Lost connection to TL-WR1043ND - can't reconnect

[amca01]

My internet setup is this: I have a T-Link modem/router, model TD-8816, which I've put into bridge mode to feed my internet to the wireless router. And for a while it was working fine. But this morning, it just, err, stopped. I was getting messages in my browser alternatively giving me a DNS error, or simply a "not connected to the internet" error. I tried re-setting the router, re-booting it, but nothing worked. As of about three hours ago I haven't been able to use it.

The router seems OK - all the relevant lights are on.

However, I can't access it with the usual 192.168.1.1 address - it's simply not responding: acting dead.

I have reconnected my laptop (which runs ArchLinux) directly to the modem, which I've reset into PPPoE mode, so the modem and internet connection are fine. The problem is either with the modem's bridge mode, or with the router, or some configuration issue with the Gargoyle firmware.

However, accessing the internet via cable to the modem is all very well, but clearly it's a stop-gap measure. (And I want to connect my other devices: phone, tablet etc as well.)

FWIW, I changed the IP Address of the modem to 192.168.1.99, so as to avoid any possible confusion with the wireless router.

How might I go about isolating whatever the problem is, and fixing it?

Thanks very much,
-A.

[Lantis]

Are you saying that your Gargoyle router is unresponsive?
If so, have you tried a failsafe reset?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NqHpRHl8gQ

[amca01]

Yes, it was indeed unresponsive: all browser calls to 192.168.1.1 returned an error. Curiously though, a few hours later, while my laptop was still directly connected to the modem, the router came alive - at least according to one of my other devices.

[amca01]

Latest: I've spent about 3 hours this evening trying to get my router to work as it should: as a WAP. But I can't. The only way I can access it is with a cable - which defeats the purpose. So in order to have at least some sort of internet access I've gone back to a cable connection to the modem, and bypassed the router completely. I must say I've been fiddling with home networking for years, with all sorts of mixtures of routers, modems and operating systems, and I've never had this level of difficulty.

I'm so frustrated that I think I might just head out tomorrow and buy a simple bog-standard off-the-shelf wireless modem router. I won't get gargoyle, but at least I'll have a working system. Sigh...

[Lantis]

If you'd like to provide a description or diagram of what you are trying to achieve i'm sure someone could assist.

[amca01]

Ok, here's my setup:

Modem router: T-Link TD-8816
Wireless router: T-Link TL-WR1043ND v2 running gargoyle 1.8.1

From my ISP I have the connection details -
Protocol: PPPoE
Username and Password
VPI: 8
VCI: 35

I can hook my laptop to the modem with a cable, log in with those details, and happily access the internet.

The difficulty comes when I try to attach my wireless router. To do this I have:

1. Changed the IP address of the modem to 192.168.1.99
2. Changed it from PPPoE mode to full bridge mode
3. Run the cable from the modem to the WAN input port of the wireless router.
4. Attach my computer by cable to one of the wireless router's ports.
5. Set up the router to be in WAP mode, with the login names given to me by my ISP, given it an SSID and (WPA2) password, and rebooted.

Result? No wireless connection. Without a cable I simply cannot access 192.168.1.1; I simply get an error: "Not connected to the internet". If I have a page open, then refreshing it first gives me a DNS error, then a "not connected" error.

I'm not quite sure what more I need to do to ensure a robust connection.

The strange thing is that as of yesterday morning it was in fact working fine, and then it just stopped. And I haven't been able to establish a wireless connection since.

Thank you!

[Lantis]

Problem 1 that I foresee is that the modem and the gargoyle router should be on different subnets.

Can you please make this change and test, then report back.

[amca01]

Thank you very much. I'm not at my apartment right now, but I'll test that later. Are there any standard recommended IP addresses and masks for a wireless router and bridged modem?

[Lantis]

I don't think there's a *standard* for it.

I personally use:
Modem (Bridged) - 10.0.0.138/255.255.255.255
Gargoyle Router (PPPoE) - 192.168.1.1/255.255.255.0

[amca01]

Thank you again - I'll test it out later and report back!