Network Compatibility Issue - Need Advice

Networking, connecting to the internet, wi-fi and home entertainment
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BobH
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Network Compatibility Issue - Need Advice

Post by BobH »

Our home network is based on a wireless cable-modem/router combination device provided by our ISP (Time Warner Cable). It has worked well for some months now.

A problem arose when we tried to install a wifi programmable thermostat from a company called Sensi. We were able to install it and have it control the HVAC equipment, but we cannot get it to connect to the network. The Sensi support staff tell us that the thermostat and the Arris router are incompatible. We have not yet heard from them about why that is so. Our guess is that there is some non-standard signalling happening in one or both of the devices. We will use iPhones and iPads to control the thermostat if we can get the networking going.

We are not going to displace the supported router. (We are reluctant to return the thermostat because it was a gift from DD and SIL.) We thought it might be possible to somehow insert another router into the network. We have the one that the ISP-supplied unit displaced, a NetGear device.

Can anyone tell us if it is possible to have 2 routers in the same network or if it is possible to run networks side-by-side? If so, we might be able to use the thermostat and simply log into a different network to control it remotely; or perhaps the signalling will be compatible from a different router.

All advice will be greatly appreciated and gratefully received. Our expertise in this area is nil; so much so that we don't know how or where to search for advice online.

:cheers: :chocciebar: :thankyou:
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John Gray
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Re: Network Compatibility Issue - Need Advice

Post by John Gray »

We have two broadband lines and (therefore!) two routers on the same subnet at work, but setting this up is a non-trivial exercise which I've had to be helped with, and it doesn't really match your situation.

I would push the Sensi engineers to define precisely what setup they CAN connect to. All routers do more or less the same job, so it seems surprising that they think you have chosen one with which they are incompatible...

(And surely the manufacturer of the router must be Harris - you may have inadvertently dropped the initial 'H'! :smile: )
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BobH
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Re: Network Compatibility Issue - Need Advice

Post by BobH »

Thanks, John!

Yes! Perhaps my English heritage has overtaken me and turned 'Harris' to 'Arris' (or perhaps my almost daily use of Spanish), but alas it is not so. The router is truly labeled "Arris."

I have found an article online here that tells how to change a wireless router (old NetGear) into an access point by changing settings in the firmware. By making those changes and daisy chaining the modified NetGear behind the cable-modem/router using one of the ethernet ports on each device, I might just be able to have the Sensi connect to the WAP. Failing that, I have seen a couple of articles that promise to explain how to set up side-by-side home wifi networks. I have not yet explored those.

As I delve into this, I will - no doubt - be back with more questions. If all goes swimmingly, I'll be back to report how it was done.

Again, thanks for your response!

:cheers: :chocciebar: :thankyou:
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CData
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Re: Network Compatibility Issue - Need Advice

Post by CData »

daisy chaining a second wireless I think is problematic......My Time Warner experience is that while the cable modem is mandatory - the wireless router is optional and one pays a monthly fee for it that more or less means about 1 year or so into it's rental that one could instead pay for the cost of a typical wireless router available at Best Buy..... although perhaps yours is a single unit for both functions... I started with TW just a little over a year past so my info cannot be that far out of date.

In any case I wonder if you can indeed change to modem only (perhaps lowering your cable bill) and get a wireless router that is compatible with your device.

Having said that though - just the fact that the device is not compatible with any brand wireless router is a suspect concept - think about it - that wireless router is compatible with all kinds of PC and smartphone types right?...and that's a lot of different manufacturers....so that this device maker is somewhat of a trouble maker..... it is a cause of concern that going thru all the hoops of changing wireless routers and then you could still have an issue?.... one might instead consider a sanity check of taking that device temporarily to another location with another wireless router and doing a trial if that is at all feasible....

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StuartR
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Re: Network Compatibility Issue - Need Advice

Post by StuartR »

If you configure your old router to be JUST a wireless access point (WAP) then this should be trivial. Make sure that this new WAP is configured to forward DHCP requests to the router, rather than to give out it's own IP addresses and this should work fine. If you intend to leave wireless enabled on the existing router then I suggest using a unique SSID on the new one, so that you can easily control which WAP each device is connected to.
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BobH
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Re: Network Compatibility Issue - Need Advice

Post by BobH »

Thank you all for the suggestions. I received word today that the thermostat makers are sending me a wireless access point device free of charge. I think that I am using all the ports on my TW-supplied cable-modem/router; so following up on changing the old NetGear router to make it just a WAP might still be in my future.

StuartR, the article I read goes into the issue of IP addresses and changing DHCP settings in the router that I will change firmware in.

I've not had time to sit down and work through this yet, but when I do I'll keep careful notes and report back.

Again, thanks to everyone for the responses.
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