Extend Guest Network to an AP Access Point Connected via Ethernet Cabling?

[jksmurf]

Hi,

I did a quick search but most of the responses were a wee bit complicated, regarding VLANs and the like.

I have a few Shelly IoT devices that are currently on GW2 with my IoT SSID, but one of them has a very weak (and unstable) connection due to walls/distance. Shelly setups allow a fall-back (secondary) Wifi, which this one does fall back onto occasionally. It falls back to an AIMESH Node that is a lot closer and the secondary Wifi on that Node is my Main-Wifi SSID.

So it works, but I prefer my main Wifi AIMESH Mode not to be used, so I am looking at repurposing an old RT-AC68U as an AP, connected via a 'wired' backbone, using some homeplugs; or some other AP that I can get closer to the IoT device, maybe something that is a combo 2.4GHz Wifi/Homeplug device.

So my Q's are simply these:

1. If I setup the AC68U (or Combo Device) as an AP and give it a static IP Address AND connect it via Ethernet to my Main Router AND give it the same GW2 SSID that my main Router dishes out, will this work?
2. Separately, will a DHCP reservation for the MAC of the IoT device, as set on the Main Router, recognise the IoT device connected though tthe AP?
3. Or can GW2 not be extended (I am aware it does not "mesh", so to speak, with AIMESH, unlike GW1)?

Thanks a lot!

k.

 

[ColinTaylor]

1. It will "work" but clients connected to the AP will be part of your main network, not GW2.
2. Yes.
3. No it can't.

 

[drinkingbird]

Hi,

I did a quick search but most of the responses were a wee bit complicated, regarding VLANs and the like.

I have a few Shelly IoT devices that are currently on GW2 with my IoT SSID, but one of them has a very weak (and unstable) connection due to walls/distance. Shelly setups allow a fall-back (secondary) Wifi, which this one does fall back onto occasionally. It falls back to an AIMESH Node that is a lot closer and the secondary Wifi on that Node is my Main-Wifi SSID.

So it works, but I prefer my main Wifi AIMESH Mode not to be used, so I am looking at repurposing an old RT-AC68U as an AP, connected via a 'wired' backbone, using some homeplugs; or some other AP that I can get closer to the IoT device, maybe something that is a combo 2.4GHz Wifi/Homeplug device.

So my Q's are simply these:

1. If I setup the AC68U (or Combo Device) as an AP and give it a static IP Address AND connect it via Ethernet to my Main Router AND give it the same GW2 SSID that my main Router dishes out, will this work?
2. Separately, will a DHCP reservation for the MAC of the IoT device, as set on the Main Router, recognise the IoT device connected though tthe AP?
3. Or can GW2 not be extended (I am aware it does not "mesh", so to speak, with AIMESH, unlike GW1)?

Thanks a lot!

k.

Even in repeater mode there is a known issue where Asus lets it bypass guest restrictions. Not sure if that was ever fixed. The only guest network that you can extend is GW1. This can be done with Aimesh or with a fairly simple script on the 68U.

 

[jksmurf]

@ColinTaylor @drinkingbird

Thank you both, exactly what I needed to know. Disappointing but at least I don’t have to go down that rabbit hole.

The Shelly already connected itself to the main network (to a strong signal that does extend to the mesh node) via the fallback WiFi (due to very weak IoT Wi-Fi) so the AP would not really add anything (in terms of a separate network), apart from allowing me to have the ‘same’ WiFi SSID and password as the ‘actual‘ GW2 network.

In this respect using the GW2/GW3 network for IoT devices when your Router can’t provide enough signal (even at 2.4Ghz) to extend through thick walls etc. is a bit of a non-starter. I would like to keep GW1 for ‘real‘ roaming guests, and I wanted to keep the main Wi-Fi separate for family; the GW2/GW3 part of this equation falls a wee bit flat, in that it doesn’t extend to Mesh Nodes and now it seems I cannot use an AP either (at least not in the way I had envisaged).

Thanks again

k.