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Does Netgear Nighthawk Work With AT&T?

Does Netgear Nighthawk Work With AT&T

If you have chosen AT&T as your ISP, then don’t think you have to settle for poor internet speed and bad performance. You can set it up with a Netgear Nighthawk and have a faster data connection. 

Netgear Nighthawk perfectly works with AT&T. In fact, it works flawlessly with both the AT&T U-Verse and AT&T Fiber. Setting up the whole thing is no hassle at all. Just enable the IP Passthrough or DMZplus for the Netgear Nighthawk router in the firewall setting for the AT&T gateway. Then disable the WiFi on the AT&T gateway before connecting it to the WAN port of your Nighthawk to start the internet connection. 

Things may sound confusing if you are not that familiar with routers. But no worries, because this article will clear away all of your confusion. Here you will learn how to set up Nighthawk with AT&T. You will also know the perks and drawbacks of this setup as well.

How To Setup Nighthawk With AT&T Internet: Step by Step Guide

Setting up the Nighthawk router with an AT&T internet gateway is not that hard. But you have to know the right way to complete the task efficiently. 

Check out the step-by-step guide below to complete the installation process with ease.

Step 1: Log in to your AT&T gateway

You have to start by logging in to your AT&T modem setting. You can do that by going to http://192.168.1.254 from your browser. Enter your credentials there. Your login information is written on the gateway. Check that out in case you don’t remember them.

Make sure that the computer is connected to the AT&T gateway through either an ethernet cable or the WiFI.

Step 2: Connect the Nighthawk to AT&T through an ethernet cable 

Run an ethernet cable from the LAN port of your AT&T gateway to the WAN port of the Nighthawk. Make sure you are using the right ports.

Step 3: Enable IP Passthrough or DMZplus on the AT&T gateway

You have to enable IP Passthrough or the DMZplus, depending on your modem. If you have DMZplus, you have to go for the PACE modem. In the case of Aries BGW modem, choose IP Passthrough. 

What you have to do here is adjust the gateway settings. Simply navigate to the Firewall in the gateway settings. Now comes the main task.

For PACE gateways, choose the Netgear Nighthawk from the list of devices connected to the internet. You will find this list under Applications, pinholes, and DMZ. From that list, select Nighthawk and click on “Allow all applications” to enable the DMZplus mode.

For Arris BGW gateways (also known as Arris modem), you have to enable the option of the IP Passthrough. This option is located under the Firewall. At this point, you will be prompted to enter the access code of your device. This code is printed on your modem.

After entering the code, choose “DHCP Fixed” and click on the Nighthawk router. Now save the settings to enable the IP Passthrough.

Finally, “Bridge” the gateway to make it work only as a modem rather than as a WiFi router. 

Step 4: Disable the internet

Go to the gateway settings and navigate to WiFi. Here disable both the 5 GHz and the 2.4 GHz WiFi. You have to do this to make sure nothing is interrupting the WiFi signals between Nighthawk and the AT&T gateway.

However, if you notice that the AT&T broadband is blinking red, there is an issue with the internet. Just restart the router to fix this issue.

Step 5: Restart

Now restart all the devices. Restarting the devices will enable the new settings to take effect.   

Step 6: Personalize The Netgear Nighthawk Network

Your work now is almost done. All there is left to do is personalization. For this, you have to install the Nighthawk app and follow the instructions presented on the screen. 

The instruction will show you how to connect the mobile device to the WiFi of the Netgear Nighthawk. The default password and SSID of the network will be written on the Nighthawk router.

Don’t choose a new SSID and password while personalizing the network. If you do so, you will have to manually connect all the devices in your house to the new networks.

And now you are completely done with the setup process. However, if you still fail to access the internet, just perform a hard reset of your Nighthawk router. Resetting should refresh the router and give you a stable internet connection. If you have a netgear extender you might need this Setup Guide.

Advantages and Disadvantages Of Using Netgear Nighthawk Router Instead Of AT&T

Netgear Nighthawk is an amazing choice when it comes to performance. It gets its tasks completely done. 

But it’s not the perfect device. There are some disadvantages of using the Nighthawk router instead of the AT&T gateway. It is important for you to know about these points before making your final decision. Check them out below.

Advantages Using Of Netgear Nighthawk

Internet Speed and Performance: 

Nighthawk gives one of the best wireless internet speeds. The high-speed internet has very few competitors. The fast internet of this device makes AT&T seem slow. 

The connection of the Nighthawk is so good that you can play online games on your laptop without the slightest lag.

Connectivity and Coverage: 

Netgear Nighthawk gives a much wider and stronger coverage than AT&T. It ensures covering even the dead spots of the house. But Sometime you might need an extender for both Netgear and At&t.

Security and Control: 

The WPA2 wireless security protocol of Netgear comes along with DoS, Firewall, and VPN. This gives your devices the best security you can hope for from any other alternatives. In addition, the Netgear armor protects your device from internet threats with the best-in-class anti-virus and anti-malware. 

In other words, with Netgear Nighthawk, your data protection is 100% ensured.

Disadvantages Using Of Netgear Nighthawk

Difficult To Fix

Netgear router has a bad reputation for being a difficult device to fix. If you have a bad internet connection, it is often the fault of your Netgear Nighthawk. Calling customer care in this situation doesn’t help much either. They will give you complex instructions that will make you more confused.

But you can get the device fixed if you take it to experts.

Problem with ports

As a strong device, Netgear Nighthawk should have had more power outlets than it already does. The insufficient number of ports can be a problem if you have multiple desktops in your home. Attaching extra dongles will take up valuable space in your room.

In other words, Netgear Nighthawk is not the best device if you have limited space.

Conclusion

Thousands of people use Netgear Nighthawk with AT&T. They just perfectly go along. But to get the most out of them, you have to set them up appropriately. And this article helps you with just that. Follow the instructions mentioned in this article, and you won’t have any problem with the installation process. As a bonus, here you got to know what you are gaining and losing with the Nighthawk router as well. Overall, this is the ultimate guide.

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