Second router on LAN has no internet

[Lupul]

Hello everybody,

 

I have a bit of an issue with my home network. It is set up as follows:

 

Fiber into an ISP provided ONT/Router from ZTE.

 

Directly to it have run three Gigabit ethernet cables to the following: PC, NAS, second router (TPLink TL-WDR3600 N600)

 

The second router cable is not plugged into WAN, but into one of the LAN ports, just as my Smart TV is connected.

 

I have disabled DHCP on the second router, set a different IP from the one on the main router and i can access its web interface and ping is reliable to it. The TV that's connected to it, via ethernet, has Internet working fine, it can do 4K streaming no problem. However, the WLan on the second router has no internet when you connect to it (my phone says it's connected "no internet")

 

From what I can tell, it is acting as if the "switch" part is working fine and dandy, but the "wifi" part doesn't get internet. The router can ping any device on the network fine, but if I try to ping an external IP it gets timed out.

 

My question would be: Am I missing some setting on either routers or is this second router aging disgracefully and acting up?

 

PS: Apologies if I missed out on a similar discussion, my search throughout the forum earlier didn't seem to fit my case or was too old a topic to revive..

[Falcon1986]

59 minutes ago, Lupul said:

My question would be: Am I missing some setting on either routers or is this second router aging disgracefully and acting up?

It's operation mode must be set up as 'Access Point'.

[Lupul]

It doesn't seem to have an "operation mode" menu/setting. When looking up how to set it up in AP mode, even TPLink's website recommends doing the settings manually. This is why I'm thinking I am missing something.

[Falcon1986]

32 minutes ago, Lupul said:

It doesn't seem to have an "operation mode" menu/setting. When looking up how to set it up in AP mode, even TPLink's website recommends doing the settings manually. This is why I'm thinking I am missing something.

See if these instructions help.

[Lupul]

Followed those:

 

At the moment here's the situation: 

 

1st Router IP 192.168.1.1

DHCP 192.168.1.10-254

 

2nd router IP 192.168.1.2

DHCP OFF

 

Cable is Lan-Lan.

 

Currently when I connect to WiFi i do seem to get internet but something is off. For instance, Pokemon Go doesn't want to sign in from WiFi on second router, yet does it no problem on main router WiFi.

 

TV does work with Netflix/Youtube/app market but sometimes fails to connect to my plex server (it's an extension on my NAS - which is on the same network as stated in opening post). TV is connected via cable to second router.

 

Could the problem be more of a conflict rather than a configuration issue?

[Falcon1986]

14 minutes ago, Lupul said:

2nd router IP 192.168.1.2

DHCP OFF

Specify the DNS server and gateway as 192.168.1.1 for the second wireless router.

 

14 minutes ago, Lupul said:

Currently when I connect to WiFi i do seem to get internet but something is off. For instance, Pokemon Go doesn't want to sign in from WiFi on second router, yet does it no problem on main router WiFi.

Which wireless settings are you using on each network device?

[Lupul]

Gateway was already set, added DNS on router 2.

 

Situation seems to be the same with Pokemon Go login from router 2 wifi (also the connection is once again showing connected - no internet).

 

As for the Wireless settings, they are basically named "Room 1" - 2,4 Ghz only (router 1) and "Room 2" - 2,4 Ghz and 5 Ghz (router 2) with custom passwords but everything else set to auto.

[Falcon1986]

59 minutes ago, Lupul said:

Gateway was already set, added DNS on router 2.

What DHCP range is the primary router using?

 

Can you reserve static IPs based on MAC addresses at the primary router?

 

Please run a wireless survey using WiFi Analyzer (post screenshots of the Networks and Analyze pages).

 

Ensure that your WiFi encryption/security is set to WPA/WPA2-PSK and AES (not TKIP) at both wireless routers.

[Lupul]

Primary router is set to use 192.168.1.10 to 192.168.1.254.

 

It can assign "static" ips via MAC however, it only seems to do it for ones that are set in its dhcp range. 

 

Since TPLink recommended i use something outside that range, it's a no go. I did try it against TPLinks recommendation, didn't seem to make any difference.

 

The wireless in my area is pretty cluttered as the apartment design is pretty terrible and most of the times, a single wifi emitter isn't enough. Both networks are secured with WPA2 AES. 

 

In the screenshots "my networks" are Sufragerie (router 1) and Dormitor (router 2). 

[Falcon1986]

7 hours ago, Lupul said:

The wireless in my area is pretty cluttered as the apartment design is pretty terrible and most of the times, a single wifi emitter isn't enough. Both networks are secured with WPA2 AES. 

That's a horrible-looking 2.4GHz analysis, but not unexpected if you're in an apartment complex.

 

Where is the 5GHz analysis? Your TP-Link wireless router supports 802.11n on 5GHz. You can probably use that if there are available channels instead of 2.4GHz.

 

Also, are wired connections through the 2nd router stable? Have you rebooted both routers recently?

 

Several other things to address:

1. When you're in a crowded 2.4GHz space like yours, stick to 20MHz channel width. Anything above is going to interfere with other networks and slow down your own. That being said, you'll have to live with the performance of 2.4GHz if you're not willing to use 5GHz (N/AC/AX). Put low priority devices on the 2.4GHz SSID.
2. The reason your devices are not switching over to the new signal when you move is likely due to the previous signal still being strong enough to establish a link. The solution to this sounds counterintuitive, but it's to reduce the power output to each wireless access point so that the signal just "dies off" close to where the new signal can be detected by your client devices and the switch can be made. This will take some experimentation as your already faced with a crowded wireless environment, but you should have better experience on 5GHz.
3. If you're going to have multiple wireless access points with hopes of them competing with the neighbors and winning, you're in for a losing battle. Imagine a stadium full of people talking; you might think that if you speak louder then you'll be better heard, but there comes a point where a "louder" signal is just noise. Nothing can be understood. Same with WiFi. Again, the solution is to turn the radio output power down, but then everyone in the apartment needs to do this for everyone's WiFi to perform better.

[Lupul]

5 Ghz is beautifully empty. I do use it when in that room.

 

My problem is not the signal itself since in current conditions I get full coverage throughout the apartment. The problem is that second router not willing to "share" the internet i know it is getting. After all, the TV, connected by wire to it, plays Netflix and Youtube 4K all day long.

 

I believe the cable between the two routers is good. I mean, I routed and crimped it myself so it's not a machined one, but it seems fine. I tested it and all wires seem to have signal, pings between the two routers are constant both ways. I will likely get another router. 

 

I will try it in two steps, the first being replacing the main router and then if nothing changes moving it to the second router's spot. The ISP provided one might be part of the problem with this as much as the TPLink one, but with this hard to reproduce constantly issue, they will likely be uninterested in swapping it out.

 

Will post back if I figure anything out, however it might be a while before I get a chance to do so.

[Lupul]

Update on the situation:

 

Brought in a different "second" router, a much more recent TPLink Archer C6. This router has an option for "AP mode" thus making it easier to setup for what I want to use it.

 

As it happens, while the setup is easier. The problem seems to be the same: TV plugged into second router gets internet, wifi clients on Archer C6 do not.

 

Basically, I am going back to the drawing board, as I think there is nothing wrong with my "original" second router. 

 

That said, I did find something interesting there in the C6's status situation. Both cables plugged in were displayed as 100 mbps full duplex. They should be Gigabit. When I use a tester, I get all eight "lights" coming up in the right order. Seems like the next step is to get a different cable that far and see what is going on.

 

Any other suggestions for what to check? 

[Falcon1986]

7 hours ago, Lupul said:

Both cables plugged in were displayed as 100 mbps full duplex. They should be Gigabit.

It is possible that there’s a fault in the cable somewhere causing the routers to negotiate them as 100Mbps. You can try replacing it.

 

As to the primary problem, if it still exists after the cable replacement, my only other suggestion would be to try 3rd-party firmware like OpenWRT to see if it’s a firmware execution problem.

[Lupul]

Got a couple of days off and really took a few hours to get this sorted.

 

It seems the problem was indeed the cable.

 

After testing with a new cable it had normal 1gbps speed between the routers and was happy with it. The internet situation on the second router was still somewhat weird. At this point I turned to the configuration settings and ended up with the second one configured with ip 192.168.1.240, thus, inside of the DHCP range of the main router, but with gateway set to 1.1 (main router). As an added bonus, I did add the second router to the DHCP reserved mac address list on the main one, obviously, using the same IP of 240, just to make sure.

 

I tried various other cables and configurations with pcs/laptops around the house, all seems fine. Therefore, went to the less pleasant stuff.

 

This is where things become fun. I took out the old cable, as carefully as possible, put in the new one, even more carefully, crimped it again, set the pieces back in contact and turned everything on.

 

It works. The second router has proper internet, relays it on to the wired TV, as well as to the wireless clients on both 5Ghz and 2.4Ghz. Plex on the tv managed to connect every time I tried it, all other streaming apps seem to work fine as well. Pokemon go, on the wifi of the second router now also works without glitches.

 

The removed cable seems fine, had no apparent cuts or such. It wasn't stressed in anyway that is apparent and it was of decent quality cat5e. Broke my heart tho', four or so years of operation seems less than it should be. Should also mention that my cable tester showed contact on all eight cables as if everything was normal just before i cut it up to take through the wall.

[Falcon1986]

32 minutes ago, Lupul said:

It seems the problem was indeed the cable.

Glad you got it sorted.

 

Unfortunately, with ethernet cables, you can't always see the obvious fault especially if they've been there for a long time. And it might be a dynamic problem only revealed during mechanical stress.

 

Just goes to emphasize what you did exactly: if you're going the DIY route, take your time and do everything carefully.