Setting up wireless router to work with modem which used to be modem+wireless router combo

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mokdadali

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Feb 24, 2014
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Hi everyone. Sorry for the basic issue here, but I was unable to resolve this no matter how much I tried. I used to have TP-Link TD-W8960N as my ADSL modem + wireless N router in one machine. Then I wanted to upgrade the wireless connection in my house to stream HD video from my hard disk to different tablets around the house, so I purchased the Netgear Nighthawk R7000.

Now time for setup: My TP-Link has IP address 192.168.1.1. I disabled its wireless, and left its DHCP enabled and connected it to the WAN outlet on the Nighthawk, and turned the Nighthawk on. The Nighthawk popped up a window on my browser and notified me that due to a conflict of IPs it changed its own IP to 10.0.0.1. After that everything worked well and I had internet connection, but sometimes after I watch a long HD movie wirelessly (within my house and not over internet) I loose my internet connection. If I restart the Nighthawk it does not help, but if I restart my TP-Link modem I get internet back.

So my idea was that of course, I have to disable TP-Link DHCP server, because I only want this machine to behave as modem and not router, maybe somehow that's intefering with the routing tasks of my new router. But, when I disabled DHCP server on the TP-Link I lost my internet completely and I was not able to even log back onto TP-Link page via 192.168.1.1, even if I connect it directly to my PC with ethernet cable (bypassing Nighthawk). The only way I was able to see the TP-Link setup page again was to change the Nighthawk's IP to 192.168.1.x, and plug TP-Link not in WAN, but into one of the 4 LAN ports on the Nighthawk. So, like a good boy, I turned the DHCP server on TP-Link back on and went back to last configuration that worked.

What am I doing wrong? Shouldn't I disable the DHCP server on the TP-Link machine that I want to behave only as modem? If yes, then how do I still keep access to its setup page? Shall I keep Nighthawk as 10.0.0.1? Sorry for the long question, but this is really perplexing me!! Thanks!
 
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maxwellmelon

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I ****think**** you need to set the night hawk to work as a switch(should be a setting somewhere on the night hawk that does this) and connect the tp to the nighthawk both into a normal port not the wan port.

the fact is im amazed your current config works at all as the wan port is normally only to talk directly to a modem and would not allow other data to pass though it.
 
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mokdadali

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Actually, I was hoping to do the opposite: let the TP-Link modem+router behave only as modem, and the new high speed Nighthawk be the only router on the network... That's what I was trying to do by disabling DHCP server on the TP-Link, but apparently something else (on either TP-link or Nighthawk) has to be modified as well and I don't know what
 
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maxwellmelon

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I have a question does anywhere in the tp does it have a "Bridge" setting? because what you want to basically do is bridge the modem over to your nighthawk(which should involve pluging the tp into a normal lan port on the nighthawk and not the wan port)

I wish I could see the config pages of your tp router so I could help you better
 
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maxwellmelon

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the only other way I know that might work is to disconnect both of them from each other
(in this method the tp would handle the DCHP sever end (assigning ip address))

1. make sure they are not hooked to each other

2. log into tp and make sure DCHP is enabled
2. go into assignalble ip address and limited them from 192.168.1.2 to 100 (1st part to make sure that night hawk doesn't use the same ip as any other device)
2. save settings
2. find out what the subnet mask is (most likely 254.254.254.0) write it down

3. log into nighthawk
3. set the ip of nighthawk router to 192.168.1.(any number between 101 to 254 this is the 2nd step to make sure this ip isn't assigned to any other device) make sure you note number
3. set the subnet mask to the same as above if it isnt
3. you now might have to reconnect to setting page using above ip address as the ip address should have changed
3. set as Access point and disable dchp (don't worry it will still use all its speed just wont assign ip address and such)

4. plug the two together though normal lan ports not the wan. and verify that it all works. if all goes to plan the tp will act as the dchp server assigning ip address out while you get the faster speeds of the wifi of the nighthawk

5. worst case reset the nighthawk according to its procedures to bring it back to defaults and you can go back and undo the settings on the tp
 
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mokdadali

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Feb 24, 2014
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There is wireless bridge option (I'm guessing this is not what we want), and there is Bridge mode under "WAN Link Type" on the "quick setup" page (similar to what they explain here: http://www.tp-link.com.au/article/?id=111). The problem is, if I chose here bridge mode instead of PPPoE then my internet provider username and password whole area disappears... so I did not go through with it because I did not know where I would then have to enter these?
 
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mokdadali

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Can you explain how this can be? if the nighthawk will not assign IP addresses, will I still be able to connect multiple wireless devices through it, and will they all have different local IP addresses as they should?
 
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maxwellmelon

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the tp would handle the DCHP server end and assign the ip address.
 
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maxwellmelon

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to do the bridge method(ignore all that's above) then you would hook the tp to the nighthawk wan and you would set the nighthawk to PPPoe and enter your connection info on it. and I do belive you would disable the dchp server on the tp and leave it enabled on the nighthawk. this should be really be trying as the above is how to do it if you didn't have a bridge option.
 
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mokdadali

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Feb 24, 2014
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First, thank you very much Maxwell for your time and efforts to help me resolve this. I had the chance to play with your solutions over the weekend, and I was surprised with the results! Here is what happened:

1- Your last solution: When I changed WAN Link Type to BRIDGE instead of PPPoE on TP-Link modem/router combo, the internet username and password fields disappeared, I saved, restarted TP-Link, went back to the same page to find that it was changed back to PPPoE (username and password empty, so I had to enter them manually again). So, it seems my TP-Link after all for some reason does not allow BRIDGE mode. I tried on another identical TP-Link TD-W8960N I have, same result.

2- Since that solution did not work, I went back to one of your earlier suggestions: I disabled DHCP server on the NETGEAR Nighthawk Router (by unchecking "Use Router as DHCP Server" under LAN setup), and kept it on only on the TP-Link (which was instructed to assign IP-addresses from 192.168.1.201 till 254). Restarted Nighthawk, everything including internet seemed to work as supposed to, but when I checked the internal IPv4 address of my PC which is connected by Ethernet cable to Nighthawk, I was surprised to find that its internal IP was 10.0.0.5!!! (this is in the DHCP range that the Nighthawk distributes if its DHCP was kept on). I verified to see if Nighthawk DHCP is still unchecked (disabled), and it was.

Does this make any sense??? I hope you like puzzles, this is surely harder to understand than I thought would be!
 
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maxwellmelon

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it doesn't sound right to me as it sounds like the nighthawk is still assigning ip still but lets look at the bigger picture if the network is doing what you want correctly(streaming your hd videos across your network fast) I would leave it as is, as having an ip address using 10.xxx.xxx.xxx wont matter as long as all your devices are talking to each other and the internet modem.

yes networking can be a pain. and considering that you have a modem router in one device always complicates stuff.

So considering all this the question is

Is the network working fast enough to stream your videos and is your device connecting to the internet right? if it seems to be doing so you still might give it a few days to be sure before responding
 
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mokdadali

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Feb 24, 2014
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I tried to do bridge mode in the Netgear Nighthawk, leaving DHCP server on the TP-Link only. I did not like it because I was not using some of the advanced features of the newer Netgear, so I went back to both machines having enabled DHCP server. I also finally called NetGeart techsupport who assured me that having both DHCP servers on is ok, Netgear resolves this by switching to another IP domain (10.0.0.x, leaving 192.168.0.x to the other router). They said that the only problem is that if I connect different devices to these two routers they wont be able to network, which is not a problem as I only plan to connect through the Netgear. So, I guess I'll keep status quo.

I am now suspecting my disconnects to be caused by the phone line itself. I found that I restore a connection just by shaking the phone line (inside the Bell outlet) that my modem is connected to! everything looks good in that outlet, no corrosion or loose wires though...
 
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mokdadali

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Feb 24, 2014
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Just updating this in case someone has a similar situation: It's been a few months now, I am running DHCP on both machines: TP-Link modem on one IP domain like 192.166.1.1 and Netgear Nighthawk router on its own IP domain 10.0.0.1 under that. Everything is running smoothly, no issues (yet).
 
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swarmSA

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Hi, Firstly thank you to everyone that replied on this post as it solved one big headache where my second router was dropping connection. After following the instruction is this post I now have another problem where I can't connect back to router 2.

Here is my setup:

ISP -> Router 1 (Huawei) -> Router 2 (Pace)

Router 1 is connected from LAN 1 to LAN 1 on Router 2 (not to the WAN port). This gives me internet if my PC is connected to LAN 2/3/4 on Router 2. After I made the changed to IP addresses I am now unable to access the setup page of Router 2 which use to be accessed via 10.0.0.2. Any ideas how I can access it?
 
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