Connected to Extender, but no Internet

[mpetro]

Hi All

I just purchased a Wifi Extender due to poor signal for my Android Box in another room as well as to help increase the signal strength across the house. I want to use the ethernet plug from the extender directly to the android box as I've heard that's better than the wifi path.

The issue I'm having is that I can get my devices to recognize the extender, and connect to it... however they are not able to connect to the internet. 

I've tried multiple factory resets, both with setup via ethernet cable/WPS and still am not having any luck. I am able to connect to 192.168.1.250 when I have the EXT network selected, however no other pages will load.

The Extender I have is

N300 / Model EX2700

The router I have is

Linksys EA4500

Any help will be appriciated! This is driving me slowly insane 🙂

[mpetro · Accepted solution]

Just wanted to post an update incase anyone else finds this with a similar problem. I guess it was hardware related...

I ended up returning the Netgear Extender and replaced it with a Linksys AC1200. Setup was completed in about 5 minutes and everything works flawlessly.

[TheEther]

In order for the extender to work, devices have to connect to the extender and the extender has to connect to the router.  It seems as though the latter isn't happening.  Did you establish the connection between the extender and the router?

Another possibility is that the router has MAC address filtering.  It could be blocking devices from connecting through the extender.  You will have to adjust the filter if it is enabled.

[mpetro]

Yes I believe I did that correctly. Near the end of setup, while my computer was still plugged into the extender via ethernet, I was able to see the EXT in my wifi list on my other laptop, Phone, and Android Box. I connected both my Phone, and Android box at that time. The "Device" light on the extender turns green whenever any device connects to it but it's just not giving me internet access.

Can you give me some more details on the MAC address filtering? Currently it's disabled (photo attached)

[TheEther]

It takes a while for the picture to be visible by others; the moderators have to approve it.

You keep describing how your devices can connect to the extender.  That's only half of the equation.  It's still not clear to me whether you established the connection between the extender and the router.  Is the "Router" light lit on the extender?

[mpetro]

Yes - the Router light, Power light, and WPS light are all lit green right now. 

When I choose the EXT network from my laptop, the device light turns on (green). When I switch back to the main network, the device light turns off. 

[TheEther]

Is your laptop set up to obtain an IP address automatically?  Can you check if it is getting?  Can you ping the router's IP address?

[mpetro]

On my laptop, the settings are:

Configure IPv4:

Using DCHP

Configure IPv6:

Automatically 

I can ping my router when I am on my main wifi connection, but when I select the EXT network and try to ping the same router address, I get:

PING 192.168.1.1 (192.168.1.1): 56 data bytes
Request timeout for icmp_seq 0
Request timeout for icmp_seq 1
Request timeout for icmp_seq 2
Request timeout for icmp_seq 3
Request timeout for icmp_seq 4
Request timeout for icmp_seq 5
Request timeout for icmp_seq 6
Request timeout for icmp_seq 7
Request timeout for icmp_seq 8
--- 192.168.1.1 ping statistics ---
10 packets transmitted, 0 packets received, 100.0% packet loss

Could it have anything to do with the Network Mode or Security Mode options? The below is for both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz sections

Network Mode:

Mixed (selected)

Wireless-A Only

Wireless-N Only

Security Mode:

WPA2/WPA Mixed Mode (selected)

WPA2 Personal

WPA Personal

WPA2/WPA Enterprise Mixed Mode

WPA2 Enterprise

WPA Enterprise

WEP

[TheEther]

Can you run ipconfig while connected to the extender and post it?

[mpetro]

Sure, here you go

EXT NETWORK

Last login: Sun Mar 19 20:41:58 on ttys000
AdminisatorsMBP:~ product$ ifconfig -a
lo0: flags=8049<UP,LOOPBACK,RUNNING,MULTICAST> mtu 16384
	options=3<RXCSUM,TXCSUM>
	inet6 ::1 prefixlen 128 
	inet 127.0.0.1 netmask 0xff000000 
	inet6 fe80::1%lo0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x1 
	nd6 options=1<PERFORMNUD>
gif0: flags=8010<POINTOPOINT,MULTICAST> mtu 1280
stf0: flags=0<> mtu 1280
en0: flags=8863<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
	ether 3c:15:c2:c1:32:f4 
	inet6 fe80::3e15:c2ff:fec1:32f4%en0 prefixlen 64 duplicated scopeid 0x4 
	inet 192.168.1.131 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 192.168.1.255
	nd6 options=1<PERFORMNUD>
	media: autoselect
	status: active
en1: flags=963<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,PROMISC,SIMPLEX> mtu 1500
	options=60<TSO4,TSO6>
	ether 72:00:01:29:c2:40 
	media: autoselect <full-duplex>
	status: inactive
en2: flags=963<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,PROMISC,SIMPLEX> mtu 1500
	options=60<TSO4,TSO6>
	ether 72:00:01:29:c2:41 
	media: autoselect <full-duplex>
	status: inactive
p2p0: flags=8843<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 2304
	ether 0e:15:c2:c1:32:f4 
	media: autoselect
	status: inactive
awdl0: flags=8943<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,PROMISC,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1484
	ether 16:c0:7a:ad:51:80 
	inet6 fe80::14c0:7aff:fead:5180%awdl0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x8 
	nd6 options=1<PERFORMNUD>
	media: autoselect
	status: active
bridge0: flags=8863<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
	options=63<RXCSUM,TXCSUM,TSO4,TSO6>
	ether 3e:15:c2:1c:d7:00 
	Configuration:
		id 0:0:0:0:0:0 priority 0 hellotime 0 fwddelay 0
		maxage 0 holdcnt 0 proto stp maxaddr 100 timeout 1200
		root id 0:0:0:0:0:0 priority 0 ifcost 0 port 0
		ipfilter disabled flags 0x2
	member: en1 flags=3<LEARNING,DISCOVER>
	        ifmaxaddr 0 port 5 priority 0 path cost 0
	member: en2 flags=3<LEARNING,DISCOVER>
	        ifmaxaddr 0 port 6 priority 0 path cost 0
	nd6 options=1<PERFORMNUD>
	media: <unknown type>
	status: inactive
utun0: flags=8051<UP,POINTOPOINT,RUNNING,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
AdminisatorsMBP:~ product$ 

And if it helps, here's the version on my main network

Last login: Sun Mar 19 20:39:13 on ttys001
AdminisatorsMBP:~ product$ ifconfig -a
lo0: flags=8049<UP,LOOPBACK,RUNNING,MULTICAST> mtu 16384
	options=3<RXCSUM,TXCSUM>
	inet6 ::1 prefixlen 128 
	inet 127.0.0.1 netmask 0xff000000 
	inet6 fe80::1%lo0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x1 
	nd6 options=1<PERFORMNUD>
gif0: flags=8010<POINTOPOINT,MULTICAST> mtu 1280
stf0: flags=0<> mtu 1280
en0: flags=8863<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
	ether 3c:15:c2:c1:32:f4 
	inet6 fe80::3e15:c2ff:fec1:32f4%en0 prefixlen 64 duplicated scopeid 0x4 
	inet 192.168.1.125 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 192.168.1.255
	nd6 options=1<PERFORMNUD>
	media: autoselect
	status: active
en1: flags=963<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,PROMISC,SIMPLEX> mtu 1500
	options=60<TSO4,TSO6>
	ether 72:00:01:29:c2:40 
	media: autoselect <full-duplex>
	status: inactive
en2: flags=963<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,PROMISC,SIMPLEX> mtu 1500
	options=60<TSO4,TSO6>
	ether 72:00:01:29:c2:41 
	media: autoselect <full-duplex>
	status: inactive
p2p0: flags=8843<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 2304
	ether 0e:15:c2:c1:32:f4 
	media: autoselect
	status: inactive
awdl0: flags=8943<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,PROMISC,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1484
	ether 16:c0:7a:ad:51:80 
	inet6 fe80::14c0:7aff:fead:5180%awdl0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x8 
	nd6 options=1<PERFORMNUD>
	media: autoselect
	status: active
bridge0: flags=8863<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
	options=63<RXCSUM,TXCSUM,TSO4,TSO6>
	ether 3e:15:c2:1c:d7:00 
	Configuration:
		id 0:0:0:0:0:0 priority 0 hellotime 0 fwddelay 0
		maxage 0 holdcnt 0 proto stp maxaddr 100 timeout 1200
		root id 0:0:0:0:0:0 priority 0 ifcost 0 port 0
		ipfilter disabled flags 0x2
	member: en1 flags=3<LEARNING,DISCOVER>
	        ifmaxaddr 0 port 5 priority 0 path cost 0
	member: en2 flags=3<LEARNING,DISCOVER>
	        ifmaxaddr 0 port 6 priority 0 path cost 0
	nd6 options=1<PERFORMNUD>
	media: <unknown type>
	status: inactive
utun0: flags=8051<UP,POINTOPOINT,RUNNING,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
	inet 192.168.254.200 --> 192.168.254.200 netmask 0xffffffff 
AdminisatorsMBP:~ product$ 

Prior to getting you the above logs, I did another factory reset as I felt like I could share the steps I took to setup

1. Held the reset button down for ~15 seconds
2. Unplugged router, waited 30 seconds, then plugged router back in
3. Waited for the "power" light to turn "green" on extender
4. Plugged ethernet cable into extender/laptop and chrome opened
5. Followed all of the steps, selected my main 2.4GHz network and entered the password.
6. I now see the Router light on the extender turn green
7. At confirmation, I connected my phone and PC laptop
   1. Here, both the laptop and phone say connected, but no internet access
8. Confirmation screen shows WIfi extender is up and running
9. To test, I went to Firmware Update and tried looking for an update (still connected to the EXT)
   1. Didn't work and showed no internet connection

[TheEther]

Oh, I see you are on a Mac.  Well, it's getting an IP address.  If you Option click on the Wi-Fi icon, do you see an IP address for the Router?  Can you ping it?

If you open Network Preferences and look at the DNS tab, do you see any IP address for DNS servers?

[mpetro]

Yeah, I use my macbook as my primary machine but I set it up on the PC laptop I have because my macbook doesn't have an ethernet port.

I do see an IP address for the router when I am on the EXT network which shows 192.168.1.250. When I switch back to my main network, the IP address for the router shows 192.168.1.1

I am able to ping it 192.168.1.250 but www.google.ca shows 'unknown host' 

In the DNS tab, I see one IP address which is 192.168.1.250

I appriciate all the help you are giving me!

[TheEther]

That's odd.  I would not have expected the router and DNS address to be 192.168.1.250.  That's the address of the extender.  Do you have the extender set up to obtain its own IP address dynamically from the router or is it static?

[mpetro]

Yep I just double checked in the NetgearGenie that IP address is set to Get Dynamically IP Address From Router

Should it be a static IP? 

[TheEther]

It's up to you regarding which setting you want to use.  What IP address does the extender thinks it currently have?  If it's not 192.168.1.250, then that adds to the mystery.  

Try the following.  On your Mac, temporarily override the address for the router.  You can do this in Network Preferences.  Click on the Advanced button for the Wi-Fi interface.  Then click on TCP/IP.  Change the setting for Configure IPv4 to Manually.  Then change the address for the Router to 192.168.1.1.  Next, go to the DNS tab and change the DNS server address to 192.168.1.1.  See if you can access the Internet.

[mpetro]

Yeah something is definitely weird.

So when I toggle the Configure IPv4 to Manually, the IP4 address changes to 0.0.0.0. I just entered “192.168.1.129” so there is a value. If I left the IP4 address at the 0’s, then I got a popup when I tried to change the router which said “The value entered is reserved for the default route and cannot be used as the IP address for this computer.”

However, still no internet when I applied that IP address and manually changed the router IP as well as the DNS.

This is a stretch, but could the hardware be faulty? Maybe not compatible with my router? I know Linksys makes extenders so maybe I can try one of theirs.

[TheEther]

Yeah, I'm out of ideas.  I wouldn't blame you for trying another brand.

[mpetro]

I appriciate all the help you gave me! But yeah I figure if I try out another brand and it still doesn't work correctly...that it must be something with the router/modem config

Cheers

[mpetro · Accepted solution]

Just wanted to post an update incase anyone else finds this with a similar problem. I guess it was hardware related...

I ended up returning the Netgear Extender and replaced it with a Linksys AC1200. Setup was completed in about 5 minutes and everything works flawlessly.