# Can't access second router in network



## gberger (Jul 27, 2009)

Hi all,

For reasons I won't bore anyone with, I decided to add a second router to my network. I connected the second router to a laptop and changed the default IP address to 192.168.1.2 and disabled DHCP. After I applied the settings I was no longer able to access the router no matter what IP address I tried. Deciding I really didn't need to access it as long as it worked, I connected it to my network by plugging a cable in to a LAN port, and connecting two other computers to LAN ports on the router. Everything works fine, all computers on the network have internet access whether wired or wireless (wireless from the the original router, wireless on second router turned off). 

So my question is - why can't I log into the second router? Of course I can always access it if I really need to by resetting it but I'd like to be able to do it without pulling it off the network.

BTW, the second router is a Netgear WGR614.V10, first router is a Linksys WRT54G.


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## Soundy (Feb 17, 2006)

If you connected your laptop to a LAN port on the second router and turned off its DHCP, then your laptop probably lost its IP, which would naturally preclude it from communicating with anything. Even if it retained the IP, it would have to be a 192.168.1.* address, and while it should be able to communicate directly to anything else with a 192.168.1.*, it may still be looking for the gateway at 192.168.1.1.

If you're plugging everything into the second router's LAN ports, as well as the first router, then the second router really isn't doing anything other than acting as a switch and is completely redundant.

As boring as the story may be, it might help to know what you're actually trying to achieve...


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## Hughv (Jul 22, 2006)

I have the same arrangement and have no trouble logging on to the second router One is the Action Tec from Verizon, second is a Linksys).
I use 192.168.254 for the fixed IP, as recommended by Linksys.
I did this to get a wired connection to my Tivo in a different room.


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## gberger (Jul 27, 2009)

Thanks Soundy and Hughv. I can't reach the second router from any computer. Hmmm..don't remember how I connected the laptop to the router for reconfiguration, but it must have been the WAN port since the laptop did lose network connectivity while connected to the second router, until I changed the IP address, etc., at which point it regained the connection.

Hughv, are you using the WAN port in your setup or only the LAN ports?

If it helps, the client list on the first router shows the Netgear router with a 192.168.1.101 address, but even that IP does not allow me to access the Netgear router:

*Client Host Name	IP Address	MAC Address	Expires* 
PC1 192.168.1.105	00:24:e8:1a:1e:c4	23:54:01	
PC2 192.168.1.102	00:04:20:1f:46:e6	19:47:08	
PC3 192.168.1.106	00:21:9b:1b:f3:bf	16:00:22	
PC4 192.168.1.103	00:25:64:04:be:d6	15:14:07	
PC5 192.168.1.107	00:90:4b:66:66:79	10:28:33	
*WGR614v10 192.168.1.101	c0:3f:0e:57:1d:b7	03:28:55	*
PC6 192.168.1.100	00:1f:e1:04:14:72	02:12:24

The boring story:
Cable modem coming into the basement, where the first router and two computers live. Before wireless became fast and reliable, we had a hard-wired LAN connection run up to an office on the second floor. Now there are another two desktops up there. One was working off the LAN cable, the other wireless. The wireless one was having connectivity issues (strange because wireless laptops have no issue on the second floor) and given the business criticality of having that computer online I decided to hard-wire it rather than try to diagnose the issue. In reading various postings on the web on how to use a second router, three things came up:
1. Change the IP address of the second router to 192.168.1.2 
2. Disable DHCP
3. Plug the existing network connection as well as the other computers into LAN ports.
This all works as I mentioned, again the only issue is accessing the router. I can't do it from any computer.
Would changing the IP address to something like Hughv mentions (192.168.254) help?


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## gberger (Jul 27, 2009)

Ok, in thinking about what happened when I hooked up the second router to the laptop to reconfigure it, it was the WAN port I was using, in fact I couldn't get to the router until I realized that I had connected the laptop to a LAN port in error.
It seems that the problem is as Hughv states...if not using the WAN port the router is acting as a switch (I assume that by 'redundant' you mean not fully functioning as a router). The only way to reach the router itself is through the WAN port...which makes perfect sense. 
So now my question is to Soundy...what is the exact configuration you used that enables you to do all this and still have access to the router?


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## Hughv (Jul 22, 2006)

The Lan port is the correct port to use to set up as a switch.


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## gberger (Jul 27, 2009)

I tried bringing a laptop over to the router and connecting it to the WAN port, that didn't work either. I have the wireless on that router turned off but would like to add security and turn it on since I might was well use it as a second WAP as well. 
I can always reset it to factory settings and start over again, but just out if curiosity and stubbornness I'd liked to know if there is some way to avoid that. 
Still wondering about your setup, Hughv, sorry I had it mixed up and thought Soundy had said that.


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## Soundy (Feb 17, 2006)

Pretty much ALL routers have Remote Admin disabled by default, so you would not have been able to configure the router via the WAN port out-of-the-box.

Frankly, if you're just using it as a switch, I wouldn't worry about configuring it, because nothing you do (other than re-enabling DHCP, which would make a mess of your network, or changing wireless settings) would affect anything anyway. All the rest of the router's functions are for controlling communications between the WAN and LAN sides, and with the WAN not connected to anything, there's nothing to control.

If it's actually possible to return the Netgear to the store, I'd do that, and just pick up a cheap five-port switch. Save a chunk of money, and have no configuration problems to worry about


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