G+_Mike Showers Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 I'm Trying to fix a problem with my home/office network. I have a Verizon actiontec fios router running the connection to the Internet and my TV. It didn't get whole house coverage so I bought a Linksys WRT1900 AC to expand my network to other areas of the house. I've not been able to set up the Linksys router on the same SSID as the Actiontec. When I plug the Ethernet cable into one of the lan jacks on the Linksys it can't seem to find the Internet. So I can't set it up as Padre recommends. PS, I'm wary of trying to flash other systems on my expensive router, so I'm using the Linksys out of the box system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Yup... sadly, this is one of the reasons why I can't yet recommend the 1900AC -- It has too many "smart" features that you can't easily turn off. -- Let me dig through my lab unit and see if I can give you a step-by-step. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Mike Showers Posted February 4, 2015 Author Share Posted February 4, 2015 Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Mike Showers Posted February 4, 2015 Author Share Posted February 4, 2015 Is it possible to pass through the actiontec and just use the DHCP on the 1900AC? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 You want to avoid NAT'ing a NAT... but if the Actiontech has an option to disable itself altogether and give the Linksys the WAN-side IP address. (aka the "REAL/Routable" IPaddress) then you can. The problem with that is you lose the wireless network extension which is why you bought the 1900AC for in the first place. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Brian Moses Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Connect the lane port on the actiontec to the wan port on the Linksys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Mike Showers Posted February 4, 2015 Author Share Posted February 4, 2015 Thanks again. I'll wait for your further info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Mike Showers Posted February 4, 2015 Author Share Posted February 4, 2015 Brian, When I do that, I get the connection to the Internet, but the 1900AC won't work as an extension of the wireless. I have windows and Mac laptops, android and iPad tablets and phones. None of them seem to pick up an IP address from the 1900 when I turn off the dhcp function on the 1900 and set the SSID and passwords to the same as the actiontec. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Brian Moses Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 I would turn on dhcp on the linksys and give it a unique ssid and password and save settings then reboot the linksys....then connect to the linksys with your wireless devices... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Brian Moses Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 oh...and if the actiontec router's default lan address ends in 1.1 and the linksys default lan address ends in the same 1.1 then change the linksys to 2.1 save and reboot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Mike Showers Posted February 5, 2015 Author Share Posted February 5, 2015 Brian, I can run two (or more) wireless networks with the 1900 AC. But that causes problems with shared network printers and my pogoplug backup. Devices logged into one SSID can't see the shared printers or NAT storage on the SSID associated with the actiontec. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Ben Reese Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 What would happen if both routers were setup on the same network and both had DHCP enabled. They could both have the same default gateway (that of the Actiontech) and same subnet mask but different IP address ranges (say 100-149 on one and 150-199 on the other)? I know there could be conflict about who is actually providing the IPs, but would it matter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Mike Showers Posted February 5, 2015 Author Share Posted February 5, 2015 Ben, Right now, as a work around, I'm running DHCP on both. I have to manually switch from one to another when one signal gets stronger. Also, I can't see networked resources (printers, NAS) from the actiontec on the 1900 and vice versa. ?There are two different ip sets. The actiontec starts with the typical 192.168.....the 1900 starts with 10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Ben Reese Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Mike Showers?, so I assume the WAN port of the Linksys is connected to a LAN port of the Actiontec? What Padre was saying makes it sound like you might not have the control over DHCP that I'd expect in even simple routers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Ben Reese Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Well I found in the manual how to get into manual setup (page 21) and disable DHCP (page 27). Up to you whether you want to do it yourself or wait for the step-by-step from Padre. http://support.linksys.com/en-us/support/routers/WRT1900AC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Mike Showers Posted February 5, 2015 Author Share Posted February 5, 2015 Ben, Thanks. I disabled the dhcp on the 1900AC and hooked an actiontec lan port to a lan port on the 1900AC. I set the SSID to the same as the Actiontec. The security settings are the same. My portables find the network but don't get assigned an IP Address. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Brian Moses Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Wondering why you are using the actiontec at all for wifi? If it doesn't cover the area of your home/office... then default all wifi traffic to the linksys using the wired router function of the adtiontec ...the 1900ac should cover a large area Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Brian Moses Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 actiontec Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Ben Reese Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Wow. That's a pain lol. To be honest, I've never had issues with DHCP not working with that setup. DD-WRT has a DHCP forward option, but I'm pretty sure I've left that disabled. For my old junky D-Link router I just turned off DHCP and with a newer D-Link I did the same. Maybe someone knows or you might be able to test... Does it matter if the static IP you assign to the Linksys in this situation have to be on the same subnet as the Actiontec? I wouldn't think so, but I'm not sure how involved the Linksys router would get involved in the DHCP request in this situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Mike Showers Posted February 5, 2015 Author Share Posted February 5, 2015 Ben, Brian, and Padre, SUCCESS! I found the bridge setting in the manual. Thanks Ben. It was hidden in a drop down box online, so it wasn't something you would see just looking through the options online. I switched it to bridge mode, reset the router, then switched the SSID name. I had already given the Linksys router a static address on the actiontec so it was easy to find. Now I can walk around the house with my iPad and not have to switch between networks (unless I want to switch to the 5ghz to watch a movie). PS. To Brian's question, When you have FIOS, with TV, Verizon provides the Actiontec. It's both the router and modem as I understand it. It also is sort of the cable box for the TV. Thanks to all!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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