Two access points in same house

I have two D-Link DWL-G700 - 249 Access Points. I have set them up on with the same SSID but different channels (1 and 6).

I use the same WPA2 method and password for both.

This seems to work well for me.

For what it's worth, I normally have 2 AP's at my home (2 Linksys WRT54G's, sat into the first, then hardwired to an outbuilding, router output to wan input of the next), and now two in my hotel room in Las Vegas (1 Linksys WRT54G and one WiFlyer (see it at

), at home, output from one plugged into the wan input of the next, same ssid/channel so I can roam around on the several acres, but at the hotel I use dial-up, and have the WiFlyer one daisy chained WAN input of the wap/router (IE WiFlyer is plugged into WAN input of Linksys, so all computers can use the dialup on the WiFlyer, while using the network connections of the linksys).. (The WiFlyer has it's own built in AP, but only B, I use the G of the Linksys for higher speed networking). When at home, I have both wap/routers on the same channel/same ssid, so who cares which one i'm on, and never seem to miss a beat, or make me do anything.. I just roam around the property, and basically it's one big hotspot. Went to Mcarren airport last night (Vegas's big airport, free wifi throughout, same ssid/channel, so you can basically go anywhere)..

In your instance, have you considered both AP's the same (either hardwired or wireless bridged)?

No, they had different ip addresses. Also, Internet browsing was working except for the roaming part on both devices. I could access the network via the laptop using the access point or the router's access point. All I changed was the SSID on the router to match the one on the access point. Once the access point rebooted after the SSID change I was unable to browse the web. Watching the wireless client in the tray it looked like it kept connecting to the router's access point and then the access point's access point in a cycle. It will not stay connected to either one long enough to do anything.

I'm using static ip, so ipconfig reports that as the address, but here again I don't think it is the ip addys since I can use both devices until I change 2 things:

1. I change them both to the same SSID
2. I change the AP to use channel 1 and leave the router on channel 6.

On a side note, I tried to turn off all of the special Dlink turbo options too. Didn't help.

I'm not afraid of no stinkin horses or networks. Believe me, I have tried it repeatedly. I don't think the DLINK products like to devices with the same SSID in range of each other.

They'll hang up on you at DLINK. From what I can tell, it is such total chaos there that you would probably never find a supervisor to report them to. When you call they assume that the call is about connecting a client to one of their devices. If it is about any other issue, they pass you on to someone else who begins to troublshoot your none existant connectivity issue. This last time I called it was to request a beta driver for a known issue with the dlink wireless drivers and network magic (It will cause a blue screen in windows, I've reproduced it on three different computers with 3 different dlink wireless devices.)

A related question...I have a Linksys WRT54G hooked up to my Verizon FIOS modem. Both the modem and WRT54G are in my garage. I have a wired network throughout most of my house. Wireless signal strength is not great because the WRT54G is located in the garage, too long a distance, and two many walls, from the main portion of my house. I would like to add an additional device to a hub (wired) I currently have in my family room, but I am not sure what equipment I need. Can you help me with this? Do I need a second WRT54G? If so, what configuration changes would I need in the second unit? Or, perhaps I need a different piece of equipment, perhaps the WAT54G? What is the best way of accomplishing my objective?

Didn't they give you a D-Link router running a special firmware version?

Locate a Linksys WAP54G in the center of your house (or as close as possible) and disable the radio in your WRT54G.

Got a hard wire between the house and garage? (in my case I did, had a trench between the two with power water phone cable etc, live in a snow area and it was better to do it underground) and just used some of the extra pairs in the utility cable in the trench to connect the two.. output of one wap/router to the wan input of the other both set on the same ssid/channel. have a neighbor that did it but used a wireless bridge between the two areas (rather than hardwire, don't recall the model numbers offhand). While his works fine most of the time, during serious snow time (we get about 8ft a winter, and have metal snow roofs), his bridge lost contact for a while (pain in the butt diging a trench in the snow for the wireless signal!).. can you just do a wireless bridge at your place? Or will you have to do a wire? In either case you will probably need a second WRT54G (you may possibly be able to use something else, but when they are only $48 at walmart, why bother with something that may save you a few cents?) If you can do the hardwire, just go between the garage router/output and the one insides wan input. If you want to do the wireless bridge, consider just getting 3 of the wrt54g's... They can be put in bridge mode, are cheap, and work for sure...

The Ghost of Thomas Jefferson hath wroth:

So much for the easy theories.

I think that I've seen it do that when I have two access points, with the same SSID, but different WEP or WPA keys. I don't recall the exact combination. The client tries to connect to one AP, fails, rescanss, tries the other, fails, rescans, and repeats endlessly. Try it with WEP or WPA temporarily disabled.

Well, the DWL-2100ap had a problem on channel 6. Try it on a different channel. At this point, it doesn't matter which channel. Just not on channel 6.

Leave them off, especially the 108Mbits/sec turbot mode. My intuition tells me it's somehow involved, but don't know exactly how.

Well, you might be right but I still think there's some testing left to be done. How about reducing all the wireless settings to their absolute simplest basic setup. No encryption, 802.11g only, no performance enhancement. Same SSID, different channels (but not 6).

The important thing is the it should work the way you're using it and should not barf when the SSID's are the same.

Sure there is. You report the problem to DLink sales and/or marketeering. They pay attention to irate customers who fail to get proper support. Try posting the story (and the problem) here:

are some Dlink employees with a clue that lurk and sometime participate.

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comes with some Dlink routers as a free trial. I've played with and found it "interesting" but not very useful if you know what you're doing. I note that the DWL-2100 is not on the NetworkMagic supported list (because it's not a router), but DI-624 rev C is supported. | This is kinda weird: | *&p_li=&p_topview=1

Are you sure WRT54G devices can be put in bridge mode? I know WAP54G devices can, but 'm not sure about WRTs...

I have a hub in my family room. This hub is hardwired from my WRT54G router located in the garage. Do I simply plug the WAP54G into the hub in my family room? I am kind of hoping it is this simple, because a 'booster' in my family room will likely give me excellent coverage throughout my house. Also, can I use a second WRT54G instead of the WAP54G? If so, which would be better?

My current WRT54G is wired to the hub in my family room. That hub is centrally located, so if I can plug something into it, I will have good coverage all over. Are you suggesting that I utilize two more WRT54G's, for a total of three? If so, how do I hook up the additional two WRT54G's?

Just plug a wireless access point into the hub.

Even if it lacks a wireless access point mode, a wireless router can be made into a wireless access point by (a) disabling the DHCP server and (b) connecting it with a LAN port rather than the WAN/Internet port.

Either a wireless access point or a wireless router properly configured that way will work equally well.

[POSTED TO alt.internet.wireless - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

A wireless router with LAN ports can be used as a wireless access point, even if it lacks WAN-to-LAN bridge mode, by (a) disabling the DHCP server and (b) connecting it with a LAN port rather than the WAN/Internet port, as long as there's no wireless-to-wired isolation.

There's no need to use multiple wireless hosts in one location unless you are using (upgraded) directional antennas or reflectors to increase range in a given direction; e.g., a wireless host aimed north and a wireless host aimed south. In that case you would (still) want the wireless hosts on different non-overlapping channels (1, 6, 11) to minimize interference. Use the same SSID for automatic selection of wireless host, or different SSIDs for manual or semi-automatic selection.

How do motels set up their WiFi systems such that customers in each room, spread out over a much larger area than an ordinary residence, can connect easily?

Also, I'm confused about the password or code number they give me when I check in. I have never had to use their password and have no difficulty establishing a good firm connection. The motel is usually identified on this connection, so I am sure I'm not inadvertently connecting to someone else's WiFi setup.

I use a WinBook XL3 with a Linksys Wireless G Notebook Adapter. This is a 2.4 GHz, 802.11g adapter.

The standard method is to map out where and how many access points are needed to cover the building; configure all access points with the same unique SSID (e.g., Example Hotel); and configure access points with overlapping coverage to use non-overlapping channels (1, 6, 11); e.g.,

[AP1, ch 1] [AP2, ch 6] [AP3, ch 11] [AP4, ch 1] ...

This is usually fairly easy on a 2-dimensional plane (single floor), but can be difficult in 3 dimensions (multiple floors).

When this is done properly, a given wireless client will automatically connect to the best access point for that SSID.

Then the hotel is screwing up. The usual method after you connect is to redirect you to a web page where you enter your password or code number.

as far as I know, the WRT is basically the same as a Wap, but has the router in the same box sharing the case and power supply.

In your specific case, I would just plug the hardwire from the garage into the wap in of the inside wrt, and then plug from the output of that to the input of your existing router. If you use a wrt inside, it would basically be two routers in series.. Won't hurt anything, and gives you a backup if of the other wrt goes belly up.. (whole idea of all the same is that if one dies, you have an exact duplicate for debugging)

Nope, from another post, you said you had a hardwire coming in from the garage and plugged into your hub.. I had asked a question that do you have a hardwire coming in to the house or do you need to create a wireless bridge with more wrt's.. You said you have a hardwire, so never mind the wireless bridge.... You already have a hub inside, I would just jumper the hub to a wrt54g (wan input) for inside (you already have one outside).. Just put em on the same ssid/channel.

You *don't* want two routers with NAT in series (cascaded). A cascaded router should be configured as an access point (per my earlier response in this thread).

and remember, the folks who set these things up are rarely IT gurus - they're administrators with a minimal knowledge of computers and a fairly simple to configure hotspot package. I recently used my local library's new wireless setup. I _did_ have to give it my library card number as soon as I tried to access a web page - but I'd been casually downloading my email via pop and news via nntp for the previous 10 minutes!