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Is there a way to rename a Netgear Nighthawk R7800?
Hi...
I finally cut the last cord, returning Comcast's Gateway and using a combination of a new Arris 8200 3.1 Cable Modem and a gently used Netgear R7800 Router. Got everything installed yesterday afternoon, and ran some speed tests with and without my NORD VPN and it looks like I havent lost anything. My download speeds are almost exactly what I was getting with the Gateway about 940+ Mbps and uploads around 41+ with no VPN, with the VPN activated 674 Mbps download and 39+ Mbps uploads. More than enough speed and close to my gigabit package.
I was able to download and install the latest firmware for the Netgear router, so thats taken care of. What I can't seem to do is re-name the wifi network or change the password. I called Netgear and they said since it was a "used" product, they couldnt help me unless I had the original proof of purchase. They did however, say that if I bought a 6 month maintenance program for $89 bucks, they could re-register it in my name and that would allow me to change the name and password. I had tried to use the Netgear App on my iphone but I kept getting rejected on username and password and security questions. I don't know if the app is buggy or what.
So here I am, asking if there's a way for me to change the name of the network and password and any other default or previous owner information without paying $89 to Netgear. I've used Netgear switches for years, confess that most of my previous experience with routers were LinkSys with which I never had this issue. If there's some way to get around this obstacle (?) I'd appreciate some advice. I know that Netgear routers are a favorite of the people that flash them with new open source stuff... thats kinda over my pay grade LOL, being an old senior, but maybe thats the only way to do it? I have a grandson who I usually ask for advice on iPhone stuff, but I'm pretty sure they have an Xfinity gateway in their house so my son can control the kids access to the internet.
Re: Is there a way to rename a Netgear Nighthawk R7800?
I would run both 2.4ghz and 5ghz. Some devices don't have a 5ghz chip in them. Plus the 2 frequencies won't interfere with each other.
In terms of that notice, its just a 20/40hz coexistence. Its part of the 2.4ghz spec to help reduce interference. Don't worry about it. It automatically adjusts if there's other networks in the area.
Use wpa2. there's a bunch of little facts about it you can read about (i'll link) but a version of wpa2.
Re: Is there a way to rename a Netgear Nighthawk R7800?
Thanks for the tip... I think it worked! But here's another question; Does it make sense to run both the 2.4 GHz and the 5 GHz options? My house is not sprawling, its a colonial style and the modem & router are located on the main floor where everything is hard-wired. Up on the 2nd floor theres one (1) smart TV and its using YouTube TV as its main source of media. In the basement theres two TV's, one is a smart TV and the other is using a Firestick 4K, no real problem with buffering anywhere just yet.
Reason I ask is that when I was changing names I used different names but the same password for the 2.4 & 5 GHz Network choices. So a popup appeared "Per Wi-Fi Alliance guidelines for 40 Mhz and 20 Mhz coexistence, even if you select "up to 800Mbps" mode, your products service rate might drop to 20 Mhx. This typically corresponds to 347 Mbpa performance."
Lastly, I'm curious about which security protocol to use. WPA2-PSK (AES), WPA-PSK (TKIP), or WPA2-PSK (AES)?
Re: Is there a way to rename a Netgear Nighthawk R7800?
I would run both 2.4ghz and 5ghz. Some devices don't have a 5ghz chip in them. Plus the 2 frequencies won't interfere with each other.
In terms of that notice, its just a 20/40hz coexistence. Its part of the 2.4ghz spec to help reduce interference. Don't worry about it. It automatically adjusts if there's other networks in the area.
Use wpa2. there's a bunch of little facts about it you can read about (i'll link) but a version of wpa2.
Re: Is there a way to rename a Netgear Nighthawk R7800?
My new setup is working great with one minor exception... range. I have the router centrally located in the house in our family room on the 1st floor. The only wifi needed is for the TV in our bedroom and that seems fine. The wifi is working in the basement as well. In the garage, its working but weakly. In the basement, on my iMac im clocking about 550 Mbps download speed/39 Mbps Upload. In the garage right now its more like 15 Mbps download, so I bought a TP-Link wifi range extender model AC750/RE220. I plugged it in to an outlet very close to my MacBookPro (10+ years old) which I use for quick reference when I'm in the garage working on my car. I never ran a speedtest when I had the xfinity Gateway setup, and while it worked, it was very fussy about what sites would be displayed, sometimes I'd switch between Safari and Chrome just to connect. So today's 1st question (LOL) is I'm wondering if there's anything I'm missing with regard to letting the router know there's a wifi booster out in the garage?
Down the road, I'm thinking I will hard-wire in a Netgear Gigabit Switch on the wall that separates the kitchen and garage and then run an ethernet wire from the switch to the kitchen TV which is hung on that wall. I'm also going to put my repaired 37" Vizio TV in the garage along with the spare Firestick 4K that I have. The workbench where I keep the laptop is on the opposite side of the garage and I like the idea that its more or less untethered and can be placed under the hood or in the car if needed (the car is a 51 year old Camaro) so maybe it makes sense to connect an ethernet wire to the TP-Link wifi booster too (2nd Question)?
My 3rd Question is why I get a warning popup when I try to use the browser login?
Thank you so much for the responses to my dumb questions. Its folks like you that make me enjoy these forums.
Re: Is there a way to rename a Netgear Nighthawk R7800?
question 1 & 2 kind of tie in together. Your location for the extender isn't that great. there's 2 problems with extenders.
1. They need a decent signal to run off. If you have it where the signal is bad (right next to the laptop), then it doesn't have a good signal to pickup and rebroadcast. You'd want to centrally locate it from where you need the signal.
Not this: router--------------------------------->Extender---->computer
2. the other issue is singal and dual band extenders by their very nature drop throughput 50%. Reason why is they have to go router----extender and then extender-----device with the same chip. And they can't do both at once. so it cuts their speed in half. And you have to consider that its speeds that its getting from the router (because of distance/obstruction/interference) have dropped somewhat so you're already starting with a lower speed than the router is putting out. thats why your question #2 ties in. If you hardwired in the extender in access point mode, its speeds will be based off the hardwired speeds. so it'll have full speeds and work much better.
Question 3 is a security alert from safari because of either an expired certificate or other issue. The issue has been around for quite a while. If you google it you'll get tons of responses and even some fixes such as deleting the certificate or setting it to trust the certificate. its not a concernt though because that web address is internal to your network.
