How to connect two Mercury Tenda routers with network cables? The LAN port of the main router comes out, and the second one is used as an AP or a router. I have connected both sets.

I moved to a new house last month. The main router is placed in the living room, the study is far away, and there are only two WiFi slots left. Fortunately, a network port was left on the wall of the study during the renovation. He dug out a dusty Tenda AC10 from the drawer and asked me how to connect it to the Mercury D191G in the living room. It's simple to say this, just plug in both ends of a network cable ； It's a real scam. He plugged in the wrong port on the first trip. The WiFi in the study room was full, but he couldn't get online. After I helped him connect the two Mercurys at my mother-in-law's house, I also went through the two sets of connection methods. This article will explain the wiring, background, and acceptance in one go.

Think through these three questions first before touching that network cable

Many people get stuck not because it is difficult to operate, but because they don’t understand what the second router is supposed to do after entering it. When a router is plugged in, it actually has three tasks in its hands.: Dial up, send IP (that is DHCP), send WiFi. When two stations are connected, these three tasks must be clearly divided, and two people cannot do them all.

So answer three questions before taking action. First, who dials your broadband account? In normal households, dialing is done through the main router (or dialing via modem), and dialing from the second station is absolutely not allowed. A broadband only recognizes the number once. If two people dial together, they will kick each other offline. I am here The article about connecting an optical modem to two routers After actually testing "you up and me down" for a whole night, the whole family's mobile phones turned to "Doubt Life". Second, who will issue the IP? Both devices have DHCP enabled, which means they are issuing numbers at the same time. The device will get the house number of one house today and the house number of that house tomorrow. It is all an inexplicable glitch. Third, should WiFi names be unified? This is the most free, which will be discussed in detail later.

After answering these three questions, naturally there are only two methods left.: The second station either "acts as a router" (LAN vs. WAN, it manages its own small network), or "acts as an AP" (LAN vs. LAN, it only amplifies the signal, and leaves all other work to the main router). I have examples of both at home, and each has its own suitable scenarios. See below.

Connection method one: LAN to WAN, the second station acts as an independent router

This set is the one that most people insert easily.: The network cable comes out of the LAN port of the main router and plugs into the WAN port of the second router. The main router still dials and sends IP as usual. The second station "receives" an address sent by the main router on its own WAN port, and then sends a new address to the device behind it. The two routers each do their own thing, separated by a layer of NAT.

The wiring is just this one, and the second unit can be set up almost unchanged - the factory defaults for Mercury and Tenda are routing mode and automatic IP acquisition (DHCP), just plug it in and it will work. There are only two places to move. One is the WiFi name and password of the second station. Change it to something you recognize. Don’t call both stations MERCURY._xxxx, the mobile phone will connect randomly. Another thing I highly recommend doing: Stagger the network segments of the two stations. The main router is 192.168.0.1 If so, change the second channel to 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.2.1 . Mercury changes LAN port IP and Tenda changes LAN port IP I have written one article each, just follow it. Is it okay if I don’t change my profession? Yes, it works most of the time, but once the two IPs are exactly the same, you will jump to the first one when you want to enter the backend of the second one, which can confuse you when troubleshooting problems. By staggering the network segments, the backend address of the second station is clear and worry-free.

The advantage of this socket method is isolation: The equipment in the study room is connected to Tenda, and the equipment in the living room is connected to Mercury. They do not disturb each other. There is a NAS and a printer under the secondary router, which have nothing to do with the main network. No matter what the main router is, it will not affect the study. The shortcomings also come from this layer of isolation - the two computers cannot search for each other through screencasting, the shared folders of the NAS cannot be crossed, and the game console may have an extra layer of NAT when connecting to the second computer. If you want to visit each other's families, don't choose this option.

Connection method two: LAN to LAN, change the second unit to AP

If you want to have two TVs under one roof so that the whole family can live without a wall, use this set.: Take the network cable out of the LAN port of the main router, plug it into the LAN port of the second unit (note, not the WAN port), and then turn the second unit into a pure AP. The essence of adjustment is two steps: Turn off its DHCP, and then change its LAN port IP to an address that is on the same network segment as the main router and does not conflict. The main router is 192.168.0.1 , the second station is located 192.168.0.2 . In this way, all the devices in the family have the numbers assigned by the main router, and are all on the same network segment. Screencasting, NAS, and mutual access are all accessible.

I have experienced the specific methods of entering Mercury and Tengda. Older Mercurys (such as D191G) do not have a ready-made "AP mode" switch in the background, so you have to do it manually.: Enter melogin.cn , find the LAN port settings in the routing settings to change the IP, then go to the DHCP server page and turn off the switch, and restart to take effect. There are two types of Tengda: For AC series with old firmware, search for "Working Mode" near "More Functions" or System Tools. Switch to AP mode with one click, and DHCP will automatically follow the switch. ； The AX series with new firmware hides this deeper. If you can't find it, just follow the old Mercury method and manually turn off DHCP. The specific locations of the two sets of menus, Mercury old and new interface and Tenda backstage map There are screenshot-level paths in both articles, which makes it much faster to find them.

There is a pitfall in Tengda that needs to be discussed separately.: After switching to AP mode and restarting my AC10, I can't enter the background and lose 192.168.0.1 Jump to the main router. Don't panic, the machine is not broken - it may no longer stick to the original IP after entering AP mode, but "receive" a new address from the main router. Go to the main router backend and look through the device list, look for the MAC address of the Tenda (printed on the sticker on the bottom of the machine), see if it is 192.168.0.x, enter that address, and the backend will come back. The first thing I did after I came back was to manually nail this IP. Bind a fixed IP to the device The method in that article can be used directly, saving you from having to find the door next time there is a power outage.

How to choose two socket connection methods, one table to match the numbers

Let me tell you my own tendency: As long as there is a network cable in the wall, always go from LAN to LAN to AP. The speed is not discounted, the whole family is on the same network segment, and any problem is easy to find. I leave the LAN vs. WAN scenario for situations where isolation is really needed, such as renting out a second bedroom to a tenant or managing a separate network for a child. For two new models of the same brand, don't bother with cascading. Mesh pairing takes ten minutes, and roaming automatically switches. Two routers group Mesh That article was written in more detail than mine.

After receiving the required three-step acceptance check, don’t plug it in and forget it.

The first step is to check the wiring. Connect your mobile phone to the second WiFi and open a web page. If it is connected, it only says "there is a network". Then take a look at the gateway address in the mobile phone's WiFi details.: The gateway is 192.168.0.1 , indicating that it recognizes the main router and the AP mode has been changed correctly. ； If the gateway number is different, there is a high probability that the second station is still sending its own IP, and DHCP has not been completely turned off. Go back and turn it off again. LAN and WAN are tested in reverse: The gateway of the device under the second one should be the second one's own new IP, not the main router's.

The second step is to verify mutual visits. Use the device under the second one to ping or directly access the NAS and printer connected under the main router. The AP connection method must be passable. If it is not passable, it means that the network segment has not been changed to the same segment. By the way, let's try screencasting. The TV is on the main router end and the mobile phone is on the second end. If we can find each other, we are truly a family.

The third step is to verify the background. Go through the background of both machines, write down their addresses, write them on stickers and stick them on the bottom of the machine. This step is to leave a way for you in the future - if there is a network problem six months later, you will never be able to remember which IP the second one is currently squatting on, especially the Tenda AP mode that will "drift". Don’t worry too much about network speed. Wired cascading is not like cutting in half like wireless bridging. The main router comes out through the Gigabit port. The speed measured on the second end basically depends on the broadband itself. A small drop is normal, but a half drop is a problem. Check back to see if the network cable is four-core.

ending: Three high-frequency rollover points, how to save if you connect them wrongly?

The first failure point was when the network cable was plugged into the WAN port of the second station and I wanted the AP effect. The symptom is that the WiFi under the second station is full and cannot connect to the Internet, or it is connected but the screen is completely blocked. Choose one of two rescue methods: Either move the network cable to the LAN port and reset it, or simply use the wrong one as LAN versus WAN to see if you want to communicate with each other. The second overturning point was that DHCP was forgotten to be turned off, and both stations issued calls at the same time. Symptoms are very typical: The equipment is good and bad. One day it is online and the next day it is offline. It will be fine after a while after restarting. Go to the second background and turn off DHCP, restart it, and you're done. The third overturning point is that the two IPs are the same, so whoever wants to access the backend will jump to the same one. First, connect the second computer to a separate computer (not connected to the main router) and change the IP, and then connect it back to the main network. Don't guess on the main network.

Fa Xiaojia’s set is LAN versus LAN.: The Tenda AC10 was converted into an AP and hung in the study. All the family's equipment was installed in 192.168.0.x of the Mercury D191G. The PS4 that was eating dust in his study was also revived, and there was no problem in casting to the TV. I conveniently unified the WiFi names of the two Mercurys at my mother-in-law's house - one more thing. In AP mode, the WiFi name of the second station is set to be the same as the main router. When the mobile phone moves between the two stations, it will automatically pick the one with the stronger signal, which is close to free roaming. ； It doesn't matter if it's different, but you have to switch it manually. Both solutions are correct. Those who are afraid of the trouble of unification want to control who is connected to which station separately.

A general tip for closing: The line comes out of the LAN port, but the second station does not dial. ； It is necessary to access DHCP and change IP in the same network segment. ； If you want to isolate, plug in the WAN and manage the wrong network segment. Read this before plugging in, and 90% of cascading rollovers will be stopped before plugging in.