Windows 7 Home network problem with second router

[daddyo]

I've run an Ethernet cable to a second floor bedroom router (TP-LINK TL-WR841ND) to give better network connectivity due to distance from the first floor access point, which is also a TL-WR841ND. This cable is connected from yellow LAN port on the secondary to yellow LAN port on the primary. There is no cable plugged into the blue WAN port on the second floor router.

Followed DD-WRT tutorials for setting the second router up to create a single network in the house (same SSID/security, IP subnet same, DHCP disabled, etc.)

The WiFi and hardwired connections are solid - greatly increasing upload and download speeds in the second floor bedroom.

Here is where the problem comes in - when a Windows PC (either Win7 or Win10) connects to the secondary router, the rest of the home network is no longer available to that PC. This occurs when the PC is connected either wirelessly or hardwired to the second upstairs router.

Forcing a connection (via Virtual Wireless Interface) to the main router (the downstairs one connected to the WAN) restores access on the PC to the home network.

Is there a setting on either router that needs to be changed to allow access to the home network, which is a Windows Workgroup?

Do you have any suggestions, outside of router settings, about how to fix this problem?

 

[ussnorway]

DD-WRT tutorials

so 2nd (second floor) router is in "switch" mode and you only have one network yes?
is the computer you take up top getting its address from the dhcp below or is it a reserved address?
have you added any new device, such as a software print server or NAT to the network?

 

[BIGBEARJEDI]

The problem sounds like your network is being divided into 2 subnets, even though you attempted to follow the setup instructions to make it a single network. One thing you could try is to delete ALL computers from the Win7 Homegroup, and recreate the Homegroup on whichever downstairs computer you originally designated as the Homegroup master. Rejoin each Win7 or Win10 computer to the Homegroup with the newly created Homegroup password. Make sure that all computers are set to the identical WORKGROUP name as well, and that none of those computers are inadvertently set to log in to a Domain controller. (Doubtful you have a server in your LAN, but this can cause problems with that wrong setting).

If none of this works; chances are you are having subnetting issues, and your 2 routers are not capable of doing this correctly, which we often see with TP link devices as their firmware and drivers are terrible IMO. Personally, whenever I encounter home networks with any TP equipment I immediately rip them out and replace with name brand cisco/Linksys or netgear only. That may offend you if you've had good success with TP devices, but I do this for a living and they make my life miserable whenever I encounter them. Others may have different experiences.

The other thing I believe you are doing wrong is using a 2nd identical router for the upstairs, as you should be using a Range Extender for that purpose, not a 2nd router. The 2nd router not being connected to the downstream port of your 1st router (WAN port) can be a problem, again TP does not do a good job of firmware support for multiple-router single network inclusion. In fact, I've never encountered a setup such as you have in the field that actually works with all connected computers. I would rip out the Homegroup and recreate that on your LAN on all computers. If that fails, I'd replace both routers with 1 name brand router and 1 name brand Range Extender (type N or AC), and you will see those problems disappear!

Best of luck,
<<<BIGBEARJEDI>>>

 

[ussnorway]

TP link devices as their firmware and drivers are terrible IMO

as a long time user of Tp I want to point out that the op is useing a 3rd party open-linux software to run his routers so calling this a tp driver issue isn't really fare imo.

just to be clear, the advise BigBearJedi is giving is solid!

 

[daddyo]

All,

Thanks for your support replies.

My two youngest sons, 16 and 18, for whom the new router was added, have come up with a work-around. As a Senior System Engineer by trade, I was looking for the "correct" solution. They wanted their network to work, got tired of waiting for me, and just tried stuff.

They figured out that if they connect wirelessly to the first floor router AND hardwired to the second floor router, they still achieve the increased speed performance, plus have the advantage of being on the home network.

It's all good now!

Daddyo.

 

[daddyo]

so 2nd (second floor) router is in "switch" mode and you only have one network yes?
is the computer you take up top getting its address from the dhcp below or is it a reserved address?
have you added any new device, such as a software print server or NAT to the network?

Yes, the 2nd floor computers are getting the IP from a reserved pool of addresses on the 1st floor router via DHCP.

No, there are no software printer servers or NAT devices.

When you ask if the 2nd floor router is in "switch" mode, where would I find that setting? (Firmware: DD-WRT v24-sp2 (04/01/15) std)

 

[Neemobeer]

You would want to put the second router in AP mode and plug an Ethernet cable from a LAN port on the first router to the WAN port on the second router to create a single network. You will also want the the SSID on both networks to be the same and for the 2.4GHz channel you will want one router on channel 1,6 or 11 and the other router on one of the unused of these three channels to enable SSID roaming. If router 2 doesn't have AP mode I believe you can still get it to work as long as you turn off DHCP on router 2.