Trying to connect 2 Desktops to an ethernet router, only one works at a time

[mr.pillar]

About a month ago my father decided to switch to fiberlink internet.

The boys from the service provider came with the router, installed the wire, set the connection, everything went well BUT, i forgot to tell them i had 2 PCs, so they didn't setup the other one.

If i plug either my father's computer or my own into the GE slot on the router, it works (with no additional setup), high speed (depending on each PC's hardware), but if we connect a pc to the other slot, a FE slot, we get no internet, just a "limited conectivity"(windows 7) or it fails to identify the network altogether (Windows 10).
I should probably mention neither PCs have wireless capabilities, so they both depend on cables.
So now we have choose which PC gets internet, and that just gets inconvenient at times.

Fast forward, my father talked to the service provider IT folks who told him something about getting another device to "bridge" or something. And now we got another router, with no apparent fiberlink slot ,and I can't seem to make it work in any way.

I don't know anymore. All i know is that I'm knee-deep in cables, I got two routers , and that I somehow must make both PCs have internet both at the same time.

Any ideas? Many thanks.

 

[RealBeast]

What model is the ISP installed modem/gateway that only allows you to connect one machine at a time?

 

[mr.pillar]

What model is the ISP installed modem/gateway that only allows you to connect one machine at a time?

Huawei HG8121H.

I just read about other people on other sites with the same situation : Switched to optic fiber, got this device, can no longer connect both desktops.

 

[RealBeast]

Huawei are always difficult to deal with since they have very limited online documentation.

It makes sense that you can only use the GE (gigabit Ethernet) port and not also the FE (fast Ethernet, the older 100Mbps standard before gigabit) since those ports are not designed to be used simultaneously.

You will need to bridge the HG8121H to a router and it will probably require assistance from the service provider since no configuration interface manual for the model seems to be available.

In the meantime, if one of the computers has two LAN ports or you have a USB LAN port you can connect the second computer to the first and use ICS (Internet connection sharing).

 

[johnnyq1233]

Sounds like you need a Gigabit switch similar to this!
https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/tp-link-5-port-gigabit-desktop-switch-tl-sg1005d/6000032766844?cmpid=sem_pla_google_en_none_6000032766844_10003200383055240181_1553&cmpid=sem_pla_google_en_none_869128514_43896172956_None&gclid=Cj0KCQiA3dTQBRDnARIsAGKSflnpBM_Ppb1h_qa_zt6fWJYY4ahNrEVGX2GAd6rSnaRRQrslYSwsYbYaAkgjEALw_wcB

You plug this into the GE port of the fiber router and then your pcs into the other ports for connectivity.
The ip address from the router will become your host and the switch will assign ip addresses for the pcs, as it is plug and play.
The instructions that come with the device should show clearly how to set it up. Hope this helps!

 

[mr.pillar]

Huawei are always difficult to deal with since they have very limited online documentation.

It makes sense that you can only use the GE (gigabit Ethernet) port and not also the FE (fast Ethernet, the older 100Mbps standard before gigabit) since those ports are not designed to be used simultaneously.

You will need to bridge the HG8121H to a router and it will probably require assistance from the service provider since no configuration interface manual for the model seems to be available.

In the meantime, if one of the computers has two LAN ports or you have a USB LAN port you can connect the second computer to the first and use ICS (Internet connection sharing).

There's no second LAN port on either PCs, and of course the service people are unreliable.

Say, someone in a shop some time ago said I could buy a USB wireless adaptor. Think that would work?

 

[RealBeast]

You could buy two USB wireless adapters (one for each computer since neither has wireless) and connect the second computer via an ad hoc network, but you would get better and more reliable speed with two USB LAN adapters if you can find them locally at a good price. With either approach you can use ICS (Windows Internet connection sharing) or a very nice program Connectify, which I use in hotels to create a local hotspot from my LAN connected laptop.

A switch will not work unless it is placed on the second LAN adapter of the computer attached to the modem since you only have one IP address and your device does not do routing when configured for fiber optic. If you have only two computers it is not needed, as just a cable will do.