I used to have my R7000 (firmware version v1.0.11.126) configured as a subnet (maybe not the precise term) off of a Ziply/Frontier router. Unexpectedly, Ziply came and changed the router and messed up my side network (which uses a Nanobeam bridge). I can't remember how the R7000 and Ziply routers were configured as I have misplaced whatever documentation I made at the time I set them up. I think I followed a procedure on Youtube or a website someplace that was fairly straightforward, but maybe involved port forwarding or something like that to do DHCP or NAT (I'm just throwing out acronyms--I don't really know what they mean or if they would make sense in this context). The net effect was the R7000 created its own network that was invisible to the one with the Ziply router, and vice versa. I set up Google Home devices and some smart light bulbs and everything work and played well together. After the unexpected "service" of the ziply router, I was desperate to restore internet connection, which I was able to do by configuring the R7000 as an access point. I made the wifi network and password the same as what it was before, and devices like laptops, phones, and smart TVs seem to be able to access it as before. However, the Google Home speakers and the lightbulbs I would control with them seem to no longer be visible on the network (and Google Home complains that they can't connect to the network). Also, I can now see all the devices connected to the ziply router when I couldn't before.
I'm hoping that I can get back to a similar configuration, preferably one where the Google Home devices start working without me needing to reconfigure them all. I'd appreciate any advice, or links to instructions or videos that may be helpful.
Re: Lost google home network after changes to R7000
Thanks so much for the quick reply. The Ziply modem is an (Arris?) NVG578LX. The situation is that the Ziply modem is in a main house, while the NG one is in a separate dwelling. We are an extended family situation, so keeping the two networks separate isn't super critical, but I think would be nice just to minimize the number of devices one house or the other would have to be concerned about when debugging connectivity issues. The two buildings are too far apart to share a wireless network, and again, it is desirable to keep them relatively independent of each other. So, I want to keep the wireless and wired connections at both locations (on both the Ziply and the NG routers). Right now it is mostly working with the NG configured as an access point with its wifi networks having different SSID than the Ziply. The primary downsides of this current configuration is that the Google home devices no longer work properly, and the minor downside is that we are no longer on separate networks so the main house can see the auxiliary house, and vice versa. I haven't tried going through the setup process for the lightbulbs and Google Home speakers, so that may be a viable option. I did read something somewhere that mentioned making sure that a setting on the router allowed devices connected to see each other, but I didn't see that on the NG router (when it is in AP mode some settings are inaccessible so maybe that is why). I'm motivated to find an option different from what I have now because I liked what I did before, but just can't remember the right words to find the instructions for what I did. I think it involved setting up a subnet with the appropriate mask, probably some setting having to do with DHCP, and maybe some port forwarding. It may have also involved doing something like assigning the NG router a fixed IP address. Again, I'm really not very knowledgeable about this stuff and I could be misremembering or misusing some words. I just know I found very easy to follow instructions that enabled me to do what I did without too much trouble.
What I did before was attractive because it ended up doing what I wanted, but if there is a relatively inexpensive piece of hardware that would facilitate accomplishing what I want, without too much trouble, I'd be open to learning about that. Would a simple switch a couple of ports let me create the separate network? If I could use something like that, then maybe putting the NG router as one of the outputs from the switch would be easier than trying to brute force the NG router to work differently than it is primarily designed to do. The switch idea led me to doing a quick search and finding this: https://community.netgear.com/t5/Nighthawk-WiFi-Routers/Configure-R7000-as-a-switch/td-p/1470186. Maybe that is what I did before? If that is a viable option, then I just need to find more detailed instructions. However, if a $20 switch would be more plug and play, then that may make more sense.
Re: Lost google home network after changes to R7000
Here is an update, but first a sincere thanks for the suggestions. This is my first time posting here and I'm impressed with the depth of knowledge and care shown by the participants.
So, previously I had verified that my main Google Home speaker (a non-mini model), did not restore access to my wifi after power cycling a few times. While fearful that I might need to reconnect all the other devices if they weren't working properly because of the network changes, I decided to try to delete and reconnect the Google Home speaker and see what happened. It looks like doing that was enough to get access to the lights and resume normal behavior. I have a handful of minis that I hadn't bothered to fiddle with, and figured I'd try the same thing. However, I didn't need to as power cycling those has restored their connectivity. So, using the R7000 as an access point seems to be working fine, with the only downside being that my auxiliary house network is part of the main building's network. That is much less of a big deal than the Google Home not working so I'll probably leave things as they are for a while. As a back burner project I'll try to learn more about switches and perhaps eventually try to use one to isolate the two networks from each other.
