Setting 2 wifi routers in 1 network - error message 'network id same as LAN'

[zdeno84]

Hi,

I'm trying to setup a 2nd router (thick walls) on the other side of house. 1st router (192.168.0.1) has DHCP enabled (starting from 192.168.0.10). Connected LAN to LAN.

I followed the guide I found on this:
https://www.computing.net/howtos/show/add-a-second-router-to-your-lan/243.html
plus have seen this sticky
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/36406-43-convert-wireless-router-wireless-access-point

The problem is - when I try to assign 192.168.0.2 (or any other 192.168.0.x) to the 2nd router (D-Link) in router mode with DHCP disabled and gateway being IP of the first router, it gives an error message that reads: 'The network id is the same with LAN'. I can only set it to 192.168.0.2 in bridge mode, but I'm not sure that's what makes sense to do as I read it should be router.

Any advice appreciated.

 

[kuhndj67]

Made a post then realized it was wrong... correcting - your issue is that you actually don't need some of the stuff in your second wireless box but those boxes (designed to be used by people who don't know what they're doing) REALLY want you to use all the stuff they have. What you actually want is a simple wireless access point not a router. Note that some routers DO let you set them up as WAP's, do that if your router can... if not then do this: the wired connection to the second box should plug into the switch part of it not the uplink/'internet' port. It will use one of the 4 or 5 switch connections but that's ok. Then set up the box as a router but set the 'internet' address to a non-forwarding IP (192.168.1.x will work if you're using 192.168.0.x/255.255.255.0 as your local network). You won't actually be using ANY of the routing capabilities of the second box... just using it as a wireless access point. Some wireless routers let you shut off the router section to more accurately reflect what the network is actually doing but not all do.

 

[BuddhaSkoota]

The problem is - when I try to assign 192.168.0.2 (or any other 192.168.0.x) to the 2nd router (D-Link) in router mode with DHCP disabled and gateway being IP of the first router, it gives an error message that reads: 'The network id is the same with LAN'. I can only set it to 192.168.0.2 in bridge mode, but I'm not sure that's what makes sense to do as I read it should be router.

It sounds like you are trying to assign the IP address in the wrong section of the DLink, since you should not be assigning a Gateway address. The Gateway address would only appear in the WAN section, but you want to assign only an IP address/Netmask in the LAN section of the DLink.

 

[zdeno84]

I managed to make the second (D-Link) router LAN IP 192.168.0.2. So now the first is 0.1 and the second is 0.2. It also appears as connected device to the first router. I don't see an option to turn it into WAP anywhere.

But when I want to turn off DHCP on the second router, this is only possible by changing from DHCP to Static IP and that's where it asks for gateway and gives me the error (it's in the 'internet' subsection of settings page on the second router). Always connected LAN to LAN.

These are the options on the screen of the second router I am unable to set correctly and save due to the error message:

Device Mode: Router Mode (this is from drop down, the only other option is Bridge Mode)
My Internet Connection is: Static IP (again a drop down, lot of other options like DHCP, PPPoE, etc)
IP Address: I'm trying 192.168.0.2 or 192.168.1.2 and neither works
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: 192.168.0.1 (I assume this should equal the first router IP address)
Primary DNS Server: 192.168.0.1 (something has to go here, so I use this)

There are actually two error messages depending on whether I'm setting the IP address as 192.168.0.2 (error 'The network id is the same with LAN') or as 192.168.1.2 as advised by kuhndj67 (error 'The default gateway should be in the same network').

 

[BuddhaSkoota]

I managed to make the second (D-Link) router LAN IP 192.168.0.2. So now the first is 0.1 and the second is 0.2. It also appears as connected device to the first router. I don't see an option to turn it into WAP anywhere.

But when I want to turn off DHCP on the second router, this is only possible by changing from DHCP to Static IP and that's where it asks for gateway and gives me the error (it's in the 'internet' subsection of settings page on the second router). Always connected LAN to LAN.

The "Internet" section of the router is the "WAN" side. You do not need to make any changes to this section, since the WAN (Internet) port is unused.

There should be a separate LAN DHCP section (different from what is in the Internet section). The LAN DHCP is the one you want to disable. You've already set a static IP address, so disabling LAN DHCP is the only other thing you need to do.

Edit: You should post the make and model of the DLink if you have trouble locating the appropriate settings in the router.

 

[zdeno84]

I managed to find this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xK-bhNU1vY

and this:
http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=40856.0

which helped me to:
1. find the option to disable DHCP and UPnP on the LAN side (as you said, BuddhaSkoota)
2. understand that I need to change the SSID and PW on router 2 to match router 1 so I have one wifi network
3. assign different channels to both routers

now, if I only knew why the second router no longer appears on the list of connected devices to the first router...

and why it still does not help my internet speed on the side of the house where the second router is. I have 100mbps next to the first router. I have 30-40mbps with or without the second router when I'm far from the first one.

[edit] the second router is D-Link DIR-880L, the first is from my internet provider which I'm unable to identify what it is. It only says WirelessGateway Connect Box.

 

[BuddhaSkoota]

now, if I only knew why the second router no longer appears on the list of connected devices to the first router...

Devices assigned a static IP do not normally show up as connected devices in a router. Only devices assigned an address via DHCP will appear.

The DLink is still a part of your LAN, so unless there is a specific need to see it, it shouldn't matter that it doesn't appear in your main router.

 

[Guest]

Hi,

You need 2 different SSIDs.

I suggest you connect only 1 router at a time and change its setting.
Then connect router 2 and change its setting.

Thank you,
Ishaan

 

[BuddhaSkoota]

2. understand that I need to change the SSID and PW on router 2 to match router 1 so I have one wifi network

Despite the advice given by certain websites, having the same SSID on both routers does not give you one wifi network. (For consumers, this is really only available on newer "mesh" routers.) In fact, having the same SSID confuses things by not showing to which router you are actually connected.

As suggested, use a different SSID on the DLink to be sure you are connected to the proper router.

 

[zdeno84]

OK. But this is a big disadvantage in my scenario - I'm trying to strengthen the signal AND keep single network everywhere. mostly for the sake of my wifi so she doesn't need to keep selecting networks on her devices.

I tried to set different SSID on the second router and after some testing I just don't seem to get any speed benefit of the second router. I get ± the same speed whichever router I'm connected to (when different SSIDs) which is honestly difficult for me to understand how that is possible when I'm sitting next to the D-Link and the other one is far away.

I was thinking about the mesh routers, this D-Link experiment was a way to try to not have to make the purchase of the mesh set.

 

[BuddhaSkoota]

I tried to set different SSID on the second router and after some testing I just don't seem to get any speed benefit of the second router. I get ± the same speed whichever router I'm connected to (when different SSIDs) which is honestly difficult for me to understand how that is possible when I'm sitting next to the D-Link and the other one is far away.

I'd recommend disconnecting the network cable from the DLink and testing the speed with the cable connected directly to a PC.

Then, reconnect the DLink and try a speed test with a cable from the DLink to a PC.

This should help isolate the problem to the cable, router, or possible wireless interference.

 

[kuhndj67]

OK. But this is a big disadvantage in my scenario - I'm trying to strengthen the signal AND keep single network everywhere. mostly for the sake of my wifi so she doesn't need to keep selecting networks on her devices.

I tried to set different SSID on the second router and after some testing I just don't seem to get any speed benefit of the second router. I get ± the same speed whichever router I'm connected to (when different SSIDs) which is honestly difficult for me to understand how that is possible when I'm sitting next to the D-Link and the other one is far away.

I was thinking about the mesh routers, this D-Link experiment was a way to try to not have to make the purchase of the mesh set.

As mentioned... standard routers will not support having a common SSID, your only option to do that will be a mesh network. Another option is a more powerful router... I have a big house and in the past had 3 different WAN's (3 ssid's) that people would use depending on where they were. Now with more powerful routers I'm down to 1 (Asus RT-AC88U) but that's pretty recent and even with that I find bandwidth is limited at some locations in the house.

You should definitely be seeing a big performance difference between the two networks when you're sitting next to one. You can often find tools on the routers that will give you the signal strength to connected devices... I'd look at those... it could also be a setup issue on the router or even a problem with the cable connecting them (if it's long then cheap cables can cost you performance... though it's rare that a cable is the bottleneck with a wireless connection).