Re: Trouble using D7000 in modem

skooterMartin · ‎2022-06-19

I am attempting to run an old D7000 in modem mode connecting to a Nighthawk Mesh Wifi router, without any success.

I am connecting to Telstra in Australia, in direct connection (non-PPPoE) mode. I have been working off this Whirlpool thread that appears to be addressing the same sort of setup, but without any success.

The D7000 in modem mode does not connect to the internet; when I connect that to the MK60 (set as the DHCP server) that also does not connect to the internet despite the internet LED lighting up on the modem.

Has anyone had any experience with this setup? Does anyone know what I can do to start troubleshooting the config?

skooterMartin · ‎2022-06-26

SUCCESS!

Thank you both @w3wilkes @michaelkenward for your help with this project.

Here's the working configuration for anyone whoever stumbles across this thread:

D7000 modem

Configured for modem mode.
Internet connected to wall.

MR60 router

MAC address set to mimic the MAC address of the D7000.
Device name set to mimic the device name of the D7000 (D7000).*
Configured as DHCP server.
IP address dynamically assigned from Telstra.
DNS server assigned dynamically from Telstra.

Connection steps

Power down D7000 and leave your computer connected to the web portal of the MR60.
Power up the D7000.
When the power light turns white connect an ethernet cable from D7000 ethernet port to MR60 WAN ("Internet") port.
Hit "Test Settings" in the MR60 web portal.

Notes

Several times while following the above steps the internet and physical connection lights on the D7000 would light white before connecting the router. Each time this happened the router would fail to connect to the web. It appears that the modem was being assigned the connection.
MR60 config step #2 (marked with the asterisk) may be optional. I'm not going to test this tonight.

View solution in original post

michaelkenward · ‎2022-06-19

@skooterMartin wrote:

The D7000 in modem mode does not connect to the internet; when I connect that to the MK60 (set as the DHCP server) that also does not connect to the internet despite the internet LED lighting up on the modem.

Does this mean that you can connect the D7000 to the Internet without adding anything else to the network?

Can it connect in modem/router mode?

Some Oz ISPs have decided to change how they configure DSL. In the process, they have killed some modems and modem/routers.

So start with the basics before you throw the MK60 into the mix.

Just one problem, what is this MK60? I can't find it in the Netgear product roster.

skooterMartin · ‎2022-06-20

Thanks for the response.

The D7000 works fine in router mode; connects to the internet and works correctly as a DHCP server. This is listed on Whirlpool as a compatible router. It is listed as bridge-mode enabled; is this the same as modem-mode?

Once I switch the D7000 to modem-only mode I get no connection to the internet.

The MK60 is what some website refer to the Nighthawk Mesh Network (MK63) as. In this case I am specifically trying to connect just the MR60 router component.

michaelkenward · ‎2022-06-20

@skooterMartin wrote:

The D7000 works fine in router mode; connects to the internet and works correctly as a DHCP server.

Do you mean in modem/router mode?

That was my question.

Once I switch the D7000 to modem-only mode I get no connection to the internet.

You cannot even get a connection if you plug a device into a LAN port?

This is listed on Whirlpool as a compatible router. It is listed as bridge-mode enabled; is this the same as modem-mode?

Sadly, the "bridge mode" term is confusing and means different things depending on the circumstances. In the case of the D7000 that bit of the manual describes something else. For this device you need to follow the instructions ion the section: Use the Modem Router as a DSL Modem Only

skooterMartin · ‎2022-06-20

Correct, in modem/router mode the D7000 works as expected.

When you say a LAN port I understand you mean an ethernet port? I can connect a laptop (using a static IP address on the same subnet) to the D7000 in modem-only mode via an ethernet cable, but there is no connection through to the internet.

Should the D7000 still be the DHCP server when in modem mode?

I'll go and give this a try.

michaelkenward · ‎2022-06-20

@skooterMartin wrote:

I can connect a laptop (using a static IP address on the same subnet) to the D7000 in modem-only mode via an ethernet cable, but there is no connection through to the internet.

What is your interpretation of "a static IP address"? Something fixed on your local network or a static address for your ISP?

When it comes to the Internet IP Address most ISPs require you to "Get Dynamically from ISP".

Some people, me included, get confused by the difference between a "fixed" and "reserved" IP address. You can allocate "Address Reservation" slots on the router, or you can fix the IP address of your attached devices on the device itself. This has nothing to do with the WAN IP address.

Should the D7000 still be the DHCP server when in modem mode?

That would normally be in the hands of the router.

skooterMartin · ‎2022-06-22

I have to set the client (my Windows laptop) connection to 192.168.0.10 in the IPv4 settings of the client ethernet connection config, as the D7000 stops working as a DHCP server when in modem mode. Unfortunately in modem mode the D7000 doesn't fetch an (internet) IP address from the ISP (Telstra) either.

michaelkenward · ‎2022-06-22

That's the standard trick for connecting tom things in "modem only" mode. (Pity that Netgear is poor on explaining how to go about that.) I just wanted to clarify which IP address we were talking about.

A few people have messed around with these devices on NBN:

Search - NETGEAR Communities – D7000 NBN

Several "Solved" messages here.

w3wilkes · ‎2022-06-22

In modem only mode it will not get an IP address immediately on connection of the D7000 to your phone line. You need to connect your router from its WAN port to the D7000 (don't know if the manual says you need to use a specific D7000 port when it's in modem only mode) and have your WAN connection type and other credentials like UID and password set in the router. This will then be passed through the D7000 in modem only mode and should connect and get an IP address from your ISP.

w3wilkes · ‎2022-06-22

For clarity the D7000 doesn't get an IP address when in modem only (transparent bridge), it is passed on to the router and you should see the IP address assigned in your router interface.

skooterMartin · ‎2022-06-24

Thanks @w3wilkes ; this is the bit that simply isn't happening. I'm hoping someone has either tried this combo before or know of any tricks that I might have missed in setup.

w3wilkes · ‎2022-06-24

I have used a D7000v2 as a modem only a while back. On that device once you set it in modem only (transparent bridge) mode it becomes very dumb. If you want to access it you have to do a factory reset to get it back where it will talk to a web browser.

On the router you intend to use there should be some WAN settings where can specify something like Connection Type (an ethernet cable from the WAN port of your router to one of the LAN ports on your D7000) as probably PPPoE and then also provide a user name and password. Maybe your ISP expects a certain MAC address and you should also have a setting for that somewhere on your router connected to the D7000v2 in modem only mode.

In my case the D7000v2 was unreliable and would freeze to the point that it would no longer respond to any request to the internet from devices on my network and would have to be rebooted every few days to regain connectivity to the internet. Everything on my local router network (an ASUS router) still worked - wifi printer, music streamer from a server to a receiver connected to the stereo, access to shared folders on my server and nightly backups all worked fine. Just lost access to anything through the D7000v2 to the big I until the D7000v2 was rebooted.

skooterMartin · ‎2022-06-25

Can I ask what ISP you are with?

I'm with Telstra in Australia, which is a non-authenticated (non-PPPoE) connection. I have tried PPPoE as well, which also didn't work.

The D7000v2 isn't compatible with the Australian NBN network, but I'm using the v1 D7000.

w3wilkes · ‎2022-06-25

My ISP is Centurylink. My connection is VDSL2+. I run a Centurylink branded Zyxel modem/router in transparent bridge mode along with the required VLAN ID which then converts the VDSL2+ to ethernet and my router is an ASUS RT-AX86U. In the ASUS router I specify my UID/PW and PPPoE protocol. I don't really know what Telstra does other than the mistake they made when they hired Sol Trujillo as CEO after he screwed the US West employees selling the company to Qwest who almost bankrupted the company. I've pretty much moved away from Netgear. ASUS provides 2 year warrantee and support along with free lifetime security from Trend Micro. Netgear charges for their Armor security.

skooterMartin · ‎2022-06-26

SUCCESS!

Thank you both @w3wilkes @michaelkenward for your help with this project.

Here's the working configuration for anyone whoever stumbles across this thread:

D7000 modem

Configured for modem mode.
Internet connected to wall.

MR60 router

MAC address set to mimic the MAC address of the D7000.
Device name set to mimic the device name of the D7000 (D7000).*
Configured as DHCP server.
IP address dynamically assigned from Telstra.
DNS server assigned dynamically from Telstra.

Connection steps

Power down D7000 and leave your computer connected to the web portal of the MR60.
Power up the D7000.
When the power light turns white connect an ethernet cable from D7000 ethernet port to MR60 WAN ("Internet") port.
Hit "Test Settings" in the MR60 web portal.

Notes

Several times while following the above steps the internet and physical connection lights on the D7000 would light white before connecting the router. Each time this happened the router would fail to connect to the web. It appears that the modem was being assigned the connection.
MR60 config step #2 (marked with the asterisk) may be optional. I'm not going to test this tonight.

michaelkenward · ‎2022-06-26

Good to hear that it works for you, but I'm surprised that it did.

When I've done this modem/router to modem only switch, it was more like this:

Turn everything off
Disconnect router from network.
Connect Ethernet from PC to modem/router.
Turn on modem/router
Go into GUI for modem/router
Get it to connect to the Internet with the required login process
Change modem/router to modem only mode
Turn off modem/router
Connect router to modem/router
Connect PC to router LAN
Turn on modem/router and wait for it to get to "Internet connected"
Turn on router
Connect to GUI and complete process to connect router to Internet

skooterMartin · ‎2022-06-26

Well that's essentially what I did.

The lights thing may be a furphy, but there was a distinct difference in behaviour the final time around.