[SOLVED] Setup Asus RT-AX88U Router as AP ?

[MikeA01730]

Hi,

I want to use an Asus RT-AX88U router as an AP only for my Verizon FiOS. The instructions tell me how to connect it as a router (modem to router WAN port, router LAN port to Laptop) but that won't work for me because I'm keeping the Verizon router. If I connect just the new router to the laptop then I'll have no access to the Internet setup web site, and if I also connect the router to my LAN then I'm concerned that the new router will try to behave like a router and things will go downhill from there. Once I configure the new router to be an AP only I expect I'll be fine, but how do I connect everything for the initial setup?

I looked at the sticky topic on this but that method doesn't provide internet access.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[Lutfij]

Once you've logged in to your router's GUI, go to Administration(found in the Advanced Settings section on the left hand pane)>Operation Mode>Choose Access Point(AP) mode>Apply, see if that helps you out. I own the RT-AC55UHP and the GUI is pretty much the same since a decade(or a little less). It's also stated in the manual, page 86, section 4.6 Administration.

Another method is to locate Operation mode on the top left hand corner of the router GUI, once you click on the underlined mode, you should be taken to the window mentioned prior.

 

[bill001g]

The sticky is very old but the process is still the same.

Mostly the difference is are you using a lan or wan port. To use the WAN port your router must have a AP feature which pretty much all asus routers do. You could still use the lan port on a router that has the AP option.

From what I can tell the option to set it to AP mode disables the DHCP server function automatically where if you do this following the sticky you must do that manually. You still need to change the lan IP on the asus to not conflict but I am not sure maybe it does that too when you set it to AP mode.

 

[MikeA01730]

Hi,

Thanks for both your replies. However I'm still not clear regarding how to connect the router. Do I connect the router only to the laptop, or do I also connect it to my LAN? Based on my limited knowledge it seems either approach has a reason to fail before I get the chance to enable AP only mode.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[bill001g]

You connect the ISP router to the asus router with a cable.
You then connect another cable from your laptop to either the ISP router or the asus which ever you are closest too.

 

[sraulinavich]

I have a similar situation with Verizon Fios & am still having some issues with losing internet via wifi on my phone, which is a new Galaxy S22 Ultra. My Verizon Fios router/modem (G3100) is in my garage connected to a media panel which has hard wired connections to 3 upstairs rooms. I have my Asus router RT-AX88U plugged into the ethernet jack in the main room upstairs. I have Asus in AP mode but wasn't sure if I set it up correctly. I continuously lose internet on my phone when I change from upstairs to downstairs. I tried using existing network SSID but didn't think it was working correctly. I then reset Asus router & gave it it's own SSID. I still think it is competing with the Fios router. I really wanted to use the same SSID so I wouldn't have to manually switch networks when I move around the house. Should I try setting up Asus router in the garage plugged into Fios router directly? I know I am missing something. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[bill001g]

It likely is setup ok if it functions upstairs at all.

It tends to be very common to have issues with "roaming". Wifi unlike say a cell tower was never designed for mobile use. The problem is the end device is in full control on what it connects to unlike cell where the network tells the devices what to do.

There is not much you can do. The way it mostly works is the device will stay connected to a network until the signal level drops below some level. It then looks for a stronger signal. Before it hit this point though it does not check so you could place the device on top of a better radio signal and it will continue to use its older one.
This is to prevent it dropping all the time looking for better signals. On most devices you can change this level but you then run the risk of it bouncing back and forth,

I would start with different ssid so you can properly test knowing exactly where you are connecting and what radios you are using.

You want the 2 devices on different radio channels but that is hard to now days because to get high speed most devices use large blocks of channels rather than just 1. The 2 devices should not interfere much if setup properly. If there is a lot of strong interference the maybe you don't really need the second radio source if there is a strong signal from the first. You want to adjust the radio power so the signal overlap as little as possible but still work for device not near either. It is all trial and error. This should also help with the roaming issue