Help with setting up old routers as access points

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RoachForLife

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Oct 8, 2004
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Hi all. So this seemed straightforward but for some reason its not getting internet on the WRT54G wireless so Im a bit stumped.



Heres what I did

Connected to WRT54G via ethernet cable to laptop

Changed to AP mode

Set the IP to be in the same range as my Netgear (so 10.0.0.x instead of the default 192.168.1.x)

Turned off DHCP

Set up the wireless settings

Plugged it into my switch which is on the network of the Netgear



As I mentioned I can connect to it via Wireless but it says no internet connection. Also from my other PC, while its plugged in to the network, should I be able to access the web dashboard via the IP i defined? (as I am unable and the page times out). If I connect to the WRT54g via wireless I can go to the web dashboard.



Lastly I did confirm the IP I gave the WRT54G is outside of the DHCP range set on my NetGear



Curious what i might be
 
Have you thought about installing something DD-WRT on that old router? Also, are you really sure that you'll be OK with an 802.11G access point in 2023?
 
I have thought about it and will use if needed, but wasnt looking to do much other than have a few smart lights that are outside my home utilize this. My current router is good but doesnt travel well outside the concrete walls so I had 2 17yr old routers lying around I figured I could use and place at each end near the outer wall
 
You probably need to connect an ethernet cable from the LAN port on your router to the WAN/internet port on your Linksys AP. Verify you can ping the access point from another device connected to the LAN. Whatever port you have the IP assigned to.
 
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ochadd said:
You probably need to connect an ethernet cable from the LAN port on your router to the WAN/internet port on your Linksys AP. Verify you can ping the access point from another device connected to the LAN.
Click to expand...
If the wrt54g is in AP mode, the WAN/internet port is useless; it's too old and crusty to have advanced software that knows to make the WAN port useful in this mode. You've got to plug into one of the LAN ports on it. Also, I agree that the wrt54g should be put into retirement mode, rather than AP mode.
 
I'm pretty sure you need to use the WAN port on the WRT54G to bridge to the network. That's the port that will have the IP address that you assign to it.
 
Hah thanks guys, I may upgrade. FIgured I would try this first. I also have a Cisco E3000 which I plan to use (2x WRT54g and 1x E3000, at least the E3000 is newer). Anyhow I am currently not using the WAN on my WRT at all, only the LAN port and of course one of the LAN ports from my NetGear. It is already in AP Mode and I made the IP of the WRT in line with what the Netgear does (10.0.0.x) range. I can try plugging into the WAN of the WRT54G and see if any better outcome. I also downloaded DDWRT and down to do that later tonight if needed. I figured this was such a basic thing (AP mode) that it wasnt necessary but Ill try


Regarding my other question, once its hooked up right I presume, from my desktop I should be able to get to the web dashboard of both Routers though, right? Or would I need to hook directly into the WRT in the future to change anything? (not that is much to change I suppose since it wont be doing DHCP). Thanks again!
 
Are you using WEP or WPA? I wonder if a modern phone wouldn't allow connection to a WEP or WPA1 protected network.
 
I guess interesting that some guides say to use the LAN port, and others, including on the forum saying the WAN port. I do see on the DDWRT instructions for AP it says to use the WAN however there seems to be an extra option to 'Assign WAN Port to Switch'

Anyhow another dumb question. So right now I have my the cabling going from my Router (Netgear) to a Switch and then to my WRT54G. I presumed that wouldnt make a difference, but does the cabling need to not have the switch in that mix? Figured Id double check. Thanks again guys
 
Having a switch between the router and AP shouldn't make a difference. It doesn't need to be there if you don't need the ports.

I would recommend setting the IP, subnet, and gateway on the AP. Double check the subnet and default gateway. Plug a computer with an IP on the same subnet into the switch between them. Then plug each port on the AP into the switch one by one, pinging the IP you set in the AP from that computer. Eventually you should find which port you've assigned the IP to. Crude, but you should get there.

ping /t 192.168.1.?
This will ping non-stop and help you find the port with the IP assigned to it.
 
Thanks, I think I did all of that. Actually let me break down exactly what I did and you guys can tell me what Im missing

1. So I actually did upgrade to DDWRT based on their own guide for my specific version. Everything for the firmware update worked great
2. So my Netgear is 10.0.0.1, subnet 255.255.255.0
3. On my DD-WRT I did the following
-Did everything outlined in the Normal version here https://wiki.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Wireless_Access_Point
-I set the IP to 10.0.0.2, subnet to match above, and set gateway to 10.0.0.1, and Local DNS to 10.0.01
-Set wireless mode to WPA2 Personal, AES, with my key
-Turned off DNSMasq (both)
-DHCP Server to Disabled
-Connection Type to Disabled
-Changed Operating mode to 'Router'
-Made all other changes as per the document
4. Then I plugged my PC back into my switch (to Netgear), and the WRT LAN port also into switch
5. I can use my laptop to get on wireless network however has no internet.
6. From my PC, I cannot ping the new WRT IP I set up.

Running out of ideas here. Im now thinking maybe there is a setting on my Netgear i need to do to allow it to make this connection? Any additional thoughts are helpful. Oh and I tried plugged into each of the 4 LAN ports while pinging and no change. Thanks again guys I really do appreciate
 
Everything you said sounds right...

Does your laptop get an IP and then it doesn't work, or just connects to wireless and no assigned IP? (I'm guessing the second one)

Is your switch managed or just a dumb switch? Did you try a different port for the switch <-> wrt54g?

Does your netgear have any sort of mac filtering setup for the LAN?

Does your PC work on the internet if you plug it into a LAN port on the wrt54g, while the wrt54g is plugged into your switch? If that doesn't work, it's a smoking gun.

If I were you... I'd use tcpdump/wireshark on your PC and see if you can see DHCP requests from your laptop. Try plugging into the wrt54g and tcpdump again...
 
-Laptop is not getting an IP, no
-Switch is dumb
-Tried different ports on switch and WRT, no difference
-I should add I had that 2nd WRT unit (already had DDWRT on it lol), and -configured it the same and no dice
-If I plug in my switch to WRT54G, and my PC to WRT54G, no I do not have internet
-I dont believe i have any MAC filtering enabled on the Netgear. Still figuring out where that is lol. If its the 'Access Control' I do NOT have that turned on at all currently.


Also to note, the led on my switch does not light up when the ethernet cable is between the WRT54G and switch

One question I have...
So my Netgear is 10.0.0.1, should I make the IP of the WRT like 10.0.0.2 (which I did) or does it need to be more like 192.168.1.2 (like the WRT is out of the box). Unsure if this matters, so long as the subnet matches and gateway is pointed to the right one (Netgear 10.0.0.1)
 
Ok so I have good news and bad news....

Good news is its working. The bad news is Im an effing idiot and after 2hrs only now decided to try a new Ethernet cable. Fucckkk. Such a noob.

Anyways Im happy it at least it working now. I really appreciate all of you guys jumping in to help me on this. Means a lot!! I also learned quite a bit in the process, and that ol addage of 'did you trying restarting'? although in this case its 'did you try a new network cable?' Sigh
 
RoachForLife said:
Also to note, the led on my switch does not light up when the ethernet cable is between the WRT54G and switch
Click to expand...

Ok, well there's your problem. (As I think you figured out)

RoachForLife said:
One question I have...
So my Netgear is 10.0.0.1, should I make the IP of the WRT like 10.0.0.2 (which I did) or does it need to be more like 192.168.1.2 (like the WRT is out of the box). Unsure if this matters, so long as the subnet matches and gateway is pointed to the right one (Netgear 10.0.0.1)
Click to expand...

There's two answers here... One is it doesn't really matter, in access point mode, your wrt54g is just dealing at the ethernet level, not at the IP level. Answer two is you want to make the IP like you picked, so that you can reach the wrt54g with your browser from your LAN. You probably don't really need the gateway IP set on the wrt54g either, unless it's going to contact the internet which it doesn't really need to.
 
Thanks, I think your question about the ports and then when I said the switch wasnt lighting up made the (most obvious) lightbulb go off!! So thank you

On the plus side I loaded DD WRT on my E3000 too, so now I have all 3 on DDWRT and all working. I set the 2 WRT54Gs to do G only, and the E3000 to do N only. Now to move around the house this weekend. THANK YOU THANK YOU all again
 
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