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I realize there is plenty of documentation on this subject throughout superuser and the internet overall. However, it's almost like there's too much information and I need help sorting through it.

For my specific situation, I have a TiVo HD in my living room with no wireless adapter, and my cable modem + wireless router in a separate room. Instead of spending the cash on a TiVo proprietary adapter, I decided to use my spare wireless router as the connection point (via ethernet cable) for the TiVo.

Both wireless routers are older models: Airlink AR430W and Buffalo WHR-G54S but both have been pretty well documented to work with DD-WRT if that's the route I need to go (no pun intended). They are interchangeable as far as I'm concerned, too. In other words, I don't mind moving either one to serve as the primary connection to the cable modem.

As far as superuser articles are concerned, here is the closest match to my situation that I can find:

And here is a good article on utilizing DD-WRT from makeuseof.com:

The only problem with either of these references is that the former is not specific to my hardware/software setup, and the latter is very general as well as being 2 years old (I don't know if the instructions for setting up DD-WRT have changed in that amount of time).

I started reading through the process of installing DD-WRT on my Airlink router first, but all of the cautions about "bricking" my equipment have made me put a hold on it until I get a better opinion. I'm not incredibly tech-savvy when it comes to electronics or programming.

Ultimately, I want to keep a wireless router connected to my cable modem in one room that transmits wirelessly to all devices including my laptop, iPad, and secondary wireless router at the TiVo. I don't care if the secondary router repeats the wireless signal, as long as I can get an ethernet connection out of it.

Is there just an easier way to do this?

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NoCatharsis
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1 Answers1

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No there isn't an easier way of doing this. Using DD-WRT is the easiest way that you'll find without having to spend money. As far as your concerns about "bricking" your routers, they are valid, but if you follow the instructions on the documentation then you'll be fine. If by chance something gets messed up, there are still ways of recovering the router via a cable that connects to the router directly.

When setting up your wireless bridge with DD-WRT I suggest using their own documentation. (Out dated)

Ultimately you have to decide whether you want to go through the "hassle" and assumed "risk" of doing something like this yourself, or buying new routers that are either already flashed with DD-WRT or have wireless bridging capabilities built in.

For record keeping sake, here's an updated summary of the steps involved. I've tested this at home on two separate routers.

First off a few warnings:

First of all, do not even try to do client bridge with dd-wrt SP1. It won't work. Also if you can't get Client Bridged to work on your hardware then try Client Mode instead.

The router that you are trying to connect to is the primary router. The router you are configuring is the client bridge(CB) router. You don't need to worry about the primary router as long a s you set your CB to the SAME subnet. What this means is, if the primary router has an IP of 192.168.A.X, you need to set the CB router to an IP of 192.168.A.Z. Most primary routers will be at 192.168.1.1. So, when you are configuring your CB router, set it to 192.168.1.6

If this is the setup you're looking for:

enter image description here

do the following:

  1. Do a HARD reset on your router.
  2. Connect a cable from your computer to the LAN port on your router.
  3. Set your computer to a static IP address of 192.168.1.9
  4. Set your browser to 192.168.1.1 and open the dd-wrt webgui.
  5. You should be asked to change your password and username. Carefully type these in. If you aren't asked for a password and username, do a hard reset, this time doing it properly! Hit change password.
  6. Go FIRST to wireless, wireless security and enter the security type and key that matches your primary router.
  7. Hit SAVE, (or APPLY if you wish to)
  8. Go to the wireless, basic settings page and change the wireless mode to Client Bridge. Your wireless network mode, channel and encryption should be set to the same as the primary router.
  9. If you are using N only or Mixed with N, set your wireless channel width to match your primary
  10. Set the wireless network name to exactly the same as your primary router. Make sure spelling and capitalization match.
  11. Hit SAVE at the bottom. Then hit APPLY.
  12. Check to make sure all the configurations, including the mode, saved and the mode is still client bridge. If any changed, fix them, and save again.
  13. Go to Setup, basic setup and enter a router Local IP address of 192.168.1.6. (Presuming your primary router is on the 192.168.1.x subnet. Client bridge must match the subent of the primary router) Leave subnet mask at 255.255.255.0.
  14. Set the Gateway IP to your primary router. (Likely 192.168.1.1)
  15. Leave Local DNS blank
  16. Check Assign Wan port to a switch, if you wish to.
  17. Change your timezone and DST to match where you are.
  18. Hit Apply.
  19. Set your browser to 192.168.1.6 and login to your router
  20. Goto Security, Firewall. Under Block Wan Requests, uncheck everything but "Filter Multicast" (Leave Filter multicast checked).
  21. Hit Save
  22. Disable SPI Firewall
  23. Hit Apply.
  24. Go to setup/advanced routing and change the operating mode from "gateway" to router. 25. Hit Apply.
  25. Set your computer back to auto IP and auto DNS.

NOTE: This is accurate as of SP2. I would highly recommend looking at DD-WRT's wiki site as it is updated consistently and this may become out dated.

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James Mertz
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