TP-Link TL-MR3020 as a WiFi router

Installing and Using OpenWrt Network and Wireless Configuration
1

Hello,
My old wifi router has died the other day and I found the TP-Link TL-MR3020 (v1.7) in the closet from the old times. I've managed to install LEDE but struggle to set it up as a WiFi router (though, I was able to make it work as regular Access Point).
I found in the internet some bits and pieces of configuration but couldn't make it work flawlessly.
The intended use is:
[DOCSIS modem] => ethernet cable => [TL-MR3020] => WiFi clients

Does anyone have any idea how to set it up the way I want it to work?

2

This should work by default. All you need to do after a reset to default - is setup the WiFi.

3

That's was the first thing I tried. I plugged the Ethernet cable into the LAN port and enabled the Wireless. But the thing is, the eth0 interface has static IP address and this way it doesn't get the IP address from my provider.

4

...and what happens when you plug the WAN/Internet port to your ISP?

5

No internet, as far as I can tell. There is no way in this scenario to log back in to LEDE interface since I don't have the IP address on my WiFi connection. Maybe I'm doing something wrong?

6

The default config is Ethernet as lan, wireless disabled. You need to first enable wireless as lan and then remove the Ethernet port from lan, create a wan interface, attach the Ethernet port to the wan Interface (often dhcp or pppoe, sometimes static up; depending on the isp and your service details), and associate it with the wan firewall zone.

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7

Hi @psherman,
Thank you for your assistance!

  1. I enabled wireless as lan
  2. Removed the eth0 port from lan interface
  3. Created wan interface and attached eth0 to it with dhcp client mode
    And it looks like it started working!

Thanks a lot!

8

Why is there so much stuff to be done manually?

  • Enabling wireless, ok, this needs to be done. But enabling it as "lan"? Eh, how do you enable wireless "as lan"?
  • Removed eth0 from lan - why that?
  • create a wan interface, attach the Ethernet port to the wan Interface - is there no wan interface there by default?

Is this very MR3020 specific that lan and wan interfaces are not detected by default?

9

Easy:

  • Ensure WiFi SSID is added to Interface lan
  • Configure/enable WiFi

(This is all straightforward if you're using the LuCI web GUI.)

I've encountered a few devices without a wan in the default configs (the x86_64 is a prime example if only assigning/possessing one Ethernet card). You should consider making your own thread to ask these questions.

10

MR3020 is specific in a way that it has only one Ethernet port which can be used as LAN or WAN, depending on your needs.

1 Like
11

The only thing I didn't get is that I haven't associated anything with any firewall zone. So, how does it work is a mystery to me and to others who will read this thread. Could you elaborate a bit more?

12

You don’t want to be running without a proper firewall. The firewall zone should already be established (I think). In the LuCI interface, click on the wan interface and then click on the firewall tab. If you see a wan firewall zone, just click it and save & apply. If not, type into the field wan (I think lowercase). You can check the firewall config to verify that it has taken.

13

If you haven't assigned a zone, the rules in the General Settings zone will apply anyway.

14

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