Trying to use an old router as a wireless bridge

AI Thread Summary
A user successfully repurposed an old Linksys E2500 router as a bridge after struggling to connect it to a primary Cisco DPC3825 DOCSIS 3.0 Gateway. Initially, the user set up DD-WRT firmware on the E2500 but encountered issues connecting to the primary router. After attempting various configurations, the user switched to setting up the E2500 as a repeater, which resolved the connectivity issue, albeit placing the desktop on a different subnet. Another participant noted a similar experience, suggesting that using two DD-WRT routers might bypass limitations imposed by the ISP's gateway. They recommended configuring the secondary router independently before disabling the gateway's routing functions to ensure proper internet access. This approach highlights potential compatibility issues with certain ISP gateways when using third-party routers.
NeoDevin
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I recently rearranged my house, and now the most convenient place to set up my computer is unfortunately inconvenient to run a wire to.

Fortunately, I have an old router lying around (Linksys E2500), that I figured I could use as a bridge, and while it wouldn't be as fast as connecting a wire directly, it would be better than nothing, for now.

I set up DD-WRT on the E2500 following the instructions here. This step appears to have been successful, and I went with the "mega" version.

I then followed the instructions here, to try to set up the bridge, but after following all of the instructions there, I am unable to connect to my primary router. (From my ISP, a Cisco DPC3825 DOCSIS 3.0 Gateway). If I give my computer a static IP address, I can connect to my E2500, but not the primary router. Can't even ping it. Any suggestions what might be causing the issue?

Thanks in advance.
Devin
 
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Ok, so I got things working by setting it up as a repeater, following these instructions. Means my desktop is on a different subnet, but that's not a big deal.

Just thought I'd update, in case anyone else comes across this post.
 
I had a similar problem with my ISP provided router, very similar to your's not but I'm not sure if it was the same DOCSIS 3.0 gateway. Anyway, I couldn't get my router to work as a bridge either but when I tried to do it with two DDWRT routers, it worked. Perhaps its the gateway that's somehow causing an issue?
 
My understanding is that it should be completely independent of the gateway (I could be wrong on this, though). Unfortunately, I don't have another router handy to test it out.

When you tried with two DD-WRT routers, did you try it with everything set exactly the same as your ISP's gateway?
 
I first configured the two routers independent of the gateway. IIRC the gateway was using the address 192.168.0.1 for internal addressing. I just had the two routers use 1.1 for the last two octets. I left the gateway as is so that I could continue to use the internet if I needed to search for anything while setting up the routers.

Once i had the two routers working together properly, then i called my ISP and had them disable all the router functionality of the gateway and plugged in the primary into the gateway and moved the secondary elsewhere in the house.
 
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