Tuesday, March 11, 2008

How to set up the WRT54G as a switch/bridge

Lots of people report problems with the router function in the Linksys WRT54G. See here for example.

I have a broadband router upstream of my WRT54G, so I thought that I might be able to avoid the network problems I was having by making my WRT54G work simply as a switch or bridge. This is easily done.

Connect a computer to the WRT54G and use a web browser to log in to it. (Device default IP address 192.168.1.1. Default user name blank and password "admin". ) Change the configuration of the WRT54G as follows:
  1. Under Settings/Basic Settings, turn the DHCP server off. CLICK THE Save Settings BUTTON.
  2. Under Settings/Advanced Routing, change the Operating Mode from Gateway to Router (I know, confusing terms). CLICK THE Save Settings BUTTON.
Plug the ethernet cable from/to the upstream router into one of the numbered jacks, NOT the Internet jack.

That's all there is to it. It works like a charm! Devices connected wired-ly and wirelessly are bridged to the network devices upstream and the Internet beyond.

My device specs: Linksys WRT54G, Firmware 8.00.2

38 comments:

brucearthurhall said...

Thanks

This works for me also. However, every day (always overnight), the computer will not connect to internet and all I do is unplug the Linksys and plug it back in and it works?

Thoughts?

John Redmond said...

I think it may be a dhcp issue. The computer may be trying to renew an address and the Linksys doesn't respond to the computer's satisfaction. Try giving the computer a static IP.

Unknown said...

Just remember one thing

If your router runs with 192.168.1.1 as default as well ( just like the linksys ) u'd need to change the IP of 1 of the 2 so theres no conflict, else it wont work.

Matt said...

Following this example...

I have an ADSL modem upstream from the WRT54G that has a gateway address of 192.168.0.1, and my WRT54G has an address of 192.168.1.1... Do I have to change one of the interface addresses on the WRT54G to be on the 192.168.0.x network? If so, which setting is that?

My modem has DHCP capabilities... that should assign IPs through the WRT54G switch to the computers connected to it, right?

I'm a networking newbie with some issues...

Simon said...

This saved my ass. Thanks.

Though, at least on my version, the settings are under "setup". Otherwise, the steps were the same.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the concise explanation! Seems everybody wants to know why the question is asked (sure you wanna do that bro?) instead of getting to the point.
You nailed it.

Jeremy Williams said...

That was easy!

thank you so much, just what I was looking for!

Jeremy

Jeremy Williams said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Thanks fro sharing wonderful blog.. i like it... really nice and good quality content.. i am very impressed reading this blog.. keep it up..

linksys support

Hugo said...

+1

Works for me!

Unknown said...

Pretty good post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed reading your blog post.

password linksys

Unknown said...

Excellent post, solved a issue I had problem solving. Tried using a splitter which really didn't work but refactored the old linksys which wasn't in use any more did the trick.

Unknown said...

THANK YOU for this guide! So simple to set up the router, after trying...
Linksys Router Technical Support

Unknown said...

This is nice blog to solve each and every router technical problems. Excellent work.. Please visit this link--------- Linksys Router Support .

Unknown said...

Thanks! This saved me a bunch of digging around... and now I have a happy printer and second access point :-)

Unknown said...

hey guys could u help on this i have connected my router the same way and it has worked, my question is hw do i get the ip that i have forwaded to work

Unknown said...

I'm not sure I understand your question - the wrt54g should now be a 'switch' and just pass traffic across the ports - so, for instance, the static IP or DHCP IP addresses being used by your devices/main-router? should just pass through it to 'the right place'.
btw, I've had to turn mine off until I do some more reconfigure - the default IP (192.168.1.1) ended up the same as my external dns server, and thus I could not resolve any names, and my internet thus appeared 'down'. I expect I just have to move the wrt54g IP to some other range and all will be fine...

Jotaro said...

Thanks a lot of for this post!

Unknown said...

very nice post... i'm also a blogger, i writes on router related technical issue...Linksys Router Technical Support also call Toll Free No 1-800-231-4635 For US/CA.

Unknown said...

Plain simple instructions without excessive jargo .... and best of all it solved my problem. Thanks for tip.

Gomeazy said...

I know this post is a bit dated but it worked like a charm for me! My only question is, now that I have followed these instructions, how do I log back into the router if I wanted to make any kind of change?

Alina said...

Nice blog! it's so informative and one more thing is your providing new updates . If you want any tech support regarding Linksys Router call us toll free number Linksys Router Customer care number UK 0800-090-3220 and get instant solution.

Unknown said...

Very informative blog regarding Linksys and thank you for sharing such a nice informative blog if you still need help then you may call Linksys customer care 1-845-704-2420.

Linksys router Tech support phone number
Linksys router Tech support number
Linksys router support phone number
Linksys router support number
Linksys router customer service phone number
Linksys router customer service number
Linksys router customer care phone number
Linksys router customer care number
Linksys router Technical support number
Linksys router Technical support phone number
Linksys router customer support phone number
Linksys router customer support number
Linksys router customer support
Linksys router customer service
Linksys router customer care number usa

Unknown said...

Great post.. valuable information..here is also users can get instant tech support..
linksys smart wifi

Linksys router login said...

nice..thanks for sharing useful information...
Linksys Login Net

Unknown said...

Amazing post, Thanks for the tips! very helpful!
Linksys Router Support

Technical Support said...

Nice blog for Linksys. Linksys Router is one of the best routers for the internet services. There have many features to the users for experience best service of Linksys Router.

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing informative post. If you want linksys router login with the help of technical department contact our support number and get help.

Unknown said...

Amazing post on Linksys Extender Setup

Daisy Jones said...

A very interesting article. The insights are really helpful and informative. Thanks for posting. Visit here for more info.

Netgear Support
netgear 75 router how you hook it up

new Extender setup said...

We are here for mywifiext.net with the help of mywifiext local. In case of any information you can get connect with us.

Emmy William said...

Thanks for sharing post about Support for Routers . I was looking for the same and luckily reach this amazing post.

Linksys Smart Wifi said...

Amazing post about linksys router setup. Good way to explain all setup instructions.

Pablo said...

YEAH IT DID WORK! I was missing the change router to gateway so I was not being able to share files and folders. Now it seems to be OK. If I encounter IP issues I will assign static IP addresses to the computers as suggested. Tank you very much!

Steve said...

Thanks For Sharing. myrouter.local

Somya Gupta said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Somya Gupta said...

Net gear customer service representative, we are able to handle criticisms, complaints and special requests from time to time and able to handle these queries as customer retention is vital for our company to survive. We provide the best third party services.

los angeles said...

hii Thanks for share the info.
orbilogin.com not working
how to reset orbi router