Help Setup Two Wireless Routers

[consultant1027]

I've got two Linsys Wireless-N Routers (WRT120N and WRT130N) One on each floor. I have the setup right now with the same SSID. Router 1 is connected to the Internet and to the Ethernet LAN. Router 2 is connected to the Ethernet LAN and I have DHCP turned off and assigned it a static IP address.

It seems that when I'm in an area where both routers have equal signal strength, my notebook keeps losing the connection. And on my iPhone, when I connect to one, then move closer to the other the signal strength goes down so it doesn't automatically switch to the router with the strongest signal.

As an experiment, I just changed the name on router one to name-basement so I could see the routers indivdually. When connecting to router 1 I no longer have the issue of the connection dropping and connecting over and over. BUT, when I try to connect to router 2 I cannot connect! And I can't bring up the admin screen on router 2 now even though it is connected to router 1 by Ethernet LAN! It seems maybe I was connecting to router 1 all along and router 2 has just always been inacessible? But when I had the same SSID for both, I WAS able to bring up the admin screen for router 2. I also turned off wireless on router 1, connected to router 2, and sucessfully went to the Internet. But when SSID is the same, seems like they don't play together well??

But isn't this the proper setup for two routers where I want one to essentially just be an access point to extend the wireless network where both routers are connected via Ethernet LAN? (same SSID, turn off DHCP, assign static address)

 

[consultant1027]

As far as I can tell the config must be correct. Router 1 is 192.168.1.1 has DHCP server is on with client IP range starting at .100. Router 2 is 192.168.1.2, and the router config is set to automatic-DHCP, but the DHCP Server for clients is off. I have disabled wireless on one router and connected to the other and verified internet access and vice versa. The problem is still when I have about the same signal strength (checked this by assigning different SSIDs and then setting back to same SSIDs) I keep losing the connection and then reconnecting. If I am near one of the routers, no problems. Is there anything else I should be setting like putting them on two different channels? Or is this maybe a Win7 or Lenovo wireless issue with the wireless card not being able to make up its mind which router to connect to?

I'm thinking the sure-fire way to solve this would be:

Setup separate SSIDs for the two routers. Enable DHCP for both, but assign client IP ranges that are different to avoid conflicts. Then I would have absolute control over which router I'm connecting to (upstairs or downstairs) by choosing between the two SSIDs. Is the benefit of having the same ID is that the wireless client is SUPPOSE to automatically change routers depending on signal strength, transparently? If so, doesn't see to work to well with these Linksys routers.

I hung up on Linksys tech support - they are WAY to SLOW for me. I already upgraded firmware. They are claiming (despite the correct firmware version showing on the admin panel) that I have to completely reset the router and reconfigure from scratch. Is this true? Sounds more to me like it's their 'dummy-proof' procedures wanting to start with a clean slate.

 

[consultant1027]

This is just bizarre. If I disable wireless on router 1, my Thinkpad still connect to the wireless network and gets to the Internet. However, with both running, if I take my iphone and got sit right next to router 2, it still connects to router 1. But if I turn the wifi on the iphone off then back on, it shows the router 2 connection first (I can tell because it has 5 bars) and if I quickly tap it, it tries to connect and fails, then connects to router 2.

So, I renamed router 2 to name-mainfloor, turned DHCP server on and set a range to not conflict with router 1. Now when I specificaly select the mainfloor SSID, it connects fine and I get the stronger signal.

It appears that the WRT310N cannot act as an access point. It seems if you turn DHCP server off on that router, it won't assign an IP to the client by passing it through to Router 1. That is my guess. But that can't be right as there are a couple of devices connected to router 2 via Ethernet and they work fine whether the DHCP server is enabled or not!

 

[yamurkahtan]

Hi ,

I have the same problem. My routers are different. The first one is Negear, the second is Linksys. So, how can I communicate between them as like as one router. I read all your comments but what is the solution to make the wirelss signal is strong along the house without change the connection manually.

Netgear and Cisco routers talking about wireless extender. Is it useful?.

Thanks

 

[yamurkahtan]

where r you guys??????????????

 

[Elec_Monk]

I bought a WRT120N with the intention of connecting wired computers/devices to something which was wirelessly connected to my existing network. My existing wireless router had ethernet ports on it, but it was on the other side of the house.
I spent hours trying to work it out myself, searching the Cisco site and Googling for an answer. I'm no wireless guru but I was starting to feel really dumb. Finally, I got onto the live chat on the Cisco site. I should have done this at the start. From the previous posts, I'm guessing the phone support isn't that great, but this online chat was fantastic - drilled right down to the problem very quickly. Here's a cutdown of the conversation...
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[2012-04-27 06:36:55] Cisco (15493) has joined this session.
[2012-04-27 06:37:03] Cisco (15493): Hello Brett! Welcome to Linksys Live Chat. How may I help you?
[2012-04-27 06:37:32] Me: I recently bought a wrt120n and am having trouble configuring it
[2012-04-27 06:38:11] Me: I have a wireless network already set up in my house and want to use the wrt120n as a wireless access point to plug some non-wireless devices into
[2012-04-27 06:38:50] Me: so i don't want to touch the existing network, I just want to add a hub on the other side of the house that I can plug ethernet cables into
[2012-04-27 06:42:06] Cisco (15493): You mentioned that you already have an existing wireless network in your network. Do you mean, that you want the Linksys router (WRT120N) to be wirelessly connected to the existing router?
[2012-04-27 06:42:24] Me: correct
[2012-04-27 06:43:56] Cisco (15493): Basically, the router is designed to provide wireless connection in a network. Thus, it has the ability to broadcast a wireless network for the wireless computers/devices to connect to. However, the router isn't capable of detecting or connecting to an existing wireless network. Therefore, you can only connect the Linksys router wired to the existing router in your network.
[2012-04-27 06:44:48] Me: so I bought the wrong product? What do I need to look for in the description to do what I want?
[2012-04-27 06:45:57] Cisco (15493): Do you need a device to be wirelessly connected to your router, and then connect wired computers/devices to that device?
[2012-04-27 06:46:15] Me: yes, got it exactly
[2012-04-27 06:48:50] Cisco (15493): In that case, you need a wireless bridge. We have two wireless-N bridges. One is WET610N wireless bridge which has only one Ethernet port, and the other one is our new wireless bridge which is the WES610N and it has 4 Ethernet ports.
[2012-04-27 06:50:04] Me: ok
[2012-04-27 06:50:46] Cisco (15493): Do you have any other questions or concerns that I can assist you with? Please feel free to bring them up while I'm still with you.
[2012-04-27 06:51:27] Me: what do the wag- and wap- series products do? (just in case the wes610n isnt in store when i return this one)
[2012-04-27 06:53:18] Cisco (15493): The WAG device is a wireless gateway. It acts as a modem and a router at the same time while the WAP is a wireless access point which provide wireless connection to the computers/devices, in case the network doesn't have wireless connection yet like the router is wired and has no wireless capability.
[2012-04-27 07:02:02] Cisco (15493): The WAG can provide wireless connection in a network, but just like the router, it has no ability to detect or connect to an existing wireless network.
[2012-04-27 07:02:17] Cisco (15493): You may check on this link to learn more about our WAG120N: http://homesupport.cisco.com/en-apac/support/gateways/WAG120N
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So, in essence, only the WES- products will to the wireless network extension.

HTH