Is it possible to build a Wifi Mesh with a different brand of Router?

[CaptainSTX]

Thank you, I didn't see the Amazon note, I checked the reviews of 5.5K 4.3 Stars, that has to say something

Hopefully what you ordered will work in your case. If not look for straight DECA devices as you don't need MOCA since you won't be sharing your coaxial cable with video signals. They also tend to be slightly less expensive. If you only needed fast Ethernet speeds you can find DECA adapters from DirectTV for $9.95 a set. Good luck!

 

[drinkingbird]

Thank you, I didn't see the Amazon note, I checked the reviews of 5.5K 4.3 Stars, that has to say something

Screenbeam is actiontec which is a good brand. The returns are probably just people who were trying to use it on a system with lots of splitters or not knowing where to put filters etc. With a dedicated run, you don't have to worry about any of that, no filters or special splitters etc.

But as another mentioned since you have a dedicated run you can get pretty much any pair, lots of times ISP branded ones are available cheap on Amazon or eBay. Often they're just rebadged actiontecs.

 

[Tech9]

I bought this one at Amazon

Much better solution. Congratulations!

 

[tgl]

FWIW, ScreenBeam ECB7250s work great for me, with no additional hardware, in a case where I repurposed an otherwise-disconnected coax run of perhaps 50 feet. They are claimed to support up to 2.5Gbps throughput, and seem to be close to that although I've not had time for extensive performance testing. I did note that they seem to add a few msec to ping RTT (but there are other bits of gear involved, so it might not be entirely their fault).

 

[drinkingbird]

FWIW, ScreenBeam ECB7250s work great for me, with no additional hardware, in a case where I repurposed an otherwise-disconnected coax run of perhaps 50 feet. They are claimed to support up to 2.5Gbps throughput, and seem to be close to that although I've not had time for extensive performance testing. I did note that they seem to add a few msec to ping RTT (but there are other bits of gear involved, so it might not be entirely their fault).

In theory it should be negligible, but even if a few msec probably equal or less than what wireless would be.

 

[Logi]

FWIW, ScreenBeam ECB7250s work great for me, with no additional hardware, in a case where I repurposed an otherwise-disconnected coax run of perhaps 50 feet. They are claimed to support up to 2.5Gbps throughput, and seem to be close to that although I've not had time for extensive performance testing. I did note that they seem to add a few msec to ping RTT (but there are other bits of gear involved, so it might not be entirely their fault).

Thank you, I purchased the same device, I am trying to upgrade the Firmware but the default user "admin" and password "actiontect" don't work, have you tried to upgrade the Firmware of yours? Thank you

 

[OzarkEdge]

Thank you, I purchased the same device, I am trying to upgrade the Firmware but the default user "admin" and password "actiontect" don't work, have you tried to upgrade the Firmware of yours? Thank you

If Screenbeam, the default login credentials are admin, screenbeam.

Support Info | ScreenBeam ECB7250

www.screenbeam.com

How to reset the ECB7250 to factory defaults?

Residential Support

screenbeam.my.site.com

How to change configuration settings on the ECB7250 adapter?

Residential Support

screenbeam.my.site.com

OE

 

[Logi]

If Screenbeam, the default login credentials are admin, screenbeam.

Support Info | ScreenBeam ECB7250

www.screenbeam.com

How to reset the ECB7250 to factory defaults?

Residential Support

screenbeam.my.site.com

How to change configuration settings on the ECB7250 adapter?

Residential Support

screenbeam.my.site.com

OE

Got it, screenbeam was the solution, thank you very much

 

[Logi]

Screenbeam is actiontec which is a good brand. The returns are probably just people who were trying to use it on a system with lots of splitters or not knowing where to put filters etc. With a dedicated run, you don't have to worry about any of that, no filters or special splitters etc.

But as another mentioned since you have a dedicated run you can get pretty much any pair, lots of times ISP branded ones are available cheap on Amazon or eBay. Often they're just rebadged actiontecs.

Thank you, the Returns note was regarding the Asus brand, I misunderstood the comment, the ScreenBeam are working great, it is almost like an Ethernet cable, it is a shame I didn't know about this MOCA technology, I have heard of it, but because of my bad experience with PowerLink I thought they will not be good, I am glad I got here the feedback, because it is the best, thank you

 

[Logi]

If you have coax between the two areas, get a couple MOCA adapters. Far better than running repeater mode.

The other option (I think already mentioned) is to connect two routers together at the "remote" location, run one in media bridge (aka ethernet bridge) mode and the other in AP mode. That effectively gets you a dual radio AP and won't cut your throughput in half. Though wireless backhaul is still not the preferred method if you can avoid it.

Not sure if a dual radio Asus will let you run repeater mode with backhaul on one radio and clients on the other, without using AiMesh. I don't think so but could be wrong. @Tech9 probably knows. If so, that may be a good solution for you.

But the coax with MOCA may be your best bet.

Thank you for the MOCA suggestions, it is an amazing solution!!

 

[Logi]

I am having some issues with the LAN port of the Sagemcom 5688W (T-Mobile Home Internet Gateway), nothing to do with the MOCA solution (described below), it seems to be LAN port related based on other user's comments. The port becomes dormant at some point, it seems to be a bug.

I decided to perform an experiment, using only the 5Ghz wifi signal of the Sagemcom 5688W gateway, I connected to it an RT-AX86U in repeater mode (the real time Link Rate reported by the AX86U is between 1,921 and 2,161, sometimes up to 2,400Mbps). Then connected an ethernet cable from the AX86U (1 of the 4 LAN ports) to the WAN port of the AX88U.

All devices connect only to the AX88U router, via cable and wifi. The end user speed I am getting with this configuration is the same as with the MOCA devices. That means that having a dedicated 5Ghz wifi link between the Sagemcom 5688W and the AX86U, for backhaul communications (repeater mode), and then using the AX88U to process all the end user devices communications seems to be optimal, because I am not using the AX88U wifi bandwidth for backhaul communications.

NOTE: The MOCA configuration was Sagemcom 5688W LAN port connected to MOCA 1, then Coax cable, to MOCA 2, who is connected to the WAN port of the AX88U.

NOTE 2: Will the Merlin FW provide me any additional functionality or benefits for this configuration over the standard Asus FW?

 

[drinkingbird]

I am having some issues with the LAN port of the Sagemcom 5688W (T-Mobile Home Internet Gateway), nothing to do with the MOCA solution (described below), it seems to be LAN port related based on other user's comments. The port becomes dormant at some point, it seems to be a bug.

I decided to perform an experiment, using only the 5Ghz wifi signal of the Sagemcom 5688W gateway, I connected to it an RT-AX86U in repeater mode (the real time Link Rate reported by the AX86U is between 1,921 and 2,161, sometimes up to 2,400Mbps). Then connected an ethernet cable from the AX86U (1 of the 4 LAN ports) to the WAN port of the AX88U.

All devices connect only to the AX88U router, via cable and wifi. The end user speed I am getting with this configuration is the same as with the MOCA devices. That means that having a dedicated 5Ghz wifi link between the Sagemcom 5688W and the AX86U, for backhaul communications (repeater mode), and then using the AX88U to process all the end user devices communications seems to be optimal, because I am not using the AX88U wifi bandwidth for backhaul communications.

NOTE: The MOCA configuration was Sagemcom 5688W LAN port connected to MOCA 1, then Coax cable, to MOCA 2, who is connected to the WAN port of the AX88U.

Technically that first Asus router isn't really in "repeater" mode since you have no clients connected to it. Effectively it is in media bridge mode. So you should be able to get well over a gig of throughput at those link rates. Latency will be a bit higher though. Of course you're really underutilizing the AX86U, sort of a waste of a router.

At that link rate a client should be able to get around 600-700M, maybe a bit more, when connected to the AX86U in repeater mode. Not as reliable as a wired setup though, would be best to get the issue with the ISP router sorted. How often does the bug happen? Rebooting your Asus daily (at like 3AM) may be enough to fix it, depends on whether that particular MOCA adapter bounces the remote port when it sees the local port go down. Or toss a timer/smart plug on the MOCA adapter plugged into the ISP router and have it shut off and on at like 3AM (or have it just reboot their router, either should work).

 

[Logi]

Technically that first Asus router isn't really in "repeater" mode since you have no clients connected to it. Effectively it is in media bridge mode. So you should be able to get well over a gig of throughput at those link rates. Latency will be a bit higher though. Of course you're really underutilizing the AX86U, sort of a waste of a router.

At that link rate a client should be able to get around 600-700M, maybe a bit more, when connected to the AX86U in repeater mode. Not as reliable as a wired setup though, would be best to get the issue with the ISP router sorted. How often does the bug happen? Rebooting your Asus daily (at like 3AM) may be enough to fix it, depends on whether that particular MOCA adapter bounces the remote port when it sees the local port go down. Or toss a timer/smart plug on the MOCA adapter plugged into the ISP router and have it shut off and on at like 3AM (or have it just reboot their router, either should work).

I thought about adding a smart plug to the MOCA power supply adapter and to the ISP gateway and schedule reboots, but I did some troubleshooting early morning today, because it always happens at night, not every night, but every other night, this is the summary:

The AX88U is configured in Dual WAN mode, main WAN is the T-Mobile Sagemcom 5688W, backup WAN is Frontier. Last night something happened that AX88U switch to the backup WAN (Frontier), but it never returned to the main WAN (T-Mobile 5G).

The first thing I did was to disconnect the power from the MOCA device connected to the AX88U, thinking that it could be a MOCA issue, nothing happened, still AX88U connected to the backup WAN. Then disconnected the second MOCA power supply, the one connected close to the Sagemcom 5688W gateway, nothing happened. Then clearly the MOCAs are not causing the problem. The checked the display of the Sagemcom 5688W and everything was fine, signal and connection to the 5G T-Mobile tower. Then I connected a laptop via Ethernet directly to the second ethernet port in the Sagemcom 5688W, and I was able to connect to the internet without any problem, meaning the Sagemcom 5688W gateway was working fine. Then, suddenly the AX88U switched to the main WAN (T-Mobile 5G), it happened just after (30 seconds) I plugged the laptop on the second ethernet port, Sagemcom 5688W connected to the first Ethernet port, super weird, like the first ethernet port was dormant, and got activated when I connected the laptop to the second one.

Here are the logs from the router during the WAN switch event, what are your thoughts from the logs? At some point I think it might be the Dual WAN functioality on the AX88U that is buggy?

Sep 10 02:53:51 rc_service: wanduck 1026:notify_rc restart_wan_if 0
Sep 10 02:53:55 rc_service: wanduck 1026:notify_rc restart_wan_if 1
Sep 10 02:53:56 wan: finish adding multi routes
Sep 10 02:53:57 dhcp client: bound 192.168.12.130/255.255.255.0 via 192.168.12.1 for 86400 seconds.
Sep 10 02:53:57 kernel: eth4 (Ext switch port: 3) (Logical Port: 11) (phyId: b) Link DOWN.
Sep 10 02:54:00 kernel: eth4 (Ext switch port: 3) (Logical Port: 11) (phyId: b) Link UP at 1000 mbps full duplex
Sep 10 02:54:02 WAN(1) Connection: WAN(1) link up.
Sep 10 02:54:02 rc_service: wanduck 1026:notify_rc restart_wan_if 1
Sep 10 02:54:05 wan: finish adding multi routes
Sep 10 02:54:07 WAN(1) Connection: WAN was restored.
Sep 10 02:54:07 BWDPI: force to flush flowcache entries
Sep 10 02:54:07 BWDPI: rollback fc
Sep 10 02:54:10 kernel: SHN Release Version: 2.0.2 36f59aa
Sep 10 02:54:10 kernel: UDB Core Version: 0.2.20
Sep 10 02:54:10 kernel: sizeof forward pkt param = 280
Sep 10 02:54:10 BWDPI: fun bitmap = 43f
Sep 10 02:54:11 rc_service: udhcpc_wan 16882:notify_rc stop_samba
Sep 10 02:54:11 rc_service: udhcpc_wan 16882:notify_rc start_sambarec
Sep 10 02:54:11 rc_service: waitting "stop_samba" via udhcpc_wan ...
Sep 10 02:54:11 Samba Server: smb daemon is stopped
Sep 10 02:54:12 dhcp client: bound WWW.ZZZ.YYY.XXX/255.255.255.0 via WWW.ZZZ.YYY.1 for 1800 seconds.
Sep 10 02:56:10 BWDPI: [BWHIS] Revert process (pid=1434)
Sep 10 08:55:56 kernel: eth0 (Int switch port: 3) (Logical Port: 3) (phyId: c) Link DOWN.
Sep 10 08:56:18 kernel: eth0 (Int switch port: 3) (Logical Port: 3) (phyId: c) Link UP at 1000 mbps full duplex
Sep 10 08:56:21 rc_service: wanduck 1026:notify_rc restart_wan_if 0
Sep 10 08:56:40 wan: finish adding multi routes
Sep 10 08:56:41 dhcp client: bound 192.168.12.130/255.255.255.0 via 192.168.12.1 for 86400 seconds.
Sep 10 09:05:34 rc_service: wanduck 1026:notify_rc restart_wan_line 0
Sep 10 09:05:34 wan: finish adding multi routes
Sep 10 09:05:36 BWDPI: force to flush flowcache entries
Sep 10 09:05:36 BWDPI: rollback fc
Sep 10 09:05:38 kernel: SHN Release Version: 2.0.2 36f59aa
Sep 10 09:05:38 kernel: UDB Core Version: 0.2.20
Sep 10 09:05:38 kernel: sizeof forward pkt param = 280
Sep 10 09:05:38 BWDPI: fun bitmap = 43f
Sep 10 09:05:39 WAN(0) Connection: WAN was restored.
Sep 10 09:05:39 Samba Server: smb daemon is stopped

 

[drinkingbird]

I thought about adding a smart plug to the MOCA power supply adapter and to the ISP gateway and schedule reboots, but I did some troubleshooting early morning today, because it always happens at night, not every night, but every other night, this is the summary:

The AX88U is configured in Dual WAN mode, main WAN is the T-Mobile Sagemcom 5688W, backup WAN is Frontier. Last night something happened that AX88U switch to the backup WAN (Frontier), but it never returned to the main WAN (T-Mobile 5G).

The first thing I did was to disconnect the power from the MOCA device connected to the AX88U, thinking that it could be a MOCA issue, nothing happened, still AX88U connected to the backup WAN. Then disconnected the second MOCA power supply, the one connected close to the Sagemcom 5688W gateway, nothing happened. Then clearly the MOCAs are not causing the problem. The checked the display of the Sagemcom 5688W and everything was fine, signal and connection to the 5G T-Mobile tower. Then I connected a laptop via Ethernet directly to the second ethernet port in the Sagemcom 5688W, and I was able to connect to the internet without any problem, meaning the Sagemcom 5688W gateway was working fine. Then, suddenly the AX88U switched to the main WAN (T-Mobile 5G), it happened just after (30 seconds) I plugged the laptop on the second ethernet port, Sagemcom 5688W connected to the first Ethernet port, super weird, like the first ethernet port was dormant, and got activated when I connected the laptop to the second one.

Here are the logs from the router during the WAN switch event, what are your thoughts from the logs? At some point I think it might be the Dual WAN functioality on the AX88U that is buggy?

Sep 10 02:53:51 rc_service: wanduck 1026:notify_rc restart_wan_if 0
Sep 10 02:53:55 rc_service: wanduck 1026:notify_rc restart_wan_if 1
Sep 10 02:53:56 wan: finish adding multi routes
Sep 10 02:53:57 dhcp client: bound 192.168.12.130/255.255.255.0 via 192.168.12.1 for 86400 seconds.
Sep 10 02:53:57 kernel: eth4 (Ext switch port: 3) (Logical Port: 11) (phyId: b) Link DOWN.
Sep 10 02:54:00 kernel: eth4 (Ext switch port: 3) (Logical Port: 11) (phyId: b) Link UP at 1000 mbps full duplex
Sep 10 02:54:02 WAN(1) Connection: WAN(1) link up.
Sep 10 02:54:02 rc_service: wanduck 1026:notify_rc restart_wan_if 1
Sep 10 02:54:05 wan: finish adding multi routes
Sep 10 02:54:07 WAN(1) Connection: WAN was restored.
Sep 10 02:54:07 BWDPI: force to flush flowcache entries
Sep 10 02:54:07 BWDPI: rollback fc
Sep 10 02:54:10 kernel: SHN Release Version: 2.0.2 36f59aa
Sep 10 02:54:10 kernel: UDB Core Version: 0.2.20
Sep 10 02:54:10 kernel: sizeof forward pkt param = 280
Sep 10 02:54:10 BWDPI: fun bitmap = 43f
Sep 10 02:54:11 rc_service: udhcpc_wan 16882:notify_rc stop_samba
Sep 10 02:54:11 rc_service: udhcpc_wan 16882:notify_rc start_sambarec
Sep 10 02:54:11 rc_service: waitting "stop_samba" via udhcpc_wan ...
Sep 10 02:54:11 Samba Server: smb daemon is stopped
Sep 10 02:54:12 dhcp client: bound WWW.ZZZ.YYY.XXX/255.255.255.0 via WWW.ZZZ.YYY.1 for 1800 seconds.
Sep 10 02:56:10 BWDPI: [BWHIS] Revert process (pid=1434)
Sep 10 08:55:56 kernel: eth0 (Int switch port: 3) (Logical Port: 3) (phyId: c) Link DOWN.
Sep 10 08:56:18 kernel: eth0 (Int switch port: 3) (Logical Port: 3) (phyId: c) Link UP at 1000 mbps full duplex
Sep 10 08:56:21 rc_service: wanduck 1026:notify_rc restart_wan_if 0
Sep 10 08:56:40 wan: finish adding multi routes
Sep 10 08:56:41 dhcp client: bound 192.168.12.130/255.255.255.0 via 192.168.12.1 for 86400 seconds.
Sep 10 09:05:34 rc_service: wanduck 1026:notify_rc restart_wan_line 0
Sep 10 09:05:34 wan: finish adding multi routes
Sep 10 09:05:36 BWDPI: force to flush flowcache entries
Sep 10 09:05:36 BWDPI: rollback fc
Sep 10 09:05:38 kernel: SHN Release Version: 2.0.2 36f59aa
Sep 10 09:05:38 kernel: UDB Core Version: 0.2.20
Sep 10 09:05:38 kernel: sizeof forward pkt param = 280
Sep 10 09:05:38 BWDPI: fun bitmap = 43f
Sep 10 09:05:39 WAN(0) Connection: WAN was restored.
Sep 10 09:05:39 Samba Server: smb daemon is stopped

Ah you didn't mention dual WAN. That feature tends to be problematic on Asus routers.

There are scripts available to make it work better but I don't use it, someone else who does may be able to give some suggestions. That may be your issue rather than the ISP router. Bouncing the link to the secondary may be what you need to make it fail back.

Do some searching here about dual WAN and maybe start a new thread.

 

[Logi]

Ah you didn't mention dual WAN. That feature tends to be problematic on Asus routers.

There are scripts available to make it work better but I don't use it, someone else who does may be able to give some suggestions. That may be your issue rather than the ISP router. Bouncing the link to the secondary may be what you need to make it fail back.

Do some searching here about dual WAN and maybe start a new thread.

Thank you, I have disabled Dual WAN and will test tonight. Regarding your previous comment on the Media Bridge, I think I have to change it from Repeater to Media bridge, and the AX88U will be the only wired client, I don't need the additional Wifi signals the Repeater generates.

 

[drinkingbird]

Thank you, I have disabled Dual WAN and will test tonight. Regarding your previous comment on the Media Bridge, I think I have to change it from Repeater to Media bridge, and the AX88U will be the only wired client, I don't need the additional Wifi signals the Repeater generates.

If that's all you're using it for then yes I'd run it in media bridge, but if the MOCA isn't your issue, I'd switch back to that and make full use of both routers.

Maybe a diagram and explanation of what you want to accomplish? Sounds like you have at least 4 devices at this point?

 

[Logi]

If that's all you're using it for then yes I'd run it in media bridge, but if the MOCA isn't your issue, I'd switch back to that and make full use of both routers.

Maybe a diagram and explanation of what you want to accomplish? Sounds like you have at least 4 devices at this point?

I will create something and share shortly, does the media bridge AX86U gets an IP address?

 

[drinkingbird]

I will create something and share shortly, does the media bridge AX86U gets an IP address?

Just for management, it will grab an IP from the wifi network it is connected to.

 

[Logi]

If that's all you're using it for then yes I'd run it in media bridge, but if the MOCA isn't your issue, I'd switch back to that and make full use of both routers.

Maybe a diagram and explanation of what you want to accomplish? Sounds like you have at least 4 devices at this point?

The problem is the following: I am switching to 5G Home Internet (cellular), there is only one location that gets the best signal, the main router AX88U is at an opposite location from the 5G gateway's location. Even though the 5G gateway has Wifi (it is a router), I have turned it off and I am using it as a gateway/modem, the only client connected to the 5G gateway is the main router AX88U.

I don't have ethernet connection (cabling) between the 5G gateway and the AX88U router, located on different rooms, opposite sides of the house, but I do have coaxial end points on both rooms, that's the reason I purchased the MOCA devices (great suggestion) to connect them via the existing coax cabling.

To summarize, the Internet comes in from the 5G gateway, through the MOCA devices goes to the AX88U router, all the end user, IOT, etc. devices at home, wired and wireless ONLY connect to the AX88U router. The AX86U wasn't being used because I upgraded to the AX88U because I needed more LAN ports (4 vs 8). So it is not a big deal to use it as a Media Bridge, I would say is great because I can use it for something, if not it will be on the closet, turned off.

How I see things, I always try to minimize the points of failure, with the Coaxial/MOCA solution I have 2 points of failure, each MOCA device, the benefits are the performance and no wifi signal coming from the 5G gateway, because I use ethernet from the 5G gateway to MOCA 1, then ethernet from MOCA 2 to the main router AX88U.

Regarding the Media Bridge, I have only 1 point of failure, the AX86U, but it has the disadvantage that I have to turn on the wifi signal on the 5G gateway, it makes the gateway to run hotter, and I have more interference inside the house, it is only the 5G Wifi signal, I have turned off 2.4G.

As you can see is a simple architecture, I don't think a diagram is needed, what are you thoughts on the two options? Thank you for all the help.

NOTE: For testing purposes and troubleshooting, I have disabled the Dual WAN

 

[sfx2000]

The other router is a T-Mobile Home Internet Sagemcom 5688W, that is located on one corner of the house to get good signal, I cannot run an ethernet cable from there

Well you're going to have to put on your big boy pants and find some way to get a cable over there...

MOCA and/or PowerLine's might do the job...

Alternately - you can use the THMI gateway as a WAN device, and hook up a mesh network behind it, but note that for IPv4 you'll be double-natted, and since THMI doesn't do IPv6-PD, you'll be stuck with IPv4 behind the gateway....