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Forum Discussion
Nighthawk 7800 wifi access using hotspot
Is it possible to use a mobile hotspot wifi signal as the input for the 7800 Router? I have a very slow dish network as my usual internet provider. The Nighthawk router provides excellent wi-fi coverage in my house and surrounding property. My smartphone hotspot has very fast download speed with an unlimited data plan. Can I this hotspot or a dedicated hotspot modem to link via wi-fi to the router?
5 Replies
R7800?
I see no indication in the manual that the R7800 will work as a wifi repeater or bridge.
You might be able to use it as an AP wired into a hotspot modem. (There's a separate section for talking about those.)
Visit the support pages:
Support | NETGEAR
and feed in your model number and check the documentation for your hardware.
See the section Use the Router as a WiFi Access Point.I use the R7800 as a router. In the Advanced - Advanced Setup section there is an option to configure the device mode for use as a router, access point, or bridge.
Kitsap wrote:
I use the R7800 as a router. In the Advanced - Advanced Setup section there is an option to configure the device mode for use as a router, access point, or bridge.
Sadly, the "bridge" word has several different meanings. But you are right, there is a "wifi/repeater bridge" option in there. However, to use that you have to be able to set up the source of the wifi signal. Not all routers can act as the source for a bridge.
As the manual says, the first step is "Make a note of the WiFi settings of the other router to which this router will connect."
Is that even possible with a "mobile hotspot wifi signal"? That would be an interesting experiment.
I mentioned using a mobile hotspot modem because you might be able to use one of those as the source for a router, even if you have to use it in AP mode. To see if that is an option, you'd have to pick a mobile hotspot and check its manual.
