Help - Routers and VAPs

[tony1679]

This may earn the stupid question of the day award, but I've spent over an hour on Google and still don't have an answer. I have a Motorola VAP2500 laying around collecting dust. I understand this is used as a "bridge" between an AT&T gateway and a wireless receiver for watching tv.

I do NOT have AT&T services.

My new router (Netgear WNDR3400) is not able to reach one of the farthest corners of my house. What I am trying to figure out is if there is any way to make the VAP2500 work as a normal router. If so, I want to place it in that corner. Help?

 

[Ramblejam]

Assuming you've already done the basics (different channels/router placement)...instead of trying to utilize the Motorola for something it was never intended for, why don't you just return the router and buy a model better suited for your coverage requirements?

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: tony1679
This may earn the stupid question of the day award, but I've spent over an hour on Google and still don't have an answer. I have a Motorola VAP2500 laying around collecting dust. I understand this is used as a "bridge" between an AT&T gateway and a wireless receiver for watching tv.

I do NOT have AT&T services.

My new router (Netgear WNDR3400) is not able to reach one of the farthest corners of my house. What I am trying to figure out is if there is any way to make the VAP2500 work as a normal router. If so, I want to place it in that corner. Help?

No, to me it isn't.

I have no idea what you are talking about, so you already know a lot more than me.

 

[OVERKILL]

A quick google yielded this thread:
https://forums.att.com/t5/Residential-Wi-Fi-Gateway/Motorola-VAP2500/td-p/3552971

Username/Password are:
User:ATTadmin
Password:2500!VaP

IP is 192.168.1.254

It is accessible via a web GUI. It is an access point, so, configured with the same SSID/passphrase/encryption as your current router you can do a sort of cheap WDS (without the dynamic/graceful handover).

However, I am unfamiliar with the device so I guess the place to start is to hook it up, login to it and see what you can change. It supposedly uses 5Ghz and I'm not sure if it has 2.4Ghz or not.

 

[HerrStig]

Routers with external antennas tend to have better radiation patterns. I have no idea what the lump in my basement has inside but it covers the area.

 

[EdwardC]

If the info Overkill posted doesn't work, I'd suggest getting a WiFi extender. I got an expensive TP-Link unit for $20 on amazon and it works surprisingly well to get the wifi into the garage. I have the same Netgear router too.

 

[tony1679]

Originally Posted By: Ramblejam
Assuming you've already done the basics (different channels/router placement)...instead of trying to utilize the Motorola for something it was never intended for, why don't you just return the router and buy a model better suited for your coverage requirements?
I have tried this. Even my buddy's nighthawk can't cover all of my house. It's not a huge house (just shy of 2,000 sq. ft.), it just seems to be built like a tank. Thick walls I guess. I don't want to purchase another router, therefore I asked that question. If the VAP won't work, I'll just deal with the dead spot.

 

[tony1679]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
A quick google yielded this thread:
https://forums.att.com/t5/Residential-Wi-Fi-Gateway/Motorola-VAP2500/td-p/3552971

Username/Password are:
User:ATTadmin
Password:2500!VaP

IP is 192.168.1.254

It is accessible via a web GUI. It is an access point, so, configured with the same SSID/passphrase/encryption as your current router you can do a sort of cheap WDS (without the dynamic/graceful handover).

However, I am unfamiliar with the device so I guess the place to start is to hook it up, login to it and see what you can change. It supposedly uses 5Ghz and I'm not sure if it has 2.4Ghz or not.
Ahhh maybe that's where I went wrong. I need to use a pc. I was trying that same info with my phone and it wasn't working.

Guess I'll have to borrow my buddy's laptop.

 

[tony1679]

Well I ended up taking the VAP over to my mom's and hooked it up to her pc. Clearly I don't know what I am doing. All i did was hook up the appropriate wires. Her internet then quit working. After 2 days of troubleshooting, I figured out that somehow I ended up changing her router's IP address.

I think I need to give this idea up. Unless someone can tell me how to do this (obviously must be idiot-proof)...

 

[OVERKILL]

You just need to plug it into your network and give your computer an IP in the same subnet, so like 192.168.1.250 for example (with a /24 mask, so 255.255.255.0). You should then be able to connect to it with the IP I mentioned earlier and the username/password.