Deactivating Router function on Nighthawk AC3200 (C7800) Modem Router
I need to turn off the Router functionality on my cable modem/router Nighthawk AC3200 (C7800) unit. The family was complaining about the wifi coverage in our single story house, so I purchased the Google Nest Wifi (Mesh) system.
I activated it, but it appears to be running two NATS, and the Nest Thermostat is unable to connect to the Nest Wifi SSID.
Quesiton: How do I turn off the router functionality so that I'm only using it as a modem?
Also, is there anything special I need to do in order to ensure that my Nest Thermostat connects properly?
Visit http://netgear.com/support , put in your model number, and look for Documentation. Get the User Manual (at least). Read. Look for "Connect Your Modem Router to a Router After Installation and Activation".
> [...] the Nest Thermostat is unable to connect to the Nest Wifi SSID.
Sounds like a question for another forum, but in any venue:
"unable" is not a useful problem description. It does not say what you did. It does not say what happened when you did it. As usual, showing actual actions (commands) with their actual results (error messages, LED indicators, ...) can be more helpful than vague descriptions or interpretations.
Re: Deactivating Router function on Nighthawk AC3200 (C7800) Modem Router
Yeah, If the manual provided an easy and obvious answer, I wouldn't have asked it here. "Setting up a Mesh Wifi Network" page X : Turn off Router of the Nighthawk by these steps......
In fact, I was looking for more descriptive information on the Net, since I can't be the first person to have this problem.
Also, "unable" seemed like the only word available, as there was zero descriptive or informative information from the attempts to connect. I'm only guessing that it has to do with the double NATs.
The Nest Thermostat saw the new SSID of the Google Nest Wifi, so I accepted. However, when I tried to access that thermostat from my iPhone Nest App, or from my PC browser portal, the thermostat didn't appear. When I went back, and connected to the old SSID provided by the Netgear Router, the Thermostat appeared in the Iphone Nest app and in the PC browser portal. Not sure what to expect if I turn off the "NAT" in the Router.
Re: Deactivating Router function on Nighthawk AC3200 (C7800) Modem Router
> Yeah, If the manual provided an easy and obvious answer, I wouldn't > have asked it here. [...]
> [...] Get the User Manual (at least). Read. Look for "Connect Your > Modem Router to a Router After Installation and Activation".
Did you?
Did the "Connect Your Modem Router to a Router" section in the C7800 User Manual answer your question about that, or not?
> [...] "Setting up a Mesh Wifi Network" page X : [...]"
The procedure's the same for using the C7800 with any other router; it's not specific to "a Mesh Wifi Network".
> [...] there was zero descriptive or informative information from the > attempts to connect. [...]
You've certainly offered none here. With my weak psychic powers, I can't see what you did, or what happened when you did it.
> The Nest Thermostat saw the new SSID [...]
Do devices other than the Nest thermostat work as expected? I'd expect general network debugging to be easier with a computer or other device with a more capable user interface.
> [...] When I went back, and connected to the old SSID provided by the > Netgear Router, [...]
Why is that still active? If you disabled the router section of the C7800, then I'd expect its wireless-network stuff to be disabled, too.
> [...] Not sure what to expect if I turn off the "NAT" in the Router.
Why would you do that, instead of disabling the router section of the C7800? What you need here is not more creativity; it's more following basic instructions.
Re: Deactivating Router function on Nighthawk AC3200 (C7800) Modem Router
So, I figured it out on my own.
After reading the manual, it was obvious that this was not going to help. I talked to my neighbor, who is a CCIE engineer, but he was only offering suggestions and guessing as well. (He wrote the exams 15 years ago, and has moved onto other more interesting roles in his career - so nothing negative to say. He provided insight into how the equipment worked - and that helped.
On his Netgear equipment, the Admin portal page of his Netgear box, there is a neat little button to turn the router off or on.
On my Netgear equipment (AC3200/C7800) box, my admin portal page does NOT have the neat and tidy router on/off toggle, just the NAT on/off button.
Turning the NAT off completely f-ed up the entire system, so I had to start from Factory reset to get up and box running again so I could access the Admin Portal page.
After talking to my neighbor again, he mentioned the word "radio", so I remember seeing that word in the manual.
On pages 72-73, the manual describes turning the radio off inside the admin page, or simply pushing the "On/Off" button on the front of the box.
Wait.What?
I turned off the WiFi radio by simply pushing the off button on the front of the AC3200/C7800 box.
BINGO!!.
No more Netgear produced WiFi signals.
Then the Google Nest WiFi equipment did its thing using the Google Home app, and Voila - Mesh Wifi.
The Nest Therostat connects to the Nest WiFi, and both the Iphone App and the PC app both recognized the Thermostat immediately.
SOLVED!!!
It really shouldn't be that hard, and creativity won the day.
Re: Deactivating Router function on Nighthawk AC3200 (C7800) Modem Router
> [...] I figured it out on my own.
If you say so.
> On his Netgear equipment, [...]
Thanks for that detailed description.
> No more Netgear produced WiFi signals.
"Disable the radios" and Disable the router" are spelled differently for a reason.
> It really shouldn't be that hard, [...]
What? Reading the User Manual? Following the instructions therein?
> [...] and creativity won the day.
If you like what you got, then that's ok with me. In the real world, however, there are reasons not to cascade multiple NAT routers, which is why the C7800 User Manual provides a specific procedure to follow when using a C7800 (as a modem only) with some other router. But I wouldn't want to twist your arm.
"If a man wants to carry the cat home by the tail, I say let him. That cat will teach him a thousand lessons which I could never explain."
