Setting up WDS between Speedtouch 716wl and Draytek 2820n

Hoping a knowledgeable person might have a genius answer to this one...

I am trying to set up a WDS in my home to increase the range of my
wireless connection indoors. The two routers can see each other and be
seen by my devices but the router not connected to the DSL line does not
wirelessly rebroadcast the 'internet connection' from the router that is
connected.

The setup is as follows:

Downstairs: Draytek 2820n wireless router connected to DSL line.

Upstairs: Speedtouch 716wl wireless router. I want to be able use this
router as a repeater/bridge to increase the range of the wireless signal
upstairs from the DrayTek downstairs.

Both routers support WDS mode.
Each router can see the other in their list of access points.
Each router's wireless signal can be seen and connected to by my wireless clients.
However, when connected to the Speedtouch upstairs, they can't get onto the
internet, only the LAN.
Both routers use the same channel and have WEP security set up using the
same key.
The firewall of the Speedtouch router is turned off.
The Draytek is set to 'repeater' in its WDS settings and lists the MAC
address of the Speedtouch in its list of access points.
The Speedtouch is set to recognise the Draytek's MAC address as an
access point in its WDS settings.

Problem: the Speedtouch router appears to connect to the Draytek
and clients can connect on the LAN but can't get online (WAN).

What else can I try to get this working? Why is the broadband signal not
being rebroadcast by the Draytek - or why is the Speedtouch not
rebroadcasting it? Is it not capable of this, possibly, despite having
WDS capability - can it transmit but not broadcast??

Deb.

Have you tried setting the Draytek in bridge mode and the speedtouch to repeater mode?

Hi there, thanks for your reply. I don't think the Speedtouch has that option, you can only enable WDS and then scan for available access points. Not sure if it is then acting as a bridge or repeater or... ?

Deb.

I've no experience of the speedtouch router.

But I believe for the draytek to offer it's internet to other WDS devices it needs to be in Bridge mode.

I also believe both routers need to be on the same subnet.

Every time I've read the manual of a product that allegedly offers WDS (you've read both yours, right?) it says there's no guarantee of interoperability with different products from the same vendor, let alone products from a different vendor. Do yours not say this?

I wish I knew why this was. But you may be heading for disappointment. Best of luck anyway.

"However, when connected to the Speedtouch upstairs, they can't get onto the
internet, only the LAN."

Can you define "connected" more precisely? Something is pingable, for example, and if so what is pingable - the Speedtouch, the Draytek, both? That actually sounds reasonably promising, if you've got the WiFi-layer stuff successfully connected, maybe there's something wrong with IP address setups and the like, which hopefully won't be too difficult to fix.

You might want to post IP address details of everything relevant on the LAN in this picture: IP address, subnet mask, default gateway, static/DHCP etc.

ensure the second router has its dhcp services disabled, and its address is different from that of the master router.

Yay - that worked!! Thank you so much!! I didn't realise about the DHCP but after delving around in the manual and settings I found where to disable it on the Speedtouch. Hey presto I can now surf wirelessly connected to a full-strength signal upstairs! THANKS!!

Deb.

Thanks very much for your help. I did feel that I was 90% of the way there if machines were visible on the LAN from either router but something was stopping the internet connection being routed properly. Lo and behold ggremlin's suggestion of disabling DHCP on the second router has worked a treat. I am rather amazed it has all worked together as the manuals (which I did read ) and web info said it would be nigh on impossible to get working with different router brands. Let's see if it still works tomorrow

Deb.

Thanks pmb00cs - after disabling DHCP it is (incredibly) all working - see reply to other post!

Deb.