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At our last home, we got out Internet service through a cable modem, which I then routed into a Netgear Nighthawk R7000 wireless router in order to get maximum wi-fi coverage throughout our long, skinny abode. However, I ran my PC's Internet connection directly from the router using an Ethernet cable, and we also had some other hardware (a printer, an external hard drive) networked through that router as well.
At our new apartment, our landlords provide "free Internet," which is to say, they let us use their wi-fi. However, I still want to create a local network so that my wife and I can share our printer and external hard drive while using our PCs. The trouble is, I can't figure out how to configure my R7000 router not to be the source of our Internet. Whenever I turn on both my wi-fi adapter and the router, my PC looks to the router for Internet service, can't find it, and gives up. Meanwhile, even when the router is on, my computer can't seem to find any other device that's plugged into it. I'm running Windows 10 on my PC. Is this a Windows 10 problem or a router problem, and if it's a router problem, how do I configure it to make this problem go away? Why is this happening now when my router worked perfectly with everything before?
> Using the R7000 in bridge mode, which was the first thing I tried, > didn't allow me to access the Internet.
Now that we know what did _not_ happen, what, exactly, _did_ happen when you tried that?
> I acquired a wi-fi adapter that does allow me to access the Internet.
When you do that, and connect to your "landlords' wi-fi", does it just work, or do you need to log into something to make it work?
> I still want to be able to connect to an external hard drive as a > network drive that both my wife and I can use on separate PCs, an > operation that requires a router.
Actually, that does not require a router. An R7000 configured as a wireless access point would work, too, but getting that connected to your "landlords' wi-fi" might still be difficult.
> [...] whenever I turn the R7000 on, I can't access the Internet, even > though I also have the wi-fi adapter active. Presumably this is either > because my PC is looking to the R7000 first or because there's some > setting on the R7000 that's forcing my PC to prioritize it.
The R7000 can't coerce your Windows system into anything. Configuring the R7000 as a WAP might keep Windows from believing that it's a path to the Internet.
I've never tried anything like this, so I know nothing, but I might look into "Internet Connection Sharing" or (on Windows 10) "Mobile hotspot". Then, connecting the R7000-as-WAP to the sharing Windows system might allow multiple devices to share that shared connection.
Another possibility would be to find a (cheap) wireless bridge to give the R7000 its own connection to your "landlords' wi-fi", which might let the R7000 act as a normal router.
Greetings, For reliable internet and connectivity you will need to have a physical connection to the internet source. This is not a router problem or a windows 10 problem. The problem is your understanding and expectation. If you want your own network, you will need your own internet source. This will allow you to connect your devices and control your own network.
If anyone would like to answer my question rather than unask it, I'm all ears.
Meanwhile, I'm not quite sure how I managed it, but I did get my PC to locate my external hard drive through the Netgear N7000 router. Unfortunately, the router still interferes with my Internet connection whenever it's turned on. So I can access either the Internet or my external hard drive, but not both. How do I get my computer to look for an Internet connection through my wi-fi adapter and not the N7000 router?
I given you the best practice and reliable solution.
If you want to use your R7000 and connect to your "landlords" wireless, put the R7000 into "Bridge Mode". If you don't know what this is, see page 85 of the user guide.
This is not a reliable way to get itnernet, but will achieve the desired result. The degree of reliability is marginal at best. It will hinge fully on the signal being broadcast from the "landlords" device. I hope it works for you.
You keep answering questions you want me to have asked instead of the questions I asked.
I know what bridge mode is, and that was the first thing I tried. Why go out and buy a wi-fi adapter when I can pick up a wi-fi signal with my router? But when set it up that way, it connected me to my landlords' wi-fi -- at least, it said it did -- but it didn't grant me access to the Internet. That's why I'm using an actual wi-fi adapter instead and looking for a way to use the router as just a router.
Also, you can tell me as many times as you want that I should be using a wired Internet connection, and you know what? You're right. You know what else? I'm not spending $50 a month on a new Internet connection when we're about to go into the biggest recession ever because of a pandemic. So please stop telling me that I should, because I'm not going to.
So please stop telling me that I should, because I'm not going to.
@shadowsports has told you what you can do. You can keep on saying that you don't like the advice your given, but the answers will not change. Maybe it will help if someone else says it.
You want to connect to another wifi source.
As @shadowsports explained, the only way to do that with the R7000 is to Set Up the Router in Bridge Mode as the manual explains.
Do you know the SSID, WiFi security mode, wireless password, and operating frequency (either 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz) of the other router to which this router will connect?
If you have tried all that and it does not work, it may be that your landlord's network is set up to block the operation that you want. Maybe they don't want people slapping multiple devices on the network.
All of the devices you want to connect have to obtain an IP address so that traffic travels to the right place. On your network, the landlord's router handles addressing. You can't have two mailmen arguing about where to deliver packets.
"You want to connect to another wifi source. As @shadowsports explained, the only way to do that with the R7000 is to Set Up the Router in Bridge Mode as the manual explains."
If you'd read my original post, you'd know that I'm not looking to connect to the wi-fi with the R7000. I'm trying to prevent my PC from trying to connect to the Internet with the R7000, because …
"What is this magic adapter? One of those USB things that plugs into a computer?"
… yes. I have a magic USB thing that plugs into a computer, and that gets me the Internet connection I need, while the R7000 won't, and wouldn't even when I put it in bridge mode.
To recap:
Using the R7000 in bridge mode, which was the first thing I tried, didn't allow me to access the Internet.
I acquired a wi-fi adapter that does allow me to access the Internet.
I still want to be able to connect to an external hard drive as a network drive that both my wife and I can use on separate PCs, an operation that requires a router.
The R7000 is a router. I want to use it as a router, without using it to connect to the Internet, so that I don't have to go buy another router, too.
However, whenever I turn the R7000 on, I can't access the Internet, even though I also have the wi-fi adapter active. Presumably this is either because my PC is looking to the R7000 first or because there's some setting on the R7000 that's forcing my PC to prioritize it.
> Using the R7000 in bridge mode, which was the first thing I tried, > didn't allow me to access the Internet.
Now that we know what did _not_ happen, what, exactly, _did_ happen when you tried that?
> I acquired a wi-fi adapter that does allow me to access the Internet.
When you do that, and connect to your "landlords' wi-fi", does it just work, or do you need to log into something to make it work?
> I still want to be able to connect to an external hard drive as a > network drive that both my wife and I can use on separate PCs, an > operation that requires a router.
Actually, that does not require a router. An R7000 configured as a wireless access point would work, too, but getting that connected to your "landlords' wi-fi" might still be difficult.
> [...] whenever I turn the R7000 on, I can't access the Internet, even > though I also have the wi-fi adapter active. Presumably this is either > because my PC is looking to the R7000 first or because there's some > setting on the R7000 that's forcing my PC to prioritize it.
The R7000 can't coerce your Windows system into anything. Configuring the R7000 as a WAP might keep Windows from believing that it's a path to the Internet.
I've never tried anything like this, so I know nothing, but I might look into "Internet Connection Sharing" or (on Windows 10) "Mobile hotspot". Then, connecting the R7000-as-WAP to the sharing Windows system might allow multiple devices to share that shared connection.
Another possibility would be to find a (cheap) wireless bridge to give the R7000 its own connection to your "landlords' wi-fi", which might let the R7000 act as a normal router.
> Now that we know what did _not_ happen, what, exactly, _did_ happen > when you tried that?
As far as I could tell, it did connect to my landlords' wi-fi. But that was it: My status bar icon said "No Internet connection," and I couldn't make contact with any website.
> When you do that, and connect to your "landlords' wi-fi", does it > just work, or do you need to log into something to make it work?
The first time, I had to specify which network I wanted to connect to and enter the password, of course, but after that, it just works. It's not like hotel wi-fi or coffeehouse wi-fi where there's a particular screen you have to go to and enter additional information into first. AFAICT, it's just a home wi-fi setup that they're letting us piggyback on.
> > I still want to be able to connect to an external hard drive as a > > network drive that both my wife and I can use on separate PCs, an > > operation that requires a router.
> Actually, that does not require a router.
How does it not? We can't plug the external drive directly into both PCs at once.
> The R7000 can't coerce your Windows system into anything. > Configuring the R7000 as a WAP might keep Windows from believing that > it's a path to the Internet.
Changing the R7000 to Access Point mode seems to have done the trick. I have Internet access through my wi-fi adapter and can also access my external hard drive through the router. Thanks for the suggestion, antinode.
The ironic thing is, Access Point mode is the mode I used it in back at my previous home. I didn't think it would work here because I didn't have my own Internet line coming in, so I never tried it.
