XPost: comp.mobile.android, alt.comp.os.windows-10   
   From: java@evij.com.invalid   
      
   On 21/02/2024 10:47, Graham J wrote:   
   >   
   > Patrick wrote:   
   >>   
   >> Desktop PC to Android Mobile Hotspot - What do you use for the Gateway?   
   >> 1. My Windows 10 desktop has no Wi-Fi card.   
   >> 2. So I Ethernet out to an old router acting as a wireless client bridge.   
   >   
   > I'm confused by the terminology.  I would expect "wireless client" to be   
   > sufficient.   
      
   He states that he's using a DD-WRT build, presumably it's on this   
   router, in which case, in DD-WRT speak, there is a difference between   
   the two.  IIRC there are two possible settings to achieve what he wants,   
   one of which, a client-bridge, simply behaves as a replacement for a   
   piece of cabling, in that the router locks on to the source WiFi and   
   passes all DHCP & DNS etc straight through to its cabled LAN ports, and   
   does not act as an access-point.  IIRC still, there is another choice   
   where the router does all the above but also acts like an AP in allowing   
   clients to its own WiFi also to make connections back to the source router.   
      
   >> 3. This has been working for many years.   
   >   
   > OK so what is the internet router it normally connects to?  And what LAN   
   > IP address does it have?   
   >   
   >> For whatever reason, the Internet went out.   
   >   
   > To avoid confusion, power off this router while the internet is dead.   
   >   
   >> So I set up the phone as a Mobile Hotspot which works for the laptop.   
   >   
   > What LAN IP address does this laptop report when connected to the hotspot?   
   >   
   >> But I wanted the desktop to be connected also.   
   >> 1. So I figured I'd set up the bridge, temporarily to the Mobile Hotspot.   
   >> 2. The Mobile Hotspot has an SSID with the same passphrase as all my APs.   
   >   
   > I think this is very confusing.  I think you should change its SSID to   
   > be obviously different - "Hotspot" - and specify a different passphrase.   
   >   
   > Then change the old router's wireless credentials to the values required   
   > for the hotspot.   
   >   
   > [snip]   
   >   
   >> There's also a question in the DD-WRT wireless client bridge setup of:   
   >> Local IP Address = 192.168.1.whatever/24   
   >> Gateway = 192.168.1.1   
   >> Local DNS = 192.168.1.1   
      
   If it's of any help, on my DD-WRT Client-Bridge, an old Cisco LinkSys   
   WRT320N which links my bedroom to the rest of my home LAN, the settings are:   
      
   Setup, Basic Setup, Router IP:   
        Local IP Address:  192.168.x.y where y is not 1   
        Subnet Mask:       255.255.255.0   
        Gateway:           192.168.x.1   
        Local DNS:         192.168.x.1   
      
   However, if I was trying to connect it to my tablet acting as a mobile   
   hotspot, I'd expect to be using a different x than that required to   
   connect to my primary main router.  What x should be in this case you   
   should be able to find out either from the phone itself or if not there   
   then the laptop that connects successfully  -  on the latter start a   
   Command Prompt with Administrator privileges, type ...   
       IPConfig /all   
   ... and note what is x for the wireless connection.   
      
   Going back to the client-bridge, Wireless, Basic Settings:   
        Wireless Mode:                   Client Bridge   
        Wireless Network Mode:           N-Only (2.4GHz)   
        Wireless Network SSID:           XYZ   
        Sensitivity Range (ACK timing):  2000 (IIRC the default)   
        Network Configuration:           Bridged   
      
   > The LAN IP address for the wireless client can only be used for   
   > communication with the client itself.   The DHCP service should be off,   
   > which means that to communicate with the wireless client your computer   
   > needs a static address of the form 192.168.1.another.  The "gateway"   
   > value is meaningless in this context.   
      
   No, either this is incorrect or I'm misunderstanding what you're saying   
   because of the potential for ambiguity, so let me try a different and   
   hopefully entirely unambiguous explanation, (deep breath) here goes:   
      
   The client-bridge setting in the secondary DD-WRT router essentially   
   makes its wireless connection back to the main router behave like a   
   physical cable connecting the main router to its own switch and its LAN   
   ports beyond.  As long as the desktop PC was previously set to accept a   
   DHCP IP & DNS from the main router, nothing should need to change;   
   however, if it was using a fixed IP, then obviously that would need to   
   change because x in the settings above is now going to be different.  As   
   you state, I would recommend using DHCP for any devices beyond a   
   client-bridge, and if it was desirable that one of them has a fixed IP,   
   then fix that in the addresses doled out by the main router.   
      
   I have both a Network Media Player and occasionally an old laptop wired   
   to the bedroom client-bridge, both are set to use DHCP, but in the main   
   router the NMP is always given the same IP address reserved high in the   
   allocatable range, while the laptop just gets whatever it is given.   
   (You may wonder, why not use the laptop's WiFi directly?  It's only G,   
   whereas the client-bridge is N, so the connection is significantly   
   faster via the client-bridge.)   
      
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