Once I link to my Wi-Fi range extender, the Win10 laptop can't access the router's Wi-Fi network (other devices work)
Once I link to my Wi-Fi range extender, the Win10 laptop can't access the router's Wi-Fi network (other devices work)
I bought a Wi-Fi range extender for my home. It only supports the 2.4GHz frequency, whereas my ISP offers a dual-band router. I need to switch between the extender’s 2.4GHz and my router’s 5GHz network depending on where I’m using my laptop. The challenge: Once connected to the extender, I can’t reach either of my router’s networks on my Windows 10 laptop. This doesn’t happen with other devices (more details later). If I restart the extender, I can reconnect to my router if I skip the extender first. The link stays steady for hours. But after a single connection to the extender, I lose access until I restart it again. I’m fairly tech-savvy but my networking skills are limited. I’ve already attempted several solutions below. Details: Router model ZTE ZXHN H267A, extender TP Link TL-WA850RE, laptop Lenovo Legion 15ACH6H, Windows 10 (no updates), Wi-Fi card Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200 160MHz, no driver updates. Steps tried: From the control panel I see errors like “Wi-Fi” not having a valid IP. I changed the 5GHz settings to manual using ipconfig /all but couldn’t save. Got errors like “Can't save IP settings.” I checked IP address 192.168.1.14, subnet 255.255.255.0, gateway 192.168.1.1, DNS 192.168.1.1. iPhone XS works freely switching networks; another Windows 11 laptop has the same issue. If I switch to Ubuntu after a Windows problem, it repeats the issue. On Ubuntu, switching networks works without trouble. If I reboot the extender, I can connect to all networks in any order. On Windows, after switching back, I’m stuck until I restart the extender. It seems like an IP assignment problem. I’ve adjusted IP and DHCP settings on both devices, but nothing fixed it. Any advice besides returning the extender or using an Ethernet cable would help. Please let me know if you need more info.
did you set up the wifi extender yourself? according to the manual, you can connect manually to your current router via the extender and then adjust its settings. maybe something went wrong. it looks like an ip conflict might be happening between the router and the extender. try logging into your router as well and changing the ip address on the 5ghz network—swap the third value to something like 31. also check the 2.4ghz network and its ip settings. it seems like a windows issue related to ip assignment might be involved. i tried changing the ip and dhcp settings on both devices, but this could have missed something.
The Wi-Fi booster has a distinct name for its SSID, requiring you to toggle between recognized networks.
It's clear you're experiencing an issue with network connectivity. The system indicates a connection but reports no internet access, and the control panel shows restricted network access. You're also having trouble reaching the router's configuration page at 192.168.1.1.
I followed the setup instructions correctly. The extender functions properly and connects to the internet through its network. I also attempted a full reset and reconfiguration after noticing the problem, but it didn’t resolve the issue. I’m unsure about changing the router’s IP address—I believe that setting it from the interface screen is what you meant.
I think I see the issue here. The Issue is that primary DNS is wrong you're referring to the router itself as a DNS server which isn't possible, given the setup here. This is what causing connecting issues to the Router 5GHZ network I believe. Change the primary DNS to 8.8.8.8 and secondary to 8.8.4.4 you're basically saying to yourself. "" Uhhh where is google "" then you're referring to your own knowledge but you dont' have an idea where "google.com" is. See if this works
configuring the extender with its own DHCP is a common approach. It’s typical to treat it as an extension of the existing Wi-Fi network. You can find the MAC address of the extender in your router settings and log in using that IP to access the same SSID. There’s usually no built-in passthrough option, but you can check your router’s admin panel for details on the extender’s assigned IP.
This approach appears to have resolved the problem. It's notable that this wasn't an issue before installing the extender. I believe the settings remained consistent for a while. The DHCP server was set to "Auto" by default on the extender. The screenshot I provided comes from the router's configuration interface, not the extender itself. I also disabled the DHCP server on the extender as we discussed. Yes, I accessed the extender's configuration page beforehand. I used separate SSIDs to simplify troubleshooting, but now that the issue is fixed, I might consolidate them. Thanks for the advice!
google serves as a very general dns server. try switching it to secondary and see your isp's default dns. usually a router should detect that, but when using an extender or similar device, problems can arise. dhcp should assign the local isp's dns. it might be that the extender was disabled when you first connected, showing 192.168.1.1 as dns and it didn't refresh.
It appeared to fix the issue earlier tonight, but after a couple of hours I was able to use both networks without trouble. Yet this morning the problem resurfaced... I only restarted my laptop and didn’t make any other changes. Below are some screenshots from the router and extender configuration pages. I also captured what the ipconfig /all command shows when I can’t connect to the router. These images are of the router’s configuration settings. The screenshot above displays the router’s interface, showing an option that should help resolve the problem. I’ll enable that setting if it helps.