Hi,
I've recently created a Wi-Fi extender / repeater successfully following this guide:
I have a BT Homehub 5A running OpenWRT v18.X connected to my ISP supplied router, extending my primary 5GHz signal using the same SSID and it's working exactly as intended with a much improved range and speed.
I'd now like to do the same again but this time extend the 2.4GHz Guest network from my ISP router.
Can anyone point me in the right direction, please?
Assuming my OpenWRT driven BTHH5A can manage this?
The good news is that what you want should be doable. The better news is that since you already have a client bridge configuration set up, doing it again should be even safer since you won't be touching the 5GHz radio. So you should be able to do it step by step and not worry about setting a custom IP on your computer or worry about losing connectivity. That said, still be careful. And take a backup of your configuration before you do any of this, just in case it doesn't work, or you make a mistake and just want to go back to a known state.
Now, I haven't tested this, because I can't at the moment, but what I would suggest in broad strokes is to duplicate the infrastructure you have.
Create a new firewall zone in network->firewall. Perhaps call it guestlan. Make it identical in setup to the lan firewall zone.
Create a new interface in network-> interfaces. Perhaps also called guestlan. This will be a static IP, and leave the device unspecified. When you click ok and get the detailed screen, set the IP to another different subnet than from the one you did in the original config, then attach it to the guestlan firewall zone you just created.
Create another new interface in network->interfaces. Perhaps called guestwlan. Make it a DHCP client, and also leave the device unspecified. When you click ok and get the detailed setup, attach it to the guestlan firewall zone you just created.
Remove whatever networks you have for the 2.4GHz radio.
Add a new WiFi network on the 2.4GHz radio in client mode, attach it to the guestwlan interface you just made.
Add a new WiFi network on the 2.4GHz radio in AP mode, attach it to the guestlan interface you just made.
Add a new interface, another repeater bridge, perhaps called guestrepeaterbridge. Set the two interfaces to bridge as guestlan and guestwlan, and set its IP to the IP of the guestwlan client. In the detailed setup also set its firewall zone to guestlan.
That should about do it. Basically we've just photocopied the original client bridge into a duplicate set that's isolated from the first.
EDIT: Oh, the above assumes you don't want to move any of the ethernet ports to the guest. That is probably doable too, but will make things more complicated. Do you need this?
Really appreciate your detailed, custom support and walkthrough.
I don't need the ethernet ports to function on the guest network so I should be able to follow your guide through.
I have made a config backup already as I previously tried to get the guest setup working, to no avail, which I was happy.to recover from.
I've temporarily lost access to LuCI as whenever I connect to the HH5A router via ethernet port, I receive an IP address via DCHP from the primary router even though I specify a static address in the 192.168.2.X range so I'll have to turn off my primary router before giving this a go.
Am I right in thinking that if I specified a static IP address for the OpenWRT router, I should be able to connect to LuCI on the 192.168.1.X subnet via wireless?
I would set up a guest network and AP locally, then route the guests to the Internet via the existing network with the 5 GHz link. Like any guest network they can be firewalled out of your trusted stuff and only allowed to go to the Internet.
Having the effect of two routers in the same box is more complicated than just adding more networks. Also there's no need to use a 2.4 GHz link to backhaul guests.
Thanks for the suggestion.
I have a couple of IP cameras already on a guest network @ 2.4Ghz. The idea was to essentially improve the signal to these beaming the same SSID as the primary router. The fact that I can then give access to that network to visitors whilst bottlenecking them to the 2.4Ghz also appeals - the position of the OpenWRT driven 2nd router means I now have a decent signal in an outbuilding and I'd like the WiFi handover from house to garden to be seamless.
If the 2.4 band gets bottlenecked, the cameras are not going to work. Always put a SQM on the guest interface at the AP end so nothing upstream gets overloaded.
Thank you for your continued support.
The distance of the outbuilding and one of the cameras from the router ensures throughput on the 2.4GHz is slow which would be the root cause of a bottleneck. Placement of the 2nd router ensures current setup with duplicated SSID on 5Ghz is running nearly full speed across the whole property now.
Keeping the cameras on the same LAN is easier should I switch to an ONVIF / RTSP setup which was a consideration when speccing them, although they do all save events locally which helps in the event of network failure.
I can't see the network getting overloaded often even with visitors on a 'guest' network but SQM looks interesting despite being an entirely new concept to me.
That is actually how a repeater bridge configuration works. It is supposed to be a passthrough for everything to the primary router, even DHCP.
No... at least not in a client bridge configuration. The static IP address you set on the LAN interface in a client bridge is basically a throwaway address. I mean, yes, there are certain ways to reach the device over that address, but it's not intended to be the router's address. The address you should be contacting the HH5A over is the address it gets from the primary router, and which you then program into the relay bridge interface.
If you want to set up private subnets, what you need is not a client-bridge configuration, but a standard one where the WAN is WiFi.
Maybe you can outline what you want your end result to be, and I'll try and guide you through the best configuration to get there.
I hadn't assigned a static IP to the wwan and thus the bridge. Now I have, I can successfully connect to the router, LuCI, via WiFi, so having a go at setting the guest network up will be far more convenient. Will keep you posted. Thanks again
Mission complete.
Following VA1DER's instructions, the Guest network on 2.4GHz is working in parallel to the 5GHz network.
Excellent speeds and signal across both frequencies to my whole property and outbuilding now.
The most remote IP camera signal has improved by 20dBm as a result of adding the 2.4Ghz bridge.