Manually Assigned IP Address Not Respected for Repeater

[dpwhite]

Hello. My main router is an Asus GS-AX3000. I have recently added an old Asus RT-N10+ configured as a repeater for the 2.4Ghz signal. I try to keep statically assigned IP for all the devices on my LAN and when I added the repeater, I specified the RT-N10+'s 2 interfaces as shown on the GS-AX3000's DHCP page. In the attached DHCP.JPG image, you can see this:

DHCP

However, after the main router reboots, I am seeing strange behavior in it's client list:

1. In the attached images WTF.JPG and WTF2.JPG main router, you can see that the 1st IP appears to be assigned correctly but the second is not.

WTF1

WTF2

In addition, the odd, black "label" in the cell for the repeater's IP (which shows a balloon text of "undefined") is shown and I don't get that at all.

2. Since I did this, I have seen times where even the first IP was NOT the one I manually assigned (192.168.1.5). But in this specific case, I can see the expected assignment in the repeater's configuration page.

Repeater

3. I have also noted other odd behaviors, post reboot of the main router, where devices I know are connected to the main router are NOT shown in the main router's client list.

Can anyone explain what is going on here? Thanks

[jzchen]

I have an ASUS router TP-Link Range Extender setup (GT-AXE11000 and RE815XE).

For repeater mode each channel gets it's own IP, AND for some strange reason one of them is reported as an Ethernet connection.  Also I find the client list is not always very reliable, unfortunately.

[dpwhite]

Thanks, as always... Do you have/enforce control over the IP addresses being assigned to both of the repeater's IP's? If so, are those being respected or not? Does one of them show an oddball label in the IP address cell in the client list?

Also, any idea what the difference is in the labels shown in the client list "Manual" vs "Static"? I always thought of those I specifically assign on the DHCP page as being static IP's. But those all show as "Manual". Only the oddball, rouge one on 192.168.1.50 shows as "Static". 

Until now, I have not had any reason to complain about the client list.

Best...

[jzchen]

The setup is in another house that I haven't been to in maybe 6 - 9 months, but I remotely check on it/update it, so I'm afraid I haven't gotten to ping anything or try much.

They range extender is simply assigned IPs by the DHCP server.  I notice nowadays they tend to assign the same IP to each client, no matter whether I reboot the router/DHCP server, so I simply let it.  ASUS has a Device Discovery tool which scans your local network for ASUS routers and displays their local IPs so you can log into their configuration page and change settings.  So far for some reason it doesn't see my RT-AC68U, but all AX, AXE, and the one BE router are shown...

(Sorry I can't help much).

[dpwhite]

A quick question: are you able to ping both of the repeater's IPs? I find that I can ping the one shown as Ethernet but NOT the one shown as wifi. Thanks

[dpwhite]

Hi and thanks again! After all this mystery, I spent a bunch of time yesterday trying to "fix" this.

I decided to try to migrate from the stock Asus RT-N10+ B1 firmware to DD-WRT. This went fine at first but somewhere along the line in trying to configure as either a station-bridge or client-bridge, things went off the rails and I thought I had bricked the router. I am not quite sure what I did - as I tried everything I could find, including opening the thing up, connecting serially, and trying to tfpt the stock firmware... But at some point, the DD-WRT came up in default configuration and I was "saved".

I then proceeded to try to configure as a repeater-bridge - even though I really did not want the repeater aspect, only the bridge. I followed the instructions precisely and still was not quite getting there. I did something at some point, cannot recall what, and then I had a working bridge to my main Asus router via wifi. I also had a repeater...

In this configuration, I see only the single entry in the client list on the expected IP of 192.168.1.5 and all else seems the same/fine.

Certainly, the stock RT-N10+ firmware makes this far easier. But the DD-WRT offers much more function - including periodic reboot, which I like.

Best!