So we just moved and using this modem/router combo was giving us spotty WIFI coverage throughout the house. Got a mesh wifi which solved that with using this Netgear device as modem only. I tried to connect my desktop PC directly to it as it still had another ethernet port available and I am not getting internet access. Even tried switching ports between my PC and the mesh wifi router. The latter works but not my PC. Am I supposed to activate something on the PC or on the Netgear modem/router?
Model: C6220|DOCSIS 3.0 High Speed WiFi Cable Modem Router
> [...] using this Netgear device as modem only. [...]
ADVANCED > Administration > Router Mode : No?
> [...] I tried to connect my desktop PC directly to it as it still had > another ethernet port available [...]
"available" and "usable" are spelled differently for a reason.
> [...] Am I supposed to activate something on the PC or on the Netgear > modem/router?
No. What you're supposed to do is connect exactly one device to your C6220-as-modem-only. Normally, that one device would be the WAN/Internet port of your (NAT) router. Then, all your client devices would be connected to that router. (_Not_ to the modem.)
The C6220 User Manual fails to mention this. (It's one of those "everyone knows" things, which are easy to neglect.)
> [...] I'll probably get another router or bridge to connect to the > main router. [...]
You might want to explain your intentions more clearly before buying "another router or bridge".
As already explained, your modem (C6220-as-modem-only) must be connected to the WAN/Internet port of your (NAT) router. And all your client devices must be connected to that router. That would include your (unspecified) "my desktop PC". What you'd _seem_ to need would be an Ethernet cable connecting your (unspecified) "my desktop PC" and your (unspecified) "a mesh wifi" router.
Adding another router to your existing (unspecified) "a mesh wifi" would likely be a mistake. What a "bridge" (not a well-defined term) might do for you is not obvious to me.
It might help if you explained the actual problem which you are trying to solve, rather than continue to guess at potential "solutions", which might not solve that actual problem.
