[SOLVED] Connecting 2 wired routers in wireless extender

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jawsont
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 09 Jun 2021
Posts: 2

PostPosted: Wed Jun 09, 2021 2:41    Post subject: [SOLVED] Connecting 2 wired routers in wireless extender Reply with quote
Hi guys - I hate to be that guy, but I feel as though I've done a pile of ddwrt searches for my problem but every suggestion page I've read doesn't resolve my issue. Bottom line, I have 2 routers (the "main" router running Merlin and what I want to be my AP extender running DDWRT) and while I see the DDWRT box on the network and can GUI remote into the box, when i try connecting a wireless device to it it won't pull down an IP address.

Here are some more details:
Router1. RT-AC1900P: LAN address range starts with 192.168.2.1 Runs Asus Merlin. It's running in Wireless router mode/AiMesh Router Mode. I actually have one last router further upstream from it, so it's pulling an automatic IP from it (192.168.1.1 for the tomato router attached to my PPPoE radio). Most of my wired house is running through this RTAC1900 and everything runs hunky-dory. The wireless on that side of the house is WPA2 and everything connects to the internet and is otherwise normal.

The issue falls with this:
Router2 RT-N12(d). This is purely a router designed to extend my wireless network. I've got it hardwired through WAN port on router 2 into a LAN port on router1. (I'd already turned the WAN port into a LAN port with checkbox option).

I've tried everything in this post and think I've followed it to a T (https://wiki.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Wireless_Access_Point)

I've done the following:
Router2: WAN disabled
Local IP is 192.168.2.2 / standard mask / gateway and local DNS set to 192.168.2.1
WAN port to switch = yes
I've tried both DHCP Server with server set to disabled (as recommended) as well as DHCP forwarder set to 192.168.2.1 (trying to troubleshoot with some posts).
Advanced routing is op mode Router.
The security tab is set to what is listed on the wiki
The services tab is set to what is listed on the wiki
Wireless tab I have the mode set to AP
>mixed network mode
>SSID set to the same as my other side of the house.
>Channel is set to 11 (other half of the house is set to 1)
Network config=bridged.
Wireless Security>disabled (while I troubleshoot why it isn't connecting).

Have i missed something stupidly simple?
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kernel-panic69
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 08 May 2018
Posts: 14102
Location: Texas, USA

PostPosted: Wed Jun 09, 2021 2:57    Post subject: Reply with quote
You are obviously running older DD-WRT builds, but you should connect LAN to LAN from your RT-AC1900P to your RT-N12D. Much less chance of failure, especially if you upgrade to a current release. You may want to check that vlan2 is assigned to br0 in the proper tab and that everything else looks correct in the webUI (switch config, networking, etc.) I wouldn't use mixed wireless mode, should be NG-Mixed or N/AC-Mixed (for 5GHz band) - follow the wikis and stickies. DHCP server should be disabled, all the applicable checkboxes under that should be un-checked, and dnsmasq should be disabled in the services tab. You don't necessarily need local dns entry; gateway entry should be sufficient, but you may need to put the internet-facing router's LAN IP there. This is with presuming that your RMerlin RT-AC1900P is in gateway mode and the WAN is on one subnet and the LAN is on another. Screenshots of applicable settings that conform to forum rules and guidelines or linked images for hi-res might help give people a better picture of the scenario...
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jawsont
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 09 Jun 2021
Posts: 2

PostPosted: Wed Jun 09, 2021 14:25    Post subject: Reply with quote
Troubleshot for another couple hours this morning. Double checked all the settings from the wiki, looked for your advice on settings (tyvm for that). Then connected a wired computer to the N12 router, it could surf ok, it was purely limited to wireless devices not getting an IP address.

So I started looking at my upstream router (the RT-AC1900P). Nothing there seemed to be preventing an ip address from being delivered as far as I could tell. I disabled all security settings on every wireless router and flushed the cache on both my upstream routers (the AC1900 and the outwards facing tomato one). Nada.

Long story short, I ragequit, factory reset the RT-N12D and did it all over again from scratch and voila - wireless devices are now pulling IP addresses. Consider the question resolved and I thank you very much for your reply. In the end the wiki nailed it with (paraphrasing) "reset if things aren't working out". God I love/hate networking.
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