Networking & wireless forum: Wireless Repeater Help

Manual (slim as it is) wrote:
"http://192.168.10.1"

You wrote " I go in my browser and type 192.168.10.1"

In some computers such small things means it won't work. Try again and be sure the NETMASK is set and you are doing every step. Wish I could watch it for you.
Bob

Hey Steven.
Thanks for your answer.

I'm connecting to it with a wire because it is not showing up in my available wireless networks list.
I did give my computer a static address of 192.168.10.2 and I also tried 192.168.10.254

When I attempt to connect to the admin page via my browser, it won't connect. It tells me that the server is taking too long to answer or something in those lines..

I have tried doing so on my Apple and on my Windows machines, if this helps.
*I'm disconnected from my regular network when I try to set up the repeater to not cause any interference.*

some kind of "discovery" utility or can you find it on the manufacturer's web site. This is a workaround to old default IP address issue I'd see long ago. My guess has to be that the address you've found is incorrect. Bob mentions the reset idea. If the address you gave is properly the default address, what I suggested should work. I've done this many dozens of times. Barring that, you could have a defective device that needs to be returned.

Just wanted to chime in and let you know that a bunch of people with Winstar's are having a similar problem. Like Steven said, you have to be within range, but at the same time make sure that you change from DHCP to static simply because if you don't want to keep filling in numerical values every time that you want it to work. I was reading over at http://www.wifirepeaterreviews.com that sometimes the best thing to do is just get a router and repeater made from the same company. Seems to solve a lot of issues. If not, you can always use http://www.dd-wrt.com and put in some new firmware and hope it works.

I have tried resetting the device.
It says in the manual to hold it for 10 seconds, but when I do, nothing seems to happen..?

I will retry to hold the reset for a full minute.

Also, Steven,
What do you mean by a discovery utility? Could u suggest me one please.

First off, a "discovery" utility is a piece of software that sometimes comes with network attached devices to aid in getting them on your network. Apparently you have none so the point is moot. It appears that what your setup instructions are doing is having you set the gateway address of your wired network interface to the repeater's default IP address. That gateway address is usually your own router's address. You're going to want to plug the cable directly from your PC into the repeater making sure your router is in no way connected. I am also wondering about the cable type. Generally a PC to PC connection requires a crossover cable. Devices on a network that attach via a switch use standard Ethernet cabling or 586b configured on both ends. I am wondering if your device doesn't want a crossover cable when being connected directly. Your instructions mention using the "enclosed" cable. You're not using a different one by any chance are you? My guess is that you need a crossover type.

I have tried the supplied cable and a regular RJ45 cable

The one that came with it was a 8 pin black Ethernet cable.
Mine was a regular blue RJ45 cable.

Also a question for you Steven, In the manual, it says that the repeaters address is 192.168.10.1 but on the back of the repeater itself, it says that the IP is 192.168.0.1 . In your opinion, which one should I rely on??
I have provided a picture:
http://i46.tinypic.com/ekr3b.jpg

There is a cheat if I wasn't sure. I'd set the NETMASK to 255.255.0.0 instead that way I can try either from my assigned IP.
Bob

I would set up that as the netmask but do I put the IP Address as 192.168.10.X or 192.168.0.X ??

I just have tried putting the subnet mask as 255.255.0.0 and tried both Ip addresses (192.168.10.X and 192.168.0.1). None worked.

I have decided to try something else, I tried to ping 192.168.10.1
I used to get host is un reachable with 255.255.255.0. Now I got host is down.
I don't know if this helps or not.

That changes things a bit. Most routers I've seen default to being DHCP servers. Thus, connecting them to a PC using DHCP settings for the NIC should work. Did you try that? Attempting to ping the device is a good idea. It can be possible that the connection is good but the web interface firmware is bad. Another thought is that perhaps your PCs firewall isn't set to exempt LAN connections. I doubt that's the reason but you could check it. It's beginning to sound like your device may be defective...maybe even just the cable...and an exchange might be a good idea.

http://www.win-star.com/eshop/goods.php?id=133

This, from the website, doesn't look to be labeled like the image you provided. Yours specifically states that it's a router but AP/repeater is what the web site calls that model #. A router would have a WAN port. I'd wonder where this came from. I'd see if it was returnable.

Yeah your remark does seem to make sense.
The item was bought on eBay and I have contacted the seller and agreed to resend me a new one.

I have tried using the DHCP in the NIC and still nothing.
For the cable, I have tried 3 cables and nothing lol.

Question for you, if the device has a bad web interface firmware, does that mean that there is no way to use it?

it would be as good as useless but I doubt that's your only problem with it. I have to wonder about some of that ebay stuff as to whether it might be grey market. Basically, this would mean it slips by normal distribution channels and may or may not be the same product sold by recognized US retailers. Thus, instruction manuals gotten from web sites for the US designated products might not be accurate for what you receive from those grey markets.

I understand but my manual is the same thing.
It tells me to do the same thing as the one I gave you with the same addresses.

That's why I'm asking what should I do with the address indicated on the back side of the repeater..?

or use ping. Ping return messages can sometimes be helpful but aren't all that conclusive. If you can ping the device but not enter the web interface, something is broken between the network component and the firmware component. If you can't ping the device, you could have faulty hardware or just an invalid address. You'd have hundreds or thousands of possible combinations of numbers to try depending on which number set was incorrect. If you remain persistent, you can look up a free utility called "nmap" or other network scanning tool. These might discover a valid address for you. I'll admit to having never used any but know they are available.

Hey,

Yea I am able to ping the device without any problems but I can't access the admin web page.
So I'm going to give nmap a shot.

I will reply back.

Thanks

You just need to enter that address properly into your browser...http://xxx. etc. If no login screen appears, there's some detachment from the web interface component or it's corrupt. I've not tried this but I noticed the manufacturer's site showed a firmware upgrade available. How that gets installed, I don't know, as often you need to do so from within a web interface. Well, progress but not success...or so it appears.

I have tried it on both my macs, my dads pc and my desktop. Still no success.

How do I disable a proxy? Or how I even know if I have a proxy or not?
Mac or pc instructions are fine with me.

For the http part,
I have been putting http:// , is that the correct way to do it?

But try that on google about the proxy. It's rare to use one today and it's just an item to be sure about. It varies with the browser so I can't answer you directly unless I give instructions for all 20 browsers out there (there may be more than that!)

As to the http part, I only have what you post to work with. At times it's been very important to type EXACTLY what's in the manual and to use IE for this setup. I've run into a few routers that only worked with IE.
Bob

I think I can come to the conclusion that the repeater is probably faulty.
I'm guessing that the web interface has some connectivity issues..?

I will still be trying any ideas or suggestions, so u can keep posting.

I will keep u informed when I get the other one to see if it works and how.

Hi, friend! I have an identic repeater. See carefully the instructions in the manual, specially the configuration of the adapter of your computer. Without this step you won't be able to access the repeater interface!

I used the following settings in my computer's adapter:

IP Adress: 192.168.10.3
Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
Default gateway: 192.168.10.1

I hope this be useful, and please excuse some English error, it isn't my native language!