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I bought it to replace a ten-year old Arris router supplied to me by my ISP, Frontier Internet.
Day before yesterday, the Netgear router was delivered. I had zero problems switching from the Arris router. I did not read any information supplied with the router.
I got great WiFi functionality for my desktop computer, laptop, and smartphone. However, I made the mistake of second-guessing myself when I took time later to read the Quick Start guide and familiarize myself with the LED lights and the ports.
I unplugged and replugged the Internet cable and the Ethernet cable. At that point, I thought I had plugged them in properly, but I had not.
For whatever reasons, I continued to be able to use all my devices with no problem until I turned off my desktop and my laptop and went to sleep.
However, yesterday morning, while my desktop showed a Wi-Fi icon in the system tray, my laptop had no Wi-Fi icon in the system tray. My smartphone showed a Wi-Fi icon at the top of its screen.
When I checked the Nighthawk router's LED lights, the Internet and ethernet lights on my router were red. I had downloaded the Nighthawk app the day before, and I started using it to try and fix a problem that I had unknowingly caused.
The app detected the router but kept saying that there was no Internet connection. I followed all its instructions and did everything that I have always done when a Wi-Fi signal gets messed up. Unplug everything, plug it back in. Hit the reset button.
I did this over and over, and nothing worked because I did not know that I had put the Internet and ethernet cables in the wrong ports.
Last night, about one a.m., I realized what I had done. Because I need a good Wi-Fi connection to the Internet, I plugged everything back into my old Arris router, and now everything is working just fine.
This is a very long post, but I want to conclude it by asking: how can I make sure I get the Nighthawk router properly connected so that I don't screw things up again?
And by the way, the Nighthawk app was, for me, not helpful at all because I had no real person to talk to or chat with in real time about what I was doing. Netgear customer service does not exist, which I find very frustrating.
Invest a few $$ in some color coded Ethernet cables. Make sure they are rated for Cat 6 or better.
The back of your new router has a Wide Area Network (WAN) port that is color coded yellow. The Ethernet cable connected to that port leads back to the output of your modem. Use a yellow cable for that connection and no other connection.
What Firmware version is currently loaded? What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too? Be sure your using a good quality LAN cable between the modem and router. CAT6 is recommended.
What brand and model# devices do you have connected?
Try disabling the following and see: Armor, IPv6, Smart Parental Controls or Circle, Traffic Meter.
Has a power off for 1 minute then back ON with the ISP modem and router and satellites been performed since last update? Be sure to restart your network in this sequence: Turn off and unplug modem. Turn off router and computers. Plug in and turn on modem. Wait 2 minutes for it to connect. Turn on the router and wait 2 minutes for it to connect. Turn on computers and rest of network.
Invest a few $$ in some color coded Ethernet cables. Make sure they are rated for Cat 6 or better.
The back of your new router has a Wide Area Network (WAN) port that is color coded yellow. The Ethernet cable connected to that port leads back to the output of your modem. Use a yellow cable for that connection and no other connection.
Because I am not currently using my new Nighthawk router to connect all my devices within my home, I do not know what firmware is loaded.
Frontier High Speed Internet is the owner of the separate modem which connects my devices to the Internet. There is no manufacturer listed on the label on the bottom, it shows only "XGS-PON ONT" and "Made in China." It also shows a serial number (FTRO2712FC2D).
When I initially set up my Netgear router, I did not use the Nighthawk app, I keyboarded all the information for adding a new network (network name, security key), and even though that information was not the same as the information for the Arris NVG443B router supplied to me by Frontier, I was somehow able to connect all my devices to the Internet.
It was using the Nighthawk app that, IMHO, messed things up, and they are still messed up. I uninstalled and reinstalled the app this morning, and I have not done anything with it.
I have followed the power off and on steps you have followed with the exception of unplugging the modem. I did that about a year ago, and when I plugged it back in, it did not connect to the Internet. When I called my ISP, they said the soonest they could send a techician out was in three weeks. I ended up getting a friend who is a retired computer programmer come to come and sort things out.
I am very unhappy that I have had so many problems with my Netgear router. I would not recommend purchase of one to anybody who asks. The documentation that comes in the box is not clear; the PDF files that can be downloaded with specification information is too wordy; and there is no online tutorial specific to the router that I purchased.
If I get it running and connected to my ISP, it will be because I personally know a computer programmer with forty years' experience, not because I have an app on my phone.
I appreciate your taking time to respond. I also appreciate information from other community members about the kinds of cables I should use to connect my router to my modem. The cables I have are top of the line flat grey cables that work with my Arris router very well and support 5G so that upload and download speeds are 500 Mb/s.
I am just disappointed that Netgear cannot provide average users like me with dead simple documentation that lists how to set a router up step by step without all the fancy bells and whistles.
For the sake of this discussion, I will say that my problem has been solved in terms of better understanding what all the issues are. And I will give kudos because you took so much time and effort to clarify what Netgear has not.
The documentation that comes in the box is not clear; the PDF files that can be downloaded with specification information is too wordy
The trouble is that Netgear provides either the fat manual or an app for those with no knowledge of how routers work or interest in reading the manual. And the manual manages to hide the simplest of operations behind piles of mostly redundant junk.
I am just disappointed that Netgear cannot provide average users like me with dead simple documentation that lists how to set a router up step by step without all the fancy bells and whistles.
The key instructions take up just two pages in the 146-page manual. They are in the section Use a web browser to access the router.
There is an on-line guide that applies to most routers, but it is well hidden in a cloud of stuff for people who want to do things that are more fancy.
and there is no online tutorial specific to the router that I purchased.
The R6700AX isn't special. In most cases you don't need device specific they are the same.
@michaelkenward, I appreciate YOUR clear writing and explanations. Thank you fo explaining what the official documentation for my router has not explained at all.
I wish there could be a way that Netgear advertising people and technical writers and designers could get together and truly create the seamless user experience their various advertisements hint at. Maybe some day.
I am now online for sure because, this afternoon, as I was sifting through all my papers, a phone number on a piece of paper fell out, a phone number I did not see until this afternoon.
I called the number and spoke with a tech support person named Leah. I started the whole setup process from scratch and was online in an hour and fifteen minutes. I won't have to stay up until one a.m. again.
Again, thanks for willingness of people in this forum to share what they have learned through trial and error.
