R7900P with 3rd Generation Nest Thermostat

Antinode -

Thanks for the quick response and my apologies for not being more clear in my description of my setup. Based on your comments, I did a little more searching and found that the problem was that my GT701D modem/router was not in bridge mode. Once I fixed that, I was able to control the nest thermostat remotely - problem solved.

Below is a more complete desription of my setup, initial problems, and path to the solution in case someone else is experiencing similar problems.

I am on Frontier DSL. Previously, I had a Frontier branded Netgear 7750 router/wifi modem set to bridge mode. The bridged modem was connected to a Netgear R6900P wifi router. The Nest thermostat was connected to the wifi network, and I was able to control the thermostat remotely without any additional changes to the router settings.

A few weeks ago, I started to experience internet drops (devices stayed connected to wifi, but there was no connection from the router to the internet). Sometimes a router reboot would restore internet connectivity, sometimes I would have to reboot the router and the modem. The frequency of the internet drops increased so that at times it would be about every 10 minutes.

I replaced the Netgear R6900P with a Netgear R7900P router. The R7900P router was behind the bridged 7550 modem/router, and the R6900P was completely disconnected. I also replaced the DSL filter. The internet drops continued.

I bought an Actiontec GT701D modem on eBay for $15. I set it up with the R7900P router behind it, and the internet drops stopped. Everything seemed to work fine until I connected my nest themostat to the wifi network. The thermostat would connect to the wifi, but I couldn't control the thermostat remotely unless I switched the R7900P router from router mode to access point mode.

My mistake was not putting the GT701D in bridge mode. The modem only has one ethernet port and no wifi capability, so I incorrectly thought it was just at modem and not a modem/router, as pointed out above. I didn't think it had a bridge mode, and didn't see it during the initial setup.  Once I changed the GT701D settings from PPPoE to bridge mode, the problem with the thermostat was solved.

Thanks again for the help. I hope this summary is helpful for anyone else having similar problems. If something is missing/incorrect or need clarification, let me know and I will do my best to fill in the blanks.

-Matt