• Hot Linksys RE4000W's front lights are blinking. Can't seem to fix. Nee

    From Ant@21:1/5 to All on Fri Jul 14 21:05:05 2017
    XPost: alt.comp.networking.routers, alt.comp.networking.connectivity, comp.networks

    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. :)
    --
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  • From Char Jackson@21:1/5 to Ant on Sat Jul 15 01:06:17 2017
    XPost: alt.comp.networking.routers, alt.comp.networking.connectivity, comp.networks

    On Fri, 14 Jul 2017 21:05:05 -0700, Ant <ant@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.

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  • From Ant@21:1/5 to Char Jackson on Sat Jul 15 07:07:38 2017
    XPost: alt.comp.networking.routers, alt.comp.networking.connectivity, comp.networks

    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. :/
    --
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  • From Char Jackson@21:1/5 to Ant on Sat Jul 15 11:03:53 2017
    XPost: alt.comp.networking.routers, alt.comp.networking.connectivity, comp.networks

    On Sat, 15 Jul 2017 07:07:38 -0700, Ant <ant@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.

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  • From Ant@21:1/5 to Char Jackson on Sat Jul 15 10:22:22 2017
    XPost: alt.comp.networking.routers, alt.comp.networking.connectivity, comp.networks

    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
    Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see
    this signature correctly.
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  • From Char Jackson@21:1/5 to Ant on Sat Jul 15 13:35:38 2017
    XPost: alt.comp.networking.routers, alt.comp.networking.connectivity, comp.networks

    On Sat, 15 Jul 2017 10:22:22 -0700, Ant <ant@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.

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  • From Char Jackson@21:1/5 to Ant on Sun Jul 16 12:48:46 2017
    XPost: alt.comp.networking.routers, alt.comp.networking.connectivity, comp.networks

    On Sun, 16 Jul 2017 10:28:13 -0700, Ant <ant@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.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Ant@21:1/5 to Ant on Sun Jul 16 10:28:13 2017
    XPost: alt.comp.networking.routers, alt.comp.networking.connectivity, comp.networks

    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.


    On 7/14/2017 9:05 PM, Ant 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.
    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. :)
    --
    "Ah. Those club kids did eat those ants up like popcorn." --CSI: Miami
    (Wannabe episode; #218)
    Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see
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  • From Ant@21:1/5 to Char Jackson on Sun Jul 16 16:32:16 2017
    XPost: alt.comp.networking.routers, alt.comp.networking.connectivity, comp.networks

    In alt.comp.networking.routers Char Jackson <none@none.invalid> wrote:
    On Sun, 16 Jul 2017 10:28:13 -0700, Ant <ant@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! :)
    --
    Quote of the Week: "Number fourteen. The naughty bits of an ant." --Monty Python's Flying Circus
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    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Char Jackson@21:1/5 to Ant on Sun Jul 16 18:37:53 2017
    XPost: alt.comp.networking.routers, alt.comp.networking.connectivity, comp.networks

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

    In alt.comp.networking.routers Char Jackson <none@none.invalid> wrote:
    On Sun, 16 Jul 2017 10:28:13 -0700, Ant <ant@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.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Ant@21:1/5 to Char Jackson on Sun Jul 16 20:46:24 2017
    XPost: alt.comp.networking.routers, alt.comp.networking.connectivity, comp.networks

    In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.networking Char Jackson <none@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.
    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.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Char Jackson@21:1/5 to Ant on Sun Jul 16 23:11:48 2017
    XPost: alt.comp.networking.routers, alt.comp.networking.connectivity, comp.networks

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

    In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.networking Char Jackson <none@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.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Ant@21:1/5 to Char Jackson on Mon Jul 17 18:45:38 2017
    XPost: alt.comp.networking.routers, alt.comp.networking.connectivity, comp.networks

    In alt.comp.networking.routers Char Jackson <none@none.invalid> wrote:
    On Sun, 16 Jul 2017 20:46:24 -0500, ANTant@zimage.com (Ant) wrote:

    In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.networking Char Jackson <none@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.
    --
    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.
    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.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Char Jackson@21:1/5 to Ant on Tue Jul 18 02:24:21 2017
    XPost: alt.comp.networking.routers, alt.comp.networking.connectivity, comp.networks

    On Mon, 17 Jul 2017 18:45:38 -0500, ANTant@zimage.com (Ant) wrote:

    In alt.comp.networking.routers Char Jackson <none@none.invalid> wrote:
    On Sun, 16 Jul 2017 20:46:24 -0500, ANTant@zimage.com (Ant) wrote:

    In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.networking Char Jackson <none@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.

    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.


    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.

    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.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Christopher A. Lee@21:1/5 to All on Tue Jul 18 11:30:52 2017
    XPost: alt.comp.networking.routers, alt.comp.networking.connectivity, comp.networks

    On Tue, 18 Jul 2017 02:24:21 -0500, Char Jackson <none@none.invalid>
    wrote:

    On Mon, 17 Jul 2017 18:45:38 -0500, ANTant@zimage.com (Ant) wrote:

    In alt.comp.networking.routers Char Jackson <none@none.invalid> wrote:
    On Sun, 16 Jul 2017 20:46:24 -0500, ANTant@zimage.com (Ant) wrote:

    In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.networking Char Jackson <none@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.

    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.

    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.

    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.

    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.

    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.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Ant@21:1/5 to Ant on Sat Jul 22 15:08:00 2017
    XPost: alt.comp.networking.routers, alt.comp.networking.connectivity, comp.networks

    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. :)


    On 7/16/2017 10:28 AM, Ant 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.


    On 7/14/2017 9:05 PM, Ant 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.
    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. :)
    --
    "The work on ants has profoundly affected the way I think about humans."
    --E. O. Wilson
    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.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)