Beginner using Hub Zero with TP-Link AC1750 C7 - Please help!

[#1]

Hi. New to this forum.

I’ve used the Hub Zero 2704N Router for a few weeks. It works fine.

I’ve got an old AC1750 Archer C7 Router I wanted to use. It has a USB port on the back that I can connect an external hard drive and I want to use that.

PDF here: https://static.tp-link.com/res/down/doc/Archer_C7(UN)_V_2.0_UG.pdf

I can’t make it work.

I tried connecting the internet cable from the splitter to the C7, but that didn’t seem to work.

I then tried connecting the Hub Zero as normal to the splitter, and then connecting the Hub to the C7 via an ethernet cable.
That kinda works. The C7 just seems to cycle endlessly through the flashing lights on the front, but I can connect via wifi to TPLink2.4Ghz and TPLink5Ghz. The password is on the back. I can use the internet this way, but I can’t access the TPLink router login page, and when I connect a hard drive, I can’t see it on the computer.

Perhaps someone can explain it to me simply. I’m not very technical at all, though I can follow instructions.

I would like understand. 1, is Hub Zero a modem as well as a router? Is C7 a modem as well as a router? If it is, can I use C7 as a modem directly - in other words, can I dispense with Hub Zero and use C7 directly with internet cable?

My focus is to use whichever router will give me the greatest range and which allows me to access music files on my USB hard drives.

Thank you in advance fellas.

Cheers,

Glenn

[#2]

@GlennGary 

The Hub Zero is a modem/router. The Archer is just a router. What you need to do Is set the C7 up as an Access Point.see. https://awesometoast.com/archer-c9/ The fixed IP address should be set in the range 192.168.1.1-63, for example, 192.168.1.10. Connect the C7 to one of the yellow LAN sockets on the Hub Zero.

To stop confusion log into the Hub Zero and switch off the wireless.

[#3]

@Baldrick1 Thank you so much! This has really helped, although it has taken me some hours to get it to work.

At the moment, I cannot get the USB hard drive to share to my Macbook. Or rather it seems to be shared well enough when I log into the router, but I cannot find it in the Macbook. Can you shed any light? It is a 4GB external hard drive of music.