1

I want to use this setup:
-- Cable connection
~~ Wireless connection
Internet--WNDR3700~~TL-WR1043ND--PC

Both routers have STOCK frimware.

So I have followed this guide right here
Note: I could not do step 9 a because the WNDR37000 does not have such a Statistics section.
Everything else works according to the guide. That includes both 192.168.2.1 linking to original router and 192.168.2.2 linking to the "bridge router".
Bridge router settings i.imgur.com/EKfYaHL.png | Bridge router status https://i.stack.imgur.com/8oaAY.png
In the log on the TL-WR1043ND I get this message:
DHCP NOTICE DHCPC Send DISCOVER with request ip 0 and unicast flag 1
So what is wrong? Is the TL-WR1043ND not able to get IPs from the WNDR3700? Is there some DHCP issues?

2 Answers 2

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I live on free wifi, I either ask my neighbours (who come and go) or I use hotspots, so I have a lot of experience of this.

You say "I have followed this guide right here" which points to Jeff Costa article, but you have missed his number 7

  1. Disable DHCP Since your primary router will be handing out IP addresses on your network, you do not want the bridged router also trying to assume this role. Select the DHCP/DHCP Settings section, and disable the DHCP server.

TPLink absolutely require this on their WDS implementation, on some implementations I found you have to give it a clue by using DCHP relay and putting in the address of the host router.

Other "gotchas" are that you only need to set WDS on one bandwidth, some people set it for 2.4 and 5.0 networks. Which you use will depend on your site, use the survey to see which provides the best signal. Neither will work if you set it on both. Also note that you only need to set it on the "local" router in the implementation I describe below.

Some network vendors use one bandwidth for the WDS and then only allow connections to the other, TPlink don't have this restriction, but it is not a bad idea to implement this restriction yourself depending on the kit you have.

You can help yourself get a better result by using wire where possible and keeping the bridge distance to an absolute minimum.

For one neighbour I ran a 25m Cat5 Ethernet cable from their living room (where the ISP router was located), across their long hall and positioned one TPLink (remote) right by their front door about 6ft off the ground. I then put an identical TPlink (local) in the same location right by my door also at 6ft off the ground. I then ran another 25m Cat5 from my TPlink to my living room where I put an old Netgear in Access Point mode with wired connections for Media Server, Roku.

I created wireless networks from the TPLink in my apartment and on the access point, all worked brilliantly for about 2 years until he moved. I did find occasionally I needed to reboot it all, not sure why, I think it was a DCHP lease issue.

When he left I asked the neighbour below me if I could user her wifi and she was fine with it. I did not need to put the remote TPlink in her apartment as her ISP router was immediately below where my local TPlink was. So I just put her wifi credential into my TPlink, set the DHCP relay to her ISP Router's IP and job done. This is not have the need to reboot to sort out lease issue.

The real challenge in this type of project is boosting wireless hotspots that are not configured with DHCP, this seems to be a flaw in the WDS implementations. So far the only work around I have found is to use a very old TPlink that has client mode (to connect as a wifi adapter and use NAT) or to find and old router that DD-WRT supports and use it's client mode (not client bridge) then plug in a separate router by wire so you get NAT.

I do not like the way WDS does not work on TPLink unless you disable DHCP, I would have liked to be able to specify a non competing DHCP in the same subnet on my own router, just so you still have a LAN if the host ISP router goes down.

If you want any further detail add to the conversation and I will get a notification.

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On DHCP options on TL-WR1043ND you should set

1) DEFAULT GATEWAY of your primary router,

2) PRIMARY DNS of your primary router,

3) SECONDARY DNS your choice...,

so you can get everything you need.

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