wan via wifi?

[nathansz]

I'm fairly tech savvy generally but not at all when it comes to networking

our home internet access is via wifi shared with our landlords who live upstairs

for multiple reasons I would like to set up our own ssid for our suite but have no login access to the modem or router and no physical access to connect via ethernet

I was thinking I could buy a router and connect it via wifi and then create our own ssid there

is something that a travel router can do?

can any router do this?

thanks in advance for any input/tips

 

[Bigwaff]

Yes. A travel router will do what you ask. However, why crowd the WiFi channels? Just use a VPN if you are concerned about your landlord snooping.

 

[Grumpus]

I use a GL.iNet GL-AXT1800 "travel router" to do this. I have it set up in repeater mode, connecting to my apartment building's community wireless on 5 GHz, translated to 2.4 GHz on my own "interior" WLAN with its own SSID and password. It's been a solid, reliable performer for the past 8 months. Runs a little warm, but no big deal. I'm space constrained or I might've gone with GL-MT6000 which was reviewed on LTT.

 

[nathansz]

Yes. A travel router will do what you ask. However, why crowd the WiFi channels? Just use a VPN if you are concerned about your landlord snooping.

Thanks !

I actually have no concern about the landlords snooping though

 

[nathansz]

I use a GL.iNet GL-AXT1800 "travel router" to do this. I have it set up in repeater mode, connecting to my apartment building's community wireless on 5 GHz, translated to 2.4 GHz on my own "interior" WLAN with its own SSID and password. It's been a solid, reliable performer for the past 8 months. Runs a little warm, but no big deal. I'm space constrained or I might've gone with GL-MT6000 which was reviewed on LTT.

Thanks!

 

[mi7chy]

Any multi-radio router capable of running or based on OpenWRT also has WIFI WAN feature.

 

[nathansz]

Any multi-radio router capable of running or based on OpenWRT also has WIFI WAN feature.

Thank you for this clear, concise and helpful answer!

 

[nathansz]

I use a GL.iNet GL-AXT1800 "travel router" to do this. I have it set up in repeater mode, connecting to my apartment building's community wireless on 5 GHz, translated to 2.4 GHz on my own "interior" WLAN with its own SSID and password. It's been a solid, reliable performer for the past 8 months. Runs a little warm, but no big deal. I'm space constrained or I might've gone with GL-MT6000 which was reviewed on LTT.

The gl-mt6000 does seem great

I’m not so much space constrained as designed constrained in that I can’t imagine my wife letting me put it where the optimal signal turned out to be


so Ive got the mt3000 beryl ax on order for now

​

 

[nathansz]

beryl ax is going back, too slow

 

[Bigwaff]

beryl ax is going back, too slow

Too slow? It's WiFi 6. How fast were you expecting this router to pipe all your traffic over your landlord's WiFi network? Is the Beryl AX WiFi using the same channels as your landlord's WiFi? Are you using VPN feature? You need to use WireGuard if you want fastest VPN connection.

 

[Grumpus]

For best throughput in repeater mode, it's necessary to use 2 different bands. So if your landlord's network is on 2.4 GHz, put yours on 5 GHz.

 

[nathansz]

For best throughput in repeater mode, it's necessary to use 2 different bands. So if your landlord's network is on 2.4 GHz, put yours on 5 GHz.

if I had known this I would have realized it wasn't going to work how I wanted it to. Was hoping to connect to use both at 5 GHz

as I said originally I don't know much about networking, so this was a learning experience

 

[nathansz]

How fast were you expecting this router to pipe all your traffic over your landlord's WiFi network?

I was expecting it to be a bit slower than connecting to the landlord's WiFi network directly. Instead it was significantly slower. The docked MacBook Pro I'm typing on now, for example, went from ~ 600 Mbps to ~ 75-150 Mbps.

Similar ratios for other devices throughout the suite.

Is the Beryl AX WiFi using the same channels as your landlord's WiFi?

In repeater mode there was no option to choose channels. It was indeed using the same channels.

Are you using VPN feature?

It didn't get as far as setting up a VPN.

 

[mi7chy]

You mentioned 600Mbps throughput when connected to landlord so likely via 5GHz band. If so, you want two 5GHz radios, one to connect to landlord via 5GHz WIFI WAN (aka WISP mode) and another 5GHz radio to service your own WLAN clients otherwise bandwidth bottleneck will occur trying to use one 5GHz radio for both functions or using 2.4GHz for WLAN clients. You can either get one tri-band device with 2x 5GHz radio + 1x 2.4GHz radio or two separate 5GHz devices (easier) with at least one that supports WIFI WAN (aka WISP mode). Travel routers usually trade smaller size for less signal coverage so keep that in mind.

If tech savvy and adventurous, you can research this $37.90 tri-band device that supports running OpenWRT if it's a viable option.

https://www.gl-inet.com/products/gl-b2200/#specs

https://www.walmart.com/ip/GL-B2200...R3L-512MB-16MB-Nor-Flash-EMMC-8GB-E/491258359

https://openwrt.org/toh/gl.inet/gl-b2200

 

[Grumpus]

The gl-mt3000 router that the OP purchased has two dual-band radios.

It's not really my area of expertise, so someone please correct me if I'm mistaken, but I believe that a fundamental limitation of using two radios on the same band is that one radio can't be receiving while the other is transmitting. If this is incorrect, I'd be grateful if someone could point to some authoritative information that I could look at.

By using two different bands on my repeater I get just about double the throughput as compared to using two 5 GHz radios.

 

[nathansz]

You can either get one tri-band device with 2x 5GHz radio + 1x 2.4GHz radio

it was my understanding that the beryl has 2 x 5GHz + 2 x 2.4GZ

there must be something I'm not quite understanding here yet

 

[nathansz]

Travel routers usually trade smaller size for less signal coverage so keep that in mind.

coverage was fine. Signal strength either met or exceeded that of the originating router depending on where in the suite it was measured.

 

[Bigwaff]

it was my understanding that the beryl has 2 x 5GHz + 2 x 2.4GZ

there must be something I'm not quite understanding here yet

Are you on the latest firmware? If so, it's possible there is a hardware issue. Aggravating but you could exchange for another. I have the Beryl AX and have used it many times when traveling w/ no issues you have described. Always been solid and fast.

 

[nathansz]

Are you on the latest firmware? If so, it's possible there is a hardware issue. Aggravating but you could exchange for another. I have the Beryl AX and have used it many times when traveling w/ no issues you have described. Always been solid and fast.

I updated the firmware straight away

I suppose it could have been a hardware issue

I would order another to try if there is enough confidence here that it should be able to do what I want it to do

ie: take a 5ghz signal and send it out at 5ghz + 2.4ghz with my own two ssid at nearly the same speed as the original signal on the 5ghz band

I think at this point I should reach out to GL.inet and see if they can confirm whether or not it should be able to do what I want

 

[Bigwaff]

e: take a 5ghz signal and send it out at 5ghz + 2.4ghz with my own two ssid at nearly the same speed as the original signal on the 5ghz band

You set up in Repeater mode and then go to the Wireless section customize the SSID name. You'll probably have to customize for both 5Ghz and 2.4Ghz.

Wireless - GL.iNet Router Docs 4

Documentation for GL.iNet Router Productions

docs.gl-inet.com

 

[nathansz]

You set up in Repeater mode and then go to the Wireless section customize the SSID name. You'll probably have to customize for both 5Ghz and 2.4Ghz.

Wireless - GL.iNet Router Docs 4

Documentation for GL.iNet Router Productions

docs.gl-inet.com

That is precisely what I did

there was no issue getting the signal or setting up the ssids

the only issue was the massive speed drop

I've reached out to GLi.Net. we'll see what if anything they have to say.

 

[nathansz]

so GL.Inet says

"repeater mode works for your requirement. But please aware repeater will lose half around speed. And different models perform various"

they suggest I try the mt 6000 "it would keep 50-70% of the speed given from upper router"

 

[Bigwaff]

so GL.Inet says

"repeater mode works for your requirement. But please aware repeater will lose half around speed. And different models perform various"

they suggest I try the mt 6000 "it would keep 50-70% of the speed given from upper router"

Hmmm.. interesting. Only use Beryl AX when traveling and it's been since last summer. I might break it out, update firmware, and test this myself.

 

[nathansz]

Hmmm.. interesting. Only use Beryl AX when traveling and it's been since last summer. I might break it out, update firmware, and test this myself.

would be interesting to see your results

 

[mi7chy]

Where do you guys see that the Beryl AX is dual 5GHz radio? Since it's based on OpenWRT, SSH into router and do 'iwinfo' or look for Wireless Overview:

iwinfo

phy0-ap0 ESSID: ""
Access Point:
Mode: Master Channel: 149 (5.745 GHz) HT Mode: HE80
Center Channel 1: 155 2: unknown
Tx-Power: 20 dBm Link Quality: unknown/70
Signal: unknown Noise: -108 dBm
Bit Rate: unknown
Encryption: WPA2 PSK (CCMP)
Type: nl80211 HW Mode(s): 802.11ac/ax/n
Hardware: embedded [Qualcomm Atheros IPQ8074]
TX power offset: none
Frequency offset: none
Supports VAPs: yes PHY name: phy0

phy1-ap0 ESSID: ""
Access Point:
Mode: Master Channel: 1 (2.412 GHz) HT Mode: HE20
Center Channel 1: 1 2: unknown
Tx-Power: 27 dBm Link Quality: unknown/70
Signal: unknown Noise: -103 dBm
Bit Rate: unknown
Encryption: none
Type: nl80211 HW Mode(s): 802.11ax/b/g/n
Hardware: embedded [Qualcomm Atheros IPQ8074]
TX power offset: none
Frequency offset: none
Supports VAPs: yes PHY name: phy1

Wireless Overview

Alternatively and simpler is picking up two TP-Link TL-WA1201 or TL-WA1801. Use one in client mode to connect to landlord WIFI then wire to second one in access point mode (may need crossover cable if it doesn't support auto-MDIX).