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    Wi-Fi Access Point (AP) connects but doesn't load Internet

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General pfSense Questions
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    • DerelictD
      Derelict LAYER 8 Netgate
      last edited by

      Did you place pass rules on the wireless interface? There are no rules by default on interfaces other than LAN. You must add them.

      Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
      A comprehensive network diagram is worth 10,000 words and 15 conference calls.
      DO NOT set a source address/port in a port forward or firewall rule unless you KNOW you need it!
      Do Not Chat For Help! NO_WAN_EGRESS(TM)

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      • johnpozJ
        johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
        last edited by

        "Router2 is supposed to be a Wi-Fi extender, but router2 won't work."

        So is it a AP properly placed for the coverage you want, or it some sort of wifi repeater you after that extends wifi via wifi?

        If its an AP and or a repeater why would there be different networks?  Why don't you draw up how you have your stuff connected, what interface in pfsense is connected, etc.. Are you using wifi on pfsense via a wifi interface?  Do you have it on its own network or did you bridge it to your lan? etc..

        If your using some wifi router as AP, its IP address would depend on what network its on..  I would have an IP on that network, it does not nat it does not route - its an AP..  Your dhcp would come from pfsense, your gateway for devices would be pfsense, etc.

        Simple way to use any wifi router as AP.  Turn off its dhcp server, connect it to your network via one of its LAN ports = AP..  If you want to make it easier to manage then you would set its LAN IP to be on the network your connecting it too..

        An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
        If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
        Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
        SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.8, 24.11

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        • E
          eiger3970
          last edited by

          Ok, here's the topology.
          pfSense is the router.
          AP
          https://www.google.com.au/search?q=TL-WA801ND&client=ubuntu&espv=2&biw=1024&bih=701&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjWuO-Rs4TRAhVDEpQKHXp3BroQ_AUIBygC#imgrc=5doJIUQ9pLINdM%3A is the Wi-Fi extender, to be added to the topology.
          The AP has 1 LAN port and receives a 192.168.1.xxx IP. This may be the issue, as the Wi-Fi devices currently connect to the Wi-Fi 192.168.10.1 network?

          The pfSense LAN is a different network to the pfSense WAN.

          I'm using the Wi-Fi extension as an Ethernet cabled AP, rather than a repeater, to ensure faster speeds on Wi-Fi in the extended areas.

          The attachment/diagram does not include the new AP device, which is to be added.

          ![Network topology.jpg_thumb](/public/imported_attachments/1/Network topology.jpg_thumb)
          ![Network topology.jpg](/public/imported_attachments/1/Network topology.jpg)

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          • ?
            Guest
            last edited by

            Router1 is pfSense with LAN and WIFI.

            Ok this might be not the strange part here, but if you are setting up this both WiFi networks, are they in VLANs?
            Are this two different SSIDs called multi-SSIDs?

            Router2 is supposed to be a Wi-Fi extender, but router2 won't work.

            This router should be running then in the so called WLAN AP mode otherwise it makes also SPI/NAT and this is not what
            you want to do!

            I'm not clear on what configuration to give router2, based upon router1's configuration.

            Can be a good choice to have only one or two WiFi networks based on VLANs and let us say for private usage
            and your own devices secured over a Radius Server and the other one is for guests and secured over the Captive Portal!

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            • E
              eiger3970
              last edited by

              Hello, I don't think I have any VLANs setup, unless pfSense has automatically done something.

              The 2 SSIDs are different names.

              The AP is set with AP mode and the following IPs:
              IP 192.168.1.175
              Subnet 255.255.255.0
              Gateway 192.168.1.170
              DNS 192.168.1.170

              The mobile device connects the to AP.
              Mobiles IPs:
              IP 192.168.1.102
              Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0
              Gateway 192.168.1.175
              DNS 192.168.1.175

              The mobile does not load browser pages.

              The AP can ping the router at 192.168.1.170, www.google.com and 8.8.8.8.
              I'm checking firewalls, but not sure how to check the AP and pfSense router's firewall.
              I'm in pfSense > Firewall > Rules > WAN > and there's about 20 rules.

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              • D
                doktornotor Banned
                last edited by

                No, the devices should NOT have the AP as gateway. They should use pfSense for GW (i.e., 192.168.1.170). Ditto for DNS if you expect internal LAN resolution to work. There's nothing that'd register the other LAN hosts on the AP.

                IOW, they should be configured exactly the same way as the AP. The AP is not a router, cannot act as a GW. It's just a dumb WiFi <-> Ethernet bridge.

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                • johnpozJ
                  johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
                  last edited by

                  The mobile device connects the to AP.
                  Mobiles IPs:
                  IP 192.168.1.102
                  Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0
                  Gateway 192.168.1.175
                  DNS 192.168.1.175

                  How are they getting this info.. Are you setting pfsense dhcp to hand that out as gateway and dns?  Or is dhcp running on your AP?  If your AP is in the 192.168.10 network.. How are they getting 192.168.1 addresses??

                  Seems more like your running this AP as a router/gateway..

                  To use any old wifi router as just an AP.. Give its lan IP an address on the network its connected too.. In your case that sounds like it would be 192.168.10.something.  If you can set a gateway on the device so you can manage it from another network then the gateway would be pfsense IP in that network.

                  Turn OFF its dhcp server..

                  Connect one of its LAN ports to your network.  Shazam you have a AP..

                  Clients connecting to its wifi would get IP from pfsense dhcp server on this network, they normally would point to pfsense as their gateway and dns.

                  An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                  If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                  Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                  SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.8, 24.11

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                  • E
                    eiger3970
                    last edited by

                    The mobile in DHCP doesn't allow the gateway to be change from 192.168.1.175 to 192.168.1.170.

                    The AP has DHCP on.
                    I set the AP to static IP to set the below details on the AP:
                    IP 192.168.1.175
                    Subnet 255.255.255.0
                    Gateway 192.168.1.170
                    DNS 192.168.1.170

                    I turned off the AP's DHCP server, but now the mobile doesn't connect to the AP's Wi-Fi?

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                    • D
                      doktornotor Banned
                      last edited by

                      The AP most certainly should NOT have DHCP on. Your clients should NOT point to your AP as GW. Nothing changed here since my last reply.

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                      • E
                        eiger3970
                        last edited by

                        Thank you for the clarification.

                        So the AP has:
                        IP static: 192.168.1.175
                        Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
                        Gateway: 192.168.1.170
                        DHCP server turned off.

                        Router:
                        IP static: 192.168.1.170
                        Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
                        Gateway: 192.168.1.170
                        Wi-Fi: 192.168.10.1

                        Mobile:
                        Wi-Fi is DHCP:
                        SSID 1 (the router): connects and loads browser pages.
                        SSID 2 (the AP): Connection attempt but doesn't connect and shows
                        IP: 169.254.253.87
                        Subnet mask: 255.255.0.0
                        Router: blank
                        DNS: 192.168.1.170.

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                        • D
                          doktornotor Banned
                          last edited by

                          Uh. Did you enable DHCP on pfSense WIFI interface?

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                          • E
                            eiger3970
                            last edited by

                            Yes, the router has the DHCP server enabled.

                            The router's Wi-Fi 192.168.10.1 gives SSID 1 the following:
                            IP: 192.168.10.131
                            Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
                            Router: 192.168.10.1
                            DHS: 192.168.10.1.

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                            • D
                              doktornotor Banned
                              last edited by

                              I'm starting to get completely confused yet again. What router?

                              IP: 192.168.10.131
                              Router: 192.168.10.1

                              Eeeh?

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                              • E
                                eiger3970
                                last edited by

                                Yes,
                                the router's LAN has DHCP enabled.
                                the router's WIFI has DHCP enabled.

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                                • D
                                  doktornotor Banned
                                  last edited by

                                  Dude that's not what I'm asking about? Why are the IPs constantly changing between your posts? And can you finally produce a network diagram because this just doesn't go anywhere? (No need to draw mobile phones and irrelevant junk, just the pfSense box, the AP and whatever is between those two.)

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                                  • E
                                    eiger3970
                                    last edited by

                                    The network is the same as Reply #6.

                                    The IPs are only changing on the mobile device Wi-Fi connection's IP.

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                                    • D
                                      doktornotor Banned
                                      last edited by

                                      Sir, reply #6 does NOT show your AP, which is the only relevant thing in here.

                                      @eiger3970:

                                      The attachment/diagram does not include the new AP device, which is to be added.

                                      As such, it is utterly USELESS.

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                                      • E
                                        eiger3970
                                        last edited by

                                        Sorry, I mentioned earlier the AP is not in the network topology, as this is the question I am asking about in this forum thread.

                                        So, the AP details are:
                                        IP: 192.168.1.175
                                        Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
                                        Gateway: 192.168.1.170
                                        DHCP server: Disabled
                                        SSID 2.

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                                        • D
                                          doktornotor Banned
                                          last edited by

                                          So the AP is hanging in a blackhole unconnected to anything? Or what?

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                                          • E
                                            eiger3970
                                            last edited by

                                            The AP has 1 LAN port with an Ethernet cable connected to the Switch, which is connected to the router.
                                            I.e. AP 192.168.1.175 > Switch > Router 192.168.1.170.

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