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    Page 1 of 20How To Turn An Old Router Into A Wireless Bridge

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  • Home how-to article

    How To Turn An Old Router Into A Wireless Bridge

    You may some day encounter a situation in which you will require a wireless internet connection for a desktop computer. Perhaps you have decided to move your office from one room to another in your home. However, the new room does not have the cable or telephone connection you need to bring that computer online. Before you go out and buy a wireless network card or attempt to run wire through your attic, you might be able to save yourself time and money if you have an old wireless router lying around. You may be able to upgrade your old router with a different firmware that will allow it to act as a wireless bridge. That is, turn your old router into wireless bridge. A wireless bridge allows you to connect one network to another over the airwaves, rather than having to run wire from one room to another.

    The free firmware that makes this possible is called DD-WRT. Before reading further, check the DD-WRT supported device list to see if your router is supported. If it is supported, be sure to check out the notes for running DD-WRT on the supported device page. Youll need to refer to the recommended installation method later.

    Requirements

    - Broadband internet connection. - Two wireless routers:

    November 13, 2008 By Jorge Sierra

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  • One connected to your broadband internet connection to serve as the access point.

    One connected to other machine(s) that need to connect to web. This one will need to support DD-WRT.

    Initial Setup

    1. Make sure your main internet router is working properly. Verify the wireless connection is working properly by connecting a laptop or some other device. 2. Set up the remote computer at the remote location. 3. Connect the remote computer to the router you will be installing DD-WRT onto. Just plug it into one of the ports on the hub (i.e. not the internet port or uplink port). 4. Open your browser and connect to the routers web configuration page.

    If youre not sure what the address is, you may need to refer to the routers manual. If the router is running DHCP, it is likely to be the address of the computers gateway. In Windows XP, go to the Control Panel and then Network Connections. There Double-click on your LAN connection and go to the Support tab. The default gateway will be listed there. You can also check it on CIRT.net along with other details such default username and password for the router.

    Download DD-WRT

    Now, you need to download the DD-WRT.

    1. Go to the DD-WRT download page and Navigate to the stable directory.2. Navigate to the latest version (you can sort by date descending). 3. Navigate to the Consumer directory. 4. Navigate to the proper directory for your routers manufacturer and then the model/version of the router. You should be able to find the model and version number printed somewhere on the router. 6. Download the .bin file of your choice.

    The notes for running DD-WRT on the supported device list may mandate you use a specific version. If not, I recommend you select either the mini or the standard. If you want to know the differences between the different versions, check out the File Versions section of the What is DD-WRT? page of the DD-WRT wiki.

    Install DD-WRT

    If you downloaded DD-WRT from your main internet connection, you may need to copy it to a USB drive to install it on the remote router from the remote computer. The remaining instructions are to be run from the remote computer connected to the remote router where DD-WRT is to be installed. Install DD-WRT according to the installation instructions on the wiki. Use the installation method recommended for your device in the notes on the supported device page (if applicable). Warning: It is possible to brick your router when you install the new firmware (i.e. render it useless). Please take caution in reading the installation instructions carefully. I recommend you install DD-WRT on an old router that you are currently not using, so that if something does go awry there is no major loss.

    Configuring DD-WRT as a Client Bridge

    1. Once you have DD-WRT installed, open your browser to http://192.168.1.1 and log into the router. In older versions of DD-WRT, the default username is root and the default password is admin. Be sure to change the default password to secure your router. 2. Next, click on the Wireless tab at the top. 3. Set the Wireless Mode to Client Bridge.ThenclickApply. 4. Set the SSID to that of your main wireless router that is connected to the Internet. In my case, my main wireless router SSID is sierra. Then click Apply.

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  • 5. Click on the Wireless Security tab in the second row of tabs, and configure the router to match the security settings as your main router. In my case, my main wireless router has WPA security mode with TKIP shared key, so I set up DD-WRT to match it. 6. Click Apply.

    7. Click the Setup (very first tab in the upper left) to configure the LAN settings. 8. Assign the router a Local IP Address on the same subnet as your main router, but give it a different address. That means that all the numbers for the address will be the same as the main router except for the numbers in the fourth box. For example, the address of my main router is 192.168.1.1 so I gave my DD-WRT router an IP of 192.168.1.2. 9. Set the Subnet Mask to 255.255.255.0. 10. Set the Gateway and Local DNS to the address of the main router.

    11. Click Apply.

    Your DD-WRT router should now allow you to connect your remote computer to your main internet router through the airwaves! If you ever need to reconfigure the DD-WRT router, just be sure to remember the new IP address that you assigned in step number 8. You could always use a nice label maker and slap it right onto the router.

    More articles about:

    computer network

    63 Comments

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  • Hide 63 Comments

    firewall

    firmware

    router

    save money

    wifi

    Jorge Sierra

    I'm a fairly typical geek that spends hours in front of a computer monitor at work as well as at home. I also enjoy putting together nifty tools and gadgets. +

    The comments were closed because the article is more than 180 days old.

    If you have any questions related to stuff mentioned in the article or need help with any computer issue, just ask it on MakeUseOf

    Answers.

    The Windows Fix November 14, 2008

    You may also like:

    What Is DD-WRT And How It Can Make Your Router Into A Super-Router

    What You Need To Know When Buying A WiFi Router For Your Home

    Wireless Feng Shui: How to Optimize Your House For Best Wi-Fi Reception

    Secure Your Wireless Router In The Short Term By Assigning It An Aggressive Name

    How To Share Your Windows Internet Connection With Any WiFi Device using Virtual Router

    4 Ways To Securely Configure A Wireless Router As A Public Access Point

    8 Tips To Effectively Boost Your Wireless Router Signal

    WiFi for Dummies: 9 Common Mistakes Setting up a Wireless Network

    Page 5 of 20How To Turn An Old Router Into A Wireless Bridge

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  • Very cool, god know Ive purchased plenty of routers that my actually work better for something like this. Ill be sure to add this for future reference.

    Im trying to do something similar but Im not sure if its a client bridge is what I need to setup..

    I have a wireless router but Im getting a weak signal on in another part of the house and I can *EASILY* run a wire from the first router to a second wireless

    router that Im not using. Ill connect this wire to the 2nd routers uplink port (rather than one of the client ports)

    For this configuration, my laptop will be connected to the 2nd router via one its regular client ports. The laptops ip settings will be set for obtain an ip

    automatically.

    Heres where the confusion starts

    1) should the ssid names be different since the 2nd router will be connected via WIRE to the first (i.e. not via 802.11g)?

    2) can I have both routers setup as a dhcp server running so that they can each have any wired or wireless device connected to them?

    3) the second router does not allow its local ip address to be dynamic, I must assign a static ip address to it. Will this be a problem?

    4) The second router will get its internet ip address dynamically (i.e. from the first router dhcp server). I should not assign a static wan ip address, correct?

    Is this correct? Or what Im trying to do is not possible with this type of setup?

    ben nguyen November 16, 2008

    nguyen, check my comment below. sorry I meant to reply here but inadvertently posted a new comment.

    Jorge Sierra November 17, 2008

    For this you need a reapeater. If you google make a reapeater with router there shoul be a forum or something to help you. What a reapeater does is it

    extends the range of a router. It usually is connected to the first router by Ethernet (wire) and it sends and recieves what the first router sends and recieves

    again to make the signal stronger. So you could probbably disable the witless on your 1st router and just use the wireless on a reapeater.

    Sorry that I couldnt explain it well becaupse Im typing on my iPhone

    [email protected]

    Technoash October 10, 2009

    1) It doesnt really matter, but to keep it easier to know which router youre connected to it might be better to set up a different SSID.

    2) Since youre going to use the uplink port on the second router, you can run DHCP on the second router without a problem. However, youll probably want to put

    each router on a different subnet (maybe first router on 192.168.1.* and second on 192.168.2.*).

    3) No, just be sure to remember what it is.

    4) It doesnt really matter if you have DHCP running on the first router.

    The setup you described should work just fine. Just be aware that computers connected to the first router will not be able to see machines connected to the second.

    Because the second router is connected via the uplink port, it will treat machines on the first router just as it would the Internet. None of the machines on the first

    router will be able to see those connected to the second.

    Jorge Sierra November 16, 2008

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  • If this is a problem and you need all of the machines to be on the same LAN:

    1) Connect the second router via a client port, not the uplink.

    2) Assign the local IP address on the second router to be on the same subnet on the first. Just be sure to give it a different address to any machines you may have

    connected to the first router.

    3) Disable DHCP on the second router. Because everything is on the same LAN, the DHCP server on the first router will work fine.

    4) SSID setup is same, probably a different SSID/channel would be better.

    I followed the setup instructions. I am trying to connect a belkin to a verizon fios router. I get a connection but I get the limited or no connectivity

    message. How can I troubleshoot?

    bob May 1, 2009

    Thanks for the info in this article. I have a question concerning a similar situation. I currently have a wired network and im very happy with it, however im

    moving soon and i wont be able to run cable the same way i did in my current situation. For my new set-up i am planning on having my modem and router in my

    office along with a few computers and an xbox. I still need to connect to the internet in the living room however for my other xbox and my blu-ray player. i was

    wanting to add a second router for the living room. could i hook up the devices in the living room to the second router and have them pull the signal and thus

    internet from the first router?

    some info- router i already have netgear wpn824 which cannot run dd-wrt. however, for the second router i was going to pick up the asus WL-520gU which can

    run dd-wrt.

    any insight would be very much appreciated, im a computer science student but this dilemma is new to me. thanks!

    Turd Ferguson January 20, 2009

    You can absolutely do exactly what you wish to do. As long as the second router that will be connected via wireless supports DD-WRT, you shouldnt have

    any issues.

    Jorge Sierra January 20, 2009

    Thank you for your quick response! I appreciate it.

    Turd Ferguson January 20, 2009

    Hi there,

    This is an excellent tutorial, but I do seem to be running

    into a problem when it comes to saving my routers new configuration. I successfully installed the new firmware for dd-wrt, and manage to enter the GUI at

    192.168.1.1. When I try to save any settings my browser tells me the following: This webpage is not available.

    The webpage at http://192.168.1.1/apply.cgi might be temporarily down or it may have moved permanently to a new web address.

    Any suggestions?

    Nick January 20, 2009

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  • Sounds to me like youre probably using Google Chrome. I have the same problem. Try using a different browser.

    Jorge Sierra January 21, 2009

    Thanks Jorge, I had same issue and in IE she worked fineu da man!

    Score March 31, 2009

    Hello Sir,

    I have been trying to find something like this for the last week. My eyeballs are killing me from reading so many websites.

    Heres my situation and Id like to get your comments: (do you think this will work or not, and any sugggestions you might have).

    Three months ago I was running a standard setup: Cable modem connected to a wireless 4 port router, three workstations wired to the router and one laptop

    roaming on the wireless. All was well, until I moved . . .

    I now live next door to a friend that has cable internet and a wireless connection and I thought, Hmmm, why should I pay every month for my own internet when I

    can split the difference with my buddy? So that is what I set out to do, but it is not seemless and perfect as Id like it to be.

    Here are the specifics:

    Buddys Setup:

    Windows XP Home desktop connected to a Motorola SURFboard SBG900. This is a combination cable modem/router. The SURFboard only has one wired port,

    but it does DHCP for all connections, wired and wireless.

    My Setup:

    Three desktops connected with wired adapters via a Netgear switch with static IP addresses.

    Each desktop also runs a USB wireless adapter for internet connectivity. So each of my desktop machines has two adapters: 1 wired and 1 wireless.

    This has been working fine under a mixture of Windows XP and Windows Vista machines connected as a workgroup, not a domain. I can see all the shares on all

    computers. I can even see my buddies shares over the airwaves. I even have one of my Vista machines connected to a magicjack telephone and it sends my calls

    over my USB adapter to my buddies accesspoint and then out the door to the telephony world.

    But then I went and downloaded Windows 2008 Server R2 Beta and Ubuntu 8.10 Server from the internet and plan on attempting to setup Domain services. And

    thats the rub. I am not sure if I should attept to keep my current config or try for the wireless bridge this artile speaks of. I am quite intrigued.

    Here are a few concerns:

    The magicjack works great as long as I dont do anything else on the Vista machine that serves it. So i am concerned that a wireless bridge might falter serving the

    telephone along with my other internet traffic.

    That said, it has also occurred to me that maybe i could somehow instruct the Windows and/or Unbuntu server to route my static traffic through my current USB

    wireless adapter for my wired networks internet traffic and forget about the bridge all together.

    Now and finally, all that said, if you dont want to delve into my conundrum full ahead. Maybe you could at least answer this question. Will this wireless bridge

    concept serve my three wired computer (sans the telephone) in a satisfactory manner?

    Thank you in advance for your consideration in this mater.

    Michael

    Michael Poster February 5, 2009

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  • Thats quite a setup you have there. If your wireless router supports DD-WRT, it would be the perfect solution for you. You shouldnt have any issue

    connecting your network to his through the airwaves, and I think it would actually be a better setup. Im not sure about the magicjack, but I think it would

    probably still work fine.

    Jorge Sierra February 6, 2009

    I have a Linksys WRT54GS and it appears to be on the list of supported devices.

    So tell me if Ive got this figured out not, because I really dont have a lot of networking experience. Just been reading a lot of books on it.

    After updating the Cicso router with DD-WRT would you recommend that I:

    1) nix the netgear switch and USB wireless adapters from my desktop network and just plug directly into the Linksys router.

    2) reserve the IP address in the Motorola access point that I use in the Cisco wireless router. From your example: reserve 192.168.0.2 in the access point so that it

    wont accidentally be leased out to a different machine.

    3) Use 192.168.0.2 as my default gateway configuration for the desktops configured with static IP addresses. On the other hand, Once I set up an internal DNS

    server, I should serve the 192.168.0.2 address as the default gateway?

    Thanks in adcance again!

    Michael Poster February 6, 2009

    Yeah, you could set it up that way. You definitely want to reserve an IP for your DD-WRT router as you suggested. Youd set the workstations also as

    youve described with the DD-WRT router as the gateway. It sounds to me as though you know what youre doing and you dont give yourself enough

    credit.

    Jorge Sierra February 6, 2009

    One more thing I forgot to mention. If DHCP is running on your buddys router and both your equipment and his are on the same subnet, be sure to disable

    DHCP on your DD-WRT router. Having multiple DHCP servers on the same subnet can wreak havoc on the network.

    Jorge Sierra February 6, 2009

    Thanks for that last tip, because I believe it answers my next question which is:

    After installing DD-WRT on my router, does my router remain a router or does it turn into a wireless gateway with switching as opposed to routing?

    I ask this q

    Michael Poster February 6, 2009

    Yep, that sums it up pretty well I think.

    Jorge Sierra February 6, 2009

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  • Thanks for that last tip, because I believe it answers my next question which is:

    After installing DD-WRT on my router, does my router remain a router or does it turn into a wireless gateway with switching as opposed to routing?

    I ask this question because I have been eyeing a Linksys WET200 5 port wireless bridge that is basically a switch, although a pretty smart one (at least it sounds

    like it is), because it has features like, adhoc or infrastructure mode, VLAN, and quite a few nice sounding features. However, even though it says it has DHCP

    support, I dont think it can function as a DHCP server.

    Do you know about the wet200 product?

    The other reason I ask this question, is although I theoretically own a Linksys router, I loaned it to a different friend after I decided to go with my current switch

    and separate WiFi adapter setup. Meaning, I am not sure how long it will take to get it back. hahaha . . .

    And I am in a hurry, because Id like to pat myself on the back, but Im not going to do that until Ive learned how to be a survivor in the world of domains!

    Suggestion comments?

    Thanks in advance!

    Michael Poster February 6, 2009

    Dear Jorge,

    Please help me in setting up a distance wireless bridge of network. My intention is to connect 1 or 2 computer in my office to my home network (main) to share

    internet and network.

    I have 1 D-link DI-714P+ at my office and 1 D-link DIR300 with internet connection at my home.The distance between office and my house is about 300-

    400meters.

    Please suggest simplest physical setup and software configuration (as Im not well verse with networking but I am a fast learner).

    Do I have to bridge 2 network or I simply connect 1 computer to network using distance wireless connection?

    Thank you

    mohd zubir bin maarof June 28, 2009

    300-400 meters is probably a bit to far for conventional wireless routers alone. In order to cover that distance, you will probably need to purchase some

    high-gain antennas, especially if there is not a direct line of sight.

    Once you have a couple of high-gain antennas, the setup Ive described here should work with your routers. However, I do believe that D-Link routers are

    able to connect to each other with the default firmware (you may not need to install DD-WRT). You may want to look around in the administration menus

    for those routers to see if you can find an option to perform wireless bridging.

    Jorge Sierra June 30, 2009

    Dear Jorge,

    Mohd Zubir Maarof June 30, 2009

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  • If I am going to get a couple of high gain antenna,please suggest how much dBi and type of antenna should I use if the line of sight is a bit indirect

    (covered)?

    If the line of sight near to my office is a bit covered by a tree top can I combine the use of Omni antenna at my office for the signal to get around

    the tree than Im using Directional antenna at my house to get direct signal facing to my office? or else I use both Omni or Direct.

    Thank you

    To be honest, you are quickly moving beyond my expertise. It sounds to me as though youve already done a bit of research. I think you

    probably already know more about this than I do.

    Im afraid I must defer to the experts of the wifi forums around the globe to provide the answers you seek. If youre lucky, you may even

    find they have already been posted somewhere.

    Jorge Sierra June 30, 2009

    Nice article and comments. Ill add something I recently did that might be helpful for someone..

    I wanted to connect an existing wireless lan network (that doesnt have internet) onto a network that does have internet. THe wireless network consists of a router

    and a couple devices.

    So I setup a winxp machine with two network cards.. one wireless and one wired. I then configured the wireless card to connect to the wireless lan network, and I

    plugged in the dsl to the pcs wired network card.

    Then in the Network Connections, I selected both networks, right clicked, and selected Bridge. Now the pc can connect to the internet via the wired dsl and it can

    connect to the wireless network via the wireless network card. And the router and all the devices on the wireless lan can also see the pc and connect to the internet.

    Id be interested to see if theres other ways of doing this, but this worked very nicely for my application. The only downside is that the pc must be running inorder

    for this to work and theres potentially some security issue Ive opened by connecting a dsl modem directly to a pc (without using a router).

    Tim Aidler July 4, 2009

    This setup worked me. I have another old router that I want to make use of. Can I use it to help extend the current Client Bridge#1 to make Client Bridge#2? I was

    hoping that I made the #2 old router into a node that helps extends the wifi coverage if I point the Gateway IP to Bridge #1? Thanks.

    Strategic Ways July 11, 2009

    Absolutely. Just look into using DD-WRT as a repeater bridge.

    Jorge Sierra July 13, 2009

    Hello, I am currently running wireless internet with 3 laptops and a desktop PC from a BT home hub downstairs but now want to use the old BT router as a bridge

    Scholeyy July 13, 2009

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  • in the kids room for their xbox 360, Will this work well and be simple enough to do as i am a little uneducated in this kind of technology? Thanks for your help so

    far.

    I would check the supported device list to see if your router is supported. If it is, you should be able to use the configuration Ive described here to bridge

    the XBox 360.

    As a matter of fact, I just bought a new router to connect my new XBox 360. Since it was a brand new router, I decided to leave the default firmware.

    However, I did have an old router with DD-WRT that I was able to use to connect the XBox 360 without a problem.

    Jorge Sierra July 14, 2009

    Hello, Im currently trying to set up a bridge using a WRT300N V1. The rounter Im trying to connect to is a WRTU54G-TM, its one of the T-mobile IP phone

    routers. Ive tried several times following the instructions. When I get to the last step and click save I get the following messasge,If you have changed your routers

    Ip address please note you must release/renew your clients address on the network. If your are connected via WLAN,please join the network and then click contiue.

    Ive tried bothe options and still cant get a connection. My main routers address is 192.168.0.1, so I changed the other address from 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.0.2. Is

    that the problem? I would appreciate any help I could get..Jason

    Jason August 8, 2009

    That should be all you need to do. Here are a couple of ideas:

    It may be possible there is already another machine on the network that has the 192.168.0.2 address, and there is some kind of conflict. Try an oddball

    address like 192.168.0.173. Just be sure to remember what you set it to so you can get back into the router configuration if that doesnt do the trick.

    The DD-WRT router might have DHCP running on it, which can really muck things up if you already have DHCP running on the main router. On the

    Setup tab, click Disable for DHCP server.

    Jorge Sierra August 8, 2009

    Hi, great article.

    I am trying to set up a couple of linksys routers, one acting as a bridge. I was able to install the firmware, however none of my settings will take affect. If I set it to

    bridge mode, and apply settings and save, then go back in it is set back to ap. If I assign it a different ip address, then check it, it is back to the original. Any

    suggestions?

    Thanks

    Joe August 22, 2009

    Be sure you use the Apply button. Ive read in the forums about some oddities with the Save button vs. the Apply button in the latest versions of the

    firmware. If that still doesnt work, you may want to seek help in the DD-WRT forums.

    Jorge Sierra August 23, 2009

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  • Thanks!

    Joe August 23, 2009

    Well, thankyou so much, Ive been looking around for this sort of setup and not only have you proven it possible, youve given us a guide. Thanks man!

    Chris October 2, 2009

    Thank you Jorge! Posts like this are what make the Internet shine!

    ECM November 22, 2009

    Hi,

    Was wondering if you could help me with this issue. I have a mark 2 BT Home Hub, along with a D-LINK DSL-604+ router. I need to connect the D-LINK router

    to the BT Home Hub router as a bridge, except I need to leave DHCP on.

    I can use it as a bridge with DHCP off as when I turn it off it just seems to work, whereas if I leave it on I cannot get an internet connection.

    I think the D-LINK router is designed to work with ADSL as there is no dedicated UPLINK ethernet port as far as I can tell.

    Any help would be greatly appriciated.

    Dan.

    Daniel Groves November 25, 2009

    Does the D-Link have a DHCP server on it? If so, you shouldnt need to run DHCP on the home hub router. Just keep it (and the computers you connect to

    it) on the same subnet as the D-Link. The D-Link should be able assign all the IPs.

    Jorge Sierra November 25, 2009

    [quote]I can use it as a bridge with DHCP off as when I turn it off it just seems to work, whereas if I leave it on I cannot get an internet connection.[/quote]

    obviously,you need DHCP to be disabled to turn it into the Wireless.Access.Point.

    The best combination for a network bridge in all my years of doin this for clients in offices,etc is.

    useaspeedtouch585v6{fore.g}asyourmainrouter,connectingasmanynetgearDG834sasyouwantallwithDHCPdisabledandslapemintobridgemode,thats

    all you need,them 2 different routers,no,repeaters no settings to be touched apart from disabiling DHCP on the Netgears and it bridges first time everytime.

    cozee December 6, 2009

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  • Hi Jorge,

    This looks like just what I am looking forI think. I have a Linksys router sitting rathering dust, but I paid a decent amount of money for it.

    When I got FIOS Verizon brought in there own router. So here is the deal. I just got a new Sony flatscreen and Sony Bluray player. Both of them have ethernet

    ports for online widget and what not, but my router is downstairs. Will this work for the setup that you described above, or will I need to get some additional

    equiptment.

    Our networking guy here at work recommended that I buy two wireless bridges (d-links) and use on as a bridge and the other as an AP.

    What do you think?

    Adam December 14, 2009

    Nope, no additional equipment necessary!

    As long as your old router is supported by DD-WRT, you should be able to flash it with the DD-WRT firmware. Then you can set it up as a client bridge,

    enter the credentials to connect to your main router, and hook up all your Sony goodies upstairs.

    Jorge Sierra December 14, 2009

    Hi Jorge

    Newbie, running Linux. Starting to learn bridging etc.

    Q: In diagram there is a router between switch and dsl modem. Whats its purpose?

    ecosseman December 18, 2009

    It provides a physical network connection to multiple computers. In many cases, the DSL modem serves this purpose with multiple built-in ethernet ports.

    Jorge Sierra December 18, 2009

    im a total newbie, but ive got the mini and standard dd-wrt flashed onto my linksys wrt54gl. my primary router is a dlink with a different ip address: 192.168.0.1.

    im trying to use my linksys as a wireless bridge, and i dont understand what the various ip addresses should be and which ones can be static vs dynamic. and

    when do i have to disable dhcp. do i have to change anything on the primary d link router?

    my other problem is that when i change the ip address of my linksys (the bridge) to 192.168.0.50 (so as not to conflict with the primary or other computers), when i

    restart my browser and type in the new ip address, it doesnt find it, so i have to restart the router and go back to the original ip addressi havent changed

    anything as far as static vs dynamic/dhcp. its all defaulti apologize for the long message. thanks for the help!

    Dashley January 8, 2010

    Youre on the right track. You dont need to change anything on the dlink and you do need to set the IP on the linksys to a 192.168.0.xxx address, so

    192.168.0.50 will work fine.

    Do you have the computer hardwired into the dlink or the linksys? You should be able to see the linksys fine if youre hardwired into it. If you are

    Jorge Sierra January 9, 2010

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  • hardwired to it but still cant see it, it might be because your PC is still set up to use 192.168.0.1 as the gateway instead of 192.168.0.50. Then you should be

    able to see it and proceed with configuring the wireless bridge setup.

    Does the DD-WRT wireless bridge need to run the same wireless protocol as the original router/WAP? In other words can I use a 802.11N with an 802.11G

    device?

    P. Klein January 30, 2010

    As long as your 802.11n router can operate in mixed mode, yes, you should be able to use the 802.11n and g together.

    Jorge Sierra January 30, 2010

    Hi. Thanks for great tutorial. Just got my old Linksys router functioning as a bridge.

    I have one minor issue. My main router is 192.168.1.1

    I gave the DD-WRT 192.168.0.1

    Everything works but I cant access the DD-WRT on 192.168.0.1

    Thanks in advance.

    Dr Y Adam January 31, 2010

    The DD-WRT router needs to be on the same subnet, so the first three sets of numbers need to be the same. Change your DD-WRT router to 192.168.1.x.

    Just be sure you dont select a number that is already in use by another computer.

    Jorge Sierra January 31, 2010

    Hi. Thanks for prompt reply. Do you not mean the last three sets of numbers need to be the same.

    Thanks in advance.

    Dr Y Adam January 31, 2010

    No, the first three from left to right. Something like 192.168.1.10

    Jorge Sierra January 31, 2010

    Dr Y Adam January 31, 2010

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  • Hi. Thanks. All sorted. Working like a dream. Quick question though: Is DHCP turned off by default in DD-WRT router? Regards.

    I dont think it is disabled by default. You may want to disable it on the DD-WRT bridge if you already have DHCP running on your main router. Having

    two DHCP servers running on the same subnet can cause a world of pain (especially when you dont realize thats what the problem is).

    Jorge Sierra January 31, 2010

    Hello. Just checked DHCP server and it was already disabled. All is well then. Thanks once again.

    Dr Y Adam January 31, 2010

    Hi.

    Why does the name of the wireless bridge not show up as Attached Devices in my main router. Thanks in advance.

    Dr Y Adam February 4, 2010

    Im not sure. That happens with my (shitty) AT&T 2Wire DSL router. I have a couple of DD-WRT routers connected to it via wireless, but they do not

    show up in the connected device list.

    Jorge Sierra February 4, 2010

    Would it work if I use another brand wireless router to create as a bridge?

    Currently, I have an Netgear router and a Lynksys lying around and im thinking of using the lynksys as a bridge.

    Thanks Shawn

    shawn February 9, 2010

    This is the exact setup I need except I need to connect a laptop wirelessly to the wireless bridge portion of the network. What do I need to plug in to the wireless

    bridge so I can connect to it wirelessly? Thanks. Great article!

    Bob H February 12, 2010

    You should be able to just directly connect the laptop to the wireless bridge with an ethernet cable. Just plug it into one of the ports (not the Internet/uplink

    port).

    Jorge Sierra February 13, 2010

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    I mean could I plug in a wireless router into the wireless bridge so I have a wireless network where the bridge is?

    Bob H February 13, 2010

    Im afraid I still dont understand what exactly it is you want to do. Do you want to set up a separate SSID for the bridge? Do you want the

    wireless bridge to broadcast the same SSID as your main wireless router?

    Jorge Sierra February 13, 2010

    The wireless bridge talks wirelessly to the AP. Can a laptop talk wirelessly to the bridge? Or does it have to be hard wired? The diagram shows three devices

    connected to the bridge can they be wireless?

    Bob H February 13, 2010

    What you want is to set up the wireless bridge as a repeater bridge. Youll see it in the DD-WRT options.

    Jorge Sierra February 13, 2010

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