WNDR3700: how to create accespoint and general information

[MasterOfLaws]

Hi,

Hereby I would like to ask for your support regarding to my home network.

Situation: For a couple of years I own the WNDR3700 router, which I use as a router. It's connected with a cable to a wifi-modem (Technicolor TC7210) which I got from my internet provider. Because of the position and lower quality of this wifi-modem, I didn't choose for the option to just use the modem as a 'router'. Instead I put it in bridge mode, so I could still use my netgear router as a router. I also placed this router on the second floor, so I could get a good signal through the whole house (first, second and third floor).

Problem: regarding the above construction, the signal is not quite as good on the first floor as I hoped. It's actually very weak. So I got a new plan to optimalize my wireless connection. Would it be a good idea to use my wifi-modem (first floor) as a router, while I use my netgear router as an acces point to get a good connection trough my whole house? For me it would be a nice solution, since it doesn't require me to buy new hardware.

I got some other questions too:

-how can I configure my router to change it to an acces point? Do I need to configure something in my modem too (of course I need to set it from bridge mode to router mode)?

-right now I do have Mac control and a WPA password enabled on my Netgear router, will these still be enabled when I use it as an acces point?

-I also use the LAN ports of my netgear router (which is placed in my room) for my PC and game console, since it gives me a better and more stable connection than a wireless connection. If the router is set as an acces point, would I still be able to use it's LAN ports or will it only send the wireless signal?

-Will the speed of my internet get lower because of the acces point?

Thanks in advance for your support.

[TheEther · Accepted solution]

The WNDR3700 can be used as an Access Point, but only when it is physically wired to the main router.  If your house is wired for Ethernet or you are able to install Ethernet (Powerline can used as an alternative), then you can enable AP Mode in the WNDR3700's setup via ADVANCED > Advanced Setup > Wireless AP.

Personally, I prefer and recommend an alternative form of setting a router up as an Access Point.  It's an old school method that was used before Netgear added the AP Mode setting.  My instructions for setting this up can be found in another thread (link).  Note, in particular the difference in using a LAN port instead of the WAN port!

[doraemon]

Changing it from router to AP in the same location may not give a significant boost. 

The network environment is a big factor that you may need to consider when you setup the wireless connectivity around the house. 

In your case, you may need to purchase an additional unit to meet your needs such an extender or an access point. 

To answer your questions: 

Using the latest firmware, you may follow this link from netgear's site.

Some features will be disabled when the router is configured in AP mode. See if MAC control will be disabled but for sure WPA will always be available.

For the LAN ports, I haven't tried but it may not be available since true AP mode should only give you wireless. 

Internet speed should always remains the same.

[MasterOfLaws]

Thanks for your reply.

My goal is to use the wifi modem (1st floor) as a router so I will be able to get a good wifi signal on the first floor, while I use my router (second floor) as an acces point. So my goal isn't to boost the range of my current router, but to add an acces point to the construction which will give me two wireless connections and thus an increased range of my wireless network.

Thanks for your link. I already found it before I considered posting to the forum, but I doubted if it would apply to my model. I will try it though.

Can someone confirm if I can keep using the LAN ports? It seems that the link says that it's not possible: 'Its (the AP) sole purpose is to provide a wireless connection.'

[TheEther · Accepted solution]

The WNDR3700 can be used as an Access Point, but only when it is physically wired to the main router.  If your house is wired for Ethernet or you are able to install Ethernet (Powerline can used as an alternative), then you can enable AP Mode in the WNDR3700's setup via ADVANCED > Advanced Setup > Wireless AP.

Personally, I prefer and recommend an alternative form of setting a router up as an Access Point.  It's an old school method that was used before Netgear added the AP Mode setting.  My instructions for setting this up can be found in another thread (link).  Note, in particular the difference in using a LAN port instead of the WAN port!

[MasterOfLaws]

Yes, the acces point and the router will be physically wired to each other.

I am interested in your option, however I do not fully understand what's the advantage above the AP Mode that Netgear provides. So what will be de big difference in using your 'old school method' instead of Netgear's AP Mode?

Which way will give me the possibility to keep using my Acces point's LAN ports (for my PC and game console which are right next to my WNDR3700).

Thanks!

[TheEther]

AP Mode on many, if not most, of Netgear's routers disable hardware acceleration.  This can have a negative effect on network throughput through the access point.  The old school method does not disable hardware acceleration.

Both methods allow the LAN ports to be used.  There will be one less LAN port available with the old school method because it is used instead of the WAN port.  

[MasterOfLaws]

Thanks!

I guess the old school method seems better regarding the hardware acceleration. Besides, it looks like the WNDR3700 does not support AP-mode (or maybe it does..). The steps ADVANCED > Advanced Setup > Wireless AP cannot be followed, since I cannot find the option 'advanced setup'. Other pages do not offer me the option to turn on wireless AP.

However, under Maintance > Router status > Wireless Port, I see that Wireless AP is turned 'on'.

An explanation about wireless AP is given in the sidebar: 

• Wireless AP. Indicates if the access point feature of the router is enabled or not. If not enabled, the Wireless LED on the front panel is off.

So it seems that my AP mode was turned on already. However, I do not know how to turn it off or how I turned it on. 

Do you know how I can turn AP mode off (and on) for my WNDR3700 (it seems like it has the latest firmware)?

My Netgear configuration screen does not look like the screenshots in this link, but like this (example):

.

[TheEther]

It looks like your firmware may not have the AP Mode setting.  I believe the Wireless AP setting is different, so don't touch it.  Your only choice is to use the old school method.

[MasterOfLaws]

"the old school method of setting it up as an Access Point.  Disable AP Mode.  In LAN Setup on the WNDR3700, configure a static IP address in the same subnet as the Wifi-modem.  Make sure the IP address is outside of the DHCP range managed by the Wifi-modem.  Otherwise, you risk the possibility of a duplicate IP address.  Disable the DHCP server on the WNDR3700.  Finally, connect the Wifi-modem LAN port to a WNDR3700 LAN(important!) port.  Leave the WNDR3700 Internet port disconnected."

Above you can see your tutorial on how to create an acces point specifically for my situation (I just changed some names). Got some questions though:

-what do I need to choose as static IP address for my WNDR3700 and how do I know the subnet of my wifi-modem? (given that the provider says that their modem's standard ip adress is 192.168.0.1).

-How do I know the DHCP range of my wifi-modem? I understand that it would be a problem if I give my router a static IP, while my wifi-modem is trying to give that same IP to some other device due to it's DHCP.

-what happens when I turn off DHCP on my WNDR3700? Is it safe? And do I need to choose a static IP for all devices (PC, smartphone, gameconsole) that connect to my WNDR3700, since DHCP is turned off?

Thanks.

[TheEther]

---

@MasterOfLaws wrote:

"the old school method of setting it up as an Access Point.  Disable AP Mode.  In LAN Setup on the WNDR3700, configure a static IP address in the same subnet as the Wifi-modem.  Make sure the IP address is outside of the DHCP range managed by the Wifi-modem.  Otherwise, you risk the possibility of a duplicate IP address.  Disable the DHCP server on the WNDR3700.  Finally, connect the Wifi-modem LAN port to a WNDR3700 LAN(important!) port.  Leave the WNDR3700 Internet port disconnected."

Above you can see your tutorial on how to create an acces point specifically for my situation (I just changed some names). Got some questions though:

-what do I need to choose as static IP address for my WNDR3700 and how do I know the subnet of my wifi-modem? (given that the provider says that their modem's standard ip adress is 192.168.0.1).

Your modem's subnet is most likely 192.168.0.0/255.255.255.0.  You can log into your modem and confirm.

---

-How do I know the DHCP range of my wifi-modem? I understand that it would be a problem if I give my router a static IP, while my wifi-modem is trying to give that same IP to some other device due to it's DHCP.

 

You will need to log into your modem to see the DHCP range.  Assign your WNDR3700 an IP address outside of that range.  You may need to change the range to free up an address.

---

-what happens when I turn off DHCP on my WNDR3700? Is it safe? And do I need to choose a static IP for all devices (PC, smartphone, gameconsole) that connect to my WNDR3700, since DHCP is turned off?

If you set up everything properly (especially, connect a WNDR3700 LAN port to the modem), then it's safe.  You do NOT need to assign static IP addresses to your other devices.  Your modem will function as the DHCP server in your network.

[MasterOfLaws]

I think I managed to get it working. 

First I changed settings in my modem: 

DHCP range (was 254): 200

Starting from 192.168.0.10 (didn't change)

Subnetmask: 255.255.255.0 (didn't change, same as WNDR3700)

Apply

Then I changed in my WNDR3700:

Lan setup > ip: 192.168.0.230 

DHCP off

Applying changes fails, because of a conflict with the wan ip. So I kept trying other ip addresses that were out of the DHCP range of the modem (everything above 192.168.0.210). Still the same error. Then I tried changing it in this: 192.168.1.XXX (I do not know what I put in the XXX since I didn't think that this would work). The changes were accepted.

Then I switched the cable from WAN to a LAN port in my WNDR3700 and then I got internet: wireless on my laptop and wired via the WNDR3700. My wired PC is showing that it's connected with my modem (it's SSID is showing in the network settings instead of the WNDR3700's), while it's physically connected to my WNDR3700. The WAN port is empty.

speed (tested with speedtest.net:

wired: 150 mbps (as the provider promises)

wireless: 58 mbps (seems right, however I'm sitting right next to the router)

So it seems that everything works correct now: I can connect to both my modem and WNDR3700.

Only problem is that I cannot log into my WNDR3700 anymore. 

I'd like to be sure if everything is installed correctly, how can I find out? And how can I login into my WNDR3700?

Thanks for your support!

[TheEther]

Use the IP address you assigned to the WNDR3700, 192.168.0.230, to log into it. That's what it's for.

[MasterOfLaws]

I tried but 192.168.0.230 wasn't accepted by the WNDR3700's settings. I got the error message: IP address conflicts with the WAN IP subnet. So I tried some others: 192.168.0.240 etc. Still same error.

So I tried to change the 0 in 192.168.0.XXX in 1. I filled in something random in the XXX part (afterwards that wasn't very smart). And the IP got accepted. After that, I couldn't get acces anymore. And I do not know that the exact IP is. 

[MasterOfLaws]

I also tried this, but it's showing the ip of the modem, not the WNDR3700

Got another solution?

[TheEther]

Ok, the original problem is that the WAN port was still using an address in subnet 192.168.0.X.  That's why you were prevented from configuring the LAN port with an address in the same subnet.  I should have instructed you to clear the address on the WAN port.

If you can recall the new address that you set on the LAN port, then disconnect the router from the network, connect just one computer to the LAN port and manually configure the computer to an address in 192.168.1.x.  Just make sure to set it to the different address than used by the router.  For example, if you set the router to 192.168.1.240, then set the computer to 192.168.1.200.  Then you should be able to log into the router, fix the configuration, then reconnect the router back to the network.

If you can't remember the new address you configured on the LAN port, then you will have to perform a factory reset and start over. 

[MasterOfLaws]

Hi,

Sorry for my late reply. I was busy with some other stuff, while my network was working properly.

However, I wanted to get control over my access point and that's why I decided to restore my WNDR3700 with the back-up file I made right before I went through the process of creating an access point. So right now I am back at the moment where there is no access point created. 

However my connection was working properly, I did not know what my WNDR3700 IP address was, because I changed it into an address which I could not remember. You mentioned that I should clear the address on my WAN port first, so I would be able to change the IP.

Could you explain how I should clear this address on my WAN port?

Thanks!

[TheEther]

Just set the WAN port to get its IP address automatically.  This will clear it.

[MasterOfLaws]

Is that something I need to do in my WNDR3700 or the modem?

Besides, I can not see where I can set it to automatic. Can you be more specific please?

This is the only thing I see regarding WAN in my WNDR700's settings. I cannot see an option to set it to automatic.

[TheEther]

It's in Internet settings on the WNDR3700.

[MasterOfLaws]

I guess you mean this (under 'basic settings', since I cannot find 'internet settings'):

i

I didn't change anything in these settings, but it looks like it already was set on automatic/dynamic. Am I wrong?

[ElaineM]

@MasterOfLaws That's the right settings.

Just remember that in order for you to be able to access the admin page of the router, you must have the same range of IP address on your computer.

[MasterOfLaws]

Thanks for your reply. 

I managed to fix it a couple of weeks ago and then I tried my connection for a while.

I've been testing it for some weeks and I'm noticing that my internet is a bit laggy. So sometimes I get the usual speed, but sometimes a short youtube video takes very long to load. Might there be some settings that I need to configure, like opening ports?

Thanks!