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Fed up with Netgear ANY router
There was a time, up until the purchase of this router almost a year ago or so, I swear by Netgear, still have the old archaic Netgear wifi, REAL old. This [RAX80], I had high hopes, and it has been...
> 2. Refuses to maintain assigned IP to devices.
Generally, it's more helpful to describe actual actions/results,
rather than attribute an attitude to an inanimate device. How, exactly,
does a router "refuse" to do anything? Does it emit an error message
(some place) like "I refuse to do that!"? "fail" and "refuse" are
spelled differently for a reason.Do you mean that devices with Address Reservations get some wrong
addresses?> 4. Assigns duplicate IPs constantly.
"constantly" or "repeatedly"?
The most common reason for either of those DHCP problems is the
presence of another DHCP server on the LAN. Firmware defects in Netgear
routers are common enough, but problems like those are seldom caused by
the router.
For example, occasionally, some Internet-of-Junk gizmo with a
"hotspot" mode might leave its built-in DHCP server running after it's
been configured, and has joined your LAN. A misconfigured Raspberry Pi
computer is another potential culprit. As usual, many things are
possible.One test would be to disable the DHCP server in the RAX80, and see if
devices still manage to get IP parameters (from some other DHCP server).
> 1. Flaky all the time, losing connection to devices.Not a very detailed description of anything. "connection" between
device and router? "connection" between device and Internet?> 3. NOT the speed I expected!
That's fine for a rant, but not a useful description of anything.
The non-psychics in your audience might know very little about "the
speed [you] expected", or the speed you observed, or how you measured
it.Other basic useful info would include the router's firmware version,
and identification of what's connected to the router's WAN/Internet
port.> I'm fed up, I'm done with Netgear!
This is primarily a _user_ forum. Tell someone who cares?
> One thing to let you know, my writing is not my best suite, being this
> is not my native language, but I do my best.
Your English is good enough.
> Well, I setup my Address res. ON the RAX80 and obviously the RAX80 has
> given those IPs to those devices.
It's not obvious to _me_. It's especially not obvious if your
devices are getting unexpected or duplicate adresses. And if you have
as many as three different routers (potential DHCP servers) on your LAN.
> As I understand it, bridge mode [...]
"Bridge" is a widely misused/misunderstood term. "bridge mode" means
different things to different people, and when applied to different
devices. If you're talking about a router, then you probably mean
configuring it as a wireless access point (WAP). Which would probably
be a good idea. Whether it was done, I don't know.
> [...] has no DHCP, gets it's IPs from the main DHCP server, [...]
That sounds like a WAP.
> The "cheap" wifi I mentioned is a Linksys AC1200.
Ok, but I don't know how it's configured or how it's connected. And,
as with Netgear, "AC1200" is a speed, not a model number. Which makes
it difficult when one of us wants to consult its user manual.
For all I know, this "Linksys AC1200" might still be using
"192.168.1.1" as its LAN IP address, instead of getting some
new/different IP address using DHCP.
> [...] I assumed you were asking about the modem.
I was, but a "TG1682G" is more than a modem; it's a modem+router.
Unless you've configured it as a modem-only. (Which is also known as
"bridge mode", and which is nothing like configuring it as a WAP. As I
said, "widely misused/misunderstood".)
> [...] I've had Netgear probably close to how long you've been alive.
> [...]
Not likely. Perhaps you should assume less. About me, about your
DHCP servers, ...
> I am a retired computer engineer, [...]
In these forums, people who write poor problem descriptions often
cite their vast experience or expertise. I've never seen such claims
improve their problem descriptions.
> Rather than try to make any sense of your existing mess, [...]
That's still my advice.
Thank you on my english, but I know better!
The only reason I mentioned my experience so that YOU know who you are dealing with and not a total dummy, that's all and not to come across cocky, if I did, not intended, my apologies.
You were right, there WAS another DHCP server running. Even though I had my modem running in bridge mode, it was also running as DHCP.
There is only one device connected to the modem, the RAX80, and does not have wifi enabled. I disable it, not paying for it.
I verified there is no other DHCP running, my PC could not access router untill I turned DHCP back on on the RAX80, via wifi using the app.
I'm open to how to REALLY verify there is no other DHCP server running out there.
As far as the Linksys EA6100 (sorry for incorrect model) has it's own IP, I know since I was able to conect to it via a different IP.
Attached is the settings on the Linksys, on PC browser and iPhone app.
IDK about WAP, Linksys does not have the option to set it up as a WAP, only bridge, I assume pretty much the same, since it does not do DHCP.
I apologize for insulting you about your age, but almost everytime I deal w/techs online, they are young and I'm ooold! LOL
Well, we'll see how it [RAX80] does from this day forward. If your next response does not have more checking or a simple Ok, I will mark your initial reply as the solution, since THAT'S what prompted me to check for DHCP servers.
Again, thank you for your help!
> Thank you on my english, but I know better!
I didn't say that it was _perfect_, but many (most?) of the native
English speakers here can't cope with "its"/"it's" or
"there"/"their"/"they're", or sentences, or ...> [...] there WAS another DHCP server running. [...]
As I said, "The most common reason [...]".
> [...] Even though I had my modem running in bridge mode, it was also
> running as DHCP. [...]That's unexpected. For a modem+router, "bridge mode" normally means
"very stupid", so that nothing like a DHCP server should be active.> There is only one device connected to the modem, the RAX80, and does
> not have wifi enabled. I disable it, not paying for it.
Disabling the wireless stuff on a modem+router does _not_ disable its
router section (or its DHCP server). I know nothing about a TG1682G, so
you might need to do more research to learn how to configure it as you'd
like it.If the TG1682G really is configured as a modem-only ("bridge mode")
then the IP address on your RAX80 WAN/Internet interface would be your
external/public IP address. On the RAX80 management web site:
ADVANCED > ADVANCED Home : Internet Port : Internet IP Address. Plug
that address into the form at: https://whois.arin.net/ , and see if it
is a public or private address.If the TG1682G does not have a modem-only mode, then it's also
possible to leave its router active, and configure the RAX80 as a WAP.
(Look for "access point" in the RAX80 User Manual.) The important point
is that you almost certainly want _one_ router, not more.> I verified there is no other DHCP running, my PC could not access
> router [...]
Ok.> I'm open to how to REALLY verify there is no other DHCP server running
> out there.The best way I know is to run the experiment. If a computer/device
tries, but can't get a response, then I'd conclude that there's no DHCP
server on its LAN segment.> IDK about WAP, [...]
It looks as if Linksys says "Bridge Mode" where Netgear says
"wireless access point". The problem with using "Bridge Mode" in this
case is the potential confusion with "Bridge Mode" on a modem+router,
where it means something different. In both cases, the gizmo gets
stupid, but the exact set of disabled features is different. (What,
exactly, is getting "bridged" to what is different.)> I apologize for insulting you about your age, [...]
Don't lose sleep. I suspect that most of the active participants
around here are geezers with too much free time. (_I_ should be doing
other things, but this stuff is well suited to a shrinking attention
span.)> [...] we'll see how it [RAX80] does from this day forward. [...]
Sounds good. My original (implicit) point was that the problem could
be external to the RAX80, so that replacing it with some other router
might do nothing to solve your actual problem. Blame assignment is Job
One, I always say. The RAX80 could still be garbage, but that hasn't
yet been proved.Well, this is the second time I'm writing this, and I'm not sure I'll say anything close to what I had said originally before my kill switch kicked it.
I killed my VPN off & on for this test.
Yes, my IP is visible w/o VPN and I'm running VPN on some devices, not all.
But my IP is reported as a group of about 10 networks, not exactly MY IP.I'm also running my DNS thru cloud flare for better speed and control.
I'm puzzled why the RAX80 is reporting my modem as DHCP when I KNOW it's off, see attachment.
Also, if I make my RAX80 to a WAP I may lose some functionality; like parental control, antivirus, etc...
But, I'm gonna look into it see what the pros & cons are for me.
> But my IP is reported as a group of about 10 networks, not exactly MY
> IP.I don't know what that means, and I can't see any of it. What,
exactly, are you seeing where, exactly?https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Protocol
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_address> I'm also running my DNS thru cloud flare [...]
What, exactly, did you set to what, exactly, on what, exactly?
> [...] see attachment.
I see it, but I'm not sure what it is. Especially the blacked-out
parts. The left side might be consistent with a modem-only mode, but I
don't know. The right side tells me nothing.> [...] if I make my RAX80 to a WAP I may lose some functionality; [...]
True.https://kb.netgear.com/26765
https://kb.netgear.com/000061880So, I'd try to find a modem-only mode for the TG1682G.
> I killed my VPN off & on for this test.
I know nothing about VPNs, but, even if I knew more, I'd get the
basic modem-and-router stuff to work before I added more complications.
