MR80 (+2MS) - Partial Wifi connectivity

[tschenz485]

Yesterday, my MR80 system suddenly dropped wifi to most devices (but kept wifi to an iPad tablet, a Dell laptop and an ADT alarm hub). Other computers, phones etc. (total 16 devices) could not get an IP from the router (but SSID was being broadcast). This was true for all 3 of my bands.

I tried rebooting the router several times both by rear panel button and power down. No joy. I tried the same but also power down the modem first(more on this later). No joy.

I finally called Specturm to check my internet feed and they reported everything OK. I also had them reboot the modem remotely. A little later 930 min.) the system started working by slowly adding in all devices.

Spectrum told me I have an old modem/router (wifi disabled there) and they're sending me a new modem only.

2 Questions: 

1. Does it make sense that the modem could be causing the problem?

2. The MR80 says that the firmware version installed (1.1.7.12) is the latest version, but it looks like there's a newer version (1.1.7.14). Could this be causing the problems? 

[tschenz485 · Accepted solution]

Well, this turned out easier than I expected.  I simply replaced the old router with the new one and the MR80 was smart enough to figure out IP address, etc. Once I activated the modem with Spectrum,  all wifi connections came back online.

[michaelkenward]

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@tschenz485 wrote:

Spectrum told me I have an old modem/router (wifi disabled there) and they're sending me a new modem only.

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If your modem does wifi, it isn't a modem, it is  modem router.

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1. Does it make sense that the modem could be causing the problem?

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Yes.

You don't tell us what the modem-router is but two routers on your network can cause headaches. For example, you can end up with local problems with addresses on your network. Among other things, the other router can misdirect traffic to addresses that the Netgear router usually handles, such as routerlogin.net or the usual default IP address for a router, 192.168.1.1.

This explains some of the other drawbacks.

What is Double NAT? | Answer | NETGEAR Support

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2. The MR80 says that the firmware version installed (1.1.7.12) is the latest version, but it looks like there's a newer version (1.1.7.14). Could this be causing the problems? 

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Unlikely.

The "two-routers" thing is more likely to mess around with your network.

[tschenz485]

Thanks for the reply. Supposedly, Specturn disabled the wifi portion of the modem/router. Looking at the web interface for the unit, I see that under a "Wireless" tab, the radio is enabled, but individual network details show "disabled". Wireless bridging has also been disabled.

I should be getting the new modem (modem only) today. Hoping that the new unit will smooth things out.

Any "gotchas" to watch out for as I replace the modem?

[michaelkenward]

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@tschenz485 wrote:

Supposedly, Specturn disabled the wifi portion of the modem/router.

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That does not disabled the rest of the router bit of a modem/router.

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Any "gotchas" to watch out for as I replace the modem?

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Just set up the network from scratch. Get new the modem up and running before you add the router as instructed.

If you already have a lot of devices that connect to your wifi network, you can give the MR80 network the same SSID and password as the old network. Your existing devices should then connect as expected.

[tschenz485]

Need a little clarifying:

The MR80 (using 3 networks) is currently connected to the old modem/router. 

To set up the network from scratch (with new modem), do I use the Nighthawk app as I did originally last year? I see a link to "SET UP A NEW NIGHTHAWK SYSTEM". Do i use that? How do I get the app to "forget" the previous network? Or will it do that automatically?

[michaelkenward]

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@tschenz485 wrote:

How do I get the app to "forget" the previous network?

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The app shouldn't see the previous network. But first reset the MR80 to get it to forget any old settings.

Personally, I avoid the app and use the #a web browser and the graphical user interface (GUI) to set up a new router.

[tschenz485 · Accepted solution]

Well, this turned out easier than I expected.  I simply replaced the old router with the new one and the MR80 was smart enough to figure out IP address, etc. Once I activated the modem with Spectrum,  all wifi connections came back online.