Hi,

I changed ISP that resulted in getting a new different modem with integrated wifi. My problem is the integrated wifi does not have enough power to reach every room in my house including downstairs and the kitchen. The previous dedicated wifi, TP-Link TL-WR940N, could reach all my rooms without issues. I can disable the new modem's internal wifi, but I cannot make the modem connect with the TP-Link TL-WR940N wifi so that I would be able to get a better wifi signal that reaches every corner of my home. Connecting a computer with a network ethernet cable from the new modem successfully connects to the internet. Weird but true.

The question is how am I going to make the new modem connect to the TP-Link TL-WR940N wifi router?

EDIT:
To moderator/admin. This thread is misplaced. Please, move it. I realised after I posted it, sorry.

Its possible that the new box has a power output adjustment but you can use the old router.

Method 1:
The new MODEM/router might have a pass through mode which essentially disables its router/wifi functionality. Once configured plug the TP-LINK WAN port into one of the MODEM/router's LAN port. Now all the router/wifi functions are via the TP-Link.

Method 2:
If method 1 does not work then you can configure the TP-Link as an AP. It might have an AP mode but all you need to do is change its IP address and disable the DHCP server. Just plug in a cable between a computer and the TP-Link LAN port and connect to its LAN configuration page. Make sure the new IP address is outside the range of the new router's DHCP server. Once configured connect the TP-Link to the new router via ethernet cable using a LAN port. Be sure to disable the new MODEM/router's wifi.

I disabled DHCP on the new modem so that I would be able to use a static IP for the lan connection between the new modem and the TP-Link TL-WR940N wifi router.

The modem's DHCP range is: 192.168.1.64 to 192.168.1.254
The Gateway: 192.168.1.254

Is any address that does not fall into the quoted DHCP range suitable as a static IP?

Can I use 192.168.1.63?

Thanks for your help.

If using method 2 you want to disable the DHCP server on the old router and not the new MODEM. The DHCP server provides DNS information for accessing the internet.

Yes, you can use 192.168.1.63 for the TP-Link IP address.

The problem with this telephone line internet modem is that it can connect to a computer through one of its ethernet outputs but not to a Wifi Router. I would like to examine why a computer is allowed to connect but an embedded system like a Wifi router is not.

Can you give me some hints as to what commands I should run to get the details of the network connection when a computer is used instead of the wifi router?

My ISP's technical customer service personnel told me that the problem is caused by my wifi router which could connect to the internet when I still had the previous ISP.

I was told by my ISP's customer care that they have wifi repeaters for those who want to boost their modem's wifi signal, but I have to buy it from them! However, I do not want to spend money for something I don't really need as I should be able to use my wifi router.

Thanks for your patience reading my post.

Are you using an ethernet cable to connect the TP-Link to the ISP MODEM? I do not know enough about Technicolor devices but the TP-Link should work like any other computer connected to a switch with a static IP address.

I assumed the TP-Link wifi router should work just like a computer connected to an ethernet outlet in the ISP's modem, but was wrong. Something is preventing the TP-Link wifi router from successfully connecting to the ISP's wifi modem. Sadly, I am coming to the conclusion this is being done to prevent users from using their wifi routers instead of repeaters supplied and sold by the ISP.

Sadly we are living in an era where capitalism is still in its infancy implying legislation is still not adequately mature. In simpler terms, most legislation leaves too many loopholes which big business can use to 'politely' abuse their customers.

The blame rests on me: I have been the idiot to allow this to happen to me.

Technically the TP-link does not connect to the ISP router except via a physical cable. You configure its LAN address to match the ISP LAN network so you can access its web configuration setup. Basically a WiFi client will associate and authenticate with the TP-Link wireless access point then send out a DHCP request which will be received by the ISP router. The ISP router will respond with an IP address and DNS information which the client will use to configure its wireless adapter.

I am unfamiliar with Technicolor devices but do not know why the would not work the same as other similar units.

Problem SOLVED.

My setup is like this:

-----tel line-------[ ISP Modem ]-----ethernet cable------[ TP-Link Wifi Router ]

I think, the problem was caused as follows:
Both the ISP's modem and TP-Link Wifi Router are network hubs intended for private home networks. So, both of them, by default, use the IP subset 192.186.0.0 for their clients together with DHCP.

The TP-Link Wifi Router required that the WAN connection IP was from a different set instead of belonging to the subset 192.186.1.100 - 192.186.1.199. This prevented, the TP-Link Wifi Router from getting a WAN connection and from autoconfiguring it.

The solution was to simply opt to use another IP subset for one of the devices. I chose the TP-Link Wifi Router and changed its DHCP IP subset to 172.16.1.100 - 172.16.1.199. This was achieved by changing the LAN address to 172.16.1.1. That way, the Wifi Router's WAN IP could not belong to its IP subset used for its LAN connectors.

With this setup WAN connection autoconfiguration worked immediately automatically.

Great that you got it working. You can mark the thread as solved via the thread tools pull down menu at the top.

However, you have a double NAT setup. Did you try connecting the TP-link using a LAN port instead of the WAN port? As posted above you need to change the TP-Link local address to match ISP subnet and turn off its DHCP server.

Both the ISP's modem and TP-Link Wifi Router used 192.186.x.x as an IP set for their ethernet connections. This conflicted with TP-Link's requirement that its WAN IP could not belong to the same set.

TP-Link used 192.168.1.100 - 192.168.1.199 with LAN IP 192.186.1.1

ISP's modem used 192.168.1.64 - 192.168.1.253 with LAN IP 192.168.1.254

PS: I tried to mark the thread as solved but couldn't find the means to do so.

Problem solved.