Hi there.

 

I'd like to preface this by confessing that I'm pretty inexperienced when it comes to anything more than basic networking skills.

 

I have struggled for a long time with networking related issues here in rural NZ. I upgraded to a Spark 4G connection for my home internet a little while back and used a Huawei B618-65D with my existing Netgear Orbi network. Surprisingly, it was plug and play when the B618-65D arrived. (I was on an ADSL connection before with a traditional modem).

 

A couple years back I picked up a Netgear Nighthawk (AC1900), which has some seemingly robust QoS features. I thought perhaps I could incorporate the Nighthawk in between the B618-65D and the Orbi, but after reading some other threads here on Geekzone (you guys are awesome!) and elsewhere it appears I'm way out of my depth. 

This is where I'm at right now:

 

     

  1. I put the B618D-65D in bridge mode (just to be safe, wasn't configured this way when it was just the Orbi)
  2. Ethernet cable from one of the two LAN ports to the Nighthawk's "Internet" port.
  3. Booted the Nighthawk up to see that it recognised the connection.
  4. "No Ethernet Cable is Plugged into the Router Internet Port"

 

The B618-65D is definitely connected to the internet fine, my PC connects no problem if I instead plug in the ethernet cable directly.

 

I tried without bridge mode - so the exact same configuration as with just the Orbi, still the same error.

 

I tried setting the DMZ IP on the B618-65D to the IP address of the Nighthawk, nothing. I'm basically stabbing in the dark at this point. 

 

One final point I'd like to add is that among all my troubleshooting I've tried, I briefly saw an internet connection on the Nighthawk (until I rebooted it again to try add the Orbi). Weirdly enough, it was dropping out every so often. This somewhat mimics the Internet LED indicator on the Nighthawk. It's supposed to be solid amber or white to indicate a connection but at the moment it just blinks amber, but at a very irregular interval. 

Anyway. Am I naively attempting the impossible here? I was the Nighthawk to be doing the "routing" as I want to use it's QoS features (just want to create priority for the one desktop PC in the house), but I also would ideally like the Orbi network to remain as is, as it covers my property nicely.

Any help is much appreciated. Thanks in advance.