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Connecting more devices to cellular hotspot
I live in a remote area where there is no cable/dsl available and as a consequence I use a cellular hotspot for internet connectivity. The hotspot I have is limited to 10 devices connected at one tim...
The software that runs on a cellular hotspot performs many of the same basic networking functions as a home broadband router. That is to say, DHCP, Routing, NAT, SPI, etc.
The wireless client limitation on most cellular hotspots is usually an artificial software limitation which limits the number of active DHCP leases to a number between 5 and 20 depending on the device. That is to say, the DHCP server software in the hotspot won't give out any more IP addresses to clients (wireless or wired) attempting to join the network. The rationale for this limitation is based on the limited computational power of the hotspot as well as the limited bandwidth and latency of cellular applications. It's also possible that the cellular hotspot's wireless radio software could prevent more than 10 clients from associating with the AP, BUT, I've not found this to be the case, typically.
Now that said, there are a variety of ways to circumvent this limitation -- they are all variations on a theme -- don't use the DHCP server inside of your hotspot.
Do you have the MR1100 with an Ethernet Port? Assuming you do. The first thing you will need is a small gigabit switch like a Netgear GS105 or GS108 and some Cat5e or Cat6 Ethernet cable. Additionally you will need to brush up one some basic networking background like IP addresses, Subnets, Octets, DHCP, DNS, Routing, and the OSI mode.
Essentially what you need to do is cut the DHCP server in the hotspot out of the equation. You can do this by turning it off (if possible), setting up a second dedicated DHCP server, and using static IP's. You can leave the DHCP server in the hotspot on, as long as it's lease asignment IP address range is in the same subnet and does not overlap the range of the secondary DHCP server.
For example, lets say your MR1100 has an IP of 192.168.1.1
Currently, this IP address serves the following functions:
Router/NAT
DNS/WINS
DHCP -- try to turn this off is possible. Or set it's range small (say 1 to 5 clients)
e.g. 192.168.1.2 to 192.168.1.6
While you are at it, turn off the wifi on the hotspot. Use dedicated wifi access points connected via Ethernet throughout your house to improve reception (like these TP-Link EAP225).
For hardwired clients, you'll need to manually set their TCP/IP network settings. Assign them a static IP address (192.168.1.x) where x is above your DHCP ranges (e.g. 192.168.1.100 to .200). Their subnet mask will be 255.255.255.0 and their Router/Gateway/DNS will all be the IP address of your hotspot 192.168.1.1 You can also use DHCP, after you have setup your own dedicated DHCP server.
For your wireless clients, you can also use static IP addresses for many devices (e.g. windows and mac PC's), Roku, etc. But for some smart home devices, DHCP may be required.
You'll need to setup your own DHCP server on a PC/Mac which is always on, and always connected (via ethernet) to the hotspot.
Installing and configuring a DHCP server is beyond the scope of this post. There are many ways to do this. Either from within Windows (server) or with a stand alone app like this one (http://www.dhcpserver.de/cms/) for example.
You'll need to configure the DHCP server to lease IP's on a non conflicting IP address range for example 192.168.1.20 - 192.168.1.99 and to also lease the gateway and subnet mask appropriate to your network. E.g. 192.168.1.1 and 255.255.255.0
Thank you for that information. I was able to test with the Netgear WN2000RPT range extender that I use at my other property, A WNCE2001 WIFI-Ethernet adapter, and also with one of the wall-wart style TP-Link range extenders that a friend had.
With the TP-link device I was able to connect and get it working, but the hotspot still saw every device whether they were connected to the TP-link or the hotspot. The TP-Link instructions stated that the default was for the internal DHCP server to be on, but when i checked the settings it showed "Auto(off)". I tried and tried and tried to adjust the DHCP settings, but the firmware was limited on what the user could change and do. I could get force the DHCP on, and devices could "see" it, but could not connect to it. Consequently I could not get the TP-link device to do what I wanted.
The WNCE2001 worked just fine by connecting it to the hotspot using only the setup wizard and then plugging in an old wifi router I had. Only the WNCE was seen by the hotspot and devices connected either by WIFI or ethernet to the attached router were not seen by the hotspot.
With the WN2000RPT it worked as desired too right off the bat using only the setup wizard and without haveing to make any "manual" changes. The cellular hotspot sees the WN2000RPT, and lists it a 1 device connected. I then connected my phone, tablet, and 2 laptops to the WN2000RPT and the hotspot still only sees 1 connected device. This is just what I want; however, before I buy anything:
I'm wondering if there is a device that can do the same, but with 5GHz support but am a little leary of buying something and then finding that it doesn't work the way I want. Online infrmation is very limited. I am personally partial to Netgear products and I am looking at 2 Netgear products.
1. The Netgear WN2500RP is the first one and looks like it will do the trick for dual band access, but:
2. The Netgear EX6200 range extender also looks good for a bit more money, but has a USB port that appears can turn a USB HDD into a NAS storage device.
So in relation to this:
1. Would these devices connect in the same manner as the WN2000RPT when using the setup wizard?
2. If not, are the devices open enough in the firmware to allow manual setup to get them setup in the same manner? I know that the settings in the WN2000RPT are pretty locked down in the interface but it works with the setup wizard so I don't care too much. If the seup wizard connects these devices the way I need I don't really care about that, but if setup wizard doesn't work I'll need to be able to access the settings so I can change them.
Thank you again