D-Link Router/Time Capsule WiFi Issues

No matter whether you decide to run two separate Wi-Fi networks, or have both the D-Link and Time Capsule produce the same "roaming" network, the Time Capsule must be configured to operate in Bridge Mode to work correctly with the D-Link router.

There are advantages and disadvantages to either approach, with no clear cut answer as far as which type of network might be "better".

So, this would be the first thing that you would want to check.

If you are not sure how to check to see if the Time Capsule has been set up in Bridge Mode.....(Apple calls this "Off (Bridge Mode))......post back to tell us whether you are using a Mac, iPhone / iPad, or PC to administer the settings on the Time Capsule.

No.. I am unable to give phone support..

Your previous statement..

Also the cable from the Dlink is connected to the TC from the main port, not one of the 4 ports. Does that make sense?

Conflicts with the new statement.

Dlink port to the WAN TC port.Just to clarify, my ISP modem is connected to Dlink through the WAN port of Dlink. And a cable goes from the LAN

There are 4 LAN ports on the Dlink so one of those ports must be connected to the TC WAN port.. and the first statement was mistaken.. There are only 5 ports that you can plug ethernet into 1x WAN.. which the modem is plugged into and 4 LAN. so now we are on the same page. If not please plug from one of the 4 Yellow LAN ports on the Dlink to WAN port on the TC. WAN has sunburst symbol and is between power and USB.

This is the correct setup and TC cannot handle PPPOE reliably anyway.. nor is it required.

You will setup the TC as follows.. Exactly please.

Wireless can use whatever name you like.. but should be short no spaces and pure alphanumerics.

YOU MUST USE WPA2 Personal security. Password is best if you stick also to pure alphanumerics.. 8-20 characters is usually plenty.

I have picked the range specifically as other values give me issues.. and I cannot update the TC.. If that happens simply try changing the digit up or down by 1. e.g... 104 fails try 105. The TC is finicky about what IP will work.

Save the Options pages as you go through.. and then click update.. you might be then wise to restart the whole network to make sure all clients get fresh IP addresses depending on the client they are connected to.

Restart in the following order.

1. Modem.. wait 2min

2. Dlink.. wait 2min

3. TC.. wait 2min

4. Clients.

I am pretty sure this will fix the problem.

You should set the DHCP range in the Dlink from 2-99 to make sure only the TC can deliver IP between 101 and 200.

This will force whatever the client you use to change IP when it swaps between the TC and Dlink which I think will fix the issue.

Even with two floors you really don't need to have two separate networks SSIDs. Again, since you have both routers interconnected by Ethernet, you can configure them both for a roaming type network.

The following Apple Support articles provides the basics for this type of network:

Wi-Fi base stations: Setting up and configuring a roaming network (802.11 a/b/g/n) - Apple Support

The keys are:

1. The routers must be interconnected by Ethernet.
2. Both routers will broadcast their own wireless network ... BUT, they will all use the same network name and wireless security type.
3. The router directly connected to the Internet will be the "main" router and it must remain configured as such.
4. The other router must be reconfigured as a bridge. That is, its routing functions must be disabled. Those functions, typically are: DHCP and NAT.

If i have one network, how do I make sure my devices connect to the most powerful signal and not latch on to the weak signal?

Typically, desktops/notebooks will attempt to connect to the wireless router with the strongest signal. Smartphones don't always do so. However, a simple "trick" for the latter, is to enable, then disable, airplane mode to "force" the device to connect to the stronger signal.

Have a look at the article, and if you still have questions, don't hesitate to ask.

I don't have a D-Link router here to test, but I am currently using a Netgear router with a TC. The TC is set up in Bridge Mode. I cannot duplicate the issue that you are reporting.....things work just fine no matter whether the Netgear router and TC are using different wireless network names, or they both use the same wireless network name.

Power off the entire network, wait a few seconds, then power things back up, D-Link first, then the TC, then other devices

What happens if you change the sequence?

Connect to the TC network first (if you are using a Mac, you may need to change the priority of networks to get the Mac to connect to the TC first)

Then connect to the D-Link network

Then, connect back to the TC network again

Can you get an Internet connection when you connect back to the TC after connecting to the D-Link router?

Do you know how many IP addresses in total that the D-Link can assign? Or, asked another way, what is the DHCP range that the D-Link router is using to assign IP addresses? It should be something like 192.168.0.1 to 192.168.0.x

We ask this because some providers severely limit the number of IP addresses that the router can assign, and you may be running out of IP addresses since the router thinks that it has already assigned a number of IP addresses.

If that might be the case, change the lease time on the D-Link to a shorter timeframe.....like 5 minutes or so.

- I connect back to the D-link, internet STOPS working

Rapid change of IP address can get some things confused. Gateway (what apple calls router) and DNS values in particular. Another issue is domain. Apple routers don't seem to swap domain properly. And it is important to have the right settings.

When you do the swap and the internet stops.. please open a terminal (or network utility).

See if you can ping addresses on the internet even if the browser is not working.

eg ping 8.8.8.8 (google public DNS server).

If that works.. ping another site by name. so

ping www.google.com

or

ping google-public-dns-a.google.com

Use Control + C key to stop the command.

Tell us your results.

There is a better way to run the airport router when you get into this situation.. it does involve a bit more complicated setup.

It will follow what I put in this post.

No DNS error, Airport roaming network

But I can help you make it specific to your setup if you need details.

Two simple things to do.. in your computer set IPv6 to link-local only.

Same in the TC.. Internet options tab.. where it says Configure IPv6 and is set to Automatically .. change it to link-local only.

I am not expecting anything to happen but it is a better setting.

The other one is on the wireless tab of the TC change to WPA2 Personal wireless security.

WPA/WPA2 is weak.. and if you swap back and forth I am not sure what that will do.

The D-Link should also be set to WPA2 Personal .. it might be called TKIP AES..

Again I am not expecting anything but it is worth the change.

Just test after that and see if it makes any difference.. don't be surprised if you still have problems..

Next bit is what I asked you to do in my first post. We are going to change the way the TC is setup.

I want you to divide your DHCP range between the D-Link and the TC.

As a way to easily see if this has any hope of working and if the problem is D-Link in reality..

Reset the TC to factory and run it in router mode.. so instead of showing bridge on the internet tab you will have it set to DHCP and NAT. It will throw up a double NAT error which you can ignore.

Are you running both the Dlink and the TC with the same SSID (wireless name)? ie this is roaming network.. or do they have different SSID?

And what actual model is the Dlink?

Sorry for the long wait. I am in Australia and it is very very early morning here.. and I simply don't have enough coffee in my system. I was hoping that one of the tests would come up negative .. giving us a pointer to the problem.. we are going to need to get a bit more sophisticated here.

For a browser to fail when the ping by name test works would point to a domain issue.

In network preferences.. tell me what you see.. screenshot would be really helpful.. as you swap back and forth.

So here is what mine looks like when I swap back and forth. BTW.. do make sure you have IPv6 set to link-local only.

I want to see under advanced.. the TCP/IP tab and the DNS tab.

1. Asus router.

2. Apple TC AC version

I have no issues as per the other guys here.. we are not able to reproduce your problem.. but lets see what we get.

First, do you really want to run two separate Wi-Fi networks?

If not, then since your Time Capsule is connected directly to the D-Link router by Ethernet, you can configure them both for a roaming type network. With this type of network, each router will broadcast their own wireless network, but each of these networks will use the same network name (aka, SSID) and use the same wireless security type and password. Wireless network clients would see them as a "single" network.

If this sounds like the way you would want to proceed, we can provide you with additional instructions on how to get there.

Also the cable from the Dlink is connected to the TC from the main port, not one of the 4 ports. Does that make sense?

No sorry it doesn't ..

I checked the specs of the D-Link.. thanks for the link.

It has ONE WAN port and 4 LAN ports.

You state the Dlink is the main router and therefore the WAN port MUST be used by your Internet connection.

You cannot plug your internet connection into a LAN port..

YET.. you say the TC is plugged into the main port.. not LAN.. so my only guess of the possible ports for Dlink is WAN.. which means this is all the wrong way around. And I cannot understand how it works at all.. let alone having what is a minor issue in comparison.

Lets go back to the very start..

Who is your ISP and what sort of broadband do you have?

What make and model is the modem if you have one?

Does the Dlink have a public IP on the WAN interface? I cannot see how it can if the TC is plugged into WAN.

What happens if you plug the TC into a LAN port.. which is the way it should have been setup from day ONE??

Ignore the other stuff until we work this one out.