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Nighthawk AX2400 RAX30 - unable to passthrough DHCP?
(Couldn't find the model in the drop-down, so I included it in the subject.)
Just bought another Netgear WiFi router, and am trying to configure it similar to the R7000 that I used for years. The docs from the new AX2400 said, "You can use another device on your network as the DHCP server or specify the network settings of all your computers", so I understood that to mean that I can disable the router's DHCP server and use DHCP from another device for my wireless clients; I prefer having the network DHCP assign all the wired and wireless addresses, and it also allows me to do the same monitoring for individual wired and wireless connections. That worked well with the R7000, where I had the Wireless AP mode enabled.
However, the AX2400 router doesn't seem to passthrough the DHCP from my network when I turn off the router's DHCP service and enable the Wireless AP mode. Wireless clients connect to the network with the correct password just fine, but don't get any IP address from the network DHCP server, which doesn't even *see* their DHCP requests, so the requests seem blocked by the AX2400. I had to turn on Router mode and enable the router's DHCP service again for the wireless clients to get *any* addresses; that breaks up the wired and wireless networks, and prevents the monitoring of individual wireless clients (that now are NATed under the router's address).
Because of the AX2400 docs, I had expected the same functionality as the R7000 for the DHCP passthrough. Is this actually not supported?
Re: Nighthawk AX2400 RAX30 - unable to passthrough DHCP?
I chatted with Netgear support Level 1, and after having me redo much of the work what I already did a few times, they told me to call for Level 2 support.
Level 2 support had me manually downgrade to the previous firmware version to test the Wireless AP functionality in that version. However, they also asked me to do a factory reset on the router, which seemed odd, since the router setup then forced me to upgrade again and therefore didn't allow testing the old firmware. However, something about downgrading to the older version, at least for a short while, got the Wireless AP mode working as it should in the new firmware version, as well as improved general stability.
Perhaps something happened in the original firmware upgrade that wasn't corrected in any reset or re-install of the same firmware, but it works now, and network DHCP is again able to configure wireless clients as well as wired ones. I would suggest downgrading firmware, whether or not followed by an upgrade again, as a useful technique for troubleshooting.
Re: Nighthawk AX2400 RAX30 - unable to passthrough DHCP?
Thanks for replying. Yes, it is connected to the WAN port. The physical setup is the same as it was with the R7000, and the router configuration (Wireless AP mode, router DHCP disabled) is the same as well.
Re: Nighthawk AX2400 RAX30 - unable to passthrough DHCP?
I'm hoping this diagram stays intact.
Internet -----> gateway -----> switch ----> AX2400 -----> (wireless network)
|
V
(wired network)
The gateway is a Linux machine that runs DHCP, and other network functions. The R7000 worked well in the same place as the AX2400 is now, and with its DCHP turned off, the gateway's DHCP configured the IPv4 address for each wired and wireless client from the same range. That's what I've been trying to do with the AX2400 now, but it seems to block inbound and outbound DHCP packets rather than passing them through it.
Re: Nighthawk AX2400 RAX30 - unable to passthrough DHCP?
In access point mode, it shouldn't be blocking anything. It should be getting all its info from the dhcp server if its wired and the dhcp server is function properly.
got the old R7000 you could set as a dhcp server and connect the AX2400? That'd determine if the AX2400 is running in AP mode properly (testing on a different dhcp server)
Re: Nighthawk AX2400 RAX30 - unable to passthrough DHCP?
Yes, it works in router mode, with the AX2400 giving out its own DHCP addresses. Yes, that's double NAT, and horrible for a few reasons, but the main one I've mentioned: that I no longer have the ability to monitor individual devices on the wireless network. That's a deal-breaker for me.
Re: Nighthawk AX2400 RAX30 - unable to passthrough DHCP?
Thanks for the good idea. I had updated the firmware to the latest version before starting to use it, but will do a factory reset when I can, try things again at the default firmware, and update it and try things again. I won't be able to do this for a few days, but will report what happens. I appreciate the help!
Re: Nighthawk AX2400 RAX30 - unable to passthrough DHCP?
Before I changed things, I left the AX2400 running in Router mode for a few days, and found that the wireless network kept going down, so I temporarily replaced it with an old wireless router I had, so that my family would have some wireless networking until I could work on this more. Today I've done a factory reset, which just returned the AX2400 to the default settings on the new firmware I had upgraded to after I bought it. I then reinstalled the current firmware (this time I downloaded the file from the netgear website in my browser and installed it that way). It restarted, and I was able to configure the wireless network again in Router mode, and verified my wireless device could connect to the internet through the AX2400. I then tried to configure the Wireless AP mode again, and the wireless device still doesn't get an IP address, so the network DHCP still doesn't pass through it. I'll have to return it soon if I can't get it working.
Re: Nighthawk AX2400 RAX30 - unable to passthrough DHCP?
If its new enough that you're still within the return period, are you still within your 90 days of free support?
To get a hold of support. Click on "MyNetgear" at the top. Register an account (or login) and then the device. From there you can start the support process. Keep in mind that its only free for the first 90 days.
Re: Nighthawk AX2400 RAX30 - unable to passthrough DHCP?
I chatted with Netgear support Level 1, and after having me redo much of the work what I already did a few times, they told me to call for Level 2 support.
Level 2 support had me manually downgrade to the previous firmware version to test the Wireless AP functionality in that version. However, they also asked me to do a factory reset on the router, which seemed odd, since the router setup then forced me to upgrade again and therefore didn't allow testing the old firmware. However, something about downgrading to the older version, at least for a short while, got the Wireless AP mode working as it should in the new firmware version, as well as improved general stability.
Perhaps something happened in the original firmware upgrade that wasn't corrected in any reset or re-install of the same firmware, but it works now, and network DHCP is again able to configure wireless clients as well as wired ones. I would suggest downgrading firmware, whether or not followed by an upgrade again, as a useful technique for troubleshooting.
