Can't secure wifi connection when using WRT54GS in bridge mode.

[Laya Maheshwari]

Hello.

Yes, I tried to make the topic title as self-explanatory as possible.

When I setup my Buffalo router in bridge mode, it works smoothly enough but my connection is unsecured. I'd like to enter my router's firmware settings and give an SSID + AES key to the thing, but I just can't open the router page. The back of the router says that while in bridge mode, 192.168.11.100 should work but it doesn't. I also tried the other address, for the non-bridge mode (192.168.11.1) but that yields nothing too. I tried other random stuff like 192.168.0.1 and 192.168.1.2 and more but they do nothing either. 192.168.1.1 just leads to the page for my ethernet card/LAN/modem/whatever thingy.

So, how do I get to the router's page? Or any Connection Setup Wizard? I just want to secure the damn thing.

Help, please?

[+BudMan MVC]

Buffalo router is not called wrt54gs, that is a linksys model number.

What is the model number of your buffalo router - are you not the one that put back the native firmware?

Do you mean you set it up in client bridge mode, gateway devices you normally put in "bridge" mode so that they do not do nat and are just "modems" -- if you have some wireless router that you want to use as a client bridge to some other wireless network then ok -- is that what your trying to do?

Once you place a gateway device into bridge mode - it would have little use of a wireless network.. Wireless should be disabled if you turned a gateway device into just a modem with bridge mode.

[Laya Maheshwari]

Hi!

Yes, I am the one who put back the native firmware. And, as you all predicted, I have now realized that Tomato is better. I'd love to put Tomato back in it actually. I downloaded the 7zip file but don't know which of the files it unpacks to install. I actually got my router name mixed up and tried uploading the two bin files for WRT-G54S. Of course the Buffalo firmware accepted them as invalid. Which file should I upload? The .trx file?

And, yes, my model number is WHR-G54S.

I'm trying to place my router in bridge mode because when I use it in "auto" mode (that's what the device calls the other mode), after some time I start getting DNS timeouts while surfing and pages don't load properly. This does *not* happen when I just plug in my connection via LAN, FYI.

Help, please? What do I do from here?

[+BudMan MVC]

Well put tomato back on it then -- do you not understand how to read instructions?

"tried uploading the two bin files for WRT-G54S"

Did you NOT even bother reading the readme.html that is in the 7z you downloaded?

For the buffalo you run the whr_install.bat file and then yes it uses the tomato.trx file.

If you not going to take 30 seconds to read the instructions given to you -- your going to freaking brick it!

Upon looking in the manual I don't see any bride mode other than to enable WDS bridge -- which is HIGHLY Unlikely what you want to do.. This is for creating a mesh between other wireless accesspoints so that network is repeated over the wireless network and you do not have to connect the APs to the network with a wire.

So is this router currently your gateway? Or do you want to use it as a AccessPoint, you mention other linksys routers?

[rkenshin]

LOL, Bud.

+1 :laugh:

[Laya Maheshwari]

Sorry for the late reply. I had exams in college.

Well put tomato back on it then -- do you not understand how to read instructions?

I tried to install Tomato. But I couldn't. I followed the instructions as closely as I could but the .bat file would never detect the router once I rebooted it.

"tried uploading the two bin files for WRT-G54S"

Did you NOT even bother reading the readme.html that is in the 7z you downloaded?

For the buffalo you run the whr_install.bat file and then yes it uses the tomato.trx file.

If you not going to take 30 seconds to read the instructions given to you -- your going to freaking brick it!

I didn't read the manual at first because, for some reason, I was just incontrovertibly sure that my model number was WRT-G54S. Has that never happened to you? You're so sure of something (that's wrong) that you just don't bother reconfirming it?

Upon looking in the manual I don't see any bride mode other than to enable WDS bridge -- which is HIGHLY Unlikely what you want to do.. This is for creating a mesh between other wireless accesspoints so that network is repeated over the wireless network and you do not have to connect the APs to the network with a wire.

So is this router currently your gateway? Or do you want to use it as a AccessPoint, you mention other linksys routers?

Ok, here is the thing. When I used my router in the non-Bridge mode, it'd work smoothly for a while (even the Buffalo firmware page would load) but occasionally I'd get DNS timeout errors during surfing. I thought that using it in Bridge mode might not lead to this problem. (I don't know how I reached that conclusion. Another one of my stupid things, maybe.) I switched to Bridge mode and in the short span of time I used it that way, surfing was smooth but I could never secure the connection or go to the firmware's page. Which is why I turned to you people for help.

Now, I think I was utterly misguided in doing so and that I'm meant to use my router in the non-Bridge mode with my kind of connection. Anyway, I'm using it in that mode right now and after entering the values for Google DNS in my DNS settings, I don't encounter DNS timeout errors while surfing anymore.

So, for better or for worse, my original dilemma is solved and I can at least surf smoothly now. I'm really, really sorry for being such a doofus and asking such pointless queries. I can fully understand why you were so frustrated by the end. Thanks for all the help, though. Cheers.