Making an AP
Making an AP
You're trying to repurpose an old router into a DIY AP. It sounds like you've set up the DCHP service and assigned an IP address, but the power socket change is causing issues. You've also experimented with changing the IP address multiple times, moving it between zones. The connection works over Ethernet but not wirelessly. Maybe check the power supply stability or try a different port for the wireless interface.
The goal is to activate bridged mode. This turns off the router features and lets clients obtain IP addresses directly from the main router, effectively turning it into a simple access point.
Disable DHCP, and also switch off NAT and the Firewall. Ensure the IP address from your old router isn’t included in the main router’s DHCP pool. For instance, when I did this, the main router was 192.168.1.1, the old router was 192.168.1.2, and my DHCP range started at 192.168.1.100. This avoids any clashes. Then connect the old router through its LAN port to the main router via its LAN port. This bypasses NAT and the firewall entirely. This setup should function as I’ve confirmed before.
You can set up the router after connecting, but you also have the option to adjust its settings later.
On the second router, the DCHP pool ranges from 2 to 254 while the first router has a range of 100 to 254. Should I restrict it on the second router? Yes. I understand the DCHP should be disabled, but the final setting remains available after the DCHP server is turned off.