Start configuring your router as a Wi-Fi access point. If you're unsure, follow the on-screen instructions carefully.
Start configuring your router as a Wi-Fi access point. If you're unsure, follow the on-screen instructions carefully.
I’m at my lowest point, struggling with networking—it’s a real challenge for me. There seems to be something I just can’t grasp. Maybe it’s not working as expected. I need some guidance right now. Because of financial constraints and living in an unusual place, my modem and router are too far apart, making connections difficult. I bought a 200-foot Ethernet cable to bridge the gap. I’m planning to use some old Huawei routers as access points so I can get Wi-Fi coverage inside my home. After searching, I found two approaches. The first is using one router as a modem and another as an AP. The simpler method involves turning off DHCP, enabling LAN ports, and connecting the Ethernet device—this turns it into an AP 2. The second method suggests assigning a fixed IP to your main router, setting the gateway of the second router to match the first, disabling DHCP, and plugging it in. I’m still unclear on many terms: like subnet masks or IP ranges. I tried the simpler method but it didn’t work; the second one gave no Wi-Fi signal. Even plugging Ethernet directly from the second router works for me now, which is why I’m using it to stay productive. The second approach caused issues—when I changed settings, the gateway disappeared from my computer’s list, and I lost access to everything. I tried editing IP addresses but found the gateway field confusing; changing it affected other settings. I also faced problems with MAC address edits, which disrupted connections. I’m unsure what I’m doing wrong. If this doesn’t help, maybe buying external routers would be an option, though that feels like a last resort. I’m hoping to use Asus mesh as a backup, but only if it’s not too costly. Please help—I really need it to get back online. Thanks for any advice!
If your router that you are trying to use as an AP doesnt support DHCP relay (which seems like it doesnt), there is one simple thing I can suggest you to do (although its a shitty solution, it does work). IP addresses have to be assigned to a single device wherever, it doesnt matter if its WAN or LAN. Let say that your main network has a IP range of 10.1.0.1 to 10.1.0.255 and internet gateway is 10.1.0.1. Login to that routers web GUI and limit the DHCP range to something like 10.1.0.1 to 10.1.0.100. Second router, will need to use a different IP so lets assign 10.1.0.101 on the second router itself. Also on the second router set the DHCP server to assign IPs between 10.1.0.102-10.1.0.254 and set the gateway 10.1.0.1 (aka main internet gateway, or your original router). You can assign whatever DNS you want in the second server's dhcp server settings or just copy what the first router has. As I said this is a super shitty solution and I try to avoid it whenever I can. I believe you can also do a better setup with VLANs but I am too sleep deprived to think about that and not even sure if your router allows you to change vlans. Maybe someone else can chime in with a better solution. I am a dumbass, the router in the screenshots support DHCP relay. Login to the web UI of the first router and set a static IP for the router2 (optional) Login to the web UI of the second router and enable DHCP relay and set the target your first routers IP address. Everything should work after that.
Thanks for your reply. I’ll review the details carefully. For router 2, disabling the primary DHCP server isn’t recommended unless you’re certain about your setup—it might cause connectivity issues. You can either keep the server active and use relay or switch to a different approach. For static IPs, using internal addresses works well if you need consistent addresses. Secondary DHCP is an option if you want more flexibility. Daisy chaining is possible but requires careful configuration. Your third router for your mom can be used similarly; just enable relay and set static on the appropriate device. Let me know if you need further clarification!
1-) ensure the DHCP server remains active on the main router. Others should operate in DHCP relay mode.
2-) unclear about that phrase, we’re not forming a subnetwork but rather expanding the physical connection using the same OUI.
3-) definitely just configure the third router as the second one.
These devices include the option to disable the relay from the DHCP server checkbox. The decision is whether to keep that setting, especially since it might not be needed for secondary routers on other devices. Currently it isn’t functioning properly, so I’ll list the configurations from Router 1 and 2. If you confirm these settings work with this configuration, we can proceed confidently. Otherwise, we’ll explore further adjustments.