By Reynold Gibson | 9 Dec 2023

Can I Hardwire Netgear EAX20 to Nighthawk WiFi Router?

EAX20 is a mesh WiFi extender brought in by the well-known brand, Netgear. Recently, a user owning the same extender model asked whether he could connect his Netgear EAX20 WiFi range extender to the Nighthawk router with the help of an Ethernet cable or not.
Well, the simple answer to the question is YES. Not only Nighthawk router, but one can connect the Netgear WiFi 6 mesh range extender EAX20 to any WiFi router via a LAN cable. THE FINAL WIFI PERFORMANCE WILL BE MORE STREAMLINED. However, the process involves some complications.
All this happens because of a hardwired connection. This must be known to you that WHENEVER YOU CONNECT YOUR NETGEAR RANGE EXTENDER TO THE MAIN ROUTER USING AN ETHERNET CABLE, THE ROUTER ASSIGNS AN IP ADDRESS TO THE EXTENDER. In other words, you won’t be able to access the web-based management panel of the extender using the default IP address. Now, let’s move forward and discuss how to hardwire the EAX20 model to a Nighthawk router and what is the procedure to access its web-based management panel in that case.

Hardwiring Netgear WiFi 6 Mesh Range Extender EAX20 (Steps)

The process of hardwiring the mesh range extender to the Nighthawk router requires the use of an Ethernet cable. Not just a random cable, but one that is free of damage. You also need to RESET NETGEAR EAX20 in case it was previously connected to any WiFi router. This is because if you do not reset it, it will try to amplify the WiFi signals of the previous router instead of the Nighthawk router. Given below are the steps that you should use to connect your devices using a hardwired connection. Know that you will need to access mywifiext.net to finalize the process.
Nighthawk router process

  • First of all, bring your Netgear WiFi 6 mesh range extender (EAX20) to the room where you have placed your Nighthawk router.
  • Once done, pick the Ethernet cable (RJ45) and insert its one end into the LAN1 port of the Nighthawk router.
  • The other end of the RJ45 cable must go into the WAN port of the extender.
  • After that, switch on the Nighthawk router and then the mesh extender.
  • Be very sure that the LED lights on your devices are stable.
  • Switch on your computer now and connect it to the WiFi network of your Netgear extender.
  • You are supposed to use the default WiFi password of the extender to join the network.
  • Open a web browser now.
  • Go to mywifiext.net by entering the same URL into the address bar.
  • You will see the Netgear EAX20 login page on the computer screen.
  • Two fields named Username and Password will appear.

Note: Input admin into the field named Username and password into that with the name Password. FYI, these are the DEFAULT ADMIN DETAILS of your Netgear WiFi 6 range extender (EAX20). You need to input them carefully as they are case-sensitive.

  • On clicking the Log In button, you will see the NEW EXTENDER SETUP button.
  • Click it and select the AP MODE.
  • Now, you need to enter a few details like the WIFI SSID AND NETWORK KEY of the Nighthawk router.
  • Input other details and install the latest firmware version on your WiFi 6 range extender.
  • You will see the BASIC HOME screen of the extender at last.

The Concluding Remarks

We hope that you’ve got the answer to the question whether you can connect the Netgear EAX20 to the Nighthawk router using an Ethernet cable or not. It is now expected that you’ve successfully completed the process. But, what if you CANNOT ACCESS MYWIFIEXT? You will surely turn towards the default IP address 192.168.1.250 in that case. Know that it won’t work either.
Try to recall what we mentioned at the beginning of the post. The Nighthawk router will assign a new IP address to the Netgear WiFi 6 range mesh extender EAX20. So, you need to note down the same by accessing the routerlogin.net page on a device connected to the Nighthawk router network. From there, SEE THE LIST OF THE CONNECTED DEVICES. CHECK THE IP ADDRESS ASSIGNED TO YOUR EXTENDER AND USE IT to proceed with finalizing the connection between a Netgear extender and the Nighthawk router.