Help Getting Range Extender to work with Router

Malice

I'm running an Eircom Netopia router. Today I bought this NetGear Range Extender and have been unable to get it to work .

I've done the following:
Plugged repeater in, switched it on.
Connected to the NETGEAR_EXT Wireless Network Connection.
Started the installation via http://www.mywifiext.net/
The installation detects my existing Eircom Broadband setup.
After I select the existing Eircom setup, the next screen is confusing:

First Question: By "passphrase" does it mean the encryption key from the Eircom router configuration?
Either way, what do the four key lines represent? Are they related to the keys on the Eircom router? Am I supposed to enter the corresponding keys from the router?
If so what's the point of the Generate button?
So far I've tried generating a passphrase, a blank passphrase, entering the encryption key from the Eircom router and a couple of the existing keys and selecting them separately but nothing has worked.
The installation will proceed, create a new wireless network connection <existing name>_ext but I am always unable to connect to it.
I've also run the installation in a couple of different browsers, and from a couple of different computers just to try to eliminate those as issues.

Malice

Anyone?

pizzahead77

Is your existing Eircom router using WEP or WPA security?

digitaldr

Might be worth trying it without encryption first just to see if it is causing your problems.

Malice

pizzahead77 wrote: »

Is your existing Eircom router using WEP or WPA security?

It's using WEP.

digitaldr wrote: »

Might be worth trying it without encryption first just to see if it is causing your problems.

Any idea how do I do that?

Malice

Come on folks, don't leave me hanging! Has no one on here set up a NetGear Range Extender before?

whitesands

I've no idea about your range extender but I'd imagine you need to focus on the encryption & key 1. Make sure what you enter as encryption & key 1 matches your wireless router EXACTLY.

whitesands

Malice wrote: »

Any idea how do I do that?

The dropdown menu in the image you posted.

mobil 222

Malice wrote: »

I'm running an Eircom Netopia router. Today I bought this NetGear Range Extender and have been unable to get it to work .

I've done the following:
Plugged repeater in, switched it on.
Connected to the NETGEAR_EXT Wireless Network Connection.
Started the installation via http://www.mywifiext.net/
The installation detects my existing Eircom Broadband setup.
After I select the existing Eircom setup, the next screen is confusing:

First Question: By "passphrase" does it mean the encryption key from the Eircom router configuration?
Either way, what do the four key lines represent? Are they related to the keys on the Eircom router? Am I supposed to enter the corresponding keys from the router?
If so what's the point of the Generate button?
So far I've tried generating a passphrase, a blank passphrase, entering the encryption key from the Eircom router and a couple of the existing keys and selecting them separately but nothing has worked.
The installation will proceed, create a new wireless network connection <existing name>_ext but I am always unable to connect to it.
I've also run the installation in a couple of different browsers, and from a couple of different computers just to try to eliminate those as issues.

i connected mine to a netgear router /modem without encription ...connected with a cable ethernet... to my main comp and just followed the instructions

Big Lar

Looking at your screenshot I am wondering if you haves the netgear setup in repeater mode

Malice

Thanks for the responses folks, I've just now gotten some time to try the repeater again.

mobil 222 wrote:

i connected mine to a netgear router /modem without encription ...connected with a cable ethernet... to my main comp and just followed the instructions

I'm not sure what you mean. I can't run a cable between the router and the computer, hence the attempted introduction of the range extender. In fact it's intended to serve a bunch of devices around the house. If you mean a cable between the router and the repeater well it's the same as below, I don't know how to turn off the encryption in the repeater setup. In fact the repeater's manual even says not to use a cable, that it is supposed to work wirelessly.

whitesands wrote: »

The dropdown menu in the image you posted.

That dropdown list contains two options - 64 bit and 128 bit. There's no option as far as I can see for no encryption. Trust me, if I had seen one I'd have clicked it.

Big Lar wrote: »

Looking at your screenshot I am wondering if you haves the netgear setup in repeater mode

I don't know what you mean, could you clarify? It's in whatever mode it comes in out of the box.

whitesands wrote: »

I've no idea about your range extender but I'd imagine you need to focus on the encryption & key 1. Make sure what you enter as encryption & key 1 matches your wireless router EXACTLY.

So I go to the wireless settings for the router and I see the that the default key is set to 1.



What's confusing is that, in the above screenshot, the selected encryption key matches the first key in the list but by your post it seems like they should be different or at least that they are different things. Is this correct or am I just mis-understanding you?

Either way everything else in the router setup is at its default. So, I copy encryption key #1 from the router screen to the repeater screen, set the encryption strength to 128 bits to match the router and hit Continue. The process seems to complete successfully but on trying to connect (with a couple of different devices) I get this:



There is also a green WPS button on the front. It doesn't seem to have an Off state just On and Blinking. Either way, pressing it to one state or the other doesn't allow me to connect.

ZENER

First thing you should do regardless of the extender is to change the encryption on the Netopia to WPA2 ! There are numerous articles about relating to Eircom BB routers being easy to hack into due to the method they use to generate the WEP key.

Once you've done this reboot the Netopia and reconnect all your wireless devices which should now require you to enter the new WPA password. The range extender should now request you to enter the WPA key rather than a WEP key. It needs this to connect to the Netopia unit just like any wireless device would.

Ken