I've got a Netgear R8000 router with the latest firmware (installed .80 last night). The problem I'm asking for help with existed prior to the firmware update.
Configuration: I've got a Nokia 5G21-12W-A modem through my ISP which is T Mobile Home Internet. The two are "tethered" via ethernet cable and my other devices connect to the Netgear router wirelessly. One of those (wirelessly connected) devices is my iMac computer.
My problem, and that I hope someone can help me fix, is that when browsing the internet, there are many times when the Netgear router slows browsing WAY down! For example, it can take two minutes to load msn dot com...and sometimes not at all because I'll eventually get a "No Internet connection found" message on my browser after it gets tired of waiting). Yet, I can run speedtest that are routinely over 100 down, and 10 up, including during these episodes.
I've isolated the problem to the rouger, because when I direct connect to the modem, bypassing the router, my pages all load quick as usual. Switch back to wirelessly connecting to the router, and the problem is right back.
I do have access to the router settings via an IP address. But I don't know what to do with it, in terms of whether to change channels, or what to do. And prior to my service contract ending with support, they did have me make some changes about five months ago, that have remained (my problems started months after those changes were made though). I say this only to communicate that the default router settings are no longer that).
Any thoughts/ideas on what might be happening? And more so, how to correct it?
Configuration: I've got a Nokia 5G21-12W-A modem through my ISP which is T Mobile Home Internet.
That looks suspiciously like a modem/router. So you seem to have piled one router on to another.
Two routers on your network can cause headaches. For example, you can end up with local address problems. Among other things, the other router can misdirect addresses that the Netgear router usually handles, such as routerlogin.net or the usual IP address for a router, 192.168.1.1.
Unless you have specific reasons for using two routers – to create two separate networks for example – it is often easier to use just one router and then to set up the second router as a wifi access point. Netgear advises this, as does just about every site you will visit.
It may be possible to put the modem/router into modem only (bridge) mode and then to use the second device as the router. Sometimes it is easier to put the second router into AP mode. But that has its own drawbacks:
You are correct, and this is not the first time I've heard this,
my challenge is that TMobile says this modem cannot be placed in bridge mode (they claim it lacks a setting to do so). I am also stuck with an older firmware version for it because only that version works with my work VPN which is also required. So I can't change the firmware on it to check and see if maybe bridge mode might be available.
I do also need the separate WiFi signal to access the settings via the required TMobile app. (It is possible to access many settings via IP address, but they do not overlap completely with those in the required app). I am told that there is a YouTube video out there that explains how to turn the WiFi signal off on the modem. If it is easy to turn off the WiFi signal, I could try that. But is that enough to resolve a double NAT issue?
What happened to that suggestion? Did I miss something?
Visit http://netgear.com/support , put in your model number, and look for Documentation. Get the User Manual (at least). Read. Look for "Use the Router as a Wireless Access Point".
No changes to the router are required for that. (But a DHCP address reservation on the main/only router for the R8000-as-WAP might be helpful.)
Thanks. When I log in to the router settings and start to place it in AP mode, I get a pop up that says something about needing to get an IP address from the primary modem. I don't know what the hell that means (I only can locate one IP address inside the modem's settings, and it's the one used to log in to it, not the router). So, rather than create even more problems for myself (since I don't know what the hell I'm doing!), I didn't proceed with it. I appreciate the suggestion though!! Thank you!
I should add that, after seeing this, I just tried it again. Got the same results. EXCEPT, this time, it completed the transaction! And now, when I try to log in with the previous IP address, it no longer allows access. I've gone in to my WiFi settings on my Mac and it appears to be using a different IP address. But when I type that address in, it too does nothing (no prompt for a log in or anything else).
Once I figure out how to get it back, given that I'm not clear what I'm doing, for me, I think I should stay away from AP mode (that's no reflection on you, and everything on me! I just don't know what I'm doing. And yes, I did read the manual and used it, step-by-step to get as far as I did (except I never pressed "accept", and it started the process anyway).
> I get a pop up that says something about needing to get an IP address > from the primary modem. I don't know what the hell that means [...]
I might know what it means, if I could see what it says. "something about" is a poor substitute for copy+paste.
If you connect a computer/device to your "5G21-12W-A modem[+router], I presume that that device gets an IP address. The same sould be true for an R8000-as-WAP.
> [...] (I only can locate one IP address inside the modem's settings, > and it's the one used to log in to it, not the router). [...]
Did you notice that your "the modem" is actually a modem+router? When you talk to it, can you find a list of connected devices, or anything about DHCP?
> [...] So, rather than create even more problems for myself (since I > don't know what the hell I'm doing!), I didn't proceed with it. [...]
I'd run the experiment. Worst case, do a settings reset on the R8000, and get back to where you started.
> I should add that, after seeing this, I just tried it again. Got the > same results. EXCEPT, this time, it completed the transaction! [...]
I don't know what "it" and "completed the transaction" mean to you.
As usual, showing actual actions (commands) with their actual results (error messages, LED indicators, ...) can be more helpful than vague descriptions or interpretations.
> [...] And now, when I try to log in with the previous IP address, it > no longer allows access.
"log in[to]" _what_? Should I remember what "the previous IP address" was?
> [...] I've gone in to my WiFi settings on my Mac and it appears to be > using a different IP address. [...]
With my weak psychic powers, I can't guess what "a different IP address" actually is. Or from what it's "different".
> [...] But when I type that address in, [...]
To a web browser, or what?
> [...] it too does nothing (no prompt for a log in or anything else).
If you put the address of your Mac into a web browser, then you might expect no one there to be listening. (Unless you're running a web server there.)
> [...] I think I should stay away from AP mode [...]
I think that you're wrong.
> [...] I just don't know what I'm doing. [...]
That's not the big problem. The big problem is that _I_ don't know what you're doing. Transcribe more, interpret less. Copy+paste is your friend.
The less you know, the more important accurate, detailed, precise descriptions become. What you see, what you did, and what happened when you did it, are what matter. Non-descriptions like "a different IP address" often convey little or no useful information. (In this case, "no".)
