Connect linksys router to AirPort Extreme

A Linksys support forum can provide the answer. There are no changes that need to be made to the AirPort router at all.....it is all up to the Linksys device.

Ask how to set up the Linksys as a Wireless Access Point that will use an Ethernet connection. The gurus use the term WAP for this.

It is unlikely that other users on an Apple support site will know how to set up a Linksys to do what you want.....but anything is possible. If you could provide the model number of the Linksys router that you are using, someone might be able to help.

There is an option of Wireless Bridge and an option of Wireless Repeater. Any idea if it's one of those that I need?

Neither of those is correct.

The Linksys would need to support a WAP mode. In other words it is not a router but a straight wireless access point.

But there is another solution which works on any router which is what you seem to half attempt. This is called WAN BYPASS.

Please read the tutorial here.

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=933517

This will work for any wireless router that does not have a specific WAP mode.. which sadly is the vast majority.

So lets go back to your setup and where you left off.

I ran an Ethernet cable from a LAN port on the AE to a LAN port on the Linksys and disabled the DHCP in the Linksys settings.

What you did was half the job..

So I recommend you do it all over again though because you need to put the Linksys back into router mode. (Assuming no possible WAP mode.. which I will check on shortly).

Here are the steps from the tutorial as simply as I can lay them out.

1. You must know the IP range of the main router.. its wireless name and password..

To make this easy lets work with airport.. at default it has 10.0.1.1 as its home address and DHCP set to 10.0.1.2-200

Lets give it a wireless name of AEgen6 and password of gandalf1234

2. On the Linksys set it back to factory. Always start this from factory so DHCP is working and router is working..and you can get the computer to connect.. with nothing but one computer plugged in.. go to the setup page of the router..

Now setup these three things in order.

2.1 Change the wireless name and password to match the airport (if you want roaming network.. but this is not necessary for every setup)

2.2 Change the home IP of the Linksys to 10.0.1.254 (I recommend this address.. but it should be anything you like as long as it is outside the DHCP scope of the Airport. ).. NOTE this address is important later and will not be easy to find.. so write a label and stick it to the base of the Linksys.

2.3 Change LAN DHCP to OFF.

N.B. when you now save the settings the computer can no longer connect to the Linksys.. this confuses people all the time.. but it is fully expected.. There is now no DHCP. So once it is saved turn off the Linksys.

3. Plug the LAN of the main router to any LAN port (Not eWAN if it has one)

Power the Linksys up and with the computer still plugged in by ethernet.. make sure you get an IP correctly.. i.e. 10.0.1.xx

You can now get to the Linksys anytime you need because it is 10.0.1.254 and just type that into your browser.. so you can setup wireless after the configuration if you wanted to change the wireless on the airport for example.

The Linksys may complain about no WAN connection.. ignore it.. you are using its wireless and LAN ports.. not its router functionality.

I REALLY wish I knew the answer to this guys question! I have *almost the exact same one.

The method above works for 99% of routers.. I have had issues with a couple of obscure brands.. in which case the IP could not be changed.. hard wired into the firmware I think. Some modern routers are preconfigured for guest wireless and happen to use identical IP to the main router.. that can cause issues.. TP-Link is a brand I have run into issues with for this rather weird problem.. but you can always get around it by simply using a different IP even if it means you cannot reach the router without manually configuring IP on the computer.

Apparently there is no built in WAP mode.. you must use WAN BYPASS method I outlined above.

I must say this is typical Belkin who bought over Linksys..

The WRT1900 models lack the firmware functionality of the Asus.. so anyone reading this who has not yet bought equipment.. Don't buy Linksys... unless of course you plan to run 3rd party firmware.

Asus have a WAP mode built into the setup. Easy peasy.

Here is almost identical issue in the forum.

WRT1900AC as Wireless Access Point - Linksys Community

If you are trying to connect the Linksys router to the AirPort Extreme, this implies that the AirPort Extreme is already set up and working correctly. If that is the case, then there are no settings involved at all with the AirPort Extreme.

Connect an Ethernet cable from one of the three LAN <--> ports on the AirPort Extreme to the Linksys device and configure it as a Wireless Access Point (WAP) using the exact same wireless network name, same wireless security and and same wireless password as the AirPort Extreme network.

Check with Linksys support for details on how to configure the Linksys device.

The Linksys router needs to be in Bridge Mode.

Locate your MacBook Pro close to the AirPort Extreme so that it is picking up a signal from the AirPort Extreme

Hold down the option key on your Mac while you click on the WiFi icon at the top of the screen

Look for the BSSID and jot down the last 3-4 characters

The BSSID is the MAC Address of the router to which you are connected.

Move the MacBook Pro close to the Linksys router and perform the same check

If the Mac is picking up the signal from the Linksys, you will see a different BSSID

If you see the same BSSID as the AirPort Extreme again, then the Linksys is not set up correctly

Sorry, I'm not familiar with the specific terms that Linksys uses....that's why I suggested that you get on a Linksys forum and explain exactly what it is that you want to do and ask how to do it.

I REALLY wish I knew the answer to this guys question! I have *almost the exact same one.

This has been enormously helpful. Thank you for your detailed answer! We were able to get this set up with a Linksys router and an Airport Express as a base router.

Glad it was helpful.