# Whole home DVR, Internet connectivity and Netgear



## bobcpa

When the technicians upgraded my home for whole Home DVR service, they did not install the media connection kit because they told me that my combination modem/wireless router, which is a Netgear product, is not compatible with the set up. Before the upgrade, I had no problems accessing Internet services through the Direct TV interface, including On Demand, YouTube, etc. Apparently, the whole home upgrade causes compatibility issues with ANY Netgear modem/router. They told me to replace the unit with ANY modem manufactured by anyone except Netgear. 

I have no confidence with any of these technicians/support people to give me good and correct information. 

Can anyone confirm that there are, indeed, compatibility issues with Netgear hardware? Is Direct TV trying to work these compatibility issues out, or am I stuck,with having to replace the Netgear?

Thank you.


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## west99999

I personally have not heard of any widespread issues with netgear routers and WHDVR.


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## dsw2112

What you were told is nonsense. I know several folks that use Netgear and have a CCK. There can be occasional problems with DHCP, but that is not limited to Netgear. The solution is setting static IP's.


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## themadbear

I think your techs are ill-informed!:nono2: 

I have an at&t U-verse modem connected to a Netgear WNR3500L wireless router, which is connected directly to the ethernet port of an HR34-700. 2 HR24s are connected via Whole Home to the HR34, and I have no problems with internet connectivity to any of them - VOD, Pandora, TV Apps - they all work fine.

One factor may be that my network doesn't use DHCP - it's turned off in the router, and all network devices are assigned static IP addresses.

You should be able to find the info you need here to get everything up and running properly. My personal experience with the techs is that they admit they aren't really trained that thoroughly in networking, and they just leave that part of the setup to me, after I tell them how to configure things.

Good luck!


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## gpg

I use a Netgear router for Whole Home and I have no problems. I do use static IP addresses, but I don't know if that's really necessary.


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## sbtyper

I also have a WNDR3700 Netgear stand alone router with a SB6121 Motorola Surfboard modem and the combination of both work flawlessly. I am not that versed with HR-34/Whole Home DVR do you even need to touch the Network settings in order to install the Whole Home DVR? Honestly I do not use the DVR for any type of Internet content I have other means of acquiring my digital media so is it possible to have the Whole-Room DVR setup with the DVR's actually not being connected to the Internet?


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## dsw2112

sbtyper said:


> ...is it possible to have the Whole-Room DVR setup with the DVR's actually not being connected to the Internet?...


Yes, you can use WH without being connected to the internet, or your LAN.


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## JACKIEGAGA

I have a Netgear N600 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router that is connected to my HR34 and all my other receivers are using the internal Deca. I'm not having any problems.


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## Meglos

I've been using a NetGear WNDR4500 here (great router, BTW) succesfully with whole home for quite some time with no problems. Lots of network devices (including three DirecTV DVRs), most (including the DVRs) of which use DHCP-issued IP addresses, but some of which use static IP addresses.


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## pduh

I have Netgear and I got the whole home service last weekend, and I got no problem at all.


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## Stuart Sweet

I have a Linksys at home but I've hooked up friends with Netgear routers with no issues at all. Something else is up.


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## bobcpa

A new set of technicians are coming over to my house this afternoon to connect the CCK based upon everyone's experience with Netgear modems. 

My wife is at home dealing with all of this. Hopefully, everything will work out well...if not, I may be sleeping on the couch tonight.


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## Lindsey-Star

bobcpa said:


> A new set of technicians are coming over to my house this afternoon to connect the CCK based upon everyone's experience with Netgear modems.
> 
> My wife is at home dealing with all of this. Hopefully, everything will work out well...if not, I may be sleeping on the couch tonight.


Do you know what type of technician is coming to check it out?


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## Laxguy

Good luck! Not that you should need it; I've been rolling along happily with my Netgear N600 for well over a year. 

Here's how my wired devices look: 

IP Address Device Name	MAC Address
1	192.168.1.8	NOMAD0005A2	Numbersxxx.
2	192.168.1.11	0005CD2C9FE0	Numbersxxx.
3	192.168.1.24	-- Numbersxxx.
4	192.168.1.25	-- Numbersxxx.
5	192.168.1.34	-- Numbersxxx.

The last three are DIRECTV receivers. (!)


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## smitbret

What Modem are you using?

The tech may have been correct about the issue but pointing at the wrong device. There is a known issue with certain models of 2-Wire Modems that prevents HDDVRs from connecting reliably to the internet. I have seen them in use most commonly with AT&T. The official statement from DirecTV is that these modems have faulty firmware and the customer needs to contact the ISP for a different model.


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## veryoldschool

smitbret said:


> What Modem are you using?
> 
> The tech may have been correct about the issue but pointing at the wrong device. There is a known issue with certain models of 2-Wire Modems that prevents HDDVRs from connecting reliably to the internet. I have seen them in use most commonly with AT&T. The official statement from DirecTV is that these modems have faulty firmware and the customer needs to contact the ISP for a different model.


Having used a few 2Wires without any issues, which model are you referring to?


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## bobcpa

Technician came to the house today. It took him literally 20 min to hook up the CCK. It is working like a charm. 

I guess not all techs are created equal. :lol:


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## dpeters11

"bobcpa" said:


> Technician came to the house today. It took him literally 20 min to hook up the CCK. It is working like a charm.
> 
> I guess not all techs are created equal. :lol:


True. It took me three appointments and techs to get mine setup. And the third tech was going to set up a fourth appointment.


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