Connecting UPC Cisco EPC3925 to another router to extend network HELP!

gfoster

Hi, i'm trying to connect my Upc router to another router to extend my network to have good wifi in 2 locations.

Before when i was with eircom I connected 2 eircom routers using cat 5 and setting the second router to bridged mode and turning off dhcp etc and this worked perfectly but when i connect the second bridged router to the new upc router it just doesn't seem to work after a few minutes.

After a few minutes the internet connection drops and sometimes have trouble connecting to either router.

Is there something i must configure in the upc router?

This worked flawless for years when i had the 2 eircom routers connected.
I've also tried connecting other routers in bridged mode to the upc and same thing happens. Will work sometimes and just end up dropping internet or having trouble connecting to either router.

I've read people bridging the Upc router to other routers to use the other router as there primary, but the upc one is working fine on its own, i just want to extend the network and have two routers working together and not disabling the function of the upc, seems what alot of people are doing.

Any advise?
And i apologies if this has come up before but from reading most people are just disabling the upc router and not configuring to use it WITH another router.
Thanks

gfoster

Just to add, I've configured the upc to 192.168.1.1 and the secondary router to 192.168.1.2.
They also have different wep keys and ssid's example (router 1 and router 2) not default that come with.
Also i've opened ports on the cisco to allow devices to connect to internet which are connected to either router.

Not sure if that makes any difference, but just to add.

gfoster

No help?

FengYang

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Netgear-XWNB5201-500Mbps-Powerline-Extender/dp/B009T67ZSQ/ref=sr_1_11?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1389143555&sr=1-11&keywords=powerline+500

I had the same issue, I end up ask UPC support guy. Seems the only solution they suggested is to use the power line adapter + access point set. See above product. Or you can buy them separately.

I am also interested if someone is able to bridge with the newest UPC router( the Cisco router ). Please let me know.

gfoster

I should be able to use another router connect via cat 5 without any problems.
Just an update, I used a belkin router with ddwrt install and set it up as an access point.
Worked for a day or 2 then had same connecting issues. Its working on and off.
I dont understand why i'm having such on issues with the upc router.

FengYang

I am guessing, The UPC cisco router has certain 'SMART' security authentications when the bridged router try to establish another connection after first time (or they just simply do not want to be bridged by other brand router). you can try to change security encryption type (e.g. WEP, WPA .. etc) and the channel to be static NOT auto in the UPC router, it may resolve your issue.

nesf

FengYang wrote: »

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Netgear-XWNB5201-500Mbps-Powerline-Extender/dp/B009T67ZSQ/ref=sr_1_11?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1389143555&sr=1-11&keywords=powerline+500

I had the same issue, I end up ask UPC support guy. Seems the only solution they suggested is to use the power line adapter + access point set. See above product. Or you can buy them separately.

I am also interested if someone is able to bridge with the newest UPC router( the Cisco router ). Please let me know.

As far as I know it is bridgeable but it does require some command line work so it might be too technical for most people to attempt. If you do a search on the forums you can find a discussion where someone detailed the process (it isn't simple).

FengYang

nesf wrote: »

As far as I know it is bridgeable but it does require some command line work so it might be too technical for most people to attempt. If you do a search on the forums you can find a discussion where someone detailed the process (it isn't simple).

I see, are you talking about this
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056758726

gfoster, I think the above link is the solution. please let me know if it works.

stevek93

Best way I found out is to set the UPC modem/router to 192.168.1.1 haven't tried turning of the dhcp yet, and the secondary router to 192.168.2.1

gfoster

FengYang wrote: »

I see, are you talking about this
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056758726

gfoster, I think the above link is the solution. please let me know if it works.

No i'm not looking to turn my upc router into a bridged router, that will disable dhcp which i'll need. I want to connect another router to it that will be set up as a bridged router.
I've looked at that link and it seems that they are disabling dhcp and configuring dhcp with there new router. That's alot of messing and not going to benefit my set up. People are doing that just disable the upc router in theory and use there own router.

But i'm trying to simple use the upc router and extend my wireless network which i've done previously when on eircom.
I pretty much have it working now but the signal just drop very often and is a pain to connect to the secondary router.

gfoster

stevek93 wrote: »

Best way I found out is to set the UPC modem/router to 192.168.1.1 haven't tried turning of the dhcp yet, and the secondary router to 192.168.2.1

If your turn off dhcp on the upc and turn on on the secondary will you loose internet?
Will you have to configure your open ports again etc?

stevek93

gfoster wrote: »

If your turn off dhcp on the upc and turn on on the secondary will you loose internet?
Will you have to configure your open ports again etc?

You shoudn't loose your internet connection as you are using NAT, and setting a static IP address on the secondary router. Someone correct me if I am wrong.

nesf

FengYang wrote: »

I see, are you talking about this
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056758726

gfoster, I think the above link is the solution. please let me know if it works.

Heh, I was remembering a different router! That one isn't complicated to do at all.

nesf

Actually, to the OP, just a wireless extender in your network, you don't need a router to extend wi-fi. Or if it's a place hard to reach in your home with wifi (e.g. my attic is like this due to very thick walls in an old house messing with the signal) then powerline ethernet to either a router or wireless access point will do the trick.

Putting in another router is only something you need/want if you need better routing or some functions that say DD-WRT provides or whatever. Otherwise it's simpler to work with switches/powerline/ethernet cable runs/wireless extenders and whatnot.

gfoster

Thanks for the replies guys, see i actually need networking in another area also.

Can someone explain if i set why second router as a bridge, why is it not working with my upc router as a wifi swtich as it did with my previous eircom router?
I should not have to go through the trouble of buying powerline adapters when i'm previously had this set up working.

Heres a picture of my setup to get a better idea.

nesf

You'd have to tell the second router to act as a "dumb switch" and not as a router. Otherwise it'll try and act as a router and it'll mess things up. Depending on what model your second router is how to do this will vary. If you can tell people the specific model of router it is they should be able to help.

gfoster

nesf wrote: »

You'd have to tell the second router to act as a "dumb switch" and not as a router. Otherwise it'll try and act as a router and it'll mess things up. Depending on what model your second router is how to do this will vary. If you can tell people the specific model of router it is they should be able to help.

ok i just thought if i turned dhcp off that would make the second router act as a bridged router.
At the moment i've a cisco wrt160nv3 with ddwrt installed.
I followed this guide and set it up accordingly, http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Wireless_Access_Point

nesf

gfoster wrote: »

ok i just thought if i turned dhcp off that would make the second router act as a bridged router.
At the moment i've a cisco wrt160nv3 with ddwrt installed.
I followed this guide and set it up accordingly, http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Wireless_Access_Point

Which set of instructions did you follow, the simple or short or long version?

gfoster

nesf wrote: »

Which set of instructions did you follow, the simple or short or long version?

Sorry, the long version.

nesf

And you redid them I assume before using the UPC router? Hmmm. That's an odd one, I'd put the EPC3925 into bridge mode and remove it from the routing task and then put a third (bleh) router beside it to act as a router for the network and where everything downstairs connects to and then have the cable from upstairs connected to that. You end up with two routers and the UPC Cisco acting as a cable modem basically.

Someone else hopefully has a better idea!

pulpfictionost

What is the default username & password on UPC's Cisco EPC3925 ??

FengYang

Hey gfoster,

I might found the root cause. I was able to reproduce the issue you have on Cisco EPC3925 with the 2nd router. The bridged router works fine for first a few hours then it suddenly dropped connection.

In my case, I discovered I did not set the root router's wireless channel to fixed, I used the default channel which is 'auto' (channel 2 was assigned by default). When I configure the 2nd router I used default discovery, it discover the root router's channel and set the itself's channel to a fixed 2. when the root router's channel was changed, but the 2nd router was still using the last known channel (channel 2). it resulted the connection failure.

The solution I used is:
I changed my root router's wireless channel to fixed channel and ensure the 2nd router is the same, then the issue went away.

hope this helps.

gfoster

Yes i have one router on channel 2 and the other on channel 12, always been like that.
Now in saying the past month or 2 i haven't had much problems, connection drop now and again but that maybe just upc.
Thanks anyway for the update.

advertsfox

Your seconds router should be set as an AP that just acts as an extension to the UPC. What's the make / model?

adamleigha

pulpfictionost wrote: »

What is the default username & password on UPC's Cisco EPC3925 ??

Thats the million dollar question...nobody seems to know??

Furzy

pulpfictionost wrote: »

What is the default username & password on UPC's Cisco EPC3925 ??

Thats the million dollar question...nobody seems to know??

Is there a default?
Mine was blank and on first use I entered my own username and pw and clicked save. It then allowed me to log in and alter settings.

jOHNdOE71

gfoster wrote: »

Hi, i'm trying to connect my Upc router to another router to extend my network to have good wifi in 2 locations.

Before when i was with eircom I connected 2 eircom routers using cat 5 and setting the second router to bridged mode and turning off dhcp etc and this worked perfectly but when i connect the second bridged router to the new upc router it just doesn't seem to work after a few minutes.

After a few minutes the internet connection drops and sometimes have trouble connecting to either router.

Is there something i must configure in the upc router?

This worked flawless for years when i had the 2 eircom routers connected.
I've also tried connecting other routers in bridged mode to the upc and same thing happens. Will work sometimes and just end up dropping internet or having trouble connecting to either router.

I've read people bridging the Upc router to other routers to use the other router as there primary, but the upc one is working fine on its own, i just want to extend the network and have two routers working together and not disabling the function of the upc, seems what alot of people are doing.

Any advise?
And i apologies if this has come up before but from reading most people are just disabling the upc router and not configuring to use it WITH another router.
Thanks

This guide worked for me:
labnol.org/software/add-router-to-wireless-network/19716/

I have previously posted it here:
boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=92651597

***You may copy and paste address, as Boards won't allow my post links after nearly 3 years it still considers me a NEW user!***