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Forum Discussion
Orbi RBR350 AP mode guest network improper IP Assignments
I have my RBR acting on AP only mode with 2 orbi RBS350 as nodes. Connected to the ethernet port on my RBR give me internet access. I see on my router that some devices are being assigned correctly i...
My experience indicates that with regard to Guest WiFi, the situation is more nuanced than one might expect.
(Spoiler Alert: Guest WiFi is NOT disabled in AP mode.)
I have an RBR750 with the WAN port connected to my RBR50 Orbi LAN.
- When the RBR750 is in router mode, it is assigned an IP address in the 192.168.1.x range and creates its own IP LAN in the 10.0.0.x (as it should). It supports both primary and guest WiFi networks.
- Devices connected to the 750 primary network get addresses in 10.0.0.x.
- Devices connected to the 750 Guest WiFi network are assigned IPs in the 192.168.2.x range.
- When the RBR750 is changed to access point (AP) mode, It is assigned an IP in the 192.168.1.x range, but the Attached Devices page now shows the same MAC address with two different IP addresses see image below):
- 192.168.1.84, and
- 192.168.2.1
- In AP mode,
- Devices connected to the 750 primary network (wired or WiFi) are assigned IPs in the upstream router 192.168.1.x network, and they appear in the Attached Devices display of the upstream router, but...
- Devices connected to the 750 Guest WiFi are assigned IPs in the 192.168.2.x range.
These devices do not appear in the upstream Attached Devices display.
My belief is:
- Guest WiFi network is not "disabled" when an AX router is placed in AP mode.
- No matter what mode an AX router is in, devices connected to the Guest WiFi are assigned IPs in the 192.168.2.x range. In router mode, they appear on the Attached Devices display. In AP mode, they do not.
In router mode, every device connected to the AX router is hidden from the upstream router by NAT. In AP mode, devices on the primary network are reported on Attached Devices, but devices connected to the Guest WiFi network are hidden behind the 192.168.2.1 NAT.
This is a fairly simple experiment to conduct. (although a bit tedious)
CrimpOn wrote:
My experience indicates that with regard to Guest WiFi, the situation is more nuanced than one might expect.
(Spoiler Alert: Guest WiFi is NOT disabled in AP mode.)
What are we to make of Netgear's KnowledgeBase article on AP mode?
Disabled Features on the Router when set to AP Mode | Answer | NETGEAR Support
It is just plain wrong.
My belief is:
- Guest WiFi network is not "disabled" when an AX router is placed in AP mode.
Nor is the Guest Network disabled when you put an old warhorse router like the R7800 into AP mode.
Someone with inside connections should get Netgear to revise its advice on this front.
Yes, we've already asked them about this.
Guest WiFi in AP mode is also complicated because the original and AX products work differently:
- The original Orbi assigned IPs to Guest WiFi from the primary DHCP pool (or even 'assigned' IP list).
What AP mode disabled was the ability to segregate Guest devices from the primary LAN. i.e. Guest WiFi can be enabled, but in AP mode IPs are assigned by the upstream router and Guest devices can access the entire LAN subnet. - The AX models appear to assign IPs to Guest WiFi even in AP mode and hide them behind NAT.
Correct.
- The original Orbi assigned IPs to Guest WiFi from the primary DHCP pool (or even 'assigned' IP list).
