Netgear AC1900 Nighthawk D7000 Wifi VDSL/ADSL Modem Router - connection to NBN FTTC Sydney Australia

[AJtheKiwi]

Hi all

I purchased the Nighthawk AC1900 VDSL/ADSL D7000 modem router and was told that it was NBN ready (I was on ADSL Broadband but now have NBN FTTC). I'm in Sydney, Australia.

When the NBN technician came this morning and couldn't get the modem/router to work with the NBN FTTC Connection Device, she said my modem was not NBN FTTC Compatible - everywhere I look online seems to say that it is.

I am not a tech person, so if my Nighthawk is NBN FTTC compatible, could someone please explain in laymans terms what I need to do to set it up correctly with the NBN FTTC Connection Device?

My neighbour also looked and said I need a WAN port and so that is why this modem won't work. On the back of the modem is the DSL port and the 4 LAN ports... does one of those ports become the WAN port maybe (I have no idea what those terms mean though!).

My provider is Origin Retail. Thanks so very much for your help in advance.

[antinode]

> Model: D7000|Nighthawk AC1900 VDSL/ADSL Modem Router

   D7000[v1] or D7000v2?  Look at the product label.  Firmware version?

> On the back of the modem is the DSL port and the 4 LAN ports...

   Sounds like a D7000v2.  The D7000[v1] has an obvious (red) "Internet"
Ethernet port.  The (cost-reduced) D7000v2 has a shared "LAN 4 /
Ethernet WAN" port.

> [...] does one of those ports become the WAN port maybe (I have no
> idea what those terms mean though!).

   Yes.  Local-Area Network (your stuff), and Wide-Area Network (the
outside world), respectively.

   Visit http://netgear.com/support , put in your (actual) model number,
and look for Documentation.  Get the User Manual.  Read.  Look for
something like "Set Up the Modem Router for Cable or Fiber Service".

   Note that this part of the D7000v2 User Manual is lousy with errors,
so, you might want to look at the D7000[v1] User Manual, too.

   One might expect the D7000v2 to sense an Ethernet connection at its
special LAN/WAN port, and do the right thing automatically.  (As its
User Manual says that it will.)  But we are talking about Netgear
consumer router firmware, so I wouldn't bet a nickel on it.  However, in
the worst case, you should be able to coerce it.  Look in the User
Manual for "Change the Physical WAN Connection Preference".

> [...] the NBN technician came this morning and couldn't get the
> modem/router to work with the NBN FTTC Connection Device, [...]

   From the far side of the planet, it's tough to guess what "the NBN
technician" might have done, or what happened when she did it.  I also
have no information on your "the NBN FTTC Connection Device", but if it
has an Ethernet port, then I'd expect there to be some way of getting a
D7000v2 to work with it.  Your ISP should be able to tell you how to
configure a generic third-party router, and someone here should be able
to translate that info into D7000v2-specific terms (if that's not
obvious).

[AJtheKiwi]

I managed to get it all working - by connection the ethernet cable to the LAN/WAN port then intot he NBN FTTC Connection Device and changed the WAN setting in "Advanced Settings" in the router to "Always use WAN" and that worked fine....

... until early yesterday afternoon. Now the "internet" light on my modem is constantly red and won't connect.

I've tried turning everything off and on, and I've tried unplugging and replugging in to the phone plug.

No luck.... my ISP said that I'm not showing as being connected and have sent me an email to connect but it relates to their own modem/router.

Can anyone point me in the right direction now as to how to solve my internet connection?

[antinode]

> ... until early yesterday afternoon. Now the "internet" light on my
> modem is constantly red and won't connect.

   What changed?  "red" or "amber"?

> Can anyone point me in the right direction [...]

> [...] Get the User Manual. Read. [...]

   Did you?  Look for "Troubleshoot"?

[michaelkenward]

 

---

@AJtheKiwi wrote:

I am not a tech person, so if my Nighthawk is NBN FTTC compatible, could someone please explain in laymans terms what I need to do to set it up correctly with the NBN FTTC Connection Device?

---

What is an NBN network and is my NETGEAR DSL modem router compatible? | Answer | NETGEAR Support

As you can see, Netgear says that a lot of things are "compatible" with NBN, but these depend on the type of NBN and what you want the Netgear thing to do. Modem/routers, for example are compatible as routers but they are useless as modems.

That page does not mention FTTC. In the UK that means "fibre to the cabinet", which is DSL internet. In that case the D7000 would be fine as a modem and router.

---

@AJtheKiwi wrote:

When the NBN technician came this morning and couldn't get the modem/router to work with the NBN FTTC Connection Device, she said my modem was not NBN FTTC Compatible - everywhere I look online seems to say that it is.

The D7000 should be compatible, but not as a modem. You can bypass the modem bit and use it as a router. Just plug whatever comes out of the ISP's box into the WAN/Internet (Red) port on the baxck of the D7000. If it is the D7000V2, the port 4 on the back doubles as the WAN port.

If it isn't too late, return the D7000 and get a router only device. You will have a bigger choice of features and it should cost less.

See the bit in the manual Set Up the Modem Router for Cable or Fiber Service.