[SOLVED] How do I connect wireless to wired?

[AllynTal]

I have a wired network that I need to stay wired because not all devices have wireless capabilities and I don't want them to.

I just got a Franklin R717 mobile hotspot as a temporary solution for my Internet woes. I needed to drop Nomad Internet like a hot potato right now and fiber optic Internet is coming to my area in Spring 2022 so the hotspot is just to carry me over for six months.

I thought I could use a wireless access point (Linksys Wireless G Access Point WAP54G) to connect the incoming wireless signal to Ethernet for my network, but that didn't work. I can see the wireless name, but the devices don't have Internet access, presumably because the Ethernet connection on the computers don't allow for the input of the WiFi password.

I want to unplug the RJ45 cable from the back of the Nomad modem/router and plug it into a device that will allow my network to stay a network and have Internet access through the hotspot.

Will a WiFi-to-Ethernet adapter do that? I can't find one locally so I'd have to order it and have it shipped. Someone recommended a WiFi extender but couldn't confirm for me that it could be used as an adapter.

There's a TP-Link - N300 Wi-Fi Range Extender with Ethernet Port available locally, but I don't want to buy it if it won't work. I am not a geek, but I'm geekier than my husband, so it's my job to make this work. TYIA.

[Moderator edit to break up solid wall of text.]

 

[kanewolf]

I have a wired network that I need to stay wired because not all devices have wireless capabilities and I don't want them to.

I just got a Franklin R717 mobile hotspot as a temporary solution for my Internet woes. I needed to drop Nomad Internet like a hot potato right now and fiber optic Internet is coming to my area in Spring 2022 so the hotspot is just to carry me over for six months.

I thought I could use a wireless access point (Linksys Wireless G Access Point WAP54G) to connect the incoming wireless signal to Ethernet for my network, but that didn't work. I can see the wireless name, but the devices don't have Internet access, presumably because the Ethernet connection on the computers don't allow for the input of the WiFi password.

I want to unplug the RJ45 cable from the back of the Nomad modem/router and plug it into a device that will allow my network to stay a network and have Internet access through the hotspot.

Will a WiFi-to-Ethernet adapter do that? I can't find one locally so I'd have to order it and have it shipped. Someone recommended a WiFi extender but couldn't confirm for me that it could be used as an adapter.

There's a TP-Link - N300 Wi-Fi Range Extender with Ethernet Port available locally, but I don't want to buy it if it won't work. I am not a geek, but I'm geekier than my husband, so it's my job to make this work. TYIA.

[Moderator edit to break up solid wall of text.]

You could use the WAP54G if you put it in BRIDGE MODE -- https://downloads.linksys.com/downloads/userguide/1224638675572/WAP54G_V30_UG_A-WEB,0.pdf PDF page 14.
Your R717 only supports G WIFI and 2.4Ghz so there is not much benefit in getting a better receiver. You should get about 20Mbit throughput with the setup you have.

 

[AllynTal]

You could use the WAP54G if you put it in BRIDGE MODE -- https://downloads.linksys.com/downloads/userguide/1224638675572/WAP54G_V30_UG_A-WEB,0.pdf PDF page 14. Your R717 only supports G WIFI and 2.4Ghz so there is not much benefit in getting a better receiver. You should get about 20Mbit throughput with the setup you have.

Thank you for your reply. I couldn't make it work, but I only gave it a half-hearted attempt. I'm certain it would have worked if the antennas on the access point weren't so brittle they broke off in my hand. Yeah, it was old.

I wasn't looking to get a better receiver per se, but to get that wifi signal to my Ethernet network. In fiddling with it, I realized that the devices that could not be connected wirelessly didn't NEED to have Internet access so I dusted off on old router and put them on their own network for now (DVRs and cameras mostly).

The hotspot is slow, but it only has to hold me over until they finish laying in fiber optics in a few months. Now I can tell Nomad Internet to go suck eggs. Thank you for your response.