NETGEAR Nighthawk routers with 2.5G or 5G Multi-Gig Ethernet ports can set up those ports for a WAN (Internet) connection or use them for local area network (LAN) devices. For example, if you have a multi-gig Internet connection and a cable modem capable of delivering multi-gig speeds, you might want to configure the Internet connection on your router to take full advantage of your multi-gig Internet.
Newer NETGEAR routers that have 2.5G or 5G Multi-Gig ports labeled Internet can automatically detect your multi-gig connection during initial setup. However, if your router doesn’t have this capability, or if you upgraded your modem and Internet connection after first-time setup, you can manually configure the multi-gig connection from the router web interface.
Many NETGEAR routers also support link aggregation to enable higher speeds for Internet (WAN) and Ethernet client device (LAN) connections, even if you don’t have a Multi-Gig Ethernet port. For more information, see the following articles:
- How do I set up WAN (Internet) Ethernet port aggregation on my NETGEAR Nighthawk router?
- How do I set up LAN Ethernet port aggregation on my NETGEAR Nighthawk router?
- What is the difference between LAN and WAN Ethernet port aggregation?
To set up the 2.5G or 5G Multi-Gig Ethernet port for an Internet connection on your NETGEAR Nighthawk router:
- Launch a web browser from a computer or mobile device that is connected to your router’s network.
- Enter www.routerlogin.net.
A login window displays. - Enter the router admin user name and password.
The user name is admin. The password is the one that you specified the first time that you logged in. The user name and password are case-sensitive.
The BASIC Home page displays. - Select Internet.
The Internet Setup page displays. - In the WAN Preference section, select Multi-Gig Port (2.5/1 Gbps).
- Click or tap Apply.
The Multi-Gig Ethernet port is configured for an Internet connection.
For more information: