main router.

      ping 192.168.1.1

> [...] the computer connected to the Netgear router can't get to the
> internet.

   "can't" is not a useful problem description. It does not say what
you did. It does not say what happened when you did it. As usual,
showing actual actions (commands) with their actual results (error
messages, LED indicators, ...) can be more helpful than vague
descriptions or interpretations.

   You seem to have the Ethernet interface on the Windows system active
at "192.168.1.3", and its wireless adapter active at "192.168.1.2".
Multiple active interfaces on the same subnet might cause some
confusion (for the computer as well as for me). If you're trying to use
the R6330 as a wireless bridge, then why have the wireless interface on
the Windows system active?
- keithamason
  Guide
  Jul 23, 2021
  More detail on "didn't seem to function as a bridge"
  I turned off WiFi on my computer and connected to the R6300 via Ethernet (i.e., LAN only connection). The IP for the computer is 192.168.1.3 with no other connections showing.
  I am able to connect to the R6300 and login. The status page shows a “GOOD” status for the internet. My assumption was that this was the connection between the R6300 and my home wireless network.
  If I open a Chrome browser window to google.com I get a “This site can’t be reached” error.
  If I ping google.com, I get a “Ping request could not find the host google.com. Please check the name and try again”. I tried a couple of other URLs with the same issue.
  My ultimate goal with the R6330 is to bridge from a wireless network in my home to my garage/office, which is about 30 ft from the house. My desk in the garage is at the other end of the garage from where I want to install the R6330. Today when I use my computer at my desk in the garage, the connection is really poor and my hope was to locate the R6330 at the one end of the garage closest to my house and then run an Ethernet cable from the R6300 to my desk, at the other end of the garage.
  - antinode
    Guru
    Jul 23, 2021
    > o I am able to connect to the R6300 and login. [...]
    
       _How_, exactly? Actual URL? Does it admit that it's in
    wireless-bridge mode? If it actually is, then I would expect it to get
    a new/different (LAN) IP address from the main router, and so it would
    not be found at "192.168.1.1".
    
    > [...] My assumption was that this was the connection between the R6300
    > and my home wireless network.
    
       Might be true.
    
    > o If I ping google.com, I get a "Ping request could not find the host
    > google.com. Please check the name and try again". I tried a couple of
    > other URLs with the same issue.
    
       That could be a DNS problem or a basic comm problem. For a
    no-DNS-required comm test:
    
          ping 8.8.8.8
    
       What does the (unspecified) main router have to say about all this?
    Does it see the R6330 as a connected device? Does it see the remote
    Windows system as a connected device? Are other devices connected to
    the main router? What are their IP addresses?
    
    > My ultimate goal with the R6330 [...]
    
       That all sounds plausible. I don't have an R6330, so I can't verify
    that its wireless-bridge mode actually works.

Forum Discussion

Bridge Mode on AC1600 Model R6330