Orbi WiFi 7 RBE973
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Re: Nighthawk R7000 Shows many devices with the same MAC address

IdahoChris
Aspirant

Nighthawk R7000 Shows many devices with the same MAC address

I have 31 different devices connected to my network.  Most are wired and but some are wireless.  All wireless devices are using the 2.4 Ghz band.

 

My problem is when I look at the "Attached Devices" under the Basic tab, 17 of my devices, while they all have different IP addresses,  are all showing to have the same MAC address!  Everything functions just fine, but I know these devices all have different MAC addresses irrespective of what the Ntgear table shows.

 

Some of the IPs are assigned via DHCP but many of the devices showing with the same MAC address have fixed IP addresses that I assigned at the device level.

 

I need to set up some port forwarding, but I cannot determine which ip address to use since the MAC address is not correct in the table.

 

Thank you for any help or suggestions you might have!

Model: R7000|AC1900 Smart WIFI Router
Message 1 of 5

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IdahoChris
Aspirant

Re: Nighthawk R7000 Shows many devices with the same MAC address

OK, I have solved this mystery.  I'm posting up here in case any others may have a similar (though I am sure rare) configuration.

In my original description, I failed to note that I was using an Engenius bridge (set up as an AP with client Engenius at the other end) in my network to connect to an adjacent building.  This turned out to be the root of the problem.  My Engenius bridge was spoofing all downstream devices with the receiver Engenius MAC address for "security" reasons.  The Netgear router was just reporting what it was recieving.

 

The solution which seems obvious now, was to set up the Engenius bridge diffferently so that this MAC spoof did not occur.

 

The issue was not related to the Netgear router at all.  In hindsight I should have posted my question on the Engenius community site and not here on the Netgear site.  Apologies and thanks to any that spent time trying to help with my issue.

 

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Message 5 of 5

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DarrenM
Sr. NETGEAR Moderator

Re: Nighthawk R7000 Shows many devices with the same MAC address

What firmware version are you using?

 

DarrenM

Message 2 of 5
antinode
Guru

Re: Nighthawk R7000 Shows many devices with the same MAC address

> Model: R7000|AC1900 Smart WIFI Router

 

   Is that accurate?  Firmware version?

 

> [...] when I look at the "Attached Devices" under the Basic tab, 17 of
> my devices, while they all have different IP addresses, are all showing
> to have the same MAC address! [...]

 

   Clearly, that's a corrupt report, which suggests bad/confused
firmware.  You might try a settings reset, and manual reconfiguration,
but I wouldn't bet on that solving the problem.

 

   If your firmware is newer than 1.0.9.42, then I'd try reverting to
that one.  Newer versions have attracted multiple, various complaints.

 

> I need to set up some port forwarding, but I cannot determine which ip
> address to use since the MAC address is not correct in the table.

 

   A little detective work might provide the required information, even
if the router had no "Attached Devices" report, but I'd investigate
different router firmware before trying to dig a well with a teaspoon.

Message 3 of 5
IdahoChris
Aspirant

Re: Nighthawk R7000 Shows many devices with the same MAC address

Thank you both for your replies and suggestions.  I am presently out of town and will not have access my router for a couple of weeks.

 

When I return I will try installing different firmware.  I will report back with the results.

 

Thanks again for the suggestions!

Message 4 of 5
IdahoChris
Aspirant

Re: Nighthawk R7000 Shows many devices with the same MAC address

OK, I have solved this mystery.  I'm posting up here in case any others may have a similar (though I am sure rare) configuration.

In my original description, I failed to note that I was using an Engenius bridge (set up as an AP with client Engenius at the other end) in my network to connect to an adjacent building.  This turned out to be the root of the problem.  My Engenius bridge was spoofing all downstream devices with the receiver Engenius MAC address for "security" reasons.  The Netgear router was just reporting what it was recieving.

 

The solution which seems obvious now, was to set up the Engenius bridge diffferently so that this MAC spoof did not occur.

 

The issue was not related to the Netgear router at all.  In hindsight I should have posted my question on the Engenius community site and not here on the Netgear site.  Apologies and thanks to any that spent time trying to help with my issue.

 

Message 5 of 5
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