Netgear MR5100 Compatibility

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Dave Clemans

• June 05, 2022 18:23

I'm suspicious that the Firewalla Gold isn't compatible with the Netgear MR5100 cell data hotspot.  The installation in the app seems to get stuck at "Verifying network" then times out with a network not available.  A wireless connection to the MR5100 is fine.  If I check the MR5100 settings it recognizes that the Firewalla is connected to it's internet port.  But pings to it do not work.

I'm going to go onto some workarounds.  This isn't the configuration I want to go with long term; it was just simple to try a first test today.

Thanks,

Dave

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  Firewalla

  • June 05, 2022 23:38

  Is the MR5100 a modem? if it is, make sure you reboot it, usually these things allows only one device to connect. 

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  Dave Clemans

  • June 05, 2022 23:45

  The Netgear MR5100 is part of the Netgear Nighthawk series (was the AT&T "hotspot" router; I think a new model MR6 is coming out); a "5g" cell data modem & router combined.

  I'll try full power downs + rebooting in stages.

  Thanks,

  Dave

   

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  Dave Clemans

  • June 06, 2022 01:06

  That resulted in being able to ping the Firewalla Gold (connected to the wired side of the MR5100) from the wireless side.  However the app setup still can't get past the Verifying Network stage.

  There is a NAT layer (done slightly differently) in all of Verizon/AT&T/T-Mobile.  Plus a routing layer in the MR5100 itself that can't be turned off.  Might be related.  The net result is that you can't have an Internet exposed outside port through a cell hotspot.  

  This isn't the real network I want to set up though; just thought that a cell router/modem might be a useful testing experiment.  So I'll get to work there.

  Dave

   

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  Firewalla

  • June 06, 2022 02:58

  If you already rebooted the MR5100, the next most common problem is your phone may still connect to it, try to take it out to LTE or something, and see if the pairing continues.

   

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  Dave Clemans

  • June 06, 2022 17:52

  I jury-rigged a way to get the Firewalla Gold running.  It connects directly to a openwrt software wireless router which is a wireless bridge to the cell hotspot modem router.  

  I really suspect that the Netgear Nighthawk MR5/MR5100 has similar issues to what you already have listed as incompatible; the Netgear Nighthawk MR1 (that is just an earlier generation of the MR5/MR5100).

  Dave

   

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  Firewalla

  • June 06, 2022 21:45

  The compatibility router listed only apply to "simple" or "dhcp mode" (or the one legged router version). If you have a Gold, and in router mode, it should just work. Since in router mode, the gold is no different than the WRT, unless there are some strange filtering on the nighthawk 

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