Need help with connecting two routers

6pack

6pack

ex-Mod
I bought an MI 3C router to replace my old Linksys router. The MI has 300 Mbps wifi. So I disabled the wifi in the old router.

I want to convert the old router to a gigabit switch. I had flashed ddwrt on the old router previously, so I saw instructions on how to convert it to a switch. I enabled convert wan as Lan port in ddwrt settings so I can use all the 4 ports in router.

Old router address was changed to 192.168.1.2.
Gateway is 192.168.1.1 (MI router)
DHCP disabled on old and enabled on MI.
DNS masq, NAT, firewall all disabled.

I connected cable from wan port of Linksys to port 1 of MI. I can ping the MI router and also open the router settings page.

I don't get internet access on any client connected to the wired ports on the switch though. Right now I'm getting connection only through wireless from the MI router.

Weird thing is while changing the MI address from 192.168.31.1 to 192.168.1.1, I lost wired connection in Linux Mint on the Nuc. After this Linux won't see any wired connection at all. Something on the MI router broke Linux wired connection settings. First time it happened when the MI router rebooted, I reset the connection. Second time this happened, I tried to reset the connection, but Linux can't see any wired connection now. Even if I connect Nuc directly to MI router or the Linksys router, it says cable unplugged.

Has the MI router killed the Nuc Ethernet port?

On PC, I put wired connection as manual and gave ip address as 192.168.1.100. after this I can connect to the MI router but cannot connect to the net. Gateway is set to ip address of router.

Why the PC's can connect to internet through the 2nd router?[DOUBLEPOST=1500215529][/DOUBLEPOST]This is the help I had seen.
https://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Switch

I changed operating mode from gateway to router. Also in dynamic routing I selected as wan. Still cannot access internet.

I unchecked set wan as Lan port and connected both routers through Lan port. Only difference was ping times reduced. When connected through wan ping was 0.500 ms, now it's 0.300.
 
Last edited:
Solved it.

Changed back wan port to lan port in linksys. Set operating mode to router. removed all static dhcp settings in all devices.
connected each device directly to MI router and let them get dynamic address. then disconnected them from MI and connected them to linksys. got internet connection in all devices. had trouble with isp dns which was not working or really slow. changed dns in MI router and everything loads fast now.

MI router is crap imo. In linksys router with just 2 internal antennas, i got 135 Mbps link speed in wifi and in this MI router with 4 external antennas I only get 65 MBps while sitting right next to it 1 foot away. This router's antennas are just for show. Even the router administration page lacks so many things. I hate this router. I wonder why people sing praises of it...
 
6pack said:
MI router is crap imo. In linksys router with just 2 internal antennas, i got 135 Mbps link speed in wifi and in this MI router with 4 external antennas I only get 65 MBps while sitting right next to it 1 foot away. This router's antennas are just for show. Even the router administration page lacks so many things. I hate this router. I wonder why people sing praises of it...
Click to expand...

LOL! I think you have set it up wrong...

Jokes aside, check actual throughput, it may be due to some external factors. Link speed is the max it can go to, and does not mean you will get that much.
 
6pack said:
MI router is crap imo. In linksys router with just 2 internal antennas, i got 135 Mbps link speed in wifi and in this MI router with 4 external antennas I only get 65 MBps while sitting right next to it 1 foot away. This router's antennas are just for show. Even the router administration page lacks so many things. I hate this router. I wonder why people sing praises of it...
Click to expand...

I was thinking of buying it to replace my TP-LINK TD-W8968 because of range problem. MI 3C router pages shows 80 meter range and lot of features, so was thinking it will be better. Mi 3C is OpenWrt based ?

Which LinkSys router you have ? If it work better, why not just use it, any advantage of using both ?
 
My Linksys router's wifi keeps shutting down after some time. So I shut the wifi off and only use it as a switch now.

MI router is cheap Chinese junk. No other way to describe it. That 80m range would be in open space. In a flat with concrete or brick walls, it means nothing. I only get 1/2 bars just like my old Linksys router in the far end of my house.

Yes, MI router is open wrt based. Half of the 64 MB ram is taken by the horrible web based UI. The UI is badly designed - most of the settings are hidden or not there. The device has only one led in front which does not show internet link status. The router takes about 1 and half minute to boot. Router has only 2 lan ports and one wan port. And their latest firmware seems to degrade the performance according to people who upgraded to it. So avoid at all costs.

I had bought this MI router to troubleshoot my internet connection. Now it's Mac ID is locked to ISP so I'm using it.
 
Nice to know, i almost placed order on their site, only reason i don't own it was because they don't shop to my location when i first checked. Now it even available in Amazon. Pictures, specs all looks good, made me excited for a new better device. Last time when my TP-LINK modem died, i went for shopping expecting new modems, all i see was same years old modems still setting, few newer costly modems that i can't afford, so ended to up buying same TP-LINK modem.
 
6pack said:
My Linksys router's wifi keeps shutting down after some time. So I shut the wifi off and only use it as a switch now.

MI router is cheap Chinese junk. No other way to describe it. That 80m range would be in open space. In a flat with concrete or brick walls, it means nothing. I only get 1/2 bars just like my old Linksys router in the far end of my house.

Yes, MI router is open wrt based. Half of the 64 MB ram is taken by the horrible web based UI. The UI is badly designed - most of the settings are hidden or not there. The device has only one led in front which does not show internet link status. The router takes about 1 and half minute to boot. Router has only 2 lan ports and one wan port. And their latest firmware seems to degrade the performance according to people who upgraded to it. So avoid at all costs.

I had bought this MI router to troubleshoot my internet connection. Now it's Mac ID is locked to ISP so I'm using it.
Click to expand...

If it is openwrt based, why dont you get rid of MI customization and flash virgin openwrt on it.

Openwrt rocks!
 
rajil.s said:
If it is openwrt based, why dont you get rid of MI customization and flash virgin openwrt on it.

Openwrt rocks!
Click to expand...
Thats the first thing I wanted to do. I searched the web and there is no openwrt firmware for this router. Maybe MI has made their own version of the firmware and not releasing it.
 
Mi 3C is crap. Even with those big antennas, it does not have any reach at all.
My Tp Link MR3020 with PCB antenna has similar coverage to the Mi router.
 
meetdilip said:
Do you mind doing a simple review ? With things like how much range you get, how is the range with walls in between and so on.
Click to expand...
Mine is setup as a repeater. Also I don't live in a flat. The house is pretty old (75+ yrs) and the walls are unusually thick. So whatever range I get, others will get more range because of thinner walls
 
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