Apex Classic and Google Mesh help

goody · Nov 24, 2023

I have been running an Apex Classic on my garage tank. I don't have any Ethernet ports in there, so I bought a wifi extender that was working fine for awhile. Now the Apex is almost always disconnected from fusion.
Now I'm getting ready to setup another Apex Classic but wanted to try and use my Google Mesh as the wifi extender. Neither apex Classics are connected to fusion but there are on my list in fusion. Probably getting rid of the garage tank, but is there a way to connect the apex Classic to Google Mesh? Any help is appreciated

Reefing Madness · Nov 27, 2023

goody · Nov 27, 2023

Even though I may be getting rid of my garage tank, my new build is plumb into the garage. The plan was to keep the apex in the garage but plugged in to the Google Mesh instead of the $20 wifi extender that continues to disconnect.

Lbrdsoxfan · Nov 27, 2023

I use a tp link mesh wifi, using a static IP for the apex(s) that I have in seevice, 99% uptime for the most part. Each apex is setup with a mesh extender with an ethernet port. Only occasional issue is If the router looses power, I sometimes need to reboot the extender.

I highly suggest setting up the apex with a static IP.

goody · Dec 2, 2023

Post deleted

goody · Dec 2, 2023

Lbrdsoxfan said:
I use a tp link mesh wifi, using a static IP for the apex(s) that I have in seevice, 99% uptime for the most part. Each apex is setup with a mesh extender with an ethernet port. Only occasional issue is If the router looses power, I sometimes need to reboot the extender.

I highly suggest setting up the apex with a static IP.

Thank you for the reply. My wifi extender is a tp link but as mentioned cheap one. So are you saying that I can use my Google Mesh, but set up the apex to have a static IP? I'm not real tech savvy or sure how to go about doing this. Could you please explain

Lbrdsoxfan · Dec 2, 2023

goody said:
Thank you for the reply. My wifi extender is a tp link but as mentioned cheap one. So are you saying that I can use my Google Mesh, but set up the apex to have a static IP? I'm not real tech savvy or sure how to go about doing this. Could you please explain

Ill be real, if your not tech savvy then maybe it isnt a good idea for you. You will have to get the nuances of your router to set up a static IP to the apex's mac address as every routers way of getting it done is different. Google is your friend on that one.

goody · Dec 2, 2023

Lbrdsoxfan said:
Ill be real, if your not tech savvy then maybe it isnt a good idea for you. You will have to get the nuances of your router to set up a static IP to the apex's mac address as every routers way of getting it done is different. Google is your friend on that one.

Already started searching the topic as soon as I read your earlier reply. I think I may understand how, but I'm going to have to find which device on the mesh is my apex. Am I correct in my understanding that my Google Mesh still has the same IP address as my gateway router, it's just the apex I need change from the list of devices on mesh to have a static IP?

bblumberg · Dec 16, 2023

Your Apex Classic will work with either an IP address that you set (static IP address) or it can get its own IP address from the router (dynamic IP address). For whatever reason, these units seem to work best with static IP addresses.

Go into Apex setup for your Classic and set this up under net setup. Most often, your network will be 192.168.1.xxx. The router is typically 192.168.1.1 and static IP addresses can be 192.168.1.2 through 255 (although you can set those numbers to whatever you want after 192.168.xxx.xxx as long as you are consistent with the 3rd field (called the subnet). That is, all of your IP addresses will have the same first 3 numbers and differ only in the last one.

On my network, I have the convention that addresses less than 192.168.1.100 are those where I assign static IP addresses those from 192.168.1.101 and up are assigned by the DNS server in the router (e.g., for cell phones, tablets, etc).

In this simple scenario, your subnet mask is typically 255.255.255.0 and the addresses for gateway and DNS server are the same as your router (in my example 192.168.1.1) .

goody · Dec 21, 2023

bblumberg said:
Your Apex Classic will work with either an IP address that you set (static IP address) or it can get its own IP address from the router (dynamic IP address). For whatever reason, these units seem to work best with static IP addresses.

Go into Apex setup for your Classic and set this up under net setup. Most often, your network will be 192.168.1.xxx. The router is typically 192.168.1.1 and static IP addresses can be 192.168.1.2 through 255 (although you can set those numbers to whatever you want after 192.168.xxx.xxx as long as you are consistent with the 3rd field (called the subnet). That is, all of your IP addresses will have the same first 3 numbers and differ only in the last one.

On my network, I have the convention that addresses less than 192.168.1.100 are those where I assign static IP addresses those from 192.168.1.101 and up are assigned by the DNS server in the router (e.g., for cell phones, tablets, etc).

In this simple scenario, your subnet mask is typically 255.255.255.0 and the addresses for gateway and DNS server are the same as your router (in my example 192.168.1.1) .

So do I manually change it under IP address or DNS server? I tried changing the last 3 digits under the IP address setting and still not working. The apex is listed on Fusion but I can't get it to connect, even being plugged directly into the router. When trying to connect it to my Google Mesh should it be plugged in to my router on my Google Mesh unit that is connected to my router?

ThaBeast · Dec 21, 2023

I know everything is wifi now but I'm old school, the best feature of the Apex is the capability of having a hardwired ethernet connection! I recently had a cat 6 line ran from my office to the center of the house for the mesh network so the main part of our home had the fastest wifi connection. Cost me $100 plus the cable, junction box, and faceplate (~$50 of materials). While I'm capable of doing this myself it was worth $100 to send an electricians helper into the attic to do it for me. Just something to consider. I switched to GHL for my current build and the p4 does not offer a hardwired ethernet (the reason I held onto Apex for so long). I tossed an unmanaged ethernet switch in & added a business class AP on my LAN. The only thing using that AP is GHL equipment & it is a rock solid connection. This would be the route I would go if I didnt hardwire the Apex. Note I spent less running a cat6 line across my home than I did adding an access point for the GHL stuff

goody · Dec 21, 2023

ThaBeast said:
I know everything is wifi now but I'm old school, the best feature of the Apex is the capability of having a hardwired ethernet connection! I recently had a cat 6 line ran from my office to the center of the house for the mesh network so the main part of our home had the fastest wifi connection. Cost me $100 plus the cable, junction box, and faceplate (~$50 of materials). While I'm capable of doing this myself it was worth $100 to send an electricians helper into the attic to do it for me. Just something to consider. I switched to GHL for my current build and the p4 does not offer a hardwired ethernet (the reason I held onto Apex for so long). I tossed an unmanaged ethernet switch in & added a business class AP on my LAN. The only thing using that AP is GHL equipment & it is a rock solid connection. This would be the route I would go if I didnt hardwire the Apex. Note I spent less running a cat6 line across my home than I did adding an access point for the GHL stuff

I would prefer to have it hardwired. We have several Ethernet ports throughout the house but they don't work. All the wiring is in a panel that has coax cables, telephone lines that we don't use. It's also where our router connects. Who would I call to get these Ethernet ports working?

Doctorgori · Dec 21, 2023

goody said:
I have been running an Apex Classic on my garage tank. I don't have any Ethernet ports in there, so I bought a wifi extender that was working fine for awhile. Now the Apex is almost always disconnected from fusion.
Now I'm getting ready to setup another Apex Classic but wanted to try and use my Google Mesh as the wifi extender. Neither apex Classics are connected to fusion but there are on my list in fusion. Probably getting rid of the garage tank, but is there a way to connect the apex Classic to Google Mesh? Any help is appreciated

I read through this but unfortunately my vision is blurry right now.
Am I misunderstanding the question or why can you just use a cat6 cable and connect it to the satellite?
I have the old round Google mesh and those have ethernet ports underneath, what model is yours?

goody · Dec 21, 2023

Doctorgori said:
I read through this but unfortunately my vision is blurry right now.
Am I misunderstanding the question or why can you just use a cat6 cable and connect it to the satellite?
I have the old round Google mesh and those have ethernet ports underneath, what model is yours?

Sorry for the confusion. Basically wanted help connecting my Apex Classic via Google Mesh unit which does have an Ethernet port. Apex was "disconnected" on fusion so I figured the problem was the mesh because it did connect to fusion when it was hardwired to router and also when I used the cheap tp link in the garage. Because the member brought up hardwiring it to Ethernet port on cat6 I mentioned that would be ideal but none of our Ethernet ports in house work. Maybe my issue isn't the Google Mesh connection. I did place a call in to Neptune but no available times to troubleshoot over the phone until January.

ThaBeast · Dec 21, 2023

goody said:
I would prefer to have it hardwired. We have several Ethernet ports throughout the house but they don't work. All the wiring is in a panel that has coax cables, telephone lines that we don't use. It's also where our router connects. Who would I call to get these Ethernet ports working?

find a networking specialist. Ask a local electrician, they usually know someone if they dont do it themselves

MarineandReef Jaron · Dec 21, 2023

I would recommend a power line adapter. That was always my preferred solution for the Classics.

bblumberg · Dec 21, 2023

goody said:
So do I manually change it under IP address or DNS server? I tried changing the last 3 digits under the IP address setting and still not working. The apex is listed on Fusion but I can't get it to connect, even being plugged directly into the router. When trying to connect it to my Google Mesh should it be plugged in to my router on my Google Mesh unit that is connected to my router?

In the Apex Classic, you need to set the IP addresses you will use in the network setup section. Or you can also set up dynamic IP addresses there. From your message below, it sounds like there is a problem with your home ethernet that will need to be solved before you can expect the Apex to work on the network.

I don't know offhand of someone for you to call locally, but found this link via Google...

The 10 Best Router Setup, Install, and Repair Services in Carlsbad, CA

Here is the definitive list of Carlsbad's router setup, install, and repair services as rated by the Carlsbad, CA community. Want to see who made the cut?

www.thumbtack.com

goody · Dec 22, 2023

bblumberg said:
In the Apex Classic, you need to set the IP addresses you will use in the network setup section. Or you can also set up dynamic IP addresses there. From your message below, it sounds like there is a problem with your home ethernet that will need to be solved before you can expect the Apex to work on the network.

I don't know offhand of someone for you to call locally, but found this link via Google...

The 10 Best Router Setup, Install, and Repair Services in Carlsbad, CA

Here is the definitive list of Carlsbad's router setup, install, and repair services as rated by the Carlsbad, CA community. Want to see who made the cut?

www.thumbtack.com

My other Apex in the garage does connect to fusion using the tp link but it often disconnects

bblumberg · Dec 22, 2023

goody said:
My other Apex in the garage does connect to fusion using the tp link but it often disconnects

Exactly. My Apex 2006 disconnected 30-100 times a day despite being within 15 feet of the router. Once I connected via Ethernet, disconnections became rare.