On Sun, 21 Jan 2024 19:01:14 -0600, Char Jackson wrote:
>> Vlad said to set it up in "Bridge Mode" so can you just let me know what is
>> the main difference (for my purposes) between Bridge Mode and AP mode?
>
> In AP mode, multiple wireless devices can connect to it wirelessly, (of course),
> and the backhaul connection to your main router is accomplished by Ethernet
> cable. This is typical Access Point behavior, and is what most people want.
I set up the Netgear R7000 as a wired access point which seems to be
working. Thanks for helping me in that I needed wired Access Point mode.
One question is Netgear complains when I set the 5GHz access point to a
lower-than-149 channel but there's already stuff in the higher channels.
Is it really that bad such that the router complains at channel 38?
The signal doesn't have to go far because that's why I had wired it!
> Bridge mode is the exact opposite, and thus unsuitable for your described
> situation. In Bridge Mode, your *wired* devices can be cabled to this Netgear
> router, and the Netgear uses a *wireless* connection as its backhaul back to
> your main router. I don't think that's what you want. BTW, this mode is more
> often called Client Mode, from what I've seen, because the Netgear would be a
> wireless client to the main router.
Thank you for explaining that Bridge Mode is the opposite of what I want.
As you explained it, a computer would connect its Ethernet to the router
set up in Bridge Mode, where that router would connect to the main router
over Wi-Fi - which - if correct - is indeed the opposite of what I need.
>> I also need to use the switches on the router as Ethernet. Will setting up
>> the Netgear R7000 as an access point allow the four ports (maybe three if
>> I'm using one of them) to still work as an Ethernet for a nearby desktop?
>
> Yes. If you need more ports, just use an additional Gigabit Ethernet switch.
Thanks. I ended up using one of the four ports on the Netgear R7000 as the
"backhaul" (as you say) from my main router (which used up 1 switch port).
So that leaves me with 3 more open ports, where I will put a piece of tape
over the yellow input port so that I don't accidentally use it by mistake.