Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2021 1:12 Post subject: Tp-link Archer C7 mobile hotspot connection with dd-wrt.
I have a Tp-link Archer C7 router and am able to link the internet from my mobile hotspot to the network very easily with the original firmware by just checking WDS bridge, searching for available WiFi networks, adding ssid/passwords then disabling DHPC. The whole network is reliant on the hotspot being on but that's fine for my needs. I would like to get the same results through the dd-wrt firmware but have been unable to. I've tried every tutorial online and nothing has worked to allow the internet connection to pass through the router while dd-wrt is installed. Does anyone know how to duplicate the results from the original firmware onto the dd-wrt firmware? I would like to use the dd-wrt firmware to run a vpn service after the initial setup is working. Thank you.
You need to set your 5ghz settings to client mode, and then set your phone's hotspot to 5ghz. In the wireless security area, set he password and security settings to what your phone has. You can set up a vpn in ddwrt in the services tap (openvpn client)
You can sort of set this up automatically if you go to status>wireless>switch the displayed adapter to wlan1>site survey button>click join next to your phone's wifi
I tried that but it connects without internet being shared to the devices connected to the virtual AP setup or ethernet port. Is there a way to find out what the WDS bridge check box does in the original firmware so I can duplicate it in the dd-wrt settings? Everything online that I find for WDS setup pertains to connecting two routers or a modem and entering an IP address. I'm trying to connect my phone's mobile hotspot internet connection which is very easily done on the original firmware by just putting a check in the box for WDS bridge and disabling DHPC. Also, on the phone I turn on the option to use the phone's mac address in the hotspot settings.
I never did get the internet to connect through the router except in Client Bridge (Routed) mode for wlan 1, which didn't allow dns input for the vpn service. I setup the OpenVpn using Client mode(AP mode for wlan 0 and Virtual AP) anyway and to my surprise everything works now with the vpn running. Enabling the vpn seems to have allowed internet traffic to pass through to the Virtual AP, wlan 0 and ethernet connections from my Android mobile hotspot.
I did turn on NAT because the instructions from the vpn provider said to do so. Everything is default except for the settings the vpn service support page directed to change. Wan0 and 5Ghz Virtual AP is set to AP and Wan1 is set to Client in the drop down menu with the mobile hotspot ssid info entered into Wan1. Rebooted router after. The network doesn't function as a lan while the hotspot isn't connected which is fine because I only need it for bypassing the video throttle from the cell phone company. All US carriers throttle video to 480i. It's in the fine print. I can also hook up multiple devices instead of one device that my carrier allows. It works great for streaming full 1080p from my Hotspot with the OpenVpn running. I use a paid vpn service that installs on routers with OpenVpn.