Cannot login to AC2300 router

[chrisowen]

2 days ago I bought a used router, a NETGEAR Nighthawk AC2300 Cybersecurity Dual-Band Wi-Fi Router - RS400-100NAS.

and I have been trying to login since then. Insane isnt it. I have been doing this for 30 years but this one has me beat. 

Internet connectivity works fine for LAN and 5G wifi using the credentials on the botton of the box.

I was at the beginning able to get to the login page with a wired laptop and it asked me for the previous owners email and password which i didnt have. Then it asked me for the password hints which I didnt have. Since then I have never got back to the login page.

I tried reset about 20 times.

I had to resort to wi-fi connectivity and windows shows the router is at 192.168.0.32, but that didnt work either.

I dont own a phone to use the nighthawk app.

I managed to register it at Netgear under my email address instead of the previous owners, but that didnt seem to make any difference because I cannot get to the login page, at least with wifi.

I tried www.routerlogin.com and .net. also the api address also. nothing gets me to the login page. 

Now I ask you is this really the best we can do design wise in the 21st century? Did they even try to debug their code at all?

[chrisowen · Accepted solution]

I did the full factory reset. Then I again used my Dell work laptop to access the login page with a LAN cable.

I used IPCONFIG to find and try all the IP Addresses.

Then I tried all the IP addresses also routerlogin.net, also tried both chrome and edge also turned the firewalls off.

Not one of these things would allow me to connect to the router. 

In desperation I took the whole upstairs setup apart and brought it downstairs to my personal desktop.

192.168.1.1 connected immediately.

It forced me to change the password, I really wish it hadnt because I have a memory like a sive and I am old.

How are my family going to access it? Presumably a factory reset will reset it anyway, so what is the point of it?

I was then able to change the default wifi passwords, turn off the guest account and confirm auto update is set.

Now I am going to give my work IT dept a piece of my mind. I wasted 3 days on this nonsense.

[FURRYe38]

So have you tried a full factory reset on the router by pressing the reset button for 10 seconds then release? 

[chrisowen]

I will try to reset it a 21st time, but it wont be today because my son is using the internet for studies.
My son thinks it might be set up as an access point and not a normal router whatever that means.

What I can say is I have an ARRIS SBG7400 cable modem and then this Netgear router is connected with a high bandwidth LAN Cable to that.

[FURRYe38]

You modem is a modem and router:

https://www.arrismodem.com/sbg7400ac2/

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.
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.

[chrisowen]

Well this is a little over my head. What is NAT?
Are you saying that I have to change the Arris setup permanently or just when I want to login to the new netgear router?

The Arris is fully used downstairs including wifi so no possibility of permanently changing that. 

The new netgear router is used upstairs where my son writes software. So he is going to need VPN.

It seems to be working well with the credentials on the bottom of the box. 

[FURRYe38]

IF you need to use the ISP modem as your host router, then it's recommeded to use the NG router in AP mode. 

IF you can get into the NG router after a factory reset with the NG router disconnected from the ISP modem.router, you can get up the NG router for AP mode and get it configured. Set a static IP address on the NG router, something on same IP address pool as the modem router uses. Then use this IP address to access the NG router in AP Mode at any time that you need to manage it. 

You'll need to set wifi channels between the Arris and NG in AP mode to far appart on 2.4 and 5Ghz. 

[chrisowen · Accepted solution]

I did the full factory reset. Then I again used my Dell work laptop to access the login page with a LAN cable.

I used IPCONFIG to find and try all the IP Addresses.

Then I tried all the IP addresses also routerlogin.net, also tried both chrome and edge also turned the firewalls off.

Not one of these things would allow me to connect to the router. 

In desperation I took the whole upstairs setup apart and brought it downstairs to my personal desktop.

192.168.1.1 connected immediately.

It forced me to change the password, I really wish it hadnt because I have a memory like a sive and I am old.

How are my family going to access it? Presumably a factory reset will reset it anyway, so what is the point of it?

I was then able to change the default wifi passwords, turn off the guest account and confirm auto update is set.

Now I am going to give my work IT dept a piece of my mind. I wasted 3 days on this nonsense.