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  • 1.  AP-11D wired access to WiFi network?

    Posted 19 days ago

    Hello,

    I have two AP-11Ds, one in the utility closet where the WAN comes in, and another in the den hardwired to it. They both are configured with a WiFi main "employee network" and a guest network. All my WiFi devices (about 20) are connected to the main network SSID, including an HP OfficeJet Pro 8720 printer. In the den I have an Acer Chromebook Spin 13 which is connected via WiFi to the main network SSID and simultaneously hardwired to the den AP-11D; it preferentially uses the wired network.

    The problem is that the Chromebook often loses connectivity to the printer, saying "Not connected to printer". When that happens, I unplug the Ethernet cable from the Chromebook, let it fall back to WiFi, and then it works. My question is, do I have to somehow configure the AP-11D wired LAN ports to access the main wireless SSID so they're on the same network? A similar situation exists with my LG smart TV (hardwired to the utility closet AP-11D) when I try to pair it with the LG app on my phone (on the main WiFi SSID); apparently that's not considered "on the same network". Or is there something else keeping a computer on a LAN port from being able to see a printer on a WiFi network?



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    Busirane
    "Be bold, be bold, but be not too bold."
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  • 2.  RE: AP-11D wired access to WiFi network?

    Posted 19 days ago

    Hello,

    First of all, you're asking a lot of questions at once, so perhaps you can break them down again to make clarification easier.

    Nevertheless, I'll try to help.

    I cannot recommend connecting a PC to Ethernet and WLAN at the same time. This is not supported by every operating system and you have to think carefully about what you want to route where.
    You don't write which settings have been made for the SSID. In particular, devices such as printers or TVs do not support all WLAN standards, which can lead to problems.
    Of course you can connect your PC to the LAN, for example, and the printer only to WLAN, but you should still be able to print. The prerequisite is that you have a router in your network and the routing is configured accordingly. That's how I do it, for example. It's just the other way round for me. I.e. the printer uses LAN, the PC uses WLAN.
    Access from the phone to the Smart TV may not work because the TV does not support the simultaneous connection of LAN and WLAN. Or it may be due to the configuration mentioned above, e.g. my TV can only use WLAN 5.


    Overall, it's a bit difficult to help you. The structure of your network sounds very unusual to me. For example, I don't understand why an AP is connected to the Chromebook. I don't think that's a good idea. Perhaps you should first learn a few basics about network design and WLAN communication and then reconsider whether your setup makes sense.



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    ciao
    Ryder Hook
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: AP-11D wired access to WiFi network?

    Posted 17 days ago

    Are you using the AP-11D in the Utility Room as a router?  Or is there a separate router on the WAN connection, and both AP-11Ds are just operating as Access Points, and wired to the same IP subnet on the separate router?

    It makes a difference, so that needs to be clarified first.  With a setup like you have, I would personally have a router connected to the WAN, and either use its internal switch ports, or a small external switch connected to the LAN side of the router, and connect both AP-11Ds to the switch ports or external switch.

    Also, is your Guest network on a separate IP subnet than your main network?  If so, what does the routing between the two?

    Does the Chromebook "know" about both the main wireless SSID as well as the Guest wireless SSID, and is set up to automatically connect to either one?  If so, then maybe it's switching SSIDs and getting onto the wrong network.  I would suggest only having the Chromebook know about one WiFi network.  If you want it to have both SSIDs available, then set the preferred one to automatically connect, and set the other one to connect manually.

    As far as using the Chromebook with both a wired as well as a wireless connection at the same time, you should probably go into network settings, if possible, and set the non-preferred connection (wired or wireless) with a worse metric for the default route, so when both are connected it will use the network connection with the better default route metric, and fall back to the other one when the preferred connection is gone.



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    Ron Buchalski
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: AP-11D wired access to WiFi network?

    Posted 8 days ago

    Here is a picture of the topology:

    The Utility AP (in the middle) is configured as a router; the Den AP (at the bottom) is not. The printer usually connects to the Den AP WiFi, but it's not unheard of for it to connect to the Utility AP. The Chromebook is wired to a port on the Den AP. The Chromebook was previously connected to the Den AP via WiFi, and when I hardwired it, it remembers that previous WiFi connection and still shows it, but I'm fairly certain it doesn't use both at the same time; it preferentially uses the wired connection, and only falls back to WiFi when the wired connection is down. When I try to print, the Chromebook can't find the printer until I unplug the wired network from the Chromebook, and then it can find the printer and print successfully. That makes me wonder if I need to configure something on the AP-11D to allow the wired network to access things on one of the WiFi networks.


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    Busirane
    "Be bold, be bold, but be not too bold."
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    Original Message