Hot Linksys RE4000W's front lights are blinking. Can't seem to fix. Need new extenders?

[Ant‏]

Hi!

As of yesterday morning, I noticed my wireless speed was much slower
recently on a few years old Linksys RE4000W. I noticed their front
lights were blinking. One of them blink nonstop. The other one blinks
for a while and then stop/solid and works, and then repeats again. I
noticed its uptime got resetted (autorebooted?). Even if I have them
close to my Netgear R6300 v1 router in the same room at about 100 feet,
one blinks nonstops but the other blinks sometimes even if they right
next to each other on the same power strip. Also, both are hot to touch
(is this normal?). I also tried rebooting and powercycling my router.

I tried to reset them, but with its included setup softwares. However,
my MacBook Pros are using newer OS versions like Mac OS X v10.11.6 (El
Capitan) and v10.12.5 (Sierra).
http://www.linksys.com/us/support-article?articleNum=148522 shows older
versions. I am scared to install its software since it might hose the
systems. Is it safe to install and use?

I read that they can be accessed with a network cable to connect and
configure like to reset to factory settings, but the computers don't
seem to get the IP address even after trying to reset the setings with
pushing the hole method for over five seconds. They keep blinking forever.

If they had gone bad, then what are good replacements to buy and use
from local Southern CA(lifornia) retail stores (Fry's Electronics,
Costco, Best Buy, etc.)? I am not happy with these models after a few
years of using as you can see. :(

Thank you in advance. :)
--
"You feel the faint grit of ants beneath your shoes, but keep on walking
because in this world you have to decide what you're willing to kill."
--Tony Hoagland from "Candlelight"
Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see
this signature correctly.
/\___/\ Ant(Dude) @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
/ /\ /\ \ Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net
| |o o| |
\ _ / If crediting, then use Ant nickname and AQFL URL/link.
( ) Axe ANT from its address if e-mailing privately.

[Char Jackson‏]

On Fri, 14 Jul 2017 21:05:05 -0700, Ant <a...@zimage.comANT> wrote:

>Hi!
>
>As of yesterday morning, I noticed my wireless speed was much slower
>recently on a few years old Linksys RE4000W. I noticed their front
>lights were blinking. One of them blink nonstop. The other one blinks
>for a while and then stop/solid and works, and then repeats again. I
>noticed its uptime got resetted (autorebooted?). Even if I have them
>close to my Netgear R6300 v1 router in the same room at about 100 feet,
>one blinks nonstops but the other blinks sometimes even if they right
>next to each other on the same power strip. Also, both are hot to touch
>(is this normal?). I also tried rebooting and powercycling my router.
>
>I tried to reset them, but with its included setup softwares.

Have you tried a full reset by pressing the reset button for about 30
seconds? They should go back to factory defaults, including default SSID
and default IP address, which I believe will be 192.168.1.1. If your LAN
also uses the 192.168.1.0/24 subnet, (but not that same IP!), then you
should be able to connect an Ethernet cable and access each of them with
a web browser. If your LAN uses a different IP range, you can either
temporarily assign yourself an IP on that subnet or simply use a router.

>However,
>my MacBook Pros are using newer OS versions like Mac OS X v10.11.6 (El
>Capitan) and v10.12.5 (Sierra).
>http://www.linksys.com/us/support-article?articleNum=148522 shows older
>versions. I am scared to install its software since it might hose the
>systems. Is it safe to install and use?
>
>I read that they can be accessed with a network cable to connect and
>configure like to reset to factory settings, but the computers don't
>seem to get the IP address even after trying to reset the setings with
>pushing the hole method for over five seconds. They keep blinking forever.

I believe you need to press reset for longer, like 30 seconds.

>
>If they had gone bad, then what are good replacements to buy and use
>from local Southern CA(lifornia) retail stores (Fry's Electronics,
>Costco, Best Buy, etc.)? I am not happy with these models after a few
>years of using as you can see. :(

Sorry, I have nothing good to say about range extenders so I won't be
making any purchase recommendations. You're usually much better off
adding additional access points, but only you know your situation, what
problem you're trying to solve, and what you have to work with.

[Ant‏]

On 7/14/2017 11:06 PM, Char Jackson wrote:
>
> Have you tried a full reset by pressing the reset button for about 30
> seconds? They should go back to factory defaults, including default SSID
> and default IP address, which I believe will be 192.168.1.1. If your LAN
> also uses the 192.168.1.0/24 subnet, (but not that same IP!), then you
> should be able to connect an Ethernet cable and access each of them with
> a web browser. If your LAN uses a different IP range, you can either
> temporarily assign yourself an IP on that subnet or simply use a router.

Yes, I did mention that in my original post -- "... I read that they can

be accessed with a network cable to connect and configure like to reset
to factory settings, but the computers don't seem to get the IP address
even after trying to reset the setings with pushing the hole method for

over five seconds. They keep blinking forever..."

>> However,
>> my MacBook Pros are using newer OS versions like Mac OS X v10.11.6 (El
>> Capitan) and v10.12.5 (Sierra).
>> http://www.linksys.com/us/support-article?articleNum=148522 shows older
>> versions. I am scared to install its software since it might hose the
>> systems. Is it safe to install and use?
>>
>> I read that they can be accessed with a network cable to connect and
>> configure like to reset to factory settings, but the computers don't
>> seem to get the IP address even after trying to reset the setings with
>> pushing the hole method for over five seconds. They keep blinking forever.
>
> I believe you need to press reset for longer, like 30 seconds.

I tried a minute, but that made no differences. :(

>> If they had gone bad, then what are good replacements to buy and use
>>from local Southern CA(lifornia) retail stores (Fry's Electronics,
>> Costco, Best Buy, etc.)? I am not happy with these models after a few
>> years of using as you can see. :(
>
> Sorry, I have nothing good to say about range extenders so I won't be
> making any purchase recommendations. You're usually much better off
> adding additional access points, but only you know your situation, what
> problem you're trying to solve, and what you have to work with.

Which WAPs do you recommend? The house owners do not want any more
network cables. Just all wireless. :/
--
"Even the wishes of a small ant reach heaven." --Japanese

[Char Jackson‏]

On Sat, 15 Jul 2017 07:07:38 -0700, Ant <a...@zimage.comANT> wrote:

>On 7/14/2017 11:06 PM, Char Jackson wrote:
>>
>> Have you tried a full reset by pressing the reset button for about 30
>> seconds? They should go back to factory defaults, including default SSID
>> and default IP address, which I believe will be 192.168.1.1. If your LAN
>> also uses the 192.168.1.0/24 subnet, (but not that same IP!), then you
>> should be able to connect an Ethernet cable and access each of them with
>> a web browser. If your LAN uses a different IP range, you can either
>> temporarily assign yourself an IP on that subnet or simply use a router.
>
>Yes, I did mention that in my original post -- "... I read that they can
>be accessed with a network cable to connect and configure like to reset
>to factory settings, but the computers don't seem to get the IP address
>even after trying to reset the setings with pushing the hole method for
>over five seconds. They keep blinking forever..."

I saw that in the original post, but I didn't understand what you were
saying. Assuming an RE has been reset to defaults and its IP address is
now 192.168.1.1, how are you trying to access it? I recommend connecting
an Ethernet cable from a PC to the RE, then temporarily assigning, for
example, 192.168.1.2 (Netmask 255.255.255.0) to the PC. At that point,
you should be able to ping the RE at 192.168.1.1 and hopefully access it
at port 80 with a web browser.

If you've reset both RE's to their defaults, then both will have that
same IP address, 192.168.1.1, so connect an Ethernet cable to only one
at a time to avoid a duplicate IP on the network.

If the folks in the house have been living with *two* range extenders
all this time, then they obviously have very low expectations for their
WiFi experience. That gives you more room to work. Almost anything you
do will be better than what they had.

>>> If they had gone bad, then what are good replacements to buy and use
>>>from local Southern CA(lifornia) retail stores (Fry's Electronics,
>>> Costco, Best Buy, etc.)? I am not happy with these models after a few
>>> years of using as you can see. :(
>>
>> Sorry, I have nothing good to say about range extenders so I won't be
>> making any purchase recommendations. You're usually much better off
>> adding additional access points, but only you know your situation, what
>> problem you're trying to solve, and what you have to work with.
>
>Which WAPs do you recommend? The house owners do not want any more
>network cables. Just all wireless. :/

I don't have a clear idea of the problem yet. It sounds like you want to
bring WiFi (2.4GHz only? 5GHz?) to one or more additional areas of the
house or property. What's your budget? Would networking over power lines
be an option? Would networking over TV coax be an option? Do you have a
stash of dusty WiFi routers on a shelf somewhere that you can configure
as matched sets of WiFi clients and Access Points?

It would be great, for example, if you were to say that there's a
straight run of coax from where the main WiFi router is, down to the
area where they want better coverage. If so, I'd likely suggest getting
a pair of MoCa 2.0 adapters and a cheap WiFi router that you'd configure
to act as an Access Point.

Alternatively, powerline or phone line networking can also be a viable
option in some cases.

Third, if you're handy, run Ethernet cable inside walls by running it up
to the attic, across, and down the inside of the other wall, or doing
the same via the unfinished basement.

A fourth option might be dedicated radios that talk to each other point
to point, then at the distant end put an Access Point back to back. When
I say Access Point, I mean a WiFi router because they are almost always
less expensive than an AP. You just have to do a bit of configuration to
make them act like an AP.

There are usually multiple options available. You just have to do a good
walkthrough and assess the situation, then apply that to your budget,
etc.

[Ant‏]

On 7/15/2017 9:03 AM, Char Jackson wrote:
>> Yes, I did mention that in my original post -- "... I read that they can
>> be accessed with a network cable to connect and configure like to reset
>> to factory settings, but the computers don't seem to get the IP address
>> even after trying to reset the setings with pushing the hole method for
>> over five seconds. They keep blinking forever..."
>
> I saw that in the original post, but I didn't understand what you were
> saying. Assuming an RE has been reset to defaults and its IP address is
> now 192.168.1.1, how are you trying to access it? I recommend connecting
> an Ethernet cable from a PC to the RE, then temporarily assigning, for
> example, 192.168.1.2 (Netmask 255.255.255.0) to the PC. At that point,
> you should be able to ping the RE at 192.168.1.1 and hopefully access it
> at port 80 with a web browser.

Yeah, I cannot get to it. Mac OS doesn't even show any IP addresses from
its network cable connection even when disabling wireless to avoid
confusions. The lights keep blinking. Supposedly, it is not supposed to
blink after resetting to defaults. It sounds like it is NOT. :(

> If you've reset both RE's to their defaults, then both will have that
> same IP address, 192.168.1.1, so connect an Ethernet cable to only one
> at a time to avoid a duplicate IP on the network.

Right.

> If the folks in the house have been living with *two* range extenders
> all this time, then they obviously have very low expectations for their
> WiFi experience. That gives you more room to work. Almost anything you
> do will be better than what they had.

Yeah, they had no problems until recently.

>>>> If they had gone bad, then what are good replacements to buy and use
>>> >from local Southern CA(lifornia) retail stores (Fry's Electronics,
>>>> Costco, Best Buy, etc.)? I am not happy with these models after a few
>>>> years of using as you can see. :(
>>>
>>> Sorry, I have nothing good to say about range extenders so I won't be
>>> making any purchase recommendations. You're usually much better off
>>> adding additional access points, but only you know your situation, what
>>> problem you're trying to solve, and what you have to work with.
>>
>> Which WAPs do you recommend? The house owners do not want any more
>> network cables. Just all wireless. :/
>
> I don't have a clear idea of the problem yet. It sounds like you want to
> bring WiFi (2.4GHz only? 5GHz?) to one or more additional areas of the
> house or property. What's your budget? Would networking over power lines
> be an option? Would networking over TV coax be an option? Do you have a
> stash of dusty WiFi routers on a shelf somewhere that you can configure
> as matched sets of WiFi clients and Access Points?

No, cables. Power method? Maybe? Is that safe?

I have an old Linksys WAP11 (no newer security encryptions though) and a
WRT54GL router (likes to drop connections to the Internet locally though).

> It would be great, for example, if you were to say that there's a
> straight run of coax from where the main WiFi router is, down to the
> area where they want better coverage. If so, I'd likely suggest getting
> a pair of MoCa 2.0 adapters and a cheap WiFi router that you'd configure
> to act as an Access Point.
>
> Alternatively, powerline or phone line networking can also be a viable
> option in some cases.
>
> Third, if you're handy, run Ethernet cable inside walls by running it up
> to the attic, across, and down the inside of the other wall, or doing
> the same via the unfinished basement.

I am not handy. I have physical disabilities and they're old. :(

> A fourth option might be dedicated radios that talk to each other point
> to point, then at the distant end put an Access Point back to back. When
> I say Access Point, I mean a WiFi router because they are almost always
> less expensive than an AP. You just have to do a bit of configuration to
> make them act like an AP.

Interesting.

> There are usually multiple options available. You just have to do a good
> walkthrough and assess the situation, then apply that to your budget,
> etc.
>

Thanks.
--
"Forbear, thou great good husband, little ant." --Richard Lovelace

[Char Jackson‏]

On Sat, 15 Jul 2017 10:22:22 -0700, Ant <a...@zimage.comANT> wrote:

>On 7/15/2017 9:03 AM, Char Jackson wrote:
>>> Yes, I did mention that in my original post -- "... I read that they can
>>> be accessed with a network cable to connect and configure like to reset
>>> to factory settings, but the computers don't seem to get the IP address
>>> even after trying to reset the setings with pushing the hole method for
>>> over five seconds. They keep blinking forever..."
>>
>> I saw that in the original post, but I didn't understand what you were
>> saying. Assuming an RE has been reset to defaults and its IP address is
>> now 192.168.1.1, how are you trying to access it? I recommend connecting
>> an Ethernet cable from a PC to the RE, then temporarily assigning, for
>> example, 192.168.1.2 (Netmask 255.255.255.0) to the PC. At that point,
>> you should be able to ping the RE at 192.168.1.1 and hopefully access it
>> at port 80 with a web browser.
>
>Yeah, I cannot get to it. Mac OS doesn't even show any IP addresses from
>its network cable connection even when disabling wireless to avoid
>confusions.

OK, what you wrote makes no sense, so let me Google it. :-)
http://www.macinstruct.com/node/550
My assumption is that your Mac is on a different subnet, so follow those
steps, or similar steps if you have a different version of Mac OS, to
set a static IP address on your computer. The RE is in the 192.168.1.0
subnet, so you have to match it. The RE is .1.1 and you'll be .1.2.

WiFi: Off
Configure IPv4: Manually
IPv4 Address: 192.168.1.2
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Router: leave blank, or if necessary enter 192.168.1.254
Configure IPv6: Automatically

Now connect your Mac to a switch with an Ethernet cable. Connect the RE
to the same switch with a second Ethernet cable. Now you can ping and
access the RE from your Mac. If you don't have an Ethernet switch, you
can use two LAN ports on the back of your router.

From your Mac: ping 192.168.1.1
You should see a series of replies.

From your Mac, using a browser:
http://192.168.1.1
You should see the RE GUI.

>The lights keep blinking. Supposedly, it is not supposed to
>blink after resetting to defaults. It sounds like it is NOT. :(

I expect that you'll see some helpful status indications once you log
into the web GUI of the RE.

Once you're done poking around inside the first RE, disconnect it and
connect the second RE. If you've done a full reset to defaults on both
devices, you should be able to access the second RE just as you did for
the first unit. Ping it first, to make sure basic network connectivity
is in place, before accessing it with a browser.

>> If the folks in the house have been living with *two* range extenders
>> all this time, then they obviously have very low expectations for their
>> WiFi experience. That gives you more room to work. Almost anything you
>> do will be better than what they had.
>
>Yeah, they had no problems until recently.

I assume they didn't realize how bad things were, but that's good. It
means the first priority is probably to get the REs working again.

>> I don't have a clear idea of the problem yet. It sounds like you want to
>> bring WiFi (2.4GHz only? 5GHz?) to one or more additional areas of the
>> house or property. What's your budget? Would networking over power lines
>> be an option? Would networking over TV coax be an option? Do you have a
>> stash of dusty WiFi routers on a shelf somewhere that you can configure
>> as matched sets of WiFi clients and Access Points?
>
>No, cables. Power method? Maybe? Is that safe?

All methods are safe, so if you can't get the REs to come back to life,
you have the option of new REs, or switch over to using the existing
phone lines, the existing power lines, or the existing coax lines. Coax
is my current favorite, but all work, to varying degrees.

>I have an old Linksys WAP11 (no newer security encryptions though) and a
>WRT54GL router (likes to drop connections to the Internet locally though).
>

>I am not handy. I have physical disabilities and they're old. :(

OK.

[Ant‏]

I finally got them resetted and see their wifi SSIDs, but I could not
connect to them due to an error as shown in my
https://s14.postimg.org/x4o4pusg1/Screen_Shot_2017-07-16_at_9.25.05_AM.png
screen capture/shot. Both Linksys RE4000W and 13.3" MacBook Pro (2012;
Mac OS Sierra v10.12.5) were about a few inches apart to each other! I
still cannot connect to to them with a couple short network cables too.
:(

I gave up on them and decided to buy and set up a NETGEAR Nighthawk
AC1900 Desktop WiFi Range Extender (EX7000-100NAS). Much easier to set
up and way stronger (faster too, but not perfect) for 2.4Ghz wireless!
Although I could not get its 5 Ghz wireless stronger (very weak and red
color). I doubt they ever will use that wireless area.

"Ah. Those club kids did eat those ants up like popcorn." --CSI: Miami
(Wannabe episode; #218)

[Char Jackson‏]

On Sun, 16 Jul 2017 10:28:13 -0700, Ant <a...@zimage.comANT> wrote:

>I finally got them resetted and see their wifi SSIDs, but I could not
>connect to them due to an error as shown in my
>https://s14.postimg.org/x4o4pusg1/Screen_Shot_2017-07-16_at_9.25.05_AM.png
>screen capture/shot. Both Linksys RE4000W and 13.3" MacBook Pro (2012;
>Mac OS Sierra v10.12.5) were about a few inches apart to each other! I
>still cannot connect to to them with a couple short network cables too.
>:(
>
>I gave up on them and decided to buy and set up a NETGEAR Nighthawk
>AC1900 Desktop WiFi Range Extender (EX7000-100NAS). Much easier to set
>up and way stronger (faster too, but not perfect) for 2.4Ghz wireless!
>Although I could not get its 5 Ghz wireless stronger (very weak and red
>color). I doubt they ever will use that wireless area.

Alright, sounds good. As you've seen, 5GHz doesn't travel through walls
and floors as well as 2.4GHz, but it sounds like you've arrived at a
solution that works for you and for them. Good deal.

[Ant‏]

This new wifi range extender seems a lot better than Linksys'. Even
online ratings and comments show more positives. I also forgot to
mention that my Debian/Linux box's arpwatchd show lots of IP address
fights with these Linksys wifi range extenders. With Netgear's, none! :)
--
Quote of the Week: "Number fourteen. The naughty bits of an ant." --Monty Python's Flying Circus

Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see this signature correctly.
/\___/\ Ant(Dude) @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
/ /\ /\ \ Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net
| |o o| |

\ _ / Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail privately. If credit-
( ) ing, then please kindly use Ant nickname and AQFL URL/link.

[Char Jackson‏]

On Sun, 16 Jul 2017 16:32:16 -0500, ANT...@zimage.com (Ant) wrote:

>In alt.comp.networking.routers Char Jackson <no...@none.invalid> wrote:
>> On Sun, 16 Jul 2017 10:28:13 -0700, Ant <a...@zimage.comANT> wrote:
>
>> >I finally got them resetted and see their wifi SSIDs, but I could not
>> >connect to them due to an error as shown in my
>> >https://s14.postimg.org/x4o4pusg1/Screen_Shot_2017-07-16_at_9.25.05_AM.png
>> >screen capture/shot. Both Linksys RE4000W and 13.3" MacBook Pro (2012;
>> >Mac OS Sierra v10.12.5) were about a few inches apart to each other! I
>> >still cannot connect to to them with a couple short network cables too.
>> >:(
>> >
>> >I gave up on them and decided to buy and set up a NETGEAR Nighthawk
>> >AC1900 Desktop WiFi Range Extender (EX7000-100NAS). Much easier to set
>> >up and way stronger (faster too, but not perfect) for 2.4Ghz wireless!
>> >Although I could not get its 5 Ghz wireless stronger (very weak and red
>> >color). I doubt they ever will use that wireless area.
>
>> Alright, sounds good. As you've seen, 5GHz doesn't travel through walls
>> and floors as well as 2.4GHz, but it sounds like you've arrived at a
>> solution that works for you and for them. Good deal.
>
>This new wifi range extender seems a lot better than Linksys'. Even
>online ratings and comments show more positives. I also forgot to
>mention that my Debian/Linux box's arpwatchd show lots of IP address
>fights with these Linksys wifi range extenders. With Netgear's, none! :)

I'm guessing the IP conflicts on the Linksys units were a simple
misconfiguration issue. It's possible that both Linksys units were being
used with their default IP addresses, which would show up as conflicts
but wouldn't/shouldn't have affected performance* because range
extenders operate at OSI Layer 2 and IP addresses live at Layer 3, so
IPs are only used for admin access.

Regarding performance, since they're range extenders, performance is
expected to be pretty bad, but if it's what the folks are used to
they'll never know.

It sort of bothers me that you were never able to access the Linksys
units to reset or configure them, even after I provided step by step
directions, but all's well that ends well. Now that you've removed them
from service, maybe you'll take a minute or two and log into them to see
what their problem was, just out of curiosity.

[Ant‏]

In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.networking Char Jackson <no...@none.invalid> wrote:

> >This new wifi range extender seems a lot better than Linksys'. Even
> >online ratings and comments show more positives. I also forgot to
> >mention that my Debian/Linux box's arpwatchd show lots of IP address
> >fights with these Linksys wifi range extenders. With Netgear's, none! :)

> I'm guessing the IP conflicts on the Linksys units were a simple
> misconfiguration issue. It's possible that both Linksys units were being
> used with their default IP addresses, which would show up as conflicts
> but wouldn't/shouldn't have affected performance* because range
> extenders operate at OSI Layer 2 and IP addresses live at Layer 3, so
> IPs are only used for admin access.

I doubt it. I did notice the issue got worse and over as the time went
on. It even tried to take 192.168.1.1 IP address own by the router. No
disconnections though.

> Regarding performance, since they're range extenders, performance is
> expected to be pretty bad, but if it's what the folks are used to
> they'll never know.

> It sort of bothers me that you were never able to access the Linksys
> units to reset or configure them, even after I provided step by step
> directions, but all's well that ends well. Now that you've removed them
> from service, maybe you'll take a minute or two and log into them to see
> what their problem was, just out of curiosity.

I think I finally resetted them with their holes and their lights
finally stopped flashing. I can see their SSIDs, but MacBook Pro refuses
to connect to it. Same for their network cables. Weird. I wonder if they
got burned out since they get very hot (almost can't touch them) when in
used.
--
Quote of the Week: "I made my list for my birthday." --Christopher.
"Yeah, what'd you put on there? - A basketball or an ant farm." and
"This could be an ant farm. This could be a microscope or anything."
--Chris from The Pursuit of Happyness movie.

[Char Jackson‏]

On Sun, 16 Jul 2017 20:46:24 -0500, ANT...@zimage.com (Ant) wrote:

>In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.networking Char Jackson <no...@none.invalid> wrote:
>
>> >This new wifi range extender seems a lot better than Linksys'. Even
>> >online ratings and comments show more positives. I also forgot to
>> >mention that my Debian/Linux box's arpwatchd show lots of IP address
>> >fights with these Linksys wifi range extenders. With Netgear's, none! :)
>
>> I'm guessing the IP conflicts on the Linksys units were a simple
>> misconfiguration issue. It's possible that both Linksys units were being
>> used with their default IP addresses, which would show up as conflicts
>> but wouldn't/shouldn't have affected performance* because range
>> extenders operate at OSI Layer 2 and IP addresses live at Layer 3, so
>> IPs are only used for admin access.
>
>I doubt it. I did notice the issue got worse and over as the time went
>on. It even tried to take 192.168.1.1 IP address own by the router. No
>disconnections though.

I think it's a safe guess to say that the LAN uses the 192.168.1.0/24
subnet, (right?), otherwise you wouldn't care if the RE's use
192.168.1.1, and the conflict you mentioned above is exactly what I
suspected. You could have fixed that by logging into each RE and giving
it a unique IP address. I'm still not sure why you didn't do that, or if
you tried, where and how it failed.

>> Regarding performance, since they're range extenders, performance is
>> expected to be pretty bad, but if it's what the folks are used to
>> they'll never know.
>
>> It sort of bothers me that you were never able to access the Linksys
>> units to reset or configure them, even after I provided step by step
>> directions, but all's well that ends well. Now that you've removed them
>> from service, maybe you'll take a minute or two and log into them to see
>> what their problem was, just out of curiosity.
>
>I think I finally resetted them with their holes and their lights
>finally stopped flashing.

I thought you had done a reset to defaults, maybe even more than one,
earlier in this process. What was different about your reset procedure
this time?

>I can see their SSIDs, but MacBook Pro refuses
>to connect to it. Same for their network cables.

What does that mean? What IP address did you assign to your Mac? How did
you connect the cables? Did ping work? I thought you were going to
disable WiFi while you connect to the Linksys units with Ethernet cables
(thru a switch)?

>Weird. I wonder if they
>got burned out since they get very hot (almost can't touch them) when in
>used.

I'm having a hard time getting the details, so I can't make a guess.

[Ant‏]

In alt.comp.networking.routers Char Jackson <no...@none.invalid> wrote:

> On Sun, 16 Jul 2017 20:46:24 -0500, ANT...@zimage.com (Ant) wrote:

> >In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.networking Char Jackson <no...@none.invalid> wrote:
> >
> >> >This new wifi range extender seems a lot better than Linksys'. Even
> >> >online ratings and comments show more positives. I also forgot to
> >> >mention that my Debian/Linux box's arpwatchd show lots of IP address
> >> >fights with these Linksys wifi range extenders. With Netgear's, none! :)
> >
> >> I'm guessing the IP conflicts on the Linksys units were a simple
> >> misconfiguration issue. It's possible that both Linksys units were being
> >> used with their default IP addresses, which would show up as conflicts
> >> but wouldn't/shouldn't have affected performance* because range
> >> extenders operate at OSI Layer 2 and IP addresses live at Layer 3, so
> >> IPs are only used for admin access.
> >
> >I doubt it. I did notice the issue got worse and over as the time went
> >on. It even tried to take 192.168.1.1 IP address own by the router. No
> >disconnections though.

> I think it's a safe guess to say that the LAN uses the 192.168.1.0/24
> subnet, (right?), otherwise you wouldn't care if the RE's use
> 192.168.1.1, and the conflict you mentioned above is exactly what I
> suspected. You could have fixed that by logging into each RE and giving
> it a unique IP address. I'm still not sure why you didn't do that, or if
> you tried, where and how it failed.

Yes, all IP addresses use 192.168.1.x. Netgear R6300 v1 uses
192.168.1.1. What is weird that when Linksys REs were working, they kept
changing their own IP addresses with Netgear R6300 router's DHCP. I am
assuming they are getting disconnected and reconnected due to signal
issues. The Nighhawk wifi range extender doesn't do this.

> >> Regarding performance, since they're range extenders, performance is
> >> expected to be pretty bad, but if it's what the folks are used to
> >> they'll never know.
> >
> >> It sort of bothers me that you were never able to access the Linksys
> >> units to reset or configure them, even after I provided step by step
> >> directions, but all's well that ends well. Now that you've removed them
> >> from service, maybe you'll take a minute or two and log into them to see
> >> what their problem was, just out of curiosity.
> >
> >I think I finally resetted them with their holes and their lights
> >finally stopped flashing.

> I thought you had done a reset to defaults, maybe even more than one,
> earlier in this process. What was different about your reset procedure
> this time?

Not earlier before yesterday (Sunday) with one RE. It kept getting stuck
with blinking lights in a loop and never connecting (not even showing
its default SSID). After I powered them off for many hours and retrying,
then they could be resetted and show me their default SSIDs. Now, I just
need to be able to connect to them. I will deal with them later. :/

> >I can see their SSIDs, but MacBook Pro refuses
> >to connect to it. Same for their network cables.

> What does that mean? What IP address did you assign to your Mac? How did
> you connect the cables? Did ping work? I thought you were going to
> disable WiFi while you connect to the Linksys units with Ethernet cables
> (thru a switch)?

Nothing worked. I don't have a switch. I just connect from MBP to a RE
directly.

[Char Jackson‏]

Many people configure their router to hand out the same IP every time to
devices that are recognized. I would definitely recommend that for
things like range extenders.

For the Linksys units, when a DHCP server is available they simply
request an address via DHCP. When they lose contact with the DHCP
server, they default back to 192.168.1.1. Since you already have a
device on the network with that IP address, there's a conflict. You
could always change the LAN IP address of the router to something else
to avoid the conflict, such as 192.168.1.254. Still, the two REs might
sometimes conflict with each other, but if they're losing contact with
the router that often then something's wrong. Try moving them to a
different location, possibly closer to the router or in such a way that
they don't have to travel through so many walls or floors.

While Linksys shows a laptop being connected directly to a range
extender via Ethernet cable,
(http://www.linksys.com/us/support-article?articleNum=140923), I have
serious doubts that that will work because the RE ports are only Fast
Ethernet, so they don't know how to handle MDI/MDIX. You need Gigabit
ports for that, so the solution is to either use an Ethernet _crossover_
cable, or connect a switch in between the laptop and the RE. You do have
a switch; it's incorporated into the Netgear R6300 router. You have 4
switch ports there, plus a WAN port that you'd ignore for this step.

[Christopher A. Lee‏]

On Tue, 18 Jul 2017 02:24:21 -0500, Char Jackson <no...@none.invalid>

Yes.

For historical reasons, I drive two Ethernet-attached printers (laser
and photo) through a wireless extender - I already had it and had no
spare ports on the router (desktop, two RAID boxes and Vonage)

I initially had difficulties until I set a static IP address using
address reservation at the router.

In fact, I've found that everything generally runs better with static
IP addresses, eg the Win7 wizard configures network-attached printers
by IP address, not by ID, so after a power outage they come back up
with whatever IP address Windows decides and they need to be detached
and reconfigured so it picks up the new address - on each of three
computers.

My RAID boxes have the same problem.

So I gave everything fixed IP addresses, except visiting wireless
laptops. I even have a second desktop in another room, connected via
an N900 adapter so it can access the RAID boxes at an acceptable
speed, and this also has a static IP address.

[Ant‏]

Just for kicks and finally got free time to mess around with the
"broken" Linksys RE4000Ws, I tried again.

I was finally able to connect to one that was resetted succesfully
and had no blinking light (solid) with both wifi and network cable
(needed to wait a minute to get its 192.168.1.1 address) separately.

As for the other one, I still could not reset it. It still gives me the
darn blinking flashing light forever even after pressing its reset hole
button for over five seconds many times when connected to power
(directly to power plug and with its power cable separately).

I tried manual network setup as shown in my
http://picpaste.com/pics/networkcableManualConnectedConfig-jVqHe8ST.1500760955.png
screen shot/capture. I also noticed Mac OS Sierra v10.12.6's manual
network configuration kept saying connected and then not connected back
and forth every few seconds with the connected network cables. When not
connected, RE4000's network light is off. I tried a few different short
network cables and ports too. When it says connected, the network light
is on, but no IP address and can't access 192.168.1.1 (pings and web
browsers). I think there's something wrong with this RE4000 since it
seems to be stuck in an endless loop. :(

So far, the new Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 Desktop WiFi Range Extender
(EX7000-100NAS), to replace them, is working decently after almost a
week. :)

"The work on ants has profoundly affected the way I think about humans."
--E. O. Wilson