[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: External Antennas for Warehouse-style Office Complex?

I originally posted this as a response but I think I needed to post it as a new thread to get some better input:

Our company has expanded to more spaces in our existing complex. In the diagram below, used to only have Unit 14 in both buildings but the landlord prohibited external antennas -- so we ended up having the ISP put in a drop in both buildings. Now that we've expanded significantly, the landlord has DID say we could mount something outside as long as it's "not ugly".

I'm inserting a basic map of the layout. I'd love to go with three antennas if possible as Antenna B is where our primary router will be. The longest distance between two antennas (A and C) is a little under 150'. We've got network drops beween units 14-16 on Building 1. They buildings in Simi Valley, California. My worry is that if we use a point-to-point, I'll need FOUR antennas (A-B and C-B). I am a software guy who has somewhat above a laymans' understanding of hardware, so if this is a dumb question, I apologize.

I'm looking for recommendations as to the best (stylish?) antennas to use that will give us the best throughput. I am not sure about how Meshes work, really, so I'd love to do a Mesh if that's practical. Right now, they have two ASUS AX88Us running in Building 1, Unit 14 and Building 2, Unit 14. If there are better units to support the new topology, I'd love to hear them too. Can't break the bank, however...

Thanks in advance. I'm happy to provide an additional information if it will help!

Scott.

[Assistant]
There is nothing from Asus for outdoor use. If your business is expanding you have to plan expandable with it network and leave the consumer products behind. Common low-cost business oriented options are Ubiquiti UniFi and TP-Link Omada. Your local politics may leave you with Ubiquiti as single low-cost option. You need 2x wireless bridges, gateway with network controller and switch at ISP location, switches on the other side of the bridges. Wireless access points as per needed coverage.

All of the above can be done with both UniFi or Omada with single control panel for the entire business with network segmentation options and future expandability. With Ubiquiti product line you can have it all data network (Network), integrated surveillance system (Protect) as well as site access system (Access) all managed and controlled from a single screen. The best approach is to call a local professional for site assessment and installation of what is needed as per your requirements.

Somewhat similar subject thread:

Assistance with Large Wifi Network over multiple Buildings Ubiquiti
Hi All, I've been away a while but here I am back with the big one :) Hope you are all doing well out there? Wondering if some of you clever folk @Tech9 @ColinTaylor @SomeWhereOverTheRainBow @thiggins etc could assist with a project I am involved in. Please note I am a tech hobby guy and not...
www.snbforums.com


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Help? Possible to have 2 routers wired and have 4 SSID's

I'm not good with anything more than basic networking. They would be fairly close together, The devices don't have to see each other but it doesn't matter if they do. Could I just run an ethernet cable to the second ones using a static IP set to DMZ? Seems this shouldn't create a double nat issue but I've read that it does. I have a RT-AX86 Pro and a RT-68U. I'm thinking it would cause more channels to be open for higher bandwidth devices. Or is this what bridge mode is for - thinking it wouldn't work that way because of different available security settings between the 2 and I can't afford another router right now. One of the problems is that I have to use mac filtering. I know that isn't to much added security but every time I've disabled it I've ended up with a illegal download notice within a month (tried multiple times over the last 20 years at this address). Whoever is hacking my network can get the passwords but not the macs, although I don't understand that either. They are both using stock firmware.

[Assistant]
Seems like you just don't know what to do with your old router, but really want to use it somehow. You don't need to do any of the above. It's just unnecessary complication for no good reason with chances to make your Wi-Fi worse. Recycle the old router.

Tech9 said:
Seems like you just don't know what to do with your old router, but really want to use it somehow. You don't need to do any of the above. It's just unnecessary complication for no good reason with chances to make your Wi-Fi worse. Recycle the old router.
Yes and no. The old router worked great, and the new one almost as good- speaking of the range. At times there are up to 8 TV's streaming, along with 2 gaming consoles and 1-3 laptop/PCs, not to mention the phones..... The whole access points people talk about for larger houses seems weird to me. We're able to stream a TV more than 200 yards into a metal garage with no external antennas. I have good signal on my phone on 2.4 band at 600 yards inside a wood/brick building. Probably going to stream to 2 more TV's there and I'm worried I need more channels open for a steady stream. I'm probably just being lazy and just need to turn everything on and take a couple laptops over there and check download speeds or run a cable to the other side of the house and make a closer access point for some things, just not sure if access points use the same channel as the primary router. If it does it would still be pointless.
Edit: Just seems Like it's a lot to ask from 1 router. It runs very hot as it is. But I have a poor understanding of how wi-fi routers control all the different connections.

Edit 2: I need to learn to think thru the problem. Btw, another problem is the number of mac addresses that can be added, but the end result is I just need to put a switch before the routers and set them up independently, and go ahead and run a cat cable to the second one on the other end of the house. Probably the reason I get such good range is I'm on the edge of a small rural town. I only see 7 other available networks on any band.

You already asked similar questions here:

Curious Wifi question
Probably a question I'll catch flack about, but is it possible to use 2 asus routers (RT-AX86U pro and RT-AC68Uv2) connected by cat to double network SSID's? I've used the ac68u before just to increase my ethernet connections and controlled it thru the AX86U. I had the wireless bands turned off...
www.snbforums.com


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Punch Through Two Cinderblock Walls?

My challenge:

We have two buildings in an office complex, separated by a wide alley -- say, 30-50 feet apart. I want to link the networks in the two buildings so they are the same network. Buildings are all cinderblock (except for the metal doors, of course).

The kicker is that the landlord expressly forbids us mounting anything external -- not on the walls or the roof. Is there a solution that we could mount internally in each building that would give us a reasonable signal?

[Assistant]
You might be able to make it work with point-to-point wireless links, such as Ubiquiti's airMAX line. The pricier ones can span multiple-kilometer distances, so I think there'd be a reasonable shot at punching through two layers of cinder block. However, you will probably not get better than a couple hundred Mbps throughput --- is that adequate? (Ubiquiti does sell PtP gear with Gbps throughput, but it runs in the 60GHz band and will most likely not manage to get through your walls. I'd go for one of the models that runs in 2.4GHz to have the best chance of success. Plus, those are relatively low-cost, so you're not out much if it doesn't work.)

Ask your ISP to run a couple drops from their utility poles and link the two buildings. Will your landlord allow that ?

So, here's an update!

The owner of the business decided to add a drop at the building across the alley that has it's own router and subnet. So the initial problem was solved. Now, for something new (or at least expanded...)

To be clear, here, I am primarily a software guy who has slightly better than a layman's understanding of hardware, so I will not be offended by ANY suggestions (even if it's "hire a network engineer" -- but that's kind out for the moment.)

The company has expanded to more spaces in the complex--but the owner of the complex DID say we could mount something outside as long as it's "not ugly".

I'm inserting a basic map of the new layout. I'd love to go with three antennas if possible as Antenna B is where our primary router will be. The longest distance between two antennas (A and C) is a little under 150'. We've got network drops beween units 14-16 on Building 1. They buildings in Simi Valley, California.

I'm looking for recommendations as to the best (stylish?) antennas to use that will give us the best throughput. I am not sure about how Meshes work, really, so I'd love to do a Mesh if that's practical. Right now, they have two ASUS AX88Us running in Building 1, Unit 14 and Building 2, Unit 14. If there are better units to support the new topology, I'd love to hear them too. Can't break the bank, however...

Thanks in advance. I'm happy to provide an additional information if it will help!

Scott.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Intermittent wired/wireless connection

Hi guys I am new here with very little networking experience and I'm in desperation of help if possible please.

So basically I have a virgin media wireless router which I've put to modem mode, to which Im using an ASUS router as the WiFi signal is stronger situated in my living room.

No this is where my problem is, I've used a moca adapter to get another Asus wireless router out to my garage which I have put into AP mode.

I have then connected this AP in my garage to another ASUS router ( LAN to LAN) upstairs in my son's room and also set that one to AP mode.

My son disconnects via ethernet or WiFi every so often, let's say a couple times and hour when he's playing on his pc, even more so when I want to play call of duty with him with my Xbox in the garage on one AP router connected via ethernet and him on his AP in his room connected via ethernet.

I have no clue on settings if I'm honest, I'm completely unsure if I've set it up correctly as this intermittent drop out is making me pull my hair out now and I really need you guys help if possible please.

I look forward to hearing from some of you,

Kind regards

Louis

[Assistant]
Are you in the UK? I assume you are as you mention Virgin Media. If that's the case I would suspect the MoCA link as MoCA isn't really a technology that's used much in the UK and the adapters are imported from abroad.

Log into your Asus router and APs and go to the System Log - General Log page on each. Look for obvious error messages related to network "links" going down around the time you're having problems.

ColinTaylor said:
Are you in the UK? I assume you are as you mention Virgin Media. If that's the case I would suspect the MoCA link as MoCA isn't really a technology that's used much in the UK and the adapters are imported from abroad.

Log into your Asus router and APs and go to the System Log - General Log page on each. Look for obvious error messages related to network "links" going down around the time you're having problems.
Click to expand...
Hi Colin. Yes im from the UK, shall I post them here if I find errors?

borgy said:
Hi Colin. Yes im from the UK, shall I post them here if I find errors?
Yes that's fine.

It might be useful to know which MoCA adapters you're using and the length and type of cable connecting them (I don't know much about MoCA but other forum members do).


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Quick review of GL.iNet GL-AXT1800 / Slate AX.

I’ve been looking for a new router to replace my 8 year old work horse; Asus AC68U. Originally it was labeled as a T-Mobile Cellular Hot Spot and so immediately converted it in to a fool fledge AC68U. It’s been a great little guy but it was time go.
A week ago I ran in to Slate AX and after a bit of research and the price was incredible for such a small tank, on sale for $92, I bought it.

My first impressions were that I was impressed with such a small little monster in a such a small box! This tank is a tank! The quad core CPU is really fast and runs incredibly efficient on OpenWRT 21 kernel 4. But the company is steam rolling forward with frequent fixes and updates on all their products and they are listening to their customers on their support forum.
They are currently field-testing Beta firmware’s for OpenWRT 24, kernel 7 on 4 of their products and results are positive so far. And when the firmware becomes official, this little router, Slate AX will be incredible, its what many people will want and need in a small package.

GUI is simple, clean and has everything you need, but you also have access to full pledge LUCI -OpenWRT with a click of a button. Adding plug-ins is incredibly simple! From GUI menu you can search for over 1,000 plugins, click on the Install button once you find it and within 3-5 seconds it done! Got back to Openwrt and its there and ready to use!
Absolutely amazing little WIFI 6 router! I want to buy another one just to experiment with.

It has a little FAN to cool the router that activates automatically based on the temperature you get to chose from, between 70C - 90C in 1C increments and the fan works well. I couldn't get the CPU past 5% load (74C with fan off ) on all four cores, while performing 5-6 different task putting this router through its paces, where is my AC68U routers CPU would peg just from a single task.

But nothing is perfect, these little routers have one single flaw, interference with WIFI radios from USB 3.0 Port. I made another write up not long ago, so here is a link.
An USB fix on many routers. Get your self copper tape.
Spoiler alert: there are pictures at the end of this post. Last week I picked up GL-AXT1800/ Slate AX and it has been a fantastic little router. I’m in love with this little tank! But, it has a huge flaw that many wifi routers have. USB port interferes with 5Ghz or 2.4Ghz band and over a decade...
www.snbforums.com

My final thoughts?? Buy it today, don’t wait for the sale. This router is awesome!
I wasn’t paid or asked to write about this router. I’ve been really excited for the past few days and I just wanted to share it with everyone.
They already have Slate 7 WIFI 7 router that will be announced very soon and its the size of Slate AX. There are no specs yet, but GL.iNet has a picture of it. But my guess its going to be even faster. This is the future of wifi routers and they will only get smaller and faster.

Here is are some stats on GL-AXT1800 / Slate AX WIFI6:
Architecture
ARMv7 Processor rev 4 (v7l)
OpenWrt Version
OpenWrt 21.02-SNAPSHOT r16399+173-c67509efd7
Kernel Version
4.4.60
And I’ve attached a few pictures.

[Assistant]
Thanks for sharing the experience. Another good price/performance GL.iNet device is GL-MT6000 Flint 2 currently on sale for $134 on Amazon US. I have two GL.iNet devices - GL-AR750S-Ext Slate (travel router, now discontinued) and GL-MT2500A Brume 2 (Gateway). Both pretty decent for the price.

I was a beta tester for the GL-AXT1800/Slate 2 and I agree - fantastic travel router, and the stock firmware is more than decent - it's dimensions are a bit more than their other travel oriented devices like the AR750...

As the teardown shows, there is an active fan, but it rarely runs in my experience - I suppose it is because travel router vs a full-time home gateway...

as @Tech9 mentions - the MT6000 is also rather interesting, and under heavy development over in the OpenWRT community...

I have some bad news. I had to return the router. The interference between 5Ghz band and USB port would come back much worse after about an hour and that's my second one. I would have to put a lot more copper layers and that might not work. And that would cause 5Ghz to have really low speeds. It couldn't even handle torrents.

I like this router a lot, but two in a row is not a good sign. I don't know if I got it from a bad batch or its a huge design flaw.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Wifi Bridge Without Router?

Hi, I recently set up a little wifi bridge to send wifi from my home to a reolink security camera on the far side of the property (several hundred yards away). Currently I have router connected to the receiving side of the bridge that is providing wifi for the camera but I've noticed when Im standing near the camera I can pick up and use the wifi straight from the master/sender. It made me wonder if I even need to run/power the receiving end of the wifi bridge or the 2nd router. I tried logging my reolink camera into the wifi signal straight from the master but it was unsucessul. I'm curious if anyone knows if this is possible? Is there a diffrent product I need instead that will send the wifi signal straight to the device rather than daisy chaining it to a second router as I have it now? Thank you

[Assistant]
If what you have works, save your bucks.
There are directional outside WIFI sets that connect to the router via Ethernet. Some are PoE.

ManFromSnowyRiver said:
Hi, I recently set up a little wifi bridge to send wifi from my home to a reolink security camera on the far side of the property (several hundred yards away). Currently I have router connected to the receiving side of the bridge that is providing wifi for the camera but I've noticed when Im standing near the camera I can pick up and use the wifi straight from the master/sender. It made me wonder if I even need to run/power the receiving end of the wifi bridge or the 2nd router. I tried logging my reolink camera into the wifi signal straight from the master but it was unsucessul. I'm curious if anyone knows if this is possible? Is there a diffrent product I need instead that will send the wifi signal straight to the device rather than daisy chaining it to a second router as I have it now? Thank you
Click to expand...
I configured a router as an access point, connected it to the normal network so I can connected and get my wireless doorbell online, then I disconnected that access point and plugged it into one of my camera ports on my NVR wich I have a trendNET POE-> 12V adapter and powered the access point off the POE. I use my phone app by logging into that wifi when I want and push notifications still push through onto my NVR app.
The only reason to log into the wireless doorbell by its app now is just to change a couple of video settings the NVR doesn't have control of. I really don't like wireless cameras and wished that the manufacturer would make a POE cam doorbell.

ManFromSnowyRiver said:
Currently I have router connected to the receiving side of the bridge that is providing wifi for the camera but I've noticed when Im standing near the camera I can pick up and use the wifi straight from the master/sender. It made me wonder if I even need to run/power the receiving end of the wifi bridge or the 2nd router. I tried logging my reolink camera into the wifi signal straight from the master but it was unsucessul. I'm curious if anyone knows if this is possible?
Click to expand...

Given you want to overcome radio distance, I would think you need sufficient transmit signal power and Tx/Rx antenna on each end... and presumably the client camera is not built well enough for its end of the given radio link conditions... which is why you are exploring a solution in the first place. That said, a 2.4GHz client might reach several hundred yards on a cold, dry day with the leaves off or similar... but may not be reliable in all conditions.

OE


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: I need a not too expensive 2.4 gHz outdoors omni antenna for my boat - is the Poynting Puck 12 good?

I have a Pi in my boat that runs navigation software with an USB network card as the AP card, and with a small antenna up under the roof the signal can every now and then get lost by the tablet in the front. I assume a better antenna will help. But it would have to be waterproof and not rust, of course. Would the Poynting Puck 12 be good for that? Or does anybody have a better suggestion? I have looked at a few Aliexpress options, but I'm afraid that is just wasting my money.

[Assistant]
Does your tablet's signal have issues when your body is between it and the existing antenna or is this independent of any blocking of the signal path ?
Also, client devices like tablets, phones, laptops, etc generally have the weaker radios so that many times it is the AP that cannot "hear" the client device rather than the client device not able to "hear " the AP.

Orientation of the antenna(s) can affect signal reception.

Yep, the worst part is when I'm between them. Kind of hard to avoid. I have no problems connecting the tablet to the cabins wifi, which is 50 meters away and about 15 meters higher up and behind a 15 cm wall of wood and insulation. But the cabin's wifi is not there when I'm out fishing, of course. This is the tablet in the front:

The current antenna is here, I think it may be better to have it above the roof, so it can angle above most of my rather husky body to the tablet:

You might want to draw a scaled sketch with your body geometry and the tablet positions to see if there IS a line of sight between possible antenna positions on/above/side of the canopy since the two antennas will need line of sight as much as possible.
Since it appears you would be standing immediately in front of the tablet, i'm not sure how much improvement would be possible. Offsetting both to one side might be a workable possibility. Otherwise, running a communications line to the front console might be the only "solution".

What do you hunt with that rig, if i may ask ?


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: What's your experience: Does your mesh system keep working if the WAN goes down?

I know this is an odd question, since what good is an Internet router without internet, right?

But in my work as a Wi-Fi test engineer, we put these systems in RF-tight chambers and typically don't have an internet connection available.

I know the eero Pro will continue to operate without an internet connection once it is set up. But does anyone have experience with gear from other manufacturers?

Specifically, I'm looking at a TP-Link Deco BE63 for development purposes, because it's cheap. I don't really want to spend $1500+ for a 3 node mesh just for developing test scripts. So, let's skip any non-ASUS trashing and just tell me if anyone has tried pulling their WAN and seeing if their mesh system still runs. Thanks!

[Assistant]
Mine does...
Anything that is on or makes up the LAN/WiFi stays up, though without Internet/WAN much is comprimised, i.e Streaming, IoT as examples.

@aex.perez Thanks for the info. I assume from your sig that you have an ASUS AiMesh setup. I'd expect that it would stay up since app/internet based management for ASUS is not the norm.

thiggins said:
@aex.perez Thanks for the info. I assume from your sig that you have an ASUS AiMesh setup. I'd expect that it would stay up since app/internet based management for ASUS is not the norm.
Correct
I'll add that AT&T WiFi extenders (also mesh) the same applies


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: STA-to-STA OFDMA issue?

Good day!

I did one test with a WiFi 6 router and it was very frustrating for me. I wrote about its results to the manufacturer's support, and after a long period the support answered me, that the problem was not on their side, but global - in the OFDMA technology itself.

So I would really like someone to do an independent test and give their opinion. I would be happy if you could do it.

So, the test is like this.
We take a Wifi 6 router. I had a TP-Link AX73 (I also tested this on AX20 router - the result is the same)
We connect only two wireless clients to the router. Both are in AX mode. In my case, these are laptops with Intel AX200 and AX210
The OFDMA function must be disabled in the router settings
With the iPerf 3, we check the speed of the wireless connection between these two clients (WLAN->WLAN test). One of them is running a server, the other is in the role of a client.
We get a speed about 600 Mbps
Now turn on OFDMA and repeat the test
We get the speed three times worse! About 200 Mbps!
Unfortunately, I have no way to test this issue with other clients and other routers. However, TP-Link confirmed to me, that they also observe such a sharp drop in speed between two wireless clients when they turn on OFDMA.

I am sure this is incorrect behavior. OFDMA should not degrade the bandwidth of a network in which there are only two clients and both support OFDMA. However, I cannot conduct additional tests to understand who is to blame for this issue: the firmware of the router, the Broadcom chipset and its drivers, Intel adapters or the OFDMA technology itself.

I would be glad if you can help me figure it out.

With router AX20, the situation improved slightly after the release of firmware 1.3.1 Build 20210524 rel. 40909 (4555). So, earlier the speed was equal to 140 Mbit with OFDMA on, and 350-400 with OFDMA off. On the latest firmware, it became 300-360 with ON and 400-420 with OFDMA OFF. But there is still a loss of speed (minus 50-100 Mbps), and it is clearly and objectively noticeable - every time I switch OFDMA ON/OFF, the speed changes.

[Assistant]
Have a look at this series of tests by Tim Higgins.
https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-features/33222-does-ofdma-really-work-part-1

Thank you, I read it, of course. But, "Conclusion: OFDMA does nothing to improve aggregate throughput." and "My conclusion at this point is that OFDMA produces no discernable benefit for the average consumer."- this is not the same as degrading three times the throughput in my test.
OFDMA doesn’t just "not work", it does harm.
And I will also clarify.
If you do a similar test, but LAN->WLAN, if there is only one wireless client, then enabling OFDMA does not affect the WiFi speed in any way. Degradation occurs only when two clients work at the same time (and more, as I suppose).

OFDMA has had a long development curve. Performance is very dependent on the firmware/microcode version in both AP and STA.

Perforrmance also depends on whether both uplink and downlink OFDMA are enabled and whether MU-MIMO is implemented. The AX version of MU-MIMO also has uplink and downlink forms. Packet size also has a large effect on performance as does number of simultaneous STAs.

That said, I have never done a STA to STA test, so can't speak to the specific cause of the problem.

Are you using TCP or UDP traffic and what bandwidth are you setting? If you could provide the iperf3 commands you are using that would be helpful.

This could be a problem specific to TP-Link. If someone else could run a similar experiment with another manufacturer's router, that would be interesting. I can't do it at the moment because I temporarily do not have access to my test equipment.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: DHCP Client list doesnt show up from WDS Bridged router.

Hi,

I am trying to understand client list feature. I have ASUS 66U B1 Router. And it works fine, I added another router to extend range using WDS feature [TP Link Router], WDS router has DHCP disabled.

Clients connected to ASUS are shown clearly in their client list. But Client connected through WDS router doesnt show up there. Is there any way to show which clients are connected through TP Link Router?

Thanks

[Assistant]
Engr Khawaja said:
Hi,

I am trying to understand client list feature. I have ASUS 66U B1 Router. And it works fine, I added another router to extend range using WDS feature [TP Link Router], WDS router has DHCP disabled.

Clients connected to ASUS are shown clearly in their client list. But Client connected through WDS router doesnt show up there. Is there any way to show which clients are connected through TP Link Router?

Thanks
Click to expand...

What model is the router? You didn’t state the model of the Tp link router

Some of the newer TP links won’t show connected clients in AP / DHCP disabled mode.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

hyelton said:
What model is the router? You didn’t state the model of the Tp link router

Some of the newer TP links won’t show connected clients in AP / DHCP disabled mode.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Thanks for prompt response, I have TP Link Archer C6 and ASUS 66U B1.

Engr Khawaja said:
Thanks for prompt response, I have TP Link Archer C6 and ASUS 66U B1.

Not sure at what point they stopped. But I know the latest AC1500 won’t show clients connect to it while in AP mode

Did you just disable DHCP or did you put it in actual AP mode?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: News OpenWRT 24.10 Stable Release

OpenWrt 24.10.0 - First Stable Release - 6. February 2025
Code:
  _______                     ________        __
 |       |.-----.-----.-----.|  |  |  |.----.|  |_
 |   -   ||  _  |  -__|     ||  |  |  ||   _||   _|
 |_______||   __|_____|__|__||________||__|  |____|
          |__| W I R E L E S S   F R E E D O M
 -----------------------------------------------------
 OpenWrt 24.10.0, r28427-6df0e3d02a
 -----------------------------------------------------
The OpenWrt community is proud to announce the first stable release of the OpenWrt 24.10 stable series.

Download firmware images via the Firmware Selector or directly from our download servers:

Download firmware image for your device (firmware selector)
Download firmware images directly from OpenWrt download servers
An upgrade from OpenWrt 23.05 to OpenWrt 24.10 is supported in many cases with the help of the sysupgrade utility which will also attempt to preserve the configuration. A configuration backup is advised nonetheless when upgrading to OpenWrt 24.10. (see “Upgrading” below).
About OpenWrt
The OpenWrt Project is a Linux operating system targeting embedded devices. It is a complete replacement for the vendor-supplied firmware of a wide range of wireless routers and non-network devices. See the Table of Hardware for supported devices. For more information about OpenWrt project organization, see the About OpenWrt pages.
Announcements about new releases and security fixes
Do you want to be informed about important changes such as new releases and security fixes?

We have a new mailing list for this, as well as RSS options: see Important changes and announcements.
Highlights in OpenWrt 24.10
OpenWrt 24.10.0 incorporates over 5400 commits since branching the previous OpenWrt 23.05 release and has been under development for over one year.
General changes
Upgrades of many components to new versions like the Linux kernel from version 5.15 to 6.6
TLS 1.3 support in default images
mbedtls was updated to version 3.6 which includes support for TLS 1.3
Activate POSIX Access Control Lists and file system security attributes for all file systems on devices with big flash sizes. This is needed by docker nowadays.
This is activated for all targets which do not have the small_flash feature flag. small_flash is set for the ath79/tiny, bcm47xx/legacy, lantiq/ase, lantiq/xrx200_legacy, lantiq/xway_legacy, ramips/mt76x8, ramips/rt288x, ramips/rt305x and ramips/rt3883 targets.
Activate kernel support for Multipath TCP on devices with big flash sizes.
Improved support for WiFi6 (802.11ax) and initial support for WiFi7 (802.11be)
Not many Wifi7 devices are supported by OpenWrt yet
Improved Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP) support
OpenWrt 24.10 uses OPKG only, APK packages are *not* supported. Only main branch was changed to APK.
Many new devices added
OpenWrt 24.10 supports over 1970 devices. Support for over 100 new devices was added in addition to the device support by OpenWrt 23.05.

* Added support for OpenWrt One
Target changes
Added d1 target for AllWinner D1 RISC-V SoC
Added ixp4xx target for Intel XScale IXP4xx SoCs.
Added loongarch64 target for SoCs with Loongson LoongArch CPUs.
Added starfive target for StarFive JH71x0 (7100/7110) SoCs.
Added stm32 target for STMicroelectronics STM32 SoCs.
Renamed ipq807x target to qualcommax.
Removed ath25 target. It supported Atheros ieee80211g devices with maximum 16MB RAM
Removed bcm63xx target. It supported some Broadcom DSL MIPS SoCs and was replaced by the bmips target. The Broadcom DSL itself was never supported.
Removed octeontx target. It supported the Octeon-TX CN80XX/CN81XX based boards
Removed oxnas target. It supported the PLXTECH/Oxford NAS782x/OX8xx
The qoriq target for the NXP QorIQ (PowerPC) SoCs is built
The ipq806x target for Qualcomm Atheros IPQ806X SoCs was converted to DSA
Added support for Airoha AN8855 DSA Switch (Xiaomi AX3000T ship both Mediatek and Airoha Switch in the same revision)
Core components update
Core components have the following versions in 24.10.0:

Updated toolchain:
musl libc 1.2.5
glibc 2.38
gcc 13.3.0
binutils 2.42
Updated Linux kernel
6.6.73 for all targets
Network:
hostapd master snapshot from September 2024, dnsmasq 2.90, dropbear 2024.86
cfg80211/mac80211 from kernel 6.12.6
In addition to the listed applications, many others were also updated.

[Assistant]
Source (including upgrading and known issues): https://openwrt.org/releases/24.10/...4100_-_first_stable_release_-_6_february_2025

I thought maybe sfx2000 was really Hauke Mehrtens. But no, just a plagiarist.

dave14305 said:
I thought maybe sfx2000 was really Hauke Mehrtens. But no, just a plagiarist.

That's uncalled for - plagiarism?

I think not - it was a cut/paste from the site announcing the release.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: How to permanently disable wifi and bluetooth on Ubuntu Server 24.04.1?

Background:
I have built a new Ubuntu Server 24-04-1 LTS using an ASUS NUC 13 i7 PRO device as a replacement for my old server running on a Lenovo IdeaCentre minitowe PC, whiuch
I have moved a lot of data from the old to the new server and I have also added a MINT desktop to the server so I can use GParted on it to manage the disks.
When I used the MINT desktop via VNC (manually started using: vncserver :2) there was a pop-up dialog on VNC login saying "Authentication required. System policy prevents WiFi scans", which brought my attention to the fact that the NUC has both WiFi and Bluetooth, which the old server did not.

Additionally when I try to run TigerVNC as a service it fails and in the logs I find a lot of lines related to Bluetooth errors.
The VNC server can be started manually though, but I need it to be a service...

I do not want either WiFi nor Bluetooth to be running on this server, it should *only* use wired Ethernet.
Question:
How can I command Ubuntu to switch off both WiFi and BT radios in such a way that it will survive a reboot?
I have found various articles like this where they suggest these:
nmcli, rfkill, tlp, ip

Example:
This is what I get using rfkill:
Code:
$ rfkill list
0: hci0: Bluetooth
        Soft blocked: no
        Hard blocked: no
1: phy0: Wireless LAN
        Soft blocked: no
        Hard blocked: no
So both BT and WiFi seems to be active even though I do not need them.

I am unsure about what to do now since it looks like the suggestions I have found will not survive a reboot.

So I want to switch off both wifi and bluetooth in such a way that it will survive a reboot but still allow me to switch on if I need to.
What is the best way to do this?

[Assistant]
From the cli I would use the following for Wi-Fi. I don't know what the commands would be for Bluetooth as I never configured that on my Ubuntu server in the first place.
Code:
nmcli radio wifi off
Code:
nmcli radio wifi on

My guess for Bluetooth would be to disable the service through systemd, although I don't know whether that's the "best" way.
Code:
systemctl disable bluetooth
systemctl stop bluetooth
Code:
systemctl enable bluetooth
systemctl start bluetooth

Installing a desktop to manage a server for one app is not smart. Webmin does a better job.

bbunge said:
Installing a desktop to manage a server for one app is not smart. Webmin does a better job.
Never heard about Webmin before, but if it uses Apache I get worried because I have an Apache installation which serves multiple purposes like:
- Host for a Subversion server which backs up a main server in another location using svnsync.
- Host for a video service for a limited number of subscribers.
- Managing DDNS monitoring and Letsencrypt certificates
I do not want a new system added to the server as a web service until I have completed the migration from the old server hardware onto this new device.
But I need to be able to manage the drives of the server using GParted (which I know and can handle) rather than command line interfaced systems like dd etc.
So I decided that instead of booting to a Ventoy based GParted Live system every time I needed to check/change stuff on the drives I could as well install a tiny desktop to be used via VNC when needed.
Now when looking at it it seems like the "tiny" desktop install was not so tiny after all!
A whole office package was installed....


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: WinFi Lite - new Wifi analyzer tool for Windows

This tool seems to display a lot of useful information compared to the traditional Wifi analyzers we're used to see on Windows.

http://www.helge-keck.com/index.html

[Assistant]
The ability to report 802.11 extensions is really nice. It allowed me to confirm for instance that Asus did indeed enable 802.11v support in their recent RT-AC68U firmware release.

This tool is miles ahead of the previous free tools I've seen on any platform.

A small shout-out to @Kross888 for bringing WinFi Lite to my attention in this thread.

It certainly looks good to me (especially for a free tool). The information shown is similar to NirSoft's WifiInfoView, except that the UI of WifiInfoView is rather clunky.

Are there any similar tools for iOS/macOS that any of you would recommend?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Colder is not better?? Cooling a CPU on a WiFi router.

This left me scratching my head and I cant seem to figure out why colder is not better.

As a fun project I removed the PCB board from its enclosure on an ASUS AC68U router, over clocked the CPU to 1,200Ghz and kept ram at 666Mhz. Ambient temp is around 75F / 23C degrees and routers CPU is hovering at around 167F / 75C.

Overclocking CPU did improve performance, when copying files to an external hard drive that is attached to the AC68 router by 5MB/s, from an average of 18MB/s to an average of 23MB/s, Its not much but still a great improvement.

So I decided to take it a step further and cool down the entire PCB and the CPU. I have reusable thermal packs, so I placed the PCB on top of it flat, waited about 10 minutes and CPU temp dropped to 86F / 30C. Performed another transfer test of the same large file that is about 10GB, and the speeds plummeted down to 4MB/s, few seconds later it would shoot up to 20MB/s and drop to 10MB/s. The speeds were inconsistent the entire time while the routers CPU temp was hovering at around 31C / 88F degrees. I performed the test several times just to be sure it's not a fluke and results were still just as poor.

Once I removed the thermal pack and let the CPU reach temps above 104F / 40C, the transfer speeds were better, but still not as consistent when CPU was at around 167F / 75C.

Ive overclocked CPUs on computers for many years, I’ve seen many results when people use liquid nitrogen to cooldown an overclocked CPU and GPU on computers and yet none of them had such significant adverse effects when it comes to a CPU performing calculations or benchmarks.

I know there are people who are a lot smarter than me and perhaps one of you can provide some insight as to why I’m seeing less performance from a CPU on a wifi router, that is cooldown to only 31C / 88F degrees.

[Assistant]
The CPU on a consumer-grade wifi router is typically not involved in squirting data from port A to port B; that's all done by proprietary ASICs, allowing the CPU to be cheaper/slower than it'd otherwise have to be. (It might get involved if you enable content-based packet filters or the like.)

tgl said:
The CPU on a consumer-grade wifi router is typically not involved in squirting data from port A to port B; that's all done by proprietary ASICs, allowing the CPU to be cheaper/slower than it'd otherwise have to be. (It might get involved if you enable content-based packet filters or the like.)

What does it have to do with temperature with either one??

I don't know about your experiment, but I remember giving a guy an Asus router for backyard repeater use and few years later I found he actually never touched it and it worked outside at -20C winter time, under the roof of a shed. And I know it actually works because the guy cooks outside on a BBQ even when birds lose their voices from the cold and he watches YouTube on the phone. Two phones died from this, but the router is still blinking lights.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: New ISP router has no guest network. How to separate IOT devices?

I'm pretty much a noob when it comes to networking so this night be a basic question.

I've always only bought a modem from my ISP and always used my own router.
This time though, they gave me a modem+router combo device - it's a Technicolor XB8. But to my surprise this fancy thing does not have a guest network config.

Since my house is wired, I put the Asus router on the main floor and hooked it's WAN port to XB8. So all my APs are still there and all devices are working. This allows my IOT devices to use the guest network on the Asus. But I don't think this is really separating them out as I want. I don't know how to test this though.

My end goal is to have a setup similar to what I had with Asus router.
- All my home devices (PCs and phones) go on the main wifi
- All IOT, work PC, guests go on the "guest" network (I had these on their separate guest networks but at this point I'd settle for just one guest network)

I read else where that the Profiles functionality of XB8 might be useful. The idea is that every time you add a new device, assign it to a profile. But profiles only appear to be for setting up internet access duration and not to separate out various devices on the network.

Sorry for the ramble. Looking for suggestions.

[Assistant]
Put the XB8 into bridge mode, then pretend it isn't there and keep on using your preferred router. ISP-supplied routers are notoriously bottom-of-the-heap gear when it comes to features and configurability.

tgl said:
Put the XB8 into bridge mode, then pretend it isn't there and keep on using your preferred router. ISP-supplied routers are notoriously bottom-of-the-heap gear when it comes to features and configurability.

Always interesting and I agree on the config items - that being said, out of the box, the most recent crop of service provider CPE is pretty decent on wireless performance, and they're getting clued in on things like QoS...

for most folks - the residential gateways do a better job than most off the shelf router/AP's these days...

sfx2000 said:
Always interesting and I agree on the config items - that being said, out of the box, the most recent crop of service provider CPE is pretty decent on wireless performance, and they're getting clued in on things like QoS...

for most folks - the residential gateways do a better job than most off the shelf router/AP's these days...
Seems not so in the the UK. Most ISPs are providing very capable router's but with dumbed down firmware. If a user can't change settings they can't get in trouble, reducing the calls to support and saving money on contracts to call centres.
Vodafone UK are a great example - can't even split wifi bands or specify channels.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: network design and documentation for Asus

Hi Guys, hope this isnt a silly question but can you advise on what is the best way to design and document an IP router network for home/office use. Wouldnt be more than say Virgin modem. Ausus routers - 2 networks, extender routers say 4 either repeater/mesh/AP plus IP cameras say 12, 3 printers, say 12 screens (Lenovo M8 android ) ( what have I forgotten?)

Flashy line diags are ok (easy bit I could use draw.io) but the area I cant fathom is a recognised way of rigourously defining all the login/PW data for all the hook ups in such a way that it is immediately unambiguous when coming to this data months years later and reading them correctly.

I have an Elec Eng bg so I am used to seeing cable routing/core numbers/junction box hook ups/termins strip numbering/equipment terminations etc Its done with a flow of terminal spreadsheet/line diags/ JB diags. All very straight forward

IP catalogs just seem like a dogs breakfast. How do professionals do it so its maintainable. How is change control done?
All IT guys treated it on a need to know scraps of info - never found a proper documented set for a Network.

[Assistant]
You better design something more configurable and expandable than Asus home products with AiMesh. Current AiMesh situation with multiple AiMesh Compatible products running different firmware is not even documented by Asus. With two separate networks and IP cameras in the mix look for more business oriented products with proper VLAN network segmentation and PoE powered APs. Ethernet infrastructure first and then UniFi or Omada as lower cost options. Both have network design tools available online so the final result is more predictable. Use your preferred way to document the network after.

Well guys there is an open admission and I thought it was my naivety with Asus home products - but then I read a topic from @RMerlin on merlin fw vs stock asus wrt at it seems the early days 15 years ago were a nightmare of unreliability. It seems Asus has in even recently couple years put out some poor upgrades - hence the genesis of merlin overlay with rapid bug catching and fixes Asus took a long time to bring out their own fixes. I have merlin 386.3_2 with XWRT Vortex on EA6900 Linksys (allegedly aka WR AC68u inside).
What I find with Asus instructions/websites is the flooding of simple operating instruction with the ravenousness desires of marketing mongrels pushing pushing tomorrows hitech in your face leaving the humble user in a fog of conflicting direction.

Its particularly annoying when simple concepts eg Router Login gets called Router account on the next page. When configuring two routers and never sure which router is being addressed - and so on. Their Vids supposed to help you are more Brand pushing by a soft girlie but when it comes to setting up etc she hops and skips rapidly over the basics. eg set up a Router AP
.
It should be simple ? No way
You need to get all your Client names roughly identifiable between the two routers vs their IPs. Takes time with 20 odd listings to go thru and match each Mac address with client name vs 192.168.1.xxx (sometimes confusion with older gear between Mac id as I found.

Hence my wish to try and systematically document a home network.

If I have over complicated my example - just try a ISP modem - asus router - pc and show all the named data at each interface/operation - NB the screen wording must match exactly and little thinking needed between steps.

I daresay if I had started out as an IT nerd at vocational training then I wouldnt think like this - ie most amateur users.

I hope I havent upset anyone. I just find the whole home wifi network thing very frustrating. One wise member said "dont mess with that go straight to a PoE ethernet cable system. This is right of course and commercial security cams do this camera. Unfortunately homes often dont lend themselves to trailing cables around thru walls ceilings etc hence the need for wifi - but it has a short range thru walls etc <10m - for reliable signal strength.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Printer is staying awake and phone battery drains overnight.

Router: Asus AC68U. Firmware Merlin 386.14_2

I have a cell phone and a printer connected to the router via 2.4ghz band. Phone battery drains quite fast even when its not in use and printer never goes to sleep despite manually changing the settings in the printer to sleep after 30 min.

In the routers wifi advanced settings I have tried changing DTIM Interval between 3- 12. Beacon Interval between 100 - 1000. Only thing I haven't tried is performing full reset of the router or reflashing the firmware for the 3rd time, which I should probably do, but to be honest I don't feel like setting up all the settings from scratch right now.

Any suggestions what could be the issue? Cheers.

Edit: I connected the phone and printer to 5Ghz band this morning and now I just have to wait a few hours and see if there is a difference in battery life and printer goes to sleep.

[Assistant]
weak wifi signal or interference from neighbors causing both to hunt for the station are likely causes. 5GHz reaches less distance than 2.4 GHz, so maybe make it worse or no better. Put the phone in airplane mode at night and turn off wifi on the printer. Turn it on when you need it. Otherwise, relocate where you can confirm strong signal from the AP/router.

degrub said:
weak wifi signal or interference from neighbors causing both to hunt for the station are likely causes. 5GHz reaches less distance than 2.4 GHz, so maybe make it worse or no better. Put the phone in airplane mode at night and turn off wifi on the printer. Turn it on when you need it. Otherwise, relocate where you can confirm strong signal from the AP/router.

You gave me an idea that I'm going to test. I changed from Channel 6 to channel 11 and reconnected both devices to 2.4Ghz band. I should have an answer with in an hour.

When I connected both printer and phone to 5Ghz band earlier this morning, printer went to sleep and battery on the phone stopped dropping.

Unfortunately the phone is still draining on 2.4Ghz band but the printer does fall a sleep. Guess ill reset the router and set it up from scratch again.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Intel AX210 6E replacement?

It's 11th gen Intel Acer laptop, originally came with AX201 that was having issues replaced with AX210 and worked for 9 months, now just yellow bang error 43 and 10 in device manager.

I notice no power management tab for the adapter and only Acer power management available in advanced power options. No Acer power management installed that I can see.

Windows 24H2, was the same with 23H2.

Would an AX211 be an upgrade when looking for new adapter?

[Assistant]
mrboonmee said:
Would an AX211 be an upgrade when looking for new adapter?

Side-grade - sort out why the other cards have issues...

sfx2000 said:
Side-grade - sort out why the other cards have issues...

Makes sense, helping a friend on this, I'll get over to his place and do fresh install of windows, really needs it.

Might be worth testing with a Linux distro bootable from a USB stick, to rule out Windows issues.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Need help testing a peculiar configuration

This thread is based on, and references, a couple other threads.
In the thread here I ask how set up sort of a WiFi extender containing an OpenVPN client so that the Ethernet-attached can see only the VPN, not the internet. And have this usable (with minor setup) with whatever WiFi network is available. The suggested (possible) solution was to try implementing it on a little GL.iNet portable router. Well, I'm trying, but have found I cannot even begin testing it. The problem is that the OpenVPN server is on my router - ASUS AX86U running Medlin - and so is my wireless access point.

In a thread asking about a similar testing problem here I was told (in post #3) why the configuration
a device connected to a guest network on my router and directing the OpenVPN connection to my DDNS url
can't work ... and that's the only config readily available to me (that I can think of) that would emulate target environment.

I freely admit that I know nothing about DNAT so maybe the comment
I suspect the reason you can't establish the connection w/ #3 is because there is no DNAT rule in the nat table of the firewall to allow routing from the WAN's network interface to the LAN. That would normally be there *if* the OpenVPN server was located elsewhere inside the LAN. You would have had to establish a port forwarding for that purpose, which creates the DNAT rule in the PREROUTING chain of the nat table. Then forwarding is allowed by the "cstate DNAT" rule in the FORWARD chain of the filter table.

I suppose you could add a DNAT rule for these purposes
Click to expand...
may actually give the the solution. Maybe it would be helpful if someone explained (or pointed me to dox explaining) how to set that up in Merlin.

Update:
From a little reading it sound like the DNAT table is created from port forwarding definitions. If That is true I have no idea what I would do to create the correct entry. The OpenVPN port is already exposed to WAN. Would I use the routers internal (LAN) IP address and the OpenVPN port? That doesn't feel useful to me.

My gut feeling (which is often wrong when it comes to routers) is that the packets requesting access to the OpenVPN port are probably not coming from the WAN; they're coming from the guest network's subnet ... which doesn't have access to my LAN.

[Assistant]
Going back to the original use-case....

Sometimes this is not a technical issue - it a management issue with that particular user...

I have a simple VPN setup: OpenVPN server on a NAS; open port on a router; DDSN. Works fine for accessing a share on the NAS remotely from computers running the OpenVPN client. But one of the users needing access has difficult configuration:
The user has a laptop running an unsupported version of Windows that cannot (safely) be connected to the internet.
Click to expand...

Tell them to update their computer or access is going to be killed off due to security reasons...

sfx2000 said:
Tell them to update their computer or access is going to be killed off due to security reasons...
Not an option. This a non-profit org that was given two old laptops - one running Win7 (that absolutely will not be connected to the internet) and one running Win10 (that soon should not be connected to the internet). I'm trying to provide them service that they don't actually need but would be handy - handy for me so I can remotely update some files rather than physically accessing the laptops every few weeks.

They couldn't care less that I have to occasionally borrow their laptops, and they certainly aren't going to buy newer equipment just to make my life easier.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Ideas on replacing firmware in tplink routers

Hi, looking at options and what other people use as firmware in TPlink routers.

People found out about their backdoor the built in and I'm looking for alternatives so me and others can slow the e-waste.

[Assistant]
I think TP-Link/any router security deserves consideration but not by watching some guy trying to make a buck on YouTube.

OE

I have had at least three tplink routers, including currently, and they all run great.

They have also been behind a firewalling router (yes, I use double and triple NAT), and have NEVER seen them try to dial home, nor seen a third party attempt backdoor access.

So I understand that there are concerns about potential spying by the Chinese authorities through our IT devices. But that's very different to one uninformed YouTuber basing a video on what other people talking about what more potentially uninformed people are saying. The facts and reasons for the legislation are public, why not just go with that!


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: 2 ISP and 2 routers ,+ mesh

I never know where to post. Hope this is the correct place.
I have 2 ISP, 2 modems and 2 Asus routers.
Can I use the ASUS program with both routers?
What I am wanting to do is add rt-ac86u b1 to a T-Mobile gateway as an extension/ mesh. I would like to Asus program if possible but I can not see the second router in the software. I understand it's connected to a different ISP. But how do I do it?
Second router is rt-ax86. Not that is would matter but it is easier to identify.thank you

[Assistant]
It is hopefully temporary as I am looking for a better service provider. My cox service is terrible. So I am wanting to verify the other ISP service before dropping cox

Rather than a complex setup for testing, why not just connect one, run some tests, connect the other, run similar tests, then decide which is better? Otherwise, you can setup both, and just change the default gateway to point to one or the other.

thank you, I am having issues with both ISP's staying connected when I am using it as speeds are all over th eplace from 6 to 400 Mpbs. Strange for it may be the area that I am located in . Hills and a lot of trees.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Hard Wired at 100 Mbps or Mesh?

Hard Wired at 100 Mbps or Mesh?

Hi everyone,

I have a weird situation in my 2500 square-foot house. I have a cat six wired connection with about 100 foot run from my home office where I have a one gigabit connection from Cox to my home theater room at the other side of the house. From the hardwired computer in my office I get 950+ Mbps speeds consistently.

For whatever reason about three or four years after running the hardware connection, the speeds in My Home theater have been throttle to 100 Mbps. Occasionally, if I reboot everything, I can goose up the connection to giga bit speed, but it always seems to default back to the 100 Mbps. From what I understand this is most likely either a wiring issue or a connection issue.

In order to get to the root of the problem, I’ll probably have to have an electrician come over mess around in the cramped attic, either rerun new cable and or replace the connections in the office and the home theater. I was thinking about going this route, but mesh systems have become much more stable over the last few years. I could just install a mesh system and call it good or I can just live with a rock solid 100 Mbps speed in the home theater room (I haven’t noticed any performance issues with this “slow” speed). What is better a fast mesh system or a rock solid hard wired 100Mbps connection?
Any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[Assistant]
tallen234 said:
I haven’t noticed any performance issues with this “slow” speed

Keep it wired. When you have the time replace the connectors.

If you are connecting the Ethernet directly into a TV it is likely that the TV only has a 100MB LAN connection. My Samsung TV is like that and works OK on Ethernet. But, I have switched it back to WIFI. Connect some other client (laptop?) into the Ethernet connection at the home theater and see if the connection bandwidth goes back to GB.

If you don't have a laptop or other device to do what bbunge suggested purchase a small unmanaged switch with GB ports and see if the connected port indicates a GB connection. The $16 you spend will be a lot cheaper than paying low voltage wiring tech or electrician to work on the run if in fact nothing is really wrong.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Recommendations for a wifi-to-ethernet access point or device (bridge?)

I'm not sure if what I'm looking for has a name. I want a device that can wirelessly connect a few ethernet devices to my home LAN over wifi. I don't know if a plain vanilla wifi router can be used this way or not. I guess this is a wifi bridge?

I'd like the connected devices to appear to be on my home wired LAN, not on a separate LAN or subnet. I currently have a couple of (old) wifi routers, 2.4 ghz, I'd like this new bridge device to connect to one of them (which-ever has a stronger signal I guess). Or will I need to buy something new for this bridge to connect to?

[Assistant]
DeopHaft said:
I don't know if a plain vanilla wifi router can be used this way or not.

Yes, I have 2x Linksys E5400 purchased and used for this purpose specifically. They have Bridge Mode in firmware, 4x Fast Ethernet LAN ports (100Mbps), small physical size and cheap around $30-35 new. Both 2.4GHz and 5GHz radios can be used for wireless bridge. If you need Gigabit LAN ports you have to find the corresponding model with Bridge Mode in firmware. Most Asus routers have it, called Media Bridge mode.

I see Renewed E5400 on Amazon USA for $25.

In the GUI:

DeopHaft said:
I'm not sure if what I'm looking for has a name. I want a device that can wirelessly connect a few ethernet devices to my home LAN over wifi. I don't know if a plain vanilla wifi router can be used this way or not. I guess this is a wifi bridge?

I'd like the connected devices to appear to be on my home wired LAN, not on a separate LAN or subnet. I currently have a couple of (old) wifi routers, 2.4 ghz, I'd like this new bridge device to connect to one of them (which-ever has a stronger signal I guess). Or will I need to buy something new for this bridge to connect to?
Click to expand...
Look for an out of date router (cheaper) that has the wireless bridge mode in its firmware in the setup mode. It also should have at least AC radios. While it can be done with N or even G radios your download and upload speeds will not be nearly as good. I am using an TM-AC68 (circa 2014) running the stock TM/ASUS firmware and when I connect it to my AX88Pro using the 5 Ghz radio I get a link rate of over 800 Mbps and when I run a speed test on a PC connected to the bridge with Ethernet I also get download speeds over 800 Mbps. If I use the 2.4 Ghz radio for the link it reduces the bandwidth significantly. All four LAN ports on the bridge router are available to connect to and will be in the same subnet as other devices on your LAN.

If you connect to your main router using the 2.4 Ghz radios and a 20 Mhz channel it will significantly reduce your bandwidth.

You do need something that can be specifically set into "media bridge" mode (the terminology varies across manufacturers). If running in regular "access point" mode, the device will not do what you want because it has exactly backwards assumptions about which data needs to be forwarded where. ASUS AIMesh has such a mode, though it only worked middling well for me when I was using it a couple years ago. (Maybe they got the bugs out since then, though.) The UniFi gear I use now doesn't seem to have such a mode. Can't say about other makes.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Which 2024-25 Non-Mesh Wi-Fi Routers Have 1 Watt Transmitters & Most Sensitive Receivers?

I have found it impossible to determine which non-mesh wi-fi routers deliver the greatest distance in a typical home environment. The transmitting power and receiving sensitivity inherent to specific chip sets is probably known by those who are experts in the chips but the antenna design will account for at least 50% of the variance in the final result. Does anyone have this information, based either on technical specs or empirical data?

[Assistant]
Have you looked at Ubiquity outdoor APs ?
What range are you trying to reach ?
Indoor, too much power is usually bad.

Thank you. I will take a look. I'm looking for coverage that is mostly indoors but needs to present a decent signal to nearby outdoor cameras, most of which are affixed near the roof line and a couple of which have to go through three walls. The worst case cameras are working OK now with my Tp-Link AX-11000. The communication is reliable but quite slow in the worst case. I know there are options for mesh and repeaters but I'm looking to explore the single router solution for the moment.

When situations change a little, I might again explore a mesh system but the last time I purchased a decent quality NetGear system I was appalled at how little control I had over the parameters. I do a lot of port forwarding and have a VPN server connected with a NAS. The mesh systems I looked at seemed designed as non-technical plug-n-play with few user controls. I ended up returning it.

High power AP won't extend the range. Wi-Fi is 2-way communication and clients have much weaker radios. They have to reach back to the AP through the same obstacles. High power AP only creates disbalanced links. This is wrong planning resulting in devices with full bar signal, but in fact bad Wi-Fi connection. Ubiquiti APs are up to 400mW or 26dBm and this is the maximum useful power from a single AP.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Linksys EA9500 - Local DNS

I'm generally happy with my new-to-me Linksys EA9500, but it seems to have no support for local DNS/hosts, i.e. where mediaserver.lan resolves to my network machine at 192.168.1.95. The router admin does let me specify its DNS servers so I've been using Pi-Hole for DNS (which works fine for local DNS), but lately, the router is having trouble resolving web domain so I'm looking again for router-only solution.

Does anyone know how to access/add local network DNS support with this router? I was able to SSH into my last router and directly edit its hosts file... does anyone know how I can have my EA9500 resolve local *.lan domains to local IP addresses without using a standalone DNS server on my network?

[Assistant]
You could install a hosts file on your client machine(s). In fact, before there were DNS servers, that's how it was done (and that's exactly what you were effectively doing /w your prior router). Very crude, but for some circumstances, it may still be sufficient. But I don't see any way you're going to have the benefits of a DNS server without having a DNS server! It would help if your router supported third party firmware (Merlin, DD-WRT, FreshTomato, etc.), but apparently that isn't the case. I even checked OpenWRT, and it seems to be a limited implementation due to a lack of wireless drivers.

That's why I never buy a router that doesn't provide a third-party option. Once you encounter a limitation, you're up the creek.

eibgrad said:
You could install a hosts file on your client machine(s)
I appreciate the thought, but maintaining individual hosts files on all my devices is the scenario I'm trying to avoid.

I did a little checking on the Pi-Hole and it seems to have automatically blocked some Google addresses (i.e. googleadservices.com, passwordsleakcheck-pa.googleapis.com, www.googleapis.com) and once I whitelisted those domains, my Pi-Hole DNS started acting right again.

I only paid $40 for the EA9500 to replace a Spectrum router so I wasn't being too picky about features, but I'll definitely do more research before buying my next one. Thanks again!

RatherLoopy said:
I appreciate the thought, but maintaining individual hosts files on all my devices is the scenario I'm trying to avoid.

I did a little checking on the Pi-Hole and it seems to have automatically blocked some Google addresses (i.e. googleadservices.com, passwordsleakcheck-pa.googleapis.com, www.googleapis.com) and once I whitelisted those domains, my Pi-Hole DNS started acting right again.

I only paid $40 for the EA9500 to replace a Spectrum router so I wasn't being too picky about features, but I'll definitely do more research before buying my next one. Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Well you can always flash openWRT onto the EA9500. Which has bind9. Btw there isn't much differences in all these store bought routers.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Printers on different networks but we can still print to them

Hi Everyone,
I'm a bit stumped and not sure how to do this.
We have an Asus router with one PC hardwired to it.
We have a wireless network 1 and wireless network 2.
We have two wireless macs connected to wireless 2.
We have one printer on wireless 1 and one on wireless 2.

Now here's the issue. On our macs we can print to the printer on wireless 1 even though it's on a different network. How is that possible? I have UPNP turned off at the router.
They will not print to the printer on wireless 2. I can't figure out why.

[Assistant]
curlyimac said:
I can't figure out why.

No one can. Two wireless networks on an Asus router is not enough information to even start troubleshooting.

The route is th RTAX88u pro.
I've gone through all the settings making sure I have wpa2 aes security. I've got the router set up pretty securely I believe.
Edit* forgot to mention using Merlin firmware

Without knowing what are the two wireless networks and how they are set it's impossible to answer your questions.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: GT-AX11000 pro vs Google Nest Router pro

I am going with Google Fiber next month. I current have GT-AX11000 Pro and two ZenWifi XT9 for my mesh that I replaced back in July. Will these work with 2 gig from GFiber? Also, GT-AX11000 pro vs Google Nest Router pro, comparing security. Will my Asus work well for security? Google rep worried me because Google router does not have the diagnosis app like Asus has for better monitoring and testing he said. I assume there should not be any adjustments needed with my Asus. I have 1 Gig of Spectrum now, but it does not work well. I average around 1/2 gig and Spectrum just can not seem to get their service right. I will also be saving $$ vs Spectrum. Your input would be appreciated. Hope this made sense as you can tell I am no data expert. Thank you

[Assistant]
ROO2020 said:
I current have GT-AX11000 Pro and two ZenWifi XT9 for my mesh that I replaced back in July. Will these work with 2 gig from GFiber?

Yes, no need to replace if the system works well. Don't expect 2Gbps over Wi-Fi though.

Like Tech9 said, try it out first as-is if it is already working for you. You can always get in the Nest later if you think it will solve your networking problems, right? (And would you be renting that Nest?)

For Google Fiber - their Router/GW is not Nest Pro...

Learn about your Multi-Gig Router - Google Fiber Help
Get all the details about your GFiber Multi-Gig Router (GFRG300) below.
support.google.com

Going with their GW as the primary, is probably a good idea - Google Fiber, and their team, has an incredible amount of data to back up their decisions on how WiFi works within their footprint, so they've made good decisions there.

And here's some alternate info on the nest devices...

Tech specs for Nest Wifi Pro, Nest Wifi, and Google Wifi - Google Nest Help
Below are the technical specs for the Nest Wifi Pro router, Nest Wifi router, Nest Wifi point, and Google Wifi points. Learn more about the differences between Nest Wifi and Google Wifi products.
support.google.com

I can't see doing Nest WiFi Pro in any case, compared to the earlier Nest Wifi - the pro is a step back for most, esp on the routing side, the only advantage on the Nest WiFi Pro is WiFi6...

I did some testing with Nest Wifi a couple of years back with the Nest Wifi Router and a couple of WiFi Points, and it wasn't that bad - was decent wireless coverage performance across the whole house.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: News FCC OPENS ENTIRE 6 GHz BAND TO VERY LOW POWER DEVICE OPERATIONS

Media Contact:
MediaRelations@fcc.gov

For Immediate Release

FCC OPENS ENTIRE 6 GHz BAND TO VERY LOW POWER DEVICE OPERATIONS
--
WASHINGTON, December 11, 2024—The Federal Communications Commission today adopted new rules to expand very low power device operations across all 1,200 megahertz of the 6 GHz band alongside other unlicensed and Wi-Fi-enabled devices. This added flexibility in the 6 GHz band will bolster a growing eco-system of cutting-edge applications like wearable technologies and augmented and virtual reality, which will enhance learning opportunities, improve healthcare outcomes, and bring new entertainment experiences. The FCC has, in recent years, expanded unlicensed use between 5.925 and 7.125 GHz, helping to usher in Wi-Fi 6E, set the stage for Wi-Fi 7, and support the growth of the Internet of Things.

The Report and Order permits the very low power (VLP) class of unlicensed devices to operate across 350 megahertz of spectrum in the U-NII-6 (6.425-6.525 GHz) and U-NII-8 (6.875-7.125 GHz) portions of the 6 GHz band at the same power levels and technical/operational protections as recently approved for the U-NII-5 (5.925-6.425 GHz) and U-NII-7 (6.525-6.875 GHz) bands while protecting incumbent licensed services that also operate in the band. These VLP devices will have no restriction on locations where they may operate and will not be required to operate under the control of an automatic frequency coordination system. To ensure the risk of interference remains insignificant, the devices will be required to employ a contention-based protocol and implement transmit power control while prohibited from operating as part of a fixed outdoor infrastructure.

VLP devices operate at very low power across short distances and provide very high connection speeds, which are ideal for the types of high-data rate cutting-edge applications that will both enrich consumer experiences and bolster the nation’s economy. The FCC’s actions in the 6 GHz band will spur innovation by providing more capacity for emerging technologies and applications, such as augmented reality and virtual reality, in-car connectivity, wearable on-body devices, healthcare monitoring, short-range mobile hotspots, high accuracy location and navigation, automation, and more.

Action by the Commission December 11, 2024 by Third Report and Order (FCC 24-125). Chairwoman Rosenworcel, Commissioners Carr, Starks, Simington, and Gomez approving. Chairwoman Rosenworcel and Commissioners Starks issuing separate statements.

ET Docket No. 18-295, GN Docket No. 17-183

###

Media Relations: (202) 418-0500 / ASL: (844) 432-2275 / Twitter: @FCC / www.fcc.gov

This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action. See MCI v. FCC, 515 F.2d 385 (D.C. Cir. 1974).

[Assistant]
sfx2000 said:
Media Contact:
MediaRelations@fcc.gov

For Immediate Release

FCC OPENS ENTIRE 6 GHz BAND TO VERY LOW POWER DEVICE OPERATIONS
--
WASHINGTON, December 11, 2024—The Federal Communications Commission today adopted new rules to expand very low power device operations across all 1,200 megahertz of the 6 GHz band alongside other unlicensed and Wi-Fi-enabled devices. This added flexibility in the 6 GHz band will bolster a growing eco-system of cutting-edge applications like wearable technologies and augmented and virtual reality, which will enhance learning opportunities, improve healthcare outcomes, and bring new entertainment experiences. The FCC has, in recent years, expanded unlicensed use between 5.925 and 7.125 GHz, helping to usher in Wi-Fi 6E, set the stage for Wi-Fi 7, and support the growth of the Internet of Things.

The Report and Order permits the very low power (VLP) class of unlicensed devices to operate across 350 megahertz of spectrum in the U-NII-6 (6.425-6.525 GHz) and U-NII-8 (6.875-7.125 GHz) portions of the 6 GHz band at the same power levels and technical/operational protections as recently approved for the U-NII-5 (5.925-6.425 GHz) and U-NII-7 (6.525-6.875 GHz) bands while protecting incumbent licensed services that also operate in the band. These VLP devices will have no restriction on locations where they may operate and will not be required to operate under the control of an automatic frequency coordination system. To ensure the risk of interference remains insignificant, the devices will be required to employ a contention-based protocol and implement transmit power control while prohibited from operating as part of a fixed outdoor infrastructure.

VLP devices operate at very low power across short distances and provide very high connection speeds, which are ideal for the types of high-data rate cutting-edge applications that will both enrich consumer experiences and bolster the nation’s economy. The FCC’s actions in the 6 GHz band will spur innovation by providing more capacity for emerging technologies and applications, such as augmented reality and virtual reality, in-car connectivity, wearable on-body devices, healthcare monitoring, short-range mobile hotspots, high accuracy location and navigation, automation, and more.

Action by the Commission December 11, 2024 by Third Report and Order (FCC 24-125). Chairwoman Rosenworcel, Commissioners Carr, Starks, Simington, and Gomez approving. Chairwoman Rosenworcel and Commissioners Starks issuing separate statements.

ET Docket No. 18-295, GN Docket No. 17-183

###

Media Relations: (202) 418-0500 / ASL: (844) 432-2275 / Twitter: @FCC /

This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action. See MCI v. FCC, 515 F.2d 385 (D.C. Cir. 1974).
Click to expand...
I am all for support of this, but why was there a limitation to this in the past? are there any pitfalls to consider?

SomeWhereOverTheRainBow said:
I am all for support of this, but why was there a limitation to this in the past? are there any pitfalls to consider?

For the UNII-6 and UNII-8, there are some incumbent users already licensed in those bands - the Report and Order opens up unlicensed use at very low power. They will have do something similar to DFS to detect the incumbent usage to avoid contention.

It's generally good news, as this does open up some more channels for 6e/7 usage, however, I don't see it being retroactive to devices currently on the market.

Similar to the 5GHz extension channels above UNII-3... also referred to as UNII-4 (synology for example, can use UNII-4 on the RT6600ax, but there are no clients I'm aware of that can use those - nice for WiFi bridges and back-end for mesh on Synology)


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Does the Synology RT6600AX block a particular adult site?

Thinking about buying a Synology RT6600AX but was wondering something. On my ASUS AX86U (with web/content filtering enabled and the adult category blocked) ..... and when using 3rd party programs.... I'm shocked/surprised that the 'adult' category doesn't block some sites that are obviously pornographic in nature. Can anyone with the RT6600AX block adult content and try to access these pages and tell me if they load just fine or get blocked?:

playboy . com
hustler . com
xhamster . com

Don't block the specific url's, just turn on the blocking of adult content and see if those sites get blocked by that policy.

Thanks

[Assistant]
Yes, it is possible to block to a certain extent with dns 1.1.1.3, but as I said, you can unfortunately bypass it with software, but if you don't

https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/sites/default/files/pictures/DNS_Director.png

Samuel_1975 said:
Yes, it is possible to block to a certain extent with dns 1.1.1.3, but as I said, you can unfortunately bypass it with software, but if you don't

https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/sites/default/files/pictures/DNS_Director.png

It seems every time I mess around with alternative firmware for my AX86U, I end up with weird problems and always move back to the official firmware.

I forgot to mention this originally, but another category that failed basic testing was when I enabled blocking of gambling sites. Vegasworld . com still loaded.

When using the filtering built into my AX86U, Adguard Home, Open DNS (and a few others), none of them (on their own) were able to correctly block the following sites with the adult and gambling filtering active:

playboy . com
hustler . com
xhamster . com
vegasworld . com

Not directed to you but if anyone could please go into your RT6600AX and block adult content and gambling and let me know if those sites worked or were blocked, I'd really appreciate it.

sfx2000 said:
they have their tools...

View attachment 62494

If you have an RT6600AX, could you please carry out my test?


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: News PuTTY v0.82 Released Today 2024-11-27

For those that use it:

PuTTY Change Log
www.chiark.greenend.org.uk

[Assistant]
Tried it once but sticking to PowerShell in Windows and Terminal on MacOS. They both do the trick.

ddaenen1 said:
Tried it once but sticking to PowerShell in Windows and Terminal on MacOS. They both do the trick.
@ddaenen1 what are you using PS for instead of PuTTY?

I use it to log into my FreeBSD servers to execute update commands and stuff through SSH.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Web vs. App: How Do You Prefer Setting Up Your Router/Mesh

Just curious—when setting up your router or mesh system, do you guys prefer using the web interface or the app?

[Assistant]
Web vs App has always been a thing...

I've always been ok with an App if a WebUI isn't present, as this does reduce the threat surface...

The challenge is devices with both WebUI and some kind of Application API's...

I prefer a web interface. Much easier when copy-pasting stuff on a computer. Imagine having to manually enter 5-10 DHCP reservations on a phone...

LOL. When i first started working with industrial control devices in the '70s, there were still a few devices around that were interfaced directly at TTL, but most device manufacturers had moved to using a uart as the interface implementing RS-232 and 422. So minimal experience with just TTL.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: AT&T fiber with home phone service?

My understanding is that when you have home phone service with AT&T fiber Internet, you ditch the outside copper connection and the house phone system uses wireless to communicate with the gateway. Does this wireless connection depend on the Wi-Fi system (that every other device in the house uses), or is it some dedicated wireless connection to the gateway?

If I get AT&T fiber, I want to put their gateway in bridged mode and use my router for Wi-Fi, but I don't want the phone system going thru the router.

[Assistant]
Nope. i have ATT 1Gbit service and POTS ( it's the only thing alive during a hurricane after a day).

You mean you had a choice to keep the POTS? An ATT tech and my neighbor who is getting it installed said that the POTS is no longer used when the fiber is connected - all VOIP.

If you already have POTS, then you can keep it until ATT refuses to service it (cable failures for example). You will pay for it. 75-90 $/mo. You also have to have a wired phone - such as an old rotary dial or princess push button phone. Portable phones will not last as they are battery powered.
Other options include medical needs that require an active line during power outages, DSL service, etc. If you don't have POTS, then ATT will refuse to connect to house.

IF you have a generator at the house and fiber, you may be able to stay on line as long as ATT does. But a normal PC UPS etc, will not last very long. ATT has generators at each of their boxes supporting fiber and DSL in our older neighborhood. They run on natural gas. Same at the switching station. Their network availability had to meet federal requirements of four or five 9's as i recall. Backup power was the only way to do that.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: AT&T BGW320-505 with two separate internet connections?

I set the BGW320-505 to IP Passthrough to my router, and I can get to my internal services from the WAN. I turned off all the BGW's Wi-Fi except the Guest network and set to "Internet Only."

I want to connect to the BGW's guest network and still be able to connect to my internal services as if I'm connecting from the WAN, but this doesn't work.

Is there a way to configure the BGW in such a way to make this work?

[Assistant]
Have you figured this out yet? This system is really just connect Wi-Fi and run works perfect for me I get close to 900mbps my business laptop shows 1201mbps max. For the connection I have but can do up to 2.5Gbps.

Nope. I turned off the BGW's Wi-Fi. I tested once from my ASUS guest Wi-Fi and it seemed to work the way I needed.


[System] You are a professional Wi-Fi router support assistant; I will provide forum posts as background material, and you should learn from them while remaining aware that forum content may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect — when uncertain, explicitly note that you are uncertain and refer the user to official documentation or other authoritative sources for verification.

[User]
Title: Do You Factory Reset After Firmware Updates?

I had read or someone told me once that a firmware update should be followed with a factory reset. The reason stated was that menus or options could have changed with the new firmware. To ensure the router settings matched what they were prior to the firmware update, it was best to re-enter router settings from scratch. Is this a best practice, or someone going over the top and making more work for themselves?

[Assistant]
If you want an official statement:

"Notice: It is recommended to restore to factory default settings by pressing the reset button on the bottom of the wireless router for 5 seconds after doing a firmware update. After the reset is complete, please go to http://www.asusrouter.com and follow the QIS to set up your router again."

[Wireless Router] How to update the firmware of your router to the latest version ? (WebGUI) | Official Support | ASUS Global

This FAQ page was last updated on 2024/08/30. Here you have it - from the manufacturer. Most people don't do it, only if issues are encountered after the update. If you call Asus Support for whatever reason though - reset to factory defaults is the first thing they are going to ask you to do.

kc27 said:
I had read or someone told me once that a firmware update should be followed with a factory reset. The reason stated was that menus or options could have changed with the new firmware. To ensure the router settings matched what they were prior to the firmware update, it was best to re-enter router settings from scratch. Is this a best practice, or someone going over the top and making more work for themselves?
It probably depends on which make and model of router you're using as well as which firmware version you're going from and to.

As you've posted this question in the "General Wi-Fi Discussion" section there's no definitive answer other than to read the release notes and see what it recommends.

Thanks. I had never done the factory reset after a firmware update, either.

This week the router could not connect to the modem. A factory reset was what fixed it I also saw a firmware update was made available a few weeks ago (surprised because this is an rt-ac88u that was introduced in 2015). I did save a configuration to expedite router setup.

I like the router, but plan on replacing it.