Did I brick my WRT160N?

[TheUnscented]

I'm also trying to configure my Linksys WRT 160N to be a wireless access point (WAP). I was following the instructions here: http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wire...onvert-a-wireless-router-into-an-access-point (although the writer had a WRT 54G, Windows XP and a different brand LAN router).

I'm trying to make my Linksys WRT 160N a WAP and use my (ostensibly better) Linksys 610N router as the main LAN router. The computer I was using to configure is a laptop running Win7 Home 64 bit.

Both routers have (well, had) 192.168.1.1 as their access IPs. Following the instructions, I disabled the DHCP server on the WAP (160N) and reset the IP to an IP address (specifically, 192.168.1.150) outside the range used by the LAN (specifically, 192.168.1.100 -192.68.1.149).

I plugged both the LAN cable (from LAN) and the WAP cable (other end to the laptop) into LAN ports. Lights came on indicating port is active but no magic. Windows sees the "unknown" wired network but cannot access internet, no IP address is assigned to the laptop and the network map is empty. Pulling the LAN cable and plugging directly into the laptop, I can surf the web and access the LAN router (610N).

Unfortunately, nothing I do can get me access to the 160N router--I would think that entering 192.168.1.150 would bring me to the old 160N router (when physically connected) but no dice. Did I brick the 160N?

 

[thiggins]

Make sure you set the 160N LAN IP to 192.168.1.150

Make sure the computer you are trying to access the 160N with is
set to a static IP address in the 192.168.1.X subnet and plugged into
a LAN port on the 160N.

Doubtful you bricked it. Just reset it to defaults using the reset button and
try again.

 

[TheUnscented]

Not sure what I'm doing wrong....or what I'm doing.

Mr. Easy,

I guess you did see the post after all, thanks for the prompt reply. The reset button did the trick, my WRT160N is reset to the default factory settings so I can try again. I'm trying to use the 160N as the Wireless Access Point (henceforth “AP”).

The 160 IP has been set to 192.168.1.150, as illustrated in your article. On the laptop, the following path Control Panel>Network and Internet> Network Connections> Local Area Connection> Properties> Internet Protocol Version 4(TCP/IPIPv4)> Properties and made the following selections in pursuit of a static IP address on the computer:

>Use the following IP address:
IP address: 192.168.1.102 (previously tried 192.168.1.151)
Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
Default gateway: Left blank

>Use the following DNS server addresses:
Preferred DNS server: (initially left blank but didn't seem to work then Googled and came up with: 192.168.1.2 for Windows 7)
Alternate DNS server (left blank)

Hit OK and closed. It didn't work

The WRT 610N router (the one we're keeping as a router) has as its IP address: 168.192.1.1; subnet mask 255.255.255.0. The DHCP Server is enabled, the IP address range is 192.168.1.100 to 149. Also, if it matters, the Internet Connection Type is set to “Automatic Configuration – DHCP.” The Static DNS 1 (2 & 3) are all set to 0.0.0.0. The client lease time is set to “0” (where it says “0” is one day).

So I turned the wifi back on, on the laptop and tried to figure out what the DNS server setting was. It was 209.18.47.61. I keyed that in and changed the IPv4 static IP address (laptop) to 192.168.1.152 and the Subnet Mask to 255.255.255.0.

Now I am on the network, I can see other computers and devices (wifi is off) but I cannot access the internet. I then went back and deleted the DNS Server settings (just erased them) and.... I'm still on the network and see other devices but no internet.

So here are my settings as it sits:

LAN Router 610N
IP Address: 192 . 168 . 1. 1

AP Router 160N
IP Address: 192 . 168 . 1. 150

Laptop
IPv4 IP Address: 192 . 168 . 1. 150
I'm not sure what I am doing wrong, please advise.

Thanks,

Sean

 

[jlake]

I assume you just made a typo and your laptop IP address is 192.168.1.152

You have to plug the Ethernet cable coming from your 610 to the 160's LAN port (not the Internet port); hence why they call it a LAN-to-LAN cascade.

Try a different computer if you're still having problems. Or reset both routers to factory defaults, update the firmware on both and start over. The directions below has diagrams if you need them. You want LAN-to-LAN cascade.

http://kb.linksys.com/Linksys/ukp.aspx?pid=80&vw=1&articleid=3733

 

[jdabbs]

Router
LAN IP: 192.168.1.1
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
DHCP server enabled

AP (converted router)
IP: 192.168.1.150
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Gateway (if it asks for one): 192.168.1.1
DHCP server disabled

Make sure a LAN port on the AP is connected to a LAN port on the router. If you use the WAN port on the AP instead of a LAN port, it will not work without additional configuration.

Laptop
Edit the network connection for the wired interface
IP: 192.168.1.10 (or an available IP on your network)
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: 255.255.255.0
DNS: 4.2.2.2

With Laptop cabled into AP via LAN port, and AP and Router connected via their LAN ports, test the following:

Ping google.com (if this works, skip the rest and attempt to grab an IP over wireless)
Ping 192.168.1.10 (or whatever you configured your wired interface as)
Ping 192.168.1.150
Ping 192.168.1.1
Ping 4.2.2.2

If you have problems with connectivity, please identify which ping tests failed so the issue(s) can be narrowed down.

 

[TheUnscented]

Jlake,

Yes, that was a typo the laptop was set to 192.168.1.152. The output ethernet cable from the Router (610) was(is) plugged into one of the LAN ports on the AP (160). It appears, from the link you sent, I'm doing the LAN to LAN cascade. With this set up, I'm able to view other computers on the singular network and even pull files from the NAS. Just no internet connection. From the CMD prompt, IPCONFIG yields the IPv4 address I assigned but a media state of "Media disconnected."
The command Ping google.com returns "...could not find host..."
The command Ping 192.168.1.1 returns quickly with 0% loss or errors
The command Ping 192.168.1.150 returns quickly with 0% loss or errors
The command Ping 4.2.2.2 returns transmit failed. General failure 100% loss



At this point, I'm loathe to reset the 610 back to the factory settings if I can avoid that. I'm going to try the instructions in the link. Thanks for the link

 

[TheUnscented]

Jdabbs,

With the configuration:

Router
LAN IP: 192.168.1.1
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
DHCP server enabled

AP (converted router)
IP: 192.168.1.150
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Gateway (if it asks for one): (no opportunity to enter a Gateway)
DHCP server disabled

Wired LAN to LAN

Laptop
Edit the network connection for the wired interface
IP: 192.168.1.152
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: Not specified (left blank)
DNS: Not specified (left blank)

I received the returned pings as described:
IPCONFIG yields the IPv4 address I assigned but a media state of "Media disconnected."
The command Ping google.com returns "...could not find host..."
The command Ping 192.168.1.1 returns quickly with 0% loss or errors
The command Ping 192.168.1.150 returns quickly with 0% loss or errors
The command Ping 4.2.2.2 returns transmit failed. General failure 100% loss

Changing Laptop settings to
IP: 192.168.1.10 (or an available IP on your network)
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: (left BLANK would not accept a “255......” --returned error “255 is not a valid entry. Please specify a value between 1 and 223”)
DNS: 4.2.2.2

I received the returned pings as described:
IPCONFIG yields the IPv4 address (192.168.1.10) I assigned but a media state of "Media disconnected."
The command Ping google.com returns "...could not find host..."
The command Ping 192.168.1.1 returns quickly with 0% loss or errors
The command Ping 192.168.1.150 returns quickly with 0% loss or errors
The command Ping 4.2.2.2 returns transmit failed. General failure 100% loss

So I could not enter the laptop (IPv4) Gateway 255.255.255.0 as you instructed. I tried 192.168.1.1 and I received a pop up warning “Warning- Multiple default gateways are intended to provide redundancy to a single network.....” So I pulled the plug on that and tried 223.255.255.0 which gave me another pop up warnging that the default gateway was not on the same network segment defined by the IP address and subnet mask.

Is the problem the Laptop Gateway? I'm leaving it blank. Thanks for your help!

UPDATE: Checked the Laptop Local Area Connection Status > Details> in the area IPv4 Default Gateway it is blank

 

[TheUnscented]

Now when I turn the wireless transceiver to the on position on the laptop (I'm certain it's picking up the signal from the 610 router immediately below the room I'm in) and check the IPv4 details I find the following automatic settings:

Laptop IPv4
IP: 192.168.1.106
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Gateway: 192.168.1.1
DNS: 209.18.47.61; 209.18.47.62

FYI, the AP won't remain in this room, it's just easier to do this at a desk.

 

[thiggins]

You MUST have correct gateway and DNS settings in a LAN client or the client will not reach the internet.

Once you have configured the AP, set the computer you were using for the configuration back to getting its IP info via DHCP. It should pick up the proper info from the main router, which should be the only DHCP server on the LAN.

If you want to be able to force clients to connect to the AP vs. the main router, you must assign it a different SSID.