# Weird router issue?!! and a buying advice



## Ronnie11 (Dec 9, 2013)

Hey guys i have a small problem. My internet connection is from a local internet cablewallah. I was finally thinking of converting this cable internet connection of mine to Wifi. Now i already had a wifi router which is Asus RTN13U. I have been using this router for a year now with my other pc. This other pc has an mtnl internet connection. It works smoothly there.However since the range and speed in mtnl is limited, I decided to move it to my pc. This is where my problem started.
I first tried connecting the Asus router by myself. When i plugged the cable wire to the router and then the secondary connection to the pc, i kept noticing that the internet light is not blinking on the asus router. The other three lights that is the power, wireless and the Lan light (the wire from the router to the pc)was on. This meant that the router wasnt accepting the cable connection at all.It was responding.I thought the problem was with the wire as the RJ45 in the cable might be loose. Upon redoing the RJ45 slot in the wire, when i tried again it did not work.I was sure that the router was working as it was working on the mtnl line before.

Now when i asked the cable guy to help, This is what happened. He brought a machine(which looked like a router and had the writings netgear switch) and connected the cable wire to that machine and from the machine to the router and then the internet light started blinking on the asus router. What he explained is that the wire to my house from the source is too long and as a result the asus router is not able to reach the distance. Hence the cable wire is not reading on asus router.
So here is my query. If i buy a new router say a tp link or something, Will this problem be sorted. Also the cable guy said you get something like this box called the switch which helps it reach the router. which one of them should i buy then??Anyone know about this switch router looking like box.
Sorry for the long post but this really has got me in a fix.


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## whitestar_999 (Dec 9, 2013)

basically switch works in same way like wifi repeater.it helps carrying data through lan over long distances.theoretically max lan wire length(for a single segment like from one box to another box) for typical category 5 lan cable is 100m so if you are reaching near this mark then you will face issues.now if you place a switch at ~80m mark then lan segment length from switch to your router will be just 20m.switch has its own adapter for its power which it uses to kind of amplifying lan data signal.

D-Link 5-Port 10/100BASE-T Unmanaged Switch Network Switch - D-Link: Flipkart.com
TP-LINK TL-SF1008D 8-Port 10/100Mbps Desktop Switch - TP-LINK: Flipkart.com
TP-LINK TL-SF1005D 5-Port 10/100Mbps Desktop Switch - TP-LINK: Flipkart.com


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## Ronnie11 (Dec 9, 2013)

@whitestar..first of all thanks a lot for explaining. To think of itx yeah the wire is just about 100m or more. hmm regarding the 80m mark thing, he placed the switch machine next to the router at home and it worked. Will it work this way around as well. Also will there be a loss of internet speed and download with this switch system. Which one of the three would you recommend??

Do i have to buy a new router as well?

can you also explain this cat 5 or cat 6 wires??What is the difference.The one the local cable guy offers looks like a telephone line but the wire i received with my asus router look a tad bigger.


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## whitestar_999 (Dec 9, 2013)

switch can amplify the data signal so a switch at ~100m mark & then connected to a router will provide enough powerful signal to be recognized by router & you can use your existing router just with a new switch.as for internet speed you don't have to worry about that because in India internet speeds are of order of few mbps at best & this is 100mbps lan.typically used wire is cat5 & again you don't have to worry about it since you have to get the switch anyway.basically cat6 is more expensive advanced version of cat5 cable & meant for good gigabit networks.as for switches i prefer tp-link but its after sales support if you need warranty is a bit complicated compared to dlink but chances of needing warranty for tp-link products is very low in my experience so your choice.


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## Ronnie11 (Dec 9, 2013)

So i guess buying the switch should be able to solve my problems then.Ahh good thing there won't be any internet issues.Already having a low 1mbps package anyway  . By my understanding CAT 5 wires would do fine with router then. How do i configure the switch with the router. My cable configurations itself is weird with me having to do mac reset or something everytime i get a new system for the cable and the dial to thing. Is it easy to configure these?Or these like plug and play.

*www.flipkart.com/tp-link-tl-sf1005d-5-port-10-100mbps-desktop-switch/p/itmd7hnvtpj32gyy?pid=NSWD7HNUJQ4ZQCQF&
Ordering this one..will it suffice?

*www.flipkart.com/d-link-ncb-5eublur1-3-data-cable/p/itmdbhyhvgnd9f6r?pid=ACCDBHXY7HP5HH6H&otracker=from-search&srno=t_6&query=cat+5+cable&ref=3c1eb134-5c13-418e-a73c-e17e2b68c35e

one more thing..can i buy the cable linked above..this one is compatible right??

ps:- @whitestar..thanks for bearing with me..i know most of the stuff i am asking is very stupid but i almost have no idea about these..


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## whitestar_999 (Dec 10, 2013)

typical home network switch is just plug & play kind of device.it doesn't even have a configuration page like router.just use it with router like the way you used router before with your connection.any cat 5/5e cable will work & as far as i know these are the only types of lan cables mostly available in market.

there are no stupid questions,only stupid answers.


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## Ronnie11 (Dec 10, 2013)

Thanks..have ordered it off flipkart..hopefully it works this time..


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## Ronnie11 (Dec 12, 2013)

So the tp link switch was delivered today and finally the wifi and the internet is working...Thank you whitestar for the help..couldn't have done it otherwise... 

Just one final question. I need to extend my router reach to the other parts of my house.. The range is now limited due to many walls along the way. So will a repeater do the job?Also is it tough to setup a repeater??How do i go about doing it?


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## whitestar_999 (Dec 12, 2013)

TP-LINK TL-WA730RE 150 Mbps Wireless Range Extender - TP-LINK: Flipkart.com
TP-LINK TL-WA830RE 300 Mbps Wireless N Range Extender - TP-LINK: Flipkart.com
How to Configure my Range Extender - Welcome to TP-LINK


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## Ronnie11 (Dec 12, 2013)

whitestar_999 said:


> TP-LINK TL-WA730RE 150 Mbps Wireless Range Extender - TP-LINK: Flipkart.com
> TP-LINK TL-WA830RE 300 Mbps Wireless N Range Extender - TP-LINK: Flipkart.com
> How to Configure my Range Extender - Welcome to TP-LINK



No compatibility issues right with this tp link extender?
Thank you whitestar.. Thank you so much


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## whitestar_999 (Dec 12, 2013)

i am not giving a guarantee of compatibility but based on reviews & tp-link product description it should work with any router.here is a setup of asus & tp-link range extenders working fine except for a minor issue of setting:
How to find ip of repeater [Solved] - Routers - Networking


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## Ronnie11 (Dec 13, 2013)

hey whitestar..small query again..i am facing some weird issue with my asus router. The thing is it was working fine since yest but started giving problems today. The thing is that my wireless one is wpa2 password protected. So it was working fine untill today when my phone is not able to connect. It keeps looping at obtaining ip address. Now when i make my wireless an open system, it works fine and without any problem but then when i try readding the password again it gets stuck at obtaining ip address.What sort of problem is this??Will adding custom dd wrt software fix the issue?


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## whitestar_999 (Dec 13, 2013)

read asus manual & check if you changed some fancy wifi setting recently from default.also is this problem occurring only with your phone(any updates etc) or other devices like laptop too.


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## Ronnie11 (Dec 13, 2013)

whitestar_999 said:


> read asus manual & check if you changed some fancy wifi setting recently from default.also is this problem occurring only with your phone(any updates etc) or other devices like laptop too.



Happening with other devices as well..working only on the computer. Again tried, working only on open,not wpa2.Sigh


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## whitestar_999 (Dec 13, 2013)

try resetting asus router to default settings but save current settings screenshots first.if that doesn't work then try updating firmware but make sure to read instructions & connect router to ups/inverter because any disruption during firmware updating kills the device.


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## Ronnie11 (Dec 13, 2013)

ok..tried WPA and its working fine now..extremely weird though..tried resetting before..didn't work.But just changing from wpa2 to wpa worked.What problem is this?Planning to add dd wrt firmware. Is it better than the stock asus firmware?Honestly finding the firmware buggy.


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## whitestar_999 (Dec 13, 2013)

you can try but like i said earlier always read the instructions carefully before updating firmware.in wpa2 setting try changing related settings like encryption type,key type etc.


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## Ronnie11 (Dec 13, 2013)

whitestar_999 said:


> you can try but like i said earlier always read the instructions carefully before updating firmware.in wpa2 setting try changing related settings like encryption type,key type etc.



Will try with the settings and see..Thanks a lot


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## The Incinerator (Dec 13, 2013)

I have the Asus RT-N13U B1 and the latest beta firmware is doing good this side of DD-WRT. I am doing everything with it from torrents to range extending for my other Dlink to sharing my HDD over a network (AI Disk). Touchwood!


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