Router setup

Technical Support for Routers
21

Thanks again wcs.

Two steps forward, one step backward. I’m still not there yet.

“Since you are able to connect your smartphone wifi to the VIXMINI SSID with default password “goodlife”, then it may have been reset successfully.”

Yes the router was definitely reset!

“Connect a computer wifi to the router, then try opening http://192.168.8.1 in a browser. Make sure that you explicitly specify http because some browsers default to using https otherwise.

In Windows, open a Command Prompt window, so you can look up the IP Address and Default Gateway IP, then try pinging the router:”

I was able to successfully connect to the VIXMINI setup screen, finally!
Your tips above really helped!

A PING resulted in avg. Ping 12ms, so a good connection.

This time in the camera setup I tried something different.
Since the VIXMINI router was not showing up in the list again I chose
“Other” for the wireless and did a manual setting.
I had tried this many times previously, but always chose Open (WEP)
not knowing what to choose in the list.
This time I chose WPA2-PSK and entered the password.

I thought this might be the magic bullet. But alas.
In the end I got the same last screen:

“Could not reach the mydlink server.

Click Retry to try again or click Close

to skip the mydink registration process.”

Still can’t get over the finish line.

I suspect it has something to do with my cable connections.

You explained exactly how I should connect my notebook wifi to the router

to get into the router setup.

These are all the components I have:

  1. Cable modem

  2. VIXMINI router (1 ethernet port)

  3. Desktop computer (no wifi)

  4. Camera DCS-930L

Could you please tell me what the exact cable connections should be

Between these four devices?

22

Another clue that could be helpful.

Just now, without changing any of the cabling, I swapped my VIXMINI router
for my GL-MT300N-V2-ab2.

When I had gotten to the second to last setup screen with my VIXMINI, it asked me to unplug the ethernet cable. The light remained green (meaning it was working on a Wifi signal).
It then checked for networks and failed.

When I had gotten to the second to last setup screen with my GL-MT300N-V2-ab2, it asked me to unplug the ethernet cable. The light changed to orange (meaning it was NOT working on a Wifi signal).
It then checked for networks and failed as well.

A couple of questions about the GL-MT300N-V2-ab2.
When I am connecting it to the devices during the setup, which port(s) should I be using?
LAN / WAN?
Also there is a switch on the router that toggles left/right.
What position should it be in and what is it for?
Is it important for this setup?

23

If you are replacing your D-Link router with the VIXMINI router, then connect your VIXMINI in the same way, presumably with the sole Ethernet WAN port on the VIXMINI to an Ethernet LAN port on the Cable modem.

The VIXMINI does not have another Ethernet LAN port, so you will have to add a wifi adapter to the desktop computer, with the cameras connecting over wifi.

The GL-MT300N-V2 has 2 ports, which allows you to connect the Ethernet WAN port to the Cable modem and your desktop computer to the Ethernet LAN port, with the cameras connecting over wifi.

An alternative setup is to configure the VIXMINI in Access Point mode via Admin Panel → MORE SETTINGS → Network Mode, use the WAN port as LAN via Admin Panel → Internet → Cable and connect the sole Ethernet port to the Cable modem. The computer can then also connect to the Cable modem and access all the VIXMINI and cameras.

I do not work for and I am not directly associated with GL.iNet

24

I do not know which Ethernet port (WAN or LAN) on the GL-MT300N-V2 that you connected the Ethernet cable to. Hence, I do not know why the LED was different between the VIXMINI and GL-MT300N-V2.

The switch function setting is on Admin Panel → MORE SETTINGS → Button Setting. I think the default is No function.

I do not work for and I am not directly associated with GL.iNet

25

I may investigate that option later. First I am going to get out another notebook/tablet and see
what I can do with them.

I’ve been working on this for weeks now! :frowning:
The frustrating part is that, as I said earlier in the thread, I know the camera can work with the
VIXMINI. I had it working a few months ago. But then something changed because when I fired
up my phone and the camera, the camera signal wasn’t there anymore.
That camera has now been reset many times now too.

26

“I do not know which Ethernet port (WAN or LAN) on the GL-MT300N-V2 that you connected the Ethernet cable to. Hence, I do not know why the LED was different between the VIXMINI and GL-MT300N-V2.

The switch function setting is on Admin Panel → MORE SETTINGS → Button Setting. I think the default is No function.”

As I didn’t know which port to connect to on the GL-MT300N-V2 and didn’t know which position the switch should be at, I tried ALL POSSIBLE configurations.

None worked unfortunately.

“If you are replacing your D-Link router with the VIXMINI router, then connect your VIXMINI in the same way, presumably with the sole Ethernet WAN port on the VIXMINI to an Ethernet LAN port on the Cable modem.”

Herein lies the big problem. My D-Link router (which I got to work with the camera)
has four LAN ports on its back plus a WAN port.

This is the cabling that worked with my D-Link router:

Cable modem à D-Link WAN
D-Link LAN à Desktop Computer
Cam à Cable modem

I can’t do the same cabling with my VIXMINI because it does not
have a WAN + LAN like my D-Link router has.

I went so far as to buy a switch that offers 4 extra ports in an effort
to replicate the D-Link setup, but it has failed so far.

“The VIXMINI does not have another Ethernet LAN port, so you will have to add a wifi adapter to the desktop computer, with the cameras connecting over wifi.”

Sorry I didn’t explain my situation completely. I am just using my desktop to try to set things
up. I don’t need my desktop to have camera access, although that would certainly be nice.
I’m aiming for now to be able to access the cameras on my Wifi phone signal.

“The GL-MT300N-V2 has 2 ports, which allows you to connect the Ethernet WAN port to the Cable modem and your desktop computer to the Ethernet LAN port, with the cameras connecting over wifi.”

Yes these are the connections that I made with my D-Link router (as I stated above).
I was quite disappointed when I made the same connections with my GL-MT300N-V2
and it didn’t work.

27

It sounds like each device works independently, including VIXMINI, GL-MT300N-V2, cable modem and camera. To replicate the D-Link router, I recommend using GL-MT300N-V2 with 2 Ethernet ports, instead of VIXMINI:

Cable modem → GL-MT300N-V2 WAN port
GL-MT300N-V2 LAN port → 4-port Ethernet switch Port 1
4-port Ethernet switch Port 2 → Desktop computer
4-port Ethernet switch Port 3 → Camera

  1. Test that the Desktop computer can access the Internet, so the GL-MT300N-V2 and 4-port switch are working. Also test that you can log into the Admin Panel on the router. If not, then the router is not set up properly or the cables are not connected properly.
  2. Set up Camera using the D-Link Windows app on the Desktop computer. You can also look up the IP address of Camera on the GL-MT300N-V2 via Admin Panel → Clients, so that you can access the camera’s web interface at URL http://(enter the Camera IP address), instead of using the D-Link app,.
  3. Configure Camera to connect to the Wifi SSID of the GL-MT300N-V2 with WPA2-PSK.
  4. Disconnect the cable from the Camera when requested
  5. Check that Camera is connected to GL-MT300N-V2 over wifi.

If Camera works, then set up the other cameras in the same way. After all the cameras work, then 4-port Ethernet switch can be removed, or you can leave it connected to the GL-MT300N-V2.

You should be able to see the cameras under LOCAL in the MyDlink Lite smartphone app when the smartphone is connected to the Wifi SSID of the GL-MT300N-V2. It may be necessary to re-register the cameras to see them under REMOTE.

I do not work for and I am not directly associated with GL.iNet

28

Again I really appreciate your help wcs!
You may not believe this, but I am not a computer novice.
I have been working with (and building some computers) for more than
30 years!

But this setup is REALLY testing my computer skills.

It seems you are making some assumptions that are not as they appear.
Let’s go through your last set of tips, one at a time:

  1. Test that the Desktop computer can access the Internet, so the GL-MT300N-V2 and 4-port switch are working. Also test that you can log into the Admin Panel on the router. If not, then the router is not set up properly or the cables are not connected properly.

Yes (with my LATEST wiring) my Desktop can access the Internet.
The GL-MT300N-V2 is working with Wifi.

My 4-port switch may or may not be working properly:
This is my current wiring (I’m sure something is wrong because of the lights)

Modem (yellow) – Switch (green)
Switch (orange) – GL-MT WAN
Switch (orange) – Camera
Desktop – GL-MT LAN
The switch should be (green) when working and there are two (oranges)
and one (green).

I can login to the Admin Panel of the GL-MT router.
Something in setup may not be right:
Under Clients:
Online devices:
Desktop (wired)
Cellphone (wifi)
Not sure what the ‘Block’ switch is for?
They are all set to OFF.

  1. Set up Camera using the D-Link Windows app on the Desktop computer. You can also look up the IP address of Camera on the GL-MT300N-V2 via Admin Panel → Clients, so that you can access the camera’s web interface at URL http://(enter the Camera IP address), instead of using the D-Link app,.

I don’t think you understand. I CAN NOT setup my camera with the D-Link app on the Desktop or ANY computer. If I could my problem would be solved!

I found the IP address of the camera but cannot access the camera using the web interface
http://192.168.8.200

  1. Configure Camera to connect to the Wifi SSID of the GL-MT300N-V2 with WPA2-PSK.

Again, since I can’t connect to the camera via the IP address or the desktop app,
I cannot config the camera.

  1. Disconnect the cable from the Camera when requested

I never get that far now.

  1. Check that Camera is connected to GL-MT300N-V2 over wifi.

Can’t get camera to connect to GL-MT as stated above.
I’m sure my wiring is faulty.

29

Well finally after two weeks of banging my head against the wall I am starting to have some success!

I just managed to get my GL-MT300N-V2-ab2 router to work with the camera.

Now I will persevere and see if I can get my VIXMINI-1bc to work
again.

Here is the ‘secret’ cable connection that worked:

Cable modem → GL-MT300N (WAN)

GL-MT300N (LAN) → Switch box

Switch box → Desktop

Switch box → Camera (setup only)

30

Isn’t that the same as in my previous post?

I do not work for and I am not directly associated with GL.iNet

2 Likes
31

Thanks wcs.

Yes indeed you did get the correct connections before me! :slight_smile:

The problem was that for some reason I scooted past your cabling (probably because
you didn’t say something like, “Try connecting your devices like this…etc.”.).

So I jumped to the instructions right below that and followed each one.

Anyway I’m happy that the camera works now with one of the small routers and I will
persist at least for a little while to see if I can get the other one to work as well.

If you have suggestions on how to do the cabling for that one I’d certainly be interested in
hearing about it.

I think I will start by trying to get my VIXMINI-1bc to “pretend” it is my D-Link:
same SSID/password/channel etc.

Thanks again for all your help! Really appreciated. :slight_smile:

32

My strategy worked this time! :slight_smile:

The key was:

  • when I got to the Wifi scanning, it couldn’t find my router
  • I chose 'Other"
  • Keyed in the Name, WPA, and Pass

I hadn’t chosen WPA in the past.

I made sure the settings on the D-Link router were exactly the same
as for the VIXMINI-1bc, and this time IT WORKED! :slight_smile:

33

It would be good to switch to wifi WPA2, which is more secure than WPA. If bad people manage to connect to your wifi, then they would have access to your entire network.

Personally, I prefer to configure the VIXMINI in Access Point mode, so that all your Ethernet devices can be connected directly to the Cable modem/router and all your devices will be on the same subnet with complete access among devices. This will make it easier to add/modify cameras in the future.

I do not work for and I am not directly associated with GL.iNet

34

Thanks wcs, I decided to be bold and try out your suggestions.
I switched to Access Point mode and now I’m having difficulty logging into the wifi signal.
I never had issues in Router mode.
Any secrets there?

Also I’d like to change from WPA to WPA2 as you suggest be can’t find it in the Settings menu.
Do you know where I can find it?

35

Switching to Access Point mode should be pretty straightforward. I tested on my GL-AR300M16 and connected to its wifi with an IP address issued by my main router’s DHCP server.

The older VIXMINI actually may not have WPA2 capability, so you have to stay with WPA and your client devices have to connect over WPA. For greater security, you can use the GL-MT300N-V2 instead.

I do not work for and I am not directly associated with GL.iNet

36

Thanks wcs.
Something isn’t working properly at my end.

All I did was go into my VIXMINI settings page
and switch to Point to Ppoint mode.

I am connecting my cables like this:
Cable modem → desktop computer
Cable modem → VIXMINI (only one ethernet port)

That is the connection I have been using for more than a year to get Wifi.

When I look at my wifi settings on my phone it says:
“Obtaining IP address…” and it never finds one. And then it says:
“IP configuration failure”

So the Wifi isn’t working.
If there isn’t a simple fix I’ll just go back to regular router connection mode.

Yes as you say I can always use the GL-MT300N for WPA2 greater security.

37

When I look at this page it doesn’t mention access point:

It mentions these modes:
Router
Hotspot
Client
Repeater

Is Hotspot the same as Access Point?

If I unplug the router from my Cable modem I still can’t connect to it.
It just keeps saying:
“Obtaining IP address” and nothing happens.

38

It must have been changed in the firmware. Are you on the latest/last firmware version?

The VIXMINI guide shows Access Point on the Network Mode page:

I think “Client” is same as “Access Point”.

I do not work for and I am not directly associated with GL.iNet

39

Not sure about that. It could be acting as a wireless adapter for whatever is plugged into the ethernet port. What DD-WRT referred to as Client Bridge without rebroadcasting; with Repeater being either an extender or Repeater-Bridge adding the ethernet port.

I’m following along as best I can, but I can’t see how if both the computer and the VIXMINI are plugged into the cable modem that this works in anything but AP mode.

The last stable firmware is 3.003 from 2018, but there looks to be a beta 3.027 a year later that might help.

40

Thanks wcs and elorimer.

Because I couldn’t connect in Access Point mode I went back, reset the router
and am using Router mode now.

First I don’t think there would be any advantage in my case to using Access Point,
even it could work.
Second, if I understand correctly, Access Point only works if you have another router
that is connected to the modem by cable.

I don’t have another router connected by cable to my modem! The only wifi router I have (that I want to use) is the VIXMINI.

So all is good.

From what I saw in the diagrams when an Access Point is setup, it will broadcast the Wifi signal just the same as when the router is broadcasting in Router mode.