Connection issues on Netgear WAC104

Installing and Using OpenWrt
1

OpenWrt noobie here. recently i've purchased a new router - the netgear wac104 - and after some issues with the stock firmware, i flashed openwrt onto it. the install process went well and after setting up things like password, timezone, etc., i rebooted the device with my ISP's modem (Hitron EN2251 w/ DOCSIS 3.1) plugged in to the first WAN port and my computer connected via the second WAN port, which worked perfectly! ...but then i realized that even though i had internet access, i couldn't access the device itself via ssh or luci. after a bit of messing around, i was able to connect to the device again by leaving the modem unplugged and keeping the wired connection to my computer. i read on parts of the wiki and other forums that a potential cause of this issue would be from a conflicting gateway address, so i changed the IP from the default 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.2.1 on the WAN interface (which uses the br-wan device). from there i setup the two wireless connections my router supports using the same LAN interface, restarted the device again with modem plugged in, and connected to the new network on my phone. my computer connects to the internet again, but i still can't access my device; meanwhile, my phone isn't connected to the internet but is able to connect to 192.168.2.1. i've been trying to find more information about this for a few hours and i'm honestly at a loss. any help?

# /etc/config/network
config interface 'loopback'
        option device 'lo'
        option proto 'static'
        option ipaddr '127.0.0.1'
        option netmask '255.0.0.0'

config globals 'globals'
        option packet_steering '1'
        option ula_prefix 'fd95:f67c:c350::/48'

config device
        option name 'br-lan'
        option type 'bridge'
        list ports 'lan1'
        list ports 'lan2'
        list ports 'lan3'
        list ports 'lan4'

config interface 'lan'
        option device 'br-lan'
        option proto 'static'
        option netmask '255.255.255.0'
        option ip6assign '60'
        option ipaddr '192.168.2.1'

# /etc/config/wireless
config wifi-device 'radio0'
        option type 'mac80211'
        option path '1e140000.pcie/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.0/0000:02:00.0'
        option band '2g'
        option htmode 'HT40'
        option channel 'auto'
        option cell_density '0'

config wifi-iface 'default_radio0'
        option device 'radio0'
        option network 'lan'
        option mode 'ap'
        option ssid 'Box-2.4G'
        option encryption 'psk2'
        option key '****'

config wifi-device 'radio1'
        option type 'mac80211'
        option path '1e140000.pcie/pci0000:00/0000:00:00.0/0000:01:00.0'
        option band '5g'
        option htmode 'VHT40'
        option channel 'auto'
        option cell_density '0'

config wifi-iface 'default_radio1'
        option device 'radio1'
        option network 'lan'
        option mode 'ap'
        option ssid 'Box-5G'
        option encryption 'psk2'
        option key '****'
2

There is no WAN setup there at all. In fact, a quick glance at the WAC104 indicates that Netgear sells this as a wireless access point (not a router), so it doesn't seem to have any ports physically labeled for WAN anyway. On OpenWrt, that's not a problem because you can reassign the ports fairly easily, so one of them can be a wan.

Is your cable modem a modem only, or is it a modem+router?
What is your intent for the Netgear device -- do you want it to operate as a router? If you want it to be a full router, what port do you want to use as your wan?

3

On OpenWrt, that's not a problem because you can reassign the ports fairly easily, so one of them can be a wan.

honestly great to hear. i was just on vacation when i ordered this and i guess i wasn't paying much attention - so this is a real life saver

Is your cable modem a modem only, or is it a modem+router?

modem only

What is your intent for the Netgear device -- do you want it to operate as a router? If you want it to be a full router, what port do you want to use as your wan?

yeah i would like for it to be a full router. the lan1 port would be fine for wan

4

Edit br-lan as to remove lan1:

config device
        option name 'br-lan'
        option type 'bridge'
        list ports 'lan2'
        list ports 'lan3'
        list ports 'lan4'

add a wan interface

[quote="getchoo, post:1, topic:147200"]

config interface 'wan'
        option device 'lan1'
        option proto 'dhcp'

restart your cable modem and your router and test to see if it gets a connetion.
It is possible that the option device in the wan interface will need to be option port or list ports -- we'll have to see what happens and then we'll fix as needed.

5

Any reason for the double NAT?

The 192.168.1.1 would incidate your modem isn't only a modem, or am I missing something, it's late...

6

The OP said the modem is a modem only.

I would think that as well, but this may be just the admin interface of the device or something. I'm not really sure. But the modem also doesn't seem to list any router functionality.

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7

Didn't think of that possibility, good call.

1 Like
8

it worked! all connections are good and i can ssh into the router on all of my devices :+1:

thank you so much, you're a life saver :))

9

Awesome! Glad I could help!

10

192.168.1.1 would probably work, i just used 2.1 in case there was some conflict (as before i couldn't access the device before with the modem connected). i'll probably mess with it some other time to see if there is any now

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11

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