IP assignment takes 5 minutes when moving from an AP to another one

I understand the setup and I understand the problem. I cannot answer your questions.. but I can suggest something to help test what is going on.

What IP are the three Asus AP's.. do they all exist in the same network range?

If you plug in by ethernet.. firstly to the switch from say a laptop.. does it pickup the IP almost immediately??

What about if you plug by ethernet (wireless off) into ethernet ports on the Asus setup up as AP??

That might help prove where the issue is..

Well ipads and iphones sure don't have ethernet ports.. so you need something ..

A macbook without ethernet is like a bird with one wing.. buy the thunderbolt to ethernet adapter.. it is the best priced thunderbolt gadget available.. perhaps the only one you ever buy but it is actually NECESSARY.

Fixing up wireless by wireless is akin to the cartoons where the character saws off the branch they are sitting on.

With the Asus AP I presume you have ethernet plugged into their WAN ports.. try swapping it to LAN.

No luck I will give you another setup.. but post when you have a chance. In am in Australia..

Hmmm.. a sudden though.. you know this all might solve itself once you have internet.

- What happens during those 5 minutes?

- Why exactly 5 minutes?

DNS not available in the TC could cause strange stuff to happen.. often a DNS resolve is necessary for lots of things to happen now.

Put the TC in static IP mode.. And use DHCP not DHCP and NAT.

Re: airport time capsule keeps disconnecting

The setup is here.. only difference is you will set the main DNS on the Internet tab to itself.

I would also prefer to see you stick to standard Apple IP address scheme .. it is minor.. and don't worry for now.. but using 10.0.0.x when the TC is setup for 10.0.1.x can cause interesting issues.

Asus ap has only one Ethernet port.

Teach me to look up the model number.

Plugging directly into it lead to a strange behaviour: laptop takes an iP address (same as before) but the Apple TC becomes impossible to reach.

Now you need to explain.. you plugged the ethernet lead that used to go to the Asus into the laptop.. it gets an address but no access to the TC.. is that what you are doing??

Why do you affirm that tc is setup with 10.0.1.x? default dhcp configuration shows a 10.0.0.x ip family..

Default on the TC.. press the reset and do a full factory reset it will always come back 10.0.1.1 as the home address.. but it is class C network.. 255.255.255.0 subnet mask..

If you setup the Asus 10.0.0.3, 4 and 5.. and still have the TC on home IP you are not actually going to have the IP registered.. it might work.. because you are mixing a class A address with Class C.. but the better way to do things is have everything on the default.. and even pass the Asus IP by dhcp reservation even if you have it set statically.. as that helps keep the ARP/route table up to date.

No.. I took the lead that used to go into the wall (i.e. to the the switch) and plugged it into laptop. This took an ip (the same as before) but was not able to see TC

You have lost me how that is happening.

But the fact that you cannot see the TC tells you why you have problems.. it is just a matter of resolving where that issue is.

My final solution is to believe in Amazon refund policy

I like asus products.. that have third party firmware available..

I have never been especially impressed by Asus firmware..

Sometimes it is better to go with a product that is just better known in the market..

eg Netgear R7000 or Asus RT-AC68U.. that have been on the market for a few years.. have excellent firmware projects and can be set to WAP mode. You get better value for money because they are products that have a wider following than would be possible with the crummy firmware that is written by the OEM.