HELP! Trouble setting up an ASUS RT-AC87U as media bridge to Hitron Modem/Router combo...

[rjl05001]

I'm a newbie to the whole media bridge game (and this forum), and am in desperate need of some assistance. I have an ASUS RT-AC87U I'm trying to setup as a media bridge for my Xbox one. I currently have a Hitron Cable Modem/Router combo with a 1Gbps down/50 Mbps up, but wirelessly I wasn't getting the speeds I wanted with either the 87U or the combo, so I decided to try a media bridge. However, after disabling DHCP on the Hitron and following the steps to put the 87U in media mode, I'm not getting any internet connection via Ethernet LAN port after it goes through it's connection process to the 5Ghz channel. I keep running ipconfig/all to make sure all the settings matchup and they do. I've tried rescanning and resetting the connection, entering manual ip address/dns address, and letting the system try to automate everything but nothing changes the outcome (Unidentified Network and no internet connection).

Where do I go from here? I'm leery of the DNS address I keep seeing in ipconfig/all... It keeps showing me the same address as my gateway. And this is at the very top "Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : hitronhub.home"... Makes me think my combo is spitting out weird DNS stuff that the 87U can't handle. Any suggestions how I should proceed or what to try next? Did I simply miss a step?

Also I'm running the most current ASUS stock firmware. (I know I need to flash to merlin soon).

NOTE: I disabled DHCP because with it enabled I couldn't even get the ASUS software to come up with the new IP assigned to check the connection status. Now with it disabled I am able to get a viable IP address to enter the router, but no connection to the AP router (Hitron combo)

 

[pete y testing]

disabling DHCP

why are you disabling the dhcp on the cable modem when you are trying to use the 87u as a client adapter

eg

internet --- cable modem ------- wireless -------- 87u in media bridge mode

leave the cable modem setup normally and set the 87u to media beidge mode and let it scan the wifi and find the cable modems ssid can enter your passphrase and connect

 

[pkbristol]

That modem/ router combo can be put into modem only mode, surely that would be more simple, then just use the Asus as the router.

Paul

 

[sfx2000]

That modem/ router combo can be put into modem only mode, surely that would be more simple, then just use the Asus as the router.

Paul

That would not fix his problem - he would still need a media bridge...

Enable the DHCP on the hitron and should be fine from there - the 87U in wireless bridge mode should see the SSID, and then just enter the credentials..

 

[rjl05001]

That would not fix his problem - he would still need a media bridge...

Enable the DHCP on the hitron and should be fine from there - the 87U in wireless bridge mode should see the SSID, and then just enter the credentials..

I have tried enabling DHCP and disabling either way I still can't get a solid internet connection via Ethernet (using 87u as media bridge hub).

 

[pete y testing]

I still can't get a solid internet connection via Ethernet (using 87u as media bridge hub).

then its the placement of the 87u that is the issue , and has nothing to do with dhcp , the dhcp does however need to be enabled in the router you are connecting to

 

[sfx2000]

then its the placement of the 87u that is the issue , and has nothing to do with dhcp , the dhcp does however need to be enabled in the router you are connecting to

Or it's the 87U just being 87U - if running ethernet, try to stay away from LAN1 (it's shared with 5GHz on the Quantenna chip)...

Wireless is limited basically by physics - and location is a big deal there.

One thing to try - if you have a smart phone - attach to the primary wifi, and then check coverage/speed where you're intending to put the 87U acting as a bridge - if the phone has good coverage, the 87U will be very good...

 

[rjl05001]

then its the placement of the 87u that is the issue , and has nothing to do with dhcp , the dhcp does however need to be enabled in the router you are connecting to

The placement of the 87u is only 30-50 feet from the modem/router combo... I was only getting about 100Mbps wirelessly with a 75% wireless connection (a wall and across a room interfere with signal some) and I wanted to try and get 300Mbps wired to the media bridge... So i'm pretty sure it's not the placement... It is some kind of failure to establish a internet connection even though the 87u doesn't seem to have any issue connecting to the combo and getting assigned a new ip...

Could the fact that the combo runs on 192.168.0.1 and the 87u initially runs on 192.168.1.1 cause a connection problem? But I don't see how that's possible because it is suppose to be assigned a new LAN ip and DNS automatically...

The other issue could be the fact the combo is running some weird type of DNS through a online hub hosted by Hitron... When I run ipconfig/all I keep seeing the original gateway as my DNS address (192.168.0.1)... I'm not super techy so I don't know what I need to try next... It's definitely not a physical barrier though. It has to be some setting or interface that is screwing with the connection...

Here is my detailed process:

Reset 87U
Set 87U up in Media Bridge Mode
Connect to the 5Ghz channel of my Hitron modem/router combo
(Connection is solid >75% usually)
ASUS software assigns the 87U a new ip address after connecting with the Hitron combo as a media bridge
87U reboots and I use the Device Discovery Tool to locate 87U with new ip
Login to 87U via new ip
The software comes up showing the 87u in media bridge mode, HOWEVER the connection is disconnected between it and the P-AP (Hitron combo)
(Here is where things get screwy...)


When I let the 87u automatically assign its own IP (with DHCP enabled) it always chooses 192.168.1.1. But when I manually assign it a static IP in the 192.168.0.1 family (192.168.0.29 usually) I can never reconnect to it via the software because it never connects to the internet.... Even when it is ethernet wired to a computer... Device Discovery finds it ok, but I can't access it when I manually enter the IP and DNS (again DHCP enabled)

That led me to try disabling the DHCP but that again met the same results so its currently enabled... I just don't know what else to try now

 

[rjl05001]

That led me to try disabling the DHCP but that again met the same results so its currently enabled... I just don't know what else to try now

Here are all the things I have thought to try:

(1) No changes - Ran the initial media bridge mode with 87U with nothing changed on either device (DHCP enabled) - RESULTS: 87U easily connected assigned itself 192.168.1.1 LAN IP but P-AP connection was shown as disconnected

(2) Tried disabling DHCP - 87U connected to the P-AP in media bridge mode easily - it assigned the same IP - RESULTS: same as attempt 1

(3) Reactivated DHCP and Manually entered IP/DNS - 87U connected to P-AP in bridge mode easily - RESULTS: 87U was manually assigned 192.168.0.29 IP - device discovery located the device, but I could not connect to device to determine connection status and device wired to 87U had no internet connection

(4) Disabled DHCP and manually entered IP/DNS - 87U connected to P-AP in bridge mode - RESULTS: Same as attempt 3

(5) Reactivated DHCP and manually entered IP to 192.168.0.1 - 87U connected to P-AP bridge mode - RESULTS: same as step 3 except this time the device was literally not even found by Device Discovery (lol don't set both devices to same IP lesson learned)

(6) I discovered that if you select manually enter IP/DNS change the values and then re-select auto-assign IP/DNS it actually uses the values you had changed them to... So I tried this... - 87U still connected to P-AP in bridge mode - RESULTS: 87U "auto-assigned" itself 192.168.0.29 IP, I could not connect with device to check connection, but wired device had no internet connectivity

(7) Reset both 87U and Hitron Combo to factory defaults - Reran Attempt #1 - RESULTS - Same as attempt 1

What I have learned is that
(1) I cannot assign a manual IP with 192.168.0.xxx because then I cannot access the router because whenever I try to access the 87U via whatever IP address it was assigned I cannot connect.
(2) ANY time the 87U auto assigns IP it is 192.168.1.1
(3) The 87U will always connect to the Hitron via the 5Ghz wireless channel, but it never results in an internet connection for wired devices to the 87U
(4) DHCP has little to no bearing on initial connecting between the 2 devices
(5) No physical barriers are causing the disconnect

 

[rjl05001]

UPDATE: I sold the 87U... too glitchy