TP Link C9 issues with Netgear DGND3700

[Akshay]

I am using Netgear DGND3700 router for my internet connection (WAN port). Since it is not sufficient to cover the entire house I got TP-Link C9 Archer and configured it by manually assigning it IP address of 192.168.0.254; disabling DHCP and connecting CAT6 from Netgear to 8 port gigabit switch to TP Link LAN port. (Read from here)

With this configuration, TP link can broadcast signals and I can access internet only through my macbook / iphone.

I am facing these issues:

1. Can't login to TP link admin page unless i unplug CAT6 and reboot the router;
2. Can't make more than one or two connections at a time (my z3 compact always fails);
3. Can't access USB HDD / pen drives connected to TP Link.

What should I change in the TP Link settings so that it works properly. Any other suggestions are also welcome (except for changing location of the routers in the house or making TP link main router).

 

[whitestar_999]

[MENTION=1897]Akshay[/MENTION],

1.You can not access tplink admin page because you have not changed the default ip range/home address of one of the routers.As of now both have 192.168.0.x range so when both routers are connected only netgear can be accessed as it is working as the primary router.You have to change the home ip of tplink to,say,192.168.1.1 from default 192.168.0.1.

2.Try removing gigabit switch & directly connecting netgear to tplink or after making changes mentioned in 1.

3.Try after making changes mentioned in 1(& using address 192.168.1.1).
How to Use the Local Storage Sharing Feature - Welcome to TP-LIN

 

[Akshay]

Thanks Whitestar_999 for pointing out the basic mistake I made in the 1[SUP]st[/SUP] point. 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] point – difficult to implement but will try atleast to check if things work without the switch. 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] – Will try.

Meanwhile, I moved to TP Link AC2600 - set it up as main router and moved the Netgear to the other end (both are still connected through CAT 6 passing through an unmanaged switch).

As a stop gap arrangement, I have configured both TP Link and Netgear as routers using exactly the same settings (except for different SSID and 192.168.0.254 for netgear - will change it to 192.168.1.X). The CAT6 goes into WAN port of Netgear and everything works fine! I just have to switch networks to access the router settings / USB storage. I am not sure how does it work with my ISP (DVOIS - 50mbps plan).

 

[whitestar_999]

Because of different ssid when you switch wifi network you also switch the router handling the ip range.That's why you can access their admin pages(as well as usb storage) as now they are on different wifi networks even when having same ip 192.168.0.1.If this arrangement is working fine then no need to change it.

 

[Akshay]

The earlier config started causing the internet connection to drop frequently and the speed had slowed down. So after few trials and errors, this seems to be working for now:

1. Set up TP Link AC2600 as the main router and Netgear as secondary;
2. No changes in TP Link settings;
3. Netgear settings:

LAN address changed to 192.168.0.2 (TP Link is 192.168.0.1). Selecting 192.168.1.X created issues with subnet mask and I couldn't assign the subnet mask of TP Link to Netgear - 255.255.255.248;

Set IP address and DNS to automatically obtain from ISP, disabled NAT and firewall;

Disabled DHCP;

Now I can login to TP Link and Netgear settings if I am connected to TP Link SSID. If I connect to Netgear SSID, I cannot connect login to either. My Apple TV connected to Netgear through CAT6 also works well. The download speed on both the routers is almost the same (26-27 mbps on TP Link Vs. 22-24 mbps on Netgear).

Hope this works else I will have to spend to buy a dedicated RE or AP.

 

[whitestar_999]

Check if IP of device remains same when switching tplink to netgear ssid.Also in tplink setting bind 192.168.0.2 to mac address of netgear router to see if it helps in accessing any device login page when connected to netgear ssid.