GL-MT300N V2 "Mango" Wifi WEP security encryption

Hello,

Using the mango as a wired access point to extend the wifi coverage in home dead spots. It is connected to my main Wifi router as a wired device with a static address.

I got it out of the box with 2.xxx firmware which I was able to configure for my purpose. However it got auto updated to the latest version presumably available here 3.012

Initially with factory firmware I configured my access point to have the same name Wifi “SSID” as my primary router and used the same encryption “WEP”, I need it for backward compatibility with some of my dated Wifi equipment and gadgets (AIBO ER7 first generation is one of them). With this way as I read, I was able to make a poor mans “psuedo - mesh” network, of course not with the auto handover and other advanced capabilities.

So with the new 3.xxxx firmware I see that I have lost the capability to have WEP as the Wifi security method, even in the advanced interface there are no settings for the Wifi network.

So my queries are as follows :slight_smile:

  1. For my intended purpose, have I set it up correctly, although I was a bit confused whether to plug the ethernet cable in WAN or LAN port. I am using the LAN port currently. Any need if I have to change it to the WAN port for correct operation.

  2. Is there a way to enable or find WEP settings in the new v3.012 firmware, is it available out of box or can I install a package from Git repository to make it available.

  3. If WEP is not available in 3.012 , then I would like to downgrade to the old 2.xxx version to have WEP back. Actually I did try it by using the version at 2.271, but when I tried it, the whole Web UI is distorted icons are out of place and I cannot see any english field labels. Can anyone share the most latest 2.xx correctly working firmware which has the WEP wifi security option. Of course I will use it if there is no possibility for point no.2 above.

Thanks for your support and response.

Posting some updates, would be great if anyone else can pitch in

The only thing of my interest which I saw in 3.xxx firmware was to block certain clients by MAC address via the WebUI, which is apparently not available 2.271.

Can anyone please help how to define certain client by MAC or IP for not to be attached to this router’s Wifi (blocking by MAC address).

One more (possible) bug I found in 2.271 is the auto activation of built in DHCP server on every (hot/cold) reboot. I dont want to use the built in DHCP, as all DHCP for all home devices is handled by my main router with static DHCP bindings. So (via advanced settings) I only activated LAN interface on Mango and bridged it with the Wifi interface. I disabled the DHCP on mango, however it comes up again on a reboot. Maybe something devs can look into.

Thanks for the inputs.

  • wep encryption was out of date, the v3.x firmware doesn’t support wep, but you can configure it in Luci. For MT300N-V2, which uses closed wireless driver isn’t compatible with Luci, so we had disabled the Luci by default. Actually, you can enable it, please ssh to the router and edit the file /usr/lib/lua/luci/controller/admin/network.lua, change if false to if has_wifi at 45 line.

    Around 45 line looks like this.

    if fasle then                                                                          
        page = entry({"admin", "network", "wireless_assoclist"}, call("wifi_assoclist"), nil)
        page.leaf = true
                                                                                                                 
        page = entry({"admin", "network", "wireless_join"}, post("wifi_join"), nil)
        page.leaf = true
                                                                                                     
        page = entry({"admin", "network", "wireless_add"}, post("wifi_add"), nil)
    
  • If you back to old version from higher version, you can’t ticked “keep settings”. You might also need to clear the browser’s cache.

  • You can use AP mode or Extender mode, the two methods are bridge. In v2.x firmware, you can configure it in switch function, or refer to this link in v3.x firmware. More Settings - GL.iNet Docs

If you roll back to 2.x, make sure to clear the browser cache on your PC - also when doing the upgrade, don’t save the settings.

Not sure why you needs WEP, but seems that you might have a good reason.

WEP is not safe, and you’ll find that you might be limited to 802.11g speeds, as 802.11n needs at least WPA, but WPA2 is the best choice.

If i make the above changes, would the WEP be available in the WebUI or the advanced UI as an option to be used with my wireless SSID, or do I have to use manual commands to configure all WEP related settings like encryption bit length and pass pharse/password.

Acutally did mention it in the first post. I need the wifi to be compatible with some very old products which only can support WEP. I have Sony AIBO ERS-7 which doesnt support any other encryption than WEP and needs a specific length of the 128Bit password.

Thanks.

You’ll likely going to have to go under the hood and make the changes there…

The Aibo use case is similar to older handheld game consoles from Sony and Nintendo where WEP is the only choice…

Something that might be helpful from someone that works with Aibo’s…

It is available in advanced UI.