Can't get router to work with Static IP

Narcyz

Reputable
Dec 7, 2015
24
0
4,510
I recently bought a TP-LINK TL-WR1043ND, and i'm currently struggling to get it to work. During the instalation, it detected that i had to setup it with a Static IP, as far as i know provided by my ISP. So i tried to configure it, and so far i achieved nothing. This is what i've got in my configuration, if any more info is needed to work this out, don't hesitate asking for it. Any help is appreciated.

WAN:

WAN Connection Type: Static IP
IP Address: IP returned by websites like whatsmyip
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: 192.168.0.1
Primary DNS: 192.168.0.1
Secondary DNS: 0.0.0.0

LAN:

IP Address: 192.168.1.1
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0

DHCP:

DHCP Server: Enabled
Start IP Address: 192.168.1.100
End IP Address: 192.168.1.199
Default Gateway: 192.168.1.1
Primary DNS: 8.8.8.8
 
"it detected that i had to setup it with a Static IP"
That could be true but unlikely. Most ISP's use a DHCP server to provide an IP address for you rather than making their customers run through this manual setup.

I would change the WAN Connetion Type to DHCP enabled and see if your ISP gives your router an IP address.
 

Narcyz

Reputable
Dec 7, 2015
24
0
4,510


I must be missing something, because as far as i know DHCP is already enabled. I tried to change the WAN type from Static IP to Dynamic IP and used the renew and release buttons to see if they did something, but apparently they did not, the IP address, Subnet Mask and Default Gateway all have the value 0.0.0.0. I apologise if i'm missing something really obvious, but i am really bad when it comes to networking and thinks like this.
 
"DHCP is already enabled."
Yes, for you computer connecting to that router it's enabled.

But, from your router to your modem (and ISP) it should be DHCP enabled there too. But it was static so you changed it to Dynamic and waited how long after clicking RELEASE FIRST! then renew. wait 5 min and see if it populates the IP's with something other then 0.0.0.0

Alternatively, your ISP should be able to help you with this. If for some reason they DO require a static IP then they will need to provide that to you.
 
In order to ensure that everything is in a known state, the PROPER order is:

1. Power everything down (modem, router, PC/Laptop, any other connected equipment)
2. Power up modem only, and let it fully initialize.
3. Power up router and let let it fully initialize.
4. Power up one PC/Laptop and use that to check all configurations.
5. Repeat as necessary until everything checks out.

 

Pooneil

Honorable
Apr 15, 2013
1,222
0
11,960
The DHCP on your device and the DHCP provided by your ISP are different. Did you subscribe to a fixed IP service. That is normally a premium business class subscription.

Unless you have a very peculiar setup with an ISP, the following is true. The default gateway for the wan of 192.168.0.1 is a private IP address. It is the default address for your router within the LAN. It is not an address assigned by the ISP. Go back to the WAN settings and check there for DHCP or other settings to let the IPS assign the WAN side an IP number.
 

Narcyz

Reputable
Dec 7, 2015
24
0
4,510




Allright, i have tried to configure it with a Dynamic IP, but the Release button was always greyed out, and i could not find anything to tweak about the WAN DHCP. Could it possibly be a software limitation? Here are a few screens:


I let the Dynamic IP untouched for 5-10 minutes, but as i said, the Release button stayed greyed out. There are also quite a bit of boxes to input DNS along the router config, so i don't really know which should i modify.
36b7e4bede6a22d262b8c95259502d81.png

140a86adf6fb69909e43cd0fbcd61ae9.png



 

Narcyz

Reputable
Dec 7, 2015
24
0
4,510


I'll try to do this, see if it solves something.
 

Pooneil

Honorable
Apr 15, 2013
1,222
0
11,960
See that part in read that says "Wan Port is Unplugged!"

The router either doesn't have a WAN cable plugged into it or the cable is not attached to a working modem or other network device. What device is the router WAN port plugged into? What is the make and model of the equipment your ISP provided to you?
 

Narcyz

Reputable
Dec 7, 2015
24
0
4,510




Whoops, my bad. Forgot to add that when i did all the other troubleshooting the cable was indeed plugged in. In the screens it's not because it was easier to take the screens on my main PC rather than my petty laptop i use for configuring routers.
 
You need to call your ISP and find out if you have static or dynamic IP for the WAN connection (the connection from them to your router)
If dynamic IP then set WAN back to dynamic.
If static then you need not only the IP but the subnet and the gateway address and the DNS because what you have in those fields is wrong for their setup.

WAN and LAN are two completely different configurations. WAN is you configuring it to work with the ISPs router. LAN is what your PCs need to do to work with your router. These are different because a router's job is to 1) allow you to use 1 WAN connection to service many computers and 2) provide a much needed first line of defense from the internet by having a completely different address setup that is hidden from the internet.
 

Narcyz

Reputable
Dec 7, 2015
24
0
4,510
Well, i have been doing some research, and turns out that:
- If i wanted to replace my ISP's router with my own neutral one, i'd need to change my ISP, because my current one does not support neutral routers at the moment. Honestly i can't believe it would be like this, but it is apparently.
- My ISP client support recommended to configure their router as a bridge, and then use mine as the router. No matter what i tried, i could not get it working, either because their explanation was really poor or because i'm completely inept when it comes to routers and such.
- In the end, i chose to configure my router as a wireless repeater, which was extremely easy and kind of fulfills what i wanted to achieve to begin with. So there's that.

Unless someone has any idea on something that could be done to not end up with my new router as a repeater, the problem would be solved. In any case, many thanks to everyone for their tips. Cheers.
 
What is the modem/router you have? Often times you can put the modem into "bridged" mode or "modem only" mode, this bridges the WAN/LAN interfaces and turns into a modem only.

Unfortunately you have to take anything that the ISP phone support says with a huge grain of salt.
 

Narcyz

Reputable
Dec 7, 2015
24
0
4,510
Allright guys, after trying a bit more i finally got it working. Here's what i did:

As i said before, i cannot replace my ISP provided router because it is responsible for handling VoIP and other things, so what i did was assign an IP to my neutral router inside the other router's IP range, and disable DHCP on the neutral. Then, on my ISP's router i gave the neutral router a static DHCP and added its local IP to the DMZ. Finally i connected them both from LAN to LAN, and left only the neutral router's Wi-Fi function working, and voilà, everything worked just fine.

Many thanks to everyone that helped!
 

Narcyz

Reputable
Dec 7, 2015
24
0
4,510

I was told that it was something that i sould consider doing to get it to work, yet you are correct, i disabled DMZ and it works fine. I don't know what they had in mind, but that was not a good recommendation. Many thanks!