MR70 router no longer able to access the Internet

[trnd7]

Yesterday my MR70 Mesh router started displaying the amber light. I've been trying to troubleshoot this for hours but nothing is working so I'm wondering if anyone has any idea on what to try.

Here's some info:

- Comcast is my ISP

- I'm using a CAX30 modem (I disabled its Wireless) and all wired connections to it work

- I had an MR70 router with two satellites; the connection between those and the devices seem to work, but the router can't connect to the Internet; in the Nighthawk app it had an Internet address of 0.0.0.0 but when I look at my modem settings in routerlogin.net I see it being assigned an IP address

Here are the things I tried:

- Reboot modem and router, both via the Nighthawk app and by unplugging the power

- Check firmware is up-to-date

- Connected my desktop PC directly to the router

- Factory-reset the router, re-installing it via the app

Bonus question: in that configuration, routerlogin.net redirects automatically to the modem. How can I then connect to the router? (I tried routerlogin.com 192.168.0.1 192.168.1.1 192.168.100.1 and they're all the same)

[FURRYe38]

Your ISP Modem already has a built in router and wifi. This would be a double NAT (two router) condition which isn't recommended. This would be a double NAT condition which isn't recommended. https://kb.netgear.com/30186/What-is-Double-NAT
https://kb.netgear.com/30187/How-to-fix-issues-with-Double-NAT
Couple of options,
1. Configure the modem for transparent bridge or modem only mode. Then use the NG router in router mode. You'll need to contact the ISP for help and information in regards to the modem being bridged correctly.
2. If you can't bridge the modem, disable ALL wifi radios on the modem, configure the modems DMZ/ExposedHost or IP Pass-Through for the IP address the NG router gets from the modem. https://kb.netgear.com/25891/DMZ-on-NETGEAR-routers
https://kb.netgear.com/24086/How-do-I-set-up-a-default-DMZ-server-on-my-Nighthawk-router
3. Or disable all wifi radios on the modem and connect the NG router to the modem, LAN to LAN configure AP mode on the NG router.
https://kb.netgear.com/20927/How-do-I-change-my-NETGEAR-router-to-AP-mode
https://kb.netgear.com/000061927/What-is-the-difference-between-router-mode-and-AP-mode

Try #1 first.

Power off for 1 minute then back ON with the ISP modem and router.
Be sure to restart your network in this sequence:
Turn off and unplug modem.
Turn off router and computers.
Plug in and turn on modem. Wait 2 minutes for it to connect.
Turn on the router and wait 2 minutes for it to connect.
Turn on computers and rest of network.

[trnd7]

Thank you for the quick reply! I read conflicting information about the CAX30 regarding modem or bridge mode, but I found a "router mode" in the admin settings and it seems to be doing the same thing. Unfortunately that didn't make the MR70 router be able to connect. So I'm looking into option #2 now.

EDIT: how come that this problem just happened yesterday after this network configuration worked for months? Is it possible that it was caused by an ISP change, since they told me that they are doing some work on their network at some point?

[michaelkenward]

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@trnd7 wrote:

EDIT: how come that this problem just happened yesterday after this network configuration worked for months? Is it possible that it was caused by an ISP change, since they told me that they are doing some work on their network at some point?

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When you set up your network, the MR70 router checks what it finds and adapts its setting accordingly. It looks to see if anything else is squatting on its preferred local IP address (192.x.x.x). If it finds something, it picks a different address, usually 10.x.x.x.

Then the two routers will not fight one another.

If your network recently went through a reboot, maybe after a firmware update, maybe something forgot about those IP settings.

That's why you got the advice to put the CAX into "bridge" (modem only) mode

For some reason, unlike most modem/routers, the manual for your modem/router does not have instructions on how to put it into bridge mode. Maybe it doesn't have that option.

From other manuals, you could look here:

• Advanced
• Administration
• Router mode

You may be lucky.

By the way, in your first message you said that you reinstalled "via the app". This is to the most controllable way of setting up your network. This is best done with a wired LAN connection.

Did the list of things you tried include resetting both devices, modem and router, and then reconfiguring the network?

It might help to do this in the recommended order:

As this is a router, there is probably a modem sitting in front of it. You need to get the devices to forget any inherited settings. Among other things, that means rebooting the network.

Power cuts usually take out both the modem and the router on a network. When the power comes back on, they may start up in the wrong order, with the router starting before the modem is ready. That means that they get confused about which is in charge.

It may help to reboot the whole network in the right order.

Be sure to restart your network in this sequence:

• Turn off and unplug modem.
• Turn off router and computers.
• Plug in and turn on modem. Wait 2 minutes for it to connect.
• Turn on the router and wait 2 minutes for it to connect.
• Turn on computers and rest of network.

[trnd7]

Thanks for your reply! I found a "Router mode" option for the CAX30 modem where I said no and it looks like it's in a modem mode (wifi disabled, wired connections no longer work, the admin site routerlogin.net no longer has the router options).

I also tried to setup DMZ on the MR70 router, but it didn't work, and then tried AP, but same result.

I make sure everytime I restart that I first switch off modem, then router, then switch on modem and after that router. I'm tempted at this point to reset the CAX30 modem to factory settings, then reset the MR70 router to see if a fresh install helps.

[trnd7]

I just noticed that my desktop computer is able to access the internet when WIRED to the MR70 router. Does this help understand why the wifi is not working?

[michaelkenward]

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@trnd7 wrote:
I just noticed that my desktop computer is able to access the internet when WIRED to the MR70 router. Does this help understand why the wifi is not working?

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Could be. I fear that "just noticed" is a bit worrying.

We'd need more detail to pin down the problem.

All it tells me is that there's some missing information on what is happening at your end.

[trnd7]

The "just noticed" came because I had to move a lot of cables around since yesterday and never paid attention to that specific bit.
Right now, I set the CAX30 back to do modem and router at the same time. It works but I lack the mesh connectivity from the MR70 (and 2 satellites), that I disconnected until maybe someone make other suggestions.
I tried to provide as much information as I could above, but I only know so much about networking technologies and I appreciate everyone's help here.

[trnd7]

One thing I forgot to mention that in addition to the CAX30 modem-router and MR70 Mesh router, I had a wifi extender EAX20 at the far end of our home.

[michaelkenward]

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@trnd7 wrote:
One thing I forgot to mention that in addition to the CAX30 modem-router and MR70 Mesh router, I had a wifi extender EAX20 at the far end of our home.

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I doubt if that is significant. But you could turn it off to be sure.

This saga is getting hard to follow. (For me at least.)

I'd go through things a step as a time. Add one device and check all is OK before proceeding.

I am not familiar with the process for turning a cable modem/router into a modem only device. But putting a router into AP mode requires that you change the  mode and then turn off the device and restart it in the new network setup.

Might be worth doing that with the CAX30.

• Put it into bridge mode.
• Turn it off.
• Connect CAX30 to cable input.
• Connect PC to CAX30
• Turn modem on
• Let it connect
• Turn PC on
• Confirm that you have an Internet connection and can connect the PC

Note that in bridge mode, the CAX30 has "moved" to a different IP address.

As the manual says:

If the router is in bridge mode, you can access it by LAN IP address 192.168.100.1.

When you are happy that this is working as expected, go through the process of setting up the MR70 from scratch.

[FURRYe38]

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@trnd7 wrote:

Thank you for the quick reply! I read conflicting information about the CAX30 regarding modem or bridge mode, but I found a "router mode" in the admin settings and it seems to be doing the same thing. <Router mode is a Yes or No settings option so if you select Yes, the modem will be in router mode. If you select No, this sets the modem to modem only mode. 

Unfortunately that didn't make the MR70 router be able to connect. So I'm looking into option #2 now.

EDIT: how come that this problem just happened yesterday after this network configuration worked for months? Is it possible that it was caused by an ISP change, since they told me that they are doing some work on their network at some point? <Possible FW issue on the CAX30. What version of FW is loaded on the CAX30? 

Also when the CAX30 and MR are in router modes this creates a conflict between the two as by default they both use 192.168.1.1 as a IP address start. The MR should detect this and should change to 10.x.x.x though. Or you can manually change the MR to something else. I use 192.168.0.1 on my routers. 

Also be sure to power cycle the MR70 OFF then back ON when changing modes on the CAX30. 

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[trnd7]

Ok I'll try doing a cleaner reinstall of the CAX30, and then add the MR70 (I'm pretty sure I did that but at this point I risk nothing trying).

The CAX30 router's firmware is version 2.1.3.10 and I'm also going to check if I can put the MR in router mode (it's only a router so not sure that applies).

Thanks for the suggestions!

[FURRYe38]

I would configure the CAX30 for modem only mode then configure the MR for router mode.