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Set up two routers (R7800 + RAX48) on same LAN
I have tried to set up my secondary router (RAX48) on my LAN, and every time I change its IP address, I cannot access it to log into it. Can someone help me, please?
On the RAX48, I have changed the IP address to 192.168.1.2 and then another time to 192.168.2.1, depending on what docs I have found online. I have also tried changing the gateway to my first router's IP address (192.168.1.1) and disabled DHCP on my secondary router.
For testing, I have connected my computer directly to the secondary router. After I change the IP address, the router becomes inaccessible. I'm not sure what is going on. It's been almost a decade since I last configured a setup like this with much older Netgear routers, so I am sure I have forgotten, and I would appreciate anyone's help.
Here is what I want to achieve:
1. Be able to log into both routers via IP regardless of what router my computer is connected to.
2. Use my secondary router's wireless separate from my primary router's.
Follow up questions would be regarding the wireless settings: What are the recommendations for the channels for both 2.4 and 5G?
Thanks for your help in advance.
5 Replies
dlzh wrote:I have tried to set up my secondary router (RAX48) on my LAN, and every time I change its IP address, I cannot access it to log into it. Can someone help me, please?
On the RAX48, I have changed the IP address to 192.168.1.2 and then another time to 192.168.2.1, depending on what docs I have found online. I have also tried changing the gateway to my first router's IP address (192.168.1.1) and disabled DHCP on my secondary router.
For testing, I have connected my computer directly to the secondary router. After I change the IP address, the router becomes inaccessible. I'm not sure what is going on. It's been almost a decade since I last configured a setup like this with much older Netgear routers, so I am sure I have forgotten, and I would appreciate anyone's help.
Here is what I want to achieve:
1. Be able to log into both routers via IP regardless of what router my computer is connected to.
2. Use my secondary router's wireless separate from my primary router's.
Follow up questions would be regarding the wireless settings: What are the recommendations for the channels for both 2.4 and 5G?
Thanks for your help in advance.
There can only be one router on your LAN with the task of assigning IP address via DHCP. Choose one of the two devices as your router. The other device can be configured as a wired access point (WAP). Set a static IP address on your WAP device so the user interface can be accessed from any device connected to your LAN. Log in to the WAP user interface and change the Wi-Fi SSID and password to your choice. Here is a list of router functions that are disabled on a WAP.
Both objectives achieved.
How congested is your RF environment? Do you have a lot of close neighbors with devices broadcasting Wi-Fi?
There can only be one router on your LAN with the task of assigning IP address via DHCP. Choose one of the two devices as your router.Already did. My primary router (R7800) is the one router with DHCP.
The other device can be configured as a wired access point (WAP). Set a static IP address on your WAP device so the user interface can be accessed from any device connected to your LAN.
I tried that, hence my original message noting the static IPs I assigned to it. Once I change my secondary router's IP address, I can no longer log into it. I have to reset the router and start from scratch. I found multiple detailed instructions online to do this, and all of them failed. What specifically needs to be changed on each router to accomplish this?
How congested is your RF environment? Do you have a lot of close neighbors with devices broadcasting Wi-Fi?
I haven't even made it to testing the Wi-Fi, yet. I'm just trying to log into my secondary router's UI with a wired desktop connection.
On your R7800 in the Advanced -> Setup -> LAN Setup section, you set a start and end address for DHCP assignment.
Start simple and give yourself 50 to work with. Something like 192.168.1.100 to 192.168.1.150. Disconnect the Ethernet between your two devices, connect direct to your RAX48 and configure the operation mode as a WAP (via Wi-Fi is OK). It should automatically restart. Power the WAP down, connect the Ethernet cable to your R7800, and power it back up. You may have to log in to your R7800 and check the attached devices to find the address of your WAP. Once you do that, use that address to log in to your RAX78 and set that address as static.
dlzh wrote:
Here is what I want to achieve:
1. Be able to log into both routers via IP regardless of what router my computer is connected to.
2. Use my secondary router's wireless separate from my primary router's.
The easiest way to get that is to put the R7800 into AP mode, as Kitsap suggested.
The RAX48 is more recent, and probably more powerful, so maybe best used as the main router. For example, I find that my R7800 does not support some of the features I can use on my MR router, such as IPv6 for my ISP.
For your second request, you can fix the IP address of the R7800 in AP mode, and then just aim a browser at that to log in. You can even set it up so that both router and AP will show in the Nighthawk mobile app allowing you to get at them with Anywhere Access.
You can fix the AP's IP address when you turn on AP mode.
Or you can leave it to your main router and give the R7800 an Address Reservation there.
Follow up questions would be regarding the wireless settings: What are the recommendations for the channels for both 2.4 and 5G?Give it a whirl. Experiment and see what works best for you.
If you want to stick with the R7800 as the main router, then just follow the above with the RAX48 in AP mode.
Thanks everyone. I had done much of what everyone here has already suggested. The number one thing that is never mentioned is found in Step 7 of MBReviews' How To article (unlinked so this would post):
You have to be careful not to put the cable into the WAP port (it happens more often than you may think), because it will give you headaches wondering why is it not working when you did everything properly.
And voila, all works. This is just one of those instances of forgetting a crucial step because it is not explicitly stated and thinking about the ports simplistically as input or output, which is wrong. Reminds me of a time when I didn't reverse the floppy drive cable when building a PC... 😄
For future reference of someone needing exact steps (including myself if I forget and don't do this again for another seven years), here is what I did:
1. Reserve space on your primary router.
Change your starting IP address to a higher number. I chose 192.168.1.10...just in case I find seven more routers to add after my secondary one. 😛
2. Reboot the router so it can dish out the new IPs. This should happen after you save the changes on the LAN Setup page.
3. Reset your secondary router to default settings--just in case there are any lingering settings from previous attempts.
4. Plug your computer into a LAN port of your secondary router.
5. Log into your secondary router with the same URL/IP as your primary router, if you're using a Netgear router (either http://routerlogin.net/ or 192.168.1.1).
6. If it's a first-time setup, skip the Internet setup and set up the admin account for your secondary router.
7. Go to LAN Settings on the Advanced tab (likely location).
a. Disable DHCP.
b. Change the IP address to one with the range you reserved earlier (e.g., 192.168.1.2-9). I chose 192.168.1.2
c. Save your changes.
8. Connect the secondary router to your LAN via one of its LAN ports, not the dedicated Internet port (WAN)--this one is usually colored to offset it from the rest. If you connect it to the WAN port, then you'll likely need to reset your secondary router and start again.
9. Test your connections and log into both routers in separate private/incognito tabs. Your computer should still be connected to the secondary router, but now it should have received an IP from your primary router if all is working well. I did not need to release any IPs to get mine to update.
