HOWTO: Use Linksys WRT54G as a wireless ethernet bridge

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Fallen Kell

Fallen Kell

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
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Temporarily disable WEP, and enable broadcast SSID on your main router, then try again. Rule of thumb with doing any bridging is to get it working first on an open network, then lock down the wireless security... Check that you don't have an access control list on MAC addresses for wireless usage on your main router as well.
 
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marcelblack

Junior Member
Mar 17, 2010
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I flashed the Freeman 1.0.4 on my 54g v3.0. and configured it as instructed (except under DCHP I add a static with the MAC of the printer, hoping that would work). I can enter the client remotely and ping both ways. I want to put a HP 7580 All-in-One one the client to print remotely. Is this possible or did I just waste a bunch of time?!?!? (If I did no big deal, I learned a ton) what are the settings I need to put into the printer to be able to discover it on the network? Do I need to use the main routers subnet and gateway? What IP should I use? I have a DIR-655. I actually used all the numbers that user1234 used in his example. Thanks everyone for helping the newbie!!
 
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marcelblack

Junior Member
Mar 17, 2010
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marcelblack said:
I flashed the Freeman 1.0.4 on my 54g v3.0. and configured it as instructed (except under DCHP I add a static with the MAC of the printer, hoping that would work). I can enter the client remotely and ping both ways. I want to put a HP 7580 All-in-One one the client to print remotely. Is this possible or did I just waste a bunch of time?!?!? (If I did no big deal, I learned a ton) what are the settings I need to put into the printer to be able to discover it on the network? Do I need to use the main routers subnet and gateway? What IP should I use? I have a DIR-655. I actually used all the numbers that user1234 used in his example. Thanks everyone for helping the newbie!!
Click to expand...

Ok, I used the DMZ on both the main and the client and was able to discover the device through the HP Network Utility, but it says that a firewall is blocking communications. Connected directly with a crossover and it is saying the same thing......any ideas? Running windows 7 ultimate on one computer and XP Home on another. Thanks!!
 
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amdxborg

amdxborg

Diamond Member
Aug 27, 2002
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dlombar

Junior Member
Apr 11, 2010
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Hi, all I am new to forum.. I recently bought Panansonic G10 HDTV which has a ethernet connection. I want to connect to my Wireless .. but I need a ethernet bridge to wireless device. So, I see on the forum, some have used a Linksys WRT 54 router.. which I have and would like to use..instead of buying something.. can anyone help me out. tx much
 
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s44

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 2006
9,427
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Note that this router is nice (particularly the versions with enough flash to run the full version of Tomato), but because it only does G wireless, it won't have enough bandwidth for HD video streaming. For that sort of thing you'll want a bridge or router that does N wireless -- I suggest the Asus N12 router if you're confident enough to reflash the firmware (to this).

This assumes, of course, that your main wireless is also N...
 
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billt01

Junior Member
Aug 6, 2010
1
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Ahhh...the never ending thread.......


1. Download the "wrt54g alchemy firmware" (google this, or go here) version 6rc5 from the internet (it is the only one compatible with the new models wrt54g V2.2 & wrt54gs V1.1).
2. Upload the firmware to the wrt54g via the "Administration->Firmware Upgrade" option in the router's web interface.
3. Reset the device (press reset button until power led flashes - this could take 20 seconds or more). In the following steps, leave all settings which are not mentioned in the description at their default (only change the ones specifically mentioned in the step).

Note: We will use addresses that end in 128-255 for the wrt54g router and it's attached PCs. To make sure there is no overlap in the addresses assigned by the two routers, we have to make sure that your main router only assign addresses below 128 to its own clients. For example, if your main router address is 192.168.0.1, its DHCP address range could be 192.168.0.50 - 192.168.0.120. Another important note regarding the main router: some routers allow you to disable the broadcast of the SSID, but for this setup to work properly the SSID broadcast MUST BE ENABLED (which is usually the default behavior).

4a. In "Setup::Basic setup" screen, set Internet Connection Type to "Auotomatic Configuration - DHCP".
4b. Set the local IP to 192.168.0.129, assuming your main router is 192.168.0.x (in general, if your main router is a.b.c.d set the wrt54g to a.b.c.129).
4c. Set the Subnet Mask to 255.255.255.128.
4d. Set the "Gateway" to the IP address of your main router (e.g. 192.168.0.1).
4e. Set the DHCP Server to Enabled, and starting IP Address to something above 129 (e.g. 140).
4f. Save the settings on this page. You should reboot the attached PC, since the subnet mask has changed. Note: from now on you have to use the new local IP you set in step 4b (e.g. http:// 192.168.0.129) to connect to the router from your PC.

5. In "Setup::Advanced Routing" screen, make sure operating mode is "Gateway".

6. In "Wireless::Basic Settings" screen, set Wireless mode to "Client", wireless network mode to "mixed", and SSID to your main wireless router's SSID.

7. In "Wireless::Security" screen, set yor WEP/WPA settings which match the main wireless router. You should now be connected to the main wireless router. Note: if you have MAC filtering set up on the main router (which allows only specific clients to connect), then obviously you have to add the client router to the list of allowed clients.
To verify that you've established a connection to the main router, you can check the "Status::Router" screen, which should show an IP Address assigned by the main router (which would end with a number below 128), and the "Status::Wireless" page should show the AP Signal strength together with the mac address of the main router. Also you should now be able to ping the main router and even log in to it (using h ttp://192.168.0.1) from the PC attached to the client router (the wrt54g).

Ok, I am no networking GURU, but I know my way around a router. I worked on these steps for 3 hrs last evening, and I could not het the WRT54GS to pull an IP from my WNDR 3700. I do have BASIC WEP enabled and I have double checked my MAC filter sheet to verify that the WRT54GS MAC is located on the sheet. WEP is broadcasting the correct key number, but it still will not pull down a address from the main router. Its like the WRT54GS will not authenticate to the WNDR3700. I am using a 192.168.1.200 address for the Lynksis with a subnet of 255.255.255.0 and the gateway of 192.168.1.116 (which is the address of the Netgear router). I have the linksys set to send addresses to other clients starting with .201 on up.

The rest I have looked at over and over...

Thanks for any help




 
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redtank

Junior Member
Jan 20, 2012
1
0
0
Hello,
I'm a noob to setting up a wireless bridge, but was successful following the instructions posted at the beginning of this forum, thank you. Here is my set up: HP laptop connected to primary router (AP) wirelessly; primary router is a D-link 615. Arduino single board computer set up as webserver with an IP of 192.168.0.200, connected to my wrt54g (v2.2) via cable. Last, Sony laptop connected to wrt54g client via cable. I used the Sony to install Alchemy firmware to wrt54g and to do all the settings. Using the Sony, I can go to my Arduino and see the analog pin outputs which is all the webserver does, but from my HP laptop, I cannot view the Arduino, it will not connect to 192.168.0.200. What do I need to change setting wise in order to do this?

Thanks in advance,
Cris L.
 
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r0d0l

Junior Member
Oct 14, 2012
1
0
0
I must agree about Gargoyle - for those looking to simply put an unused Linksys WRT54GS router to good use (or other versions of the 54G series), the Gargoyle firmware is the way to go. I messed around for two days researching, flashing firmware (dd-wrt, openwrt, alchemy, etc.); then trying to figure out with each flash how to configure the router properly.

I will say I learned a lot, but I really wasn't looking to delve into every single nuance of my router - I was simply trying to establish a bridge to my existing wireless (a Netgear) to replace the poor wireless connection of my daughter's iMac. I didn't want to replace the AirPort card, didn't want to buy a USB wireless adapter that works on Mac - I just wanted to use the old Linksys router, bridge it to existing wireless, and connect the iMac via ethernet.

After two days of banging my head against the wall, I came across this forum and the post about Gargoyle firmware - flashed it, made the few simple changes to the settings after selecting bridge mode, scanned for my existing wireless and entered the WPA key, then rebooted the router. BAM! The iMac received its IP address via DHCP from the "downstairs" router and everything is working great!

So if you're looking for a quick, virtually "out of the box" solution for your old router, try the Gargoyle firmware. No offense to any of the other posters on here, or the many different solutions available for "hacking" your router - but that wasn't what I was looking for. I wanted the "dumbed-down" quick fix for using my WRT54GS as a wireless bridge, and I finally got it!

Good luck....


amdxborg said:
Ok after hours of not getting this to work 100%, I download the Gargoyle firmware, flashed my Linksys WRT54GL that had DD-WRT on it and had the wireless bridge up in less than a minute! Internet is working, PCs can see each other over the wireless, no probs at all! As you can see in the screenshot, its dead easy. :)

http://www.gargoyle-router.com/wiki...d=screenshots&media=screenshots:08_bridge.jpg

http://www.gargoyle-router.com
Click to expand...
 
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