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I'm dealing with my second (third actually- second was brick that Netgear replaced) R8000P and it has been quite a challenge. I bought my second router back in August of 2020 to help extend WiFi to the far end of our house. I used it to set up in AP mode, so we could use the same router id throughout the house. It seemed to work okay until I there was a firmware update and after jumping through numberous hoops I learned that the latest model I got had some "issues" with receiving the firmware update. Eventually Netgear replaced the router with one that did not have the firmware issue, Nighthawk-R8000P-firmare-update-in-AP-mode.
Now the WiFi has decided to quit working; Ethernet works fine. I've rebooted several times which is a major hassle because I have to shut down both routers and then start the primary and then this one (AP mode). This process disrupts any work from my wife and I, both of us working from home (since March 2020), and 2-kids who have been doing both all online last spring and hybrid school until just recently.
And, of course, the measly support that comes with the router is useless now, so here I am again looking for any help or ideas that folks here can provide. I'd really like it if Netgear would step up and handle this. I bought a brand new R8000P in August 2020, found out that it was a dud, had it replaced with another apparent dud. I'm seriously considering jumping the Netgear ship for something that is more reliable!
If you have ideas to help, please reply. If you're just here to troll me (I've seen it happen here before) for my lack of experience, please go find a hobby!
Ok, I figured it out. Since the AP mode router worked after I disabled the wireless on the main router via the setup process I looked to see what settings were in place. The only difference was the that the AP mode router was set up to as a DHCP server with a range of .2 - .254, gobbling up all of the IPs, so the main router could not serve up any. Since the AP mode router got .28 from during the setup, I alloted it .29 - .254 and the primary has .2 - .27. Now both routers have the same SSID and there's a slightly weak signal inbetween routers.
Did Netgear advanced support bother to give me this crucial bit of information regarding DHCP allocations? No, which further leads me to believe that they want to cash in on selling their premium support.
I would do a hard reset and see if it revives the wifi. If that doesn't work why don't you try trying to reload a previous firmware and see if that revives its wifi. Just give it a shot hopefully it revives it.
Plemans- This is a good idea and didn't think of it initially, since my son uses the LED on/off switch on the back of the router to turn off all of the lights... so it doesn't bother him when he goes to bed at night 😉
But, yes, I checked to make sure that all of the WiFi lights were on and functioning. I also checked all three bands to make sure that their channels were not colliding, the same as the primary router.
@wcalifas - Thanks, I'll give this a try when I have more time. I have a backup config from before the last firmware update, so this shouldn't be too painful. I just don't understand why a new, supposedly tested firmware patch would cause the WiFi to bomb.
Update- I was about to give up on this altogether and try to get a replacement unit (more on that later) but Netgear, in my opinion, is really horrible about making the process easy (more on this later).
I decided to go back to resetting the router again and letting the router software guide the setup process. By doing so the setup process seemed indicate that this second, AP mode router could not use the same SSID as the primary, or I had to turn off the primary's wireless access. So, I opted to disable the primary's wireless and it worked to get the AP mode router's wireless running. But, this is not how it was advertised.
I initially got this second router for the sole purpose of using it as an AP and oddly, advanced Netgear support instructed me to set up both routers with the same SSID with each of the 3-antennae (wireless: 2.4GHz, 5GHz 1, 5GHz 2) set to a different channel, so they would not conflict with each other. So I did just that-
This is what Netgear's tier 2 or 3 support told me to do and it was not working. Should it work? I thought that was the point of having an AP- to seamlessly extend WiFi throughout a space. Now WiFi at the far end of the house is strong but not so much here in the kitchen.
Okay, as alluded to above, I was going to try to replace the unit (and I still may do that) but the process is convoluted. My phone and chat/email support have both ended but the hardware warranty is still good through August of 2021. So, I started the process by requesting a case number to get an RMA but then they tell you to call them with the case number. When you do this you end up in a ridiculous loop where you either need to still have phone/chat/email warranty time or you have to pay thempremium support $$ to determine that the hardware is defective. What good is the hardware warranty when they are going to charge you be able to use it?! I explained that this did not make sense and that I wanted to speak with a manager... they put me on hold to get a manager and came back saying there was no manager available and I should try back later. Try back later?! I asked what that meant- today? tomorrow? next week? The guy (based in India) said they were all still working from home (I've been WFH since the pandemic began, so can sympathize with this) and that I should try back in an hour. He gave me a new case number. When I just checked this new case number I found that it had already been closed?! This is when I decided to try the setup (above) again.
I'm extremely unhappy with their support and their assinine warranty policy; if I can't get this AP mode functioning properly, I am seriously considering ditching Netgear products after using them for ~18-years!
If you can offer any sage advice regarding AP mode to allow both the primary router and AP mode router to broadcast the same SSID, I'd love to know what ideas you have! TIA
Model: R8000P|Nighthawk X6S AC4000 Tri Band WiFi Router
Ok, I figured it out. Since the AP mode router worked after I disabled the wireless on the main router via the setup process I looked to see what settings were in place. The only difference was the that the AP mode router was set up to as a DHCP server with a range of .2 - .254, gobbling up all of the IPs, so the main router could not serve up any. Since the AP mode router got .28 from during the setup, I alloted it .29 - .254 and the primary has .2 - .27. Now both routers have the same SSID and there's a slightly weak signal inbetween routers.
Did Netgear advanced support bother to give me this crucial bit of information regarding DHCP allocations? No, which further leads me to believe that they want to cash in on selling their premium support.
Model: R8000P|Nighthawk X6S AC4000 Tri Band WiFi Router
