TL-WR940N - Unable to change DHCP Settings

[deyno1903]

Hi,


I am trying to set up a Smart DNS on a new TL-WR940N that I purchased today. The router will be a secondary router to my Sky Q router. I have an Ethernet cable from Ethernet point 1 on my main router (sky), going into the WAN point on my TP router.


I am following instructions 4.7.1 (https://static.tp-link.com/2017/201712/20171215/1910012310_TL-WR940N_V6_UG.pdf) and I am stuck at the first point.


I am logged into my router and trying to change the DHCP settings. The server is set to enabled by default, which is what I want, but I am unable to input any primary DNS settings or start IP address. They are sort of greyed out and won’t let me edit

 

[DelJo63]

Wrong approach IMO.

First connect a PC directly to the new router and have nothing else connected. The existing DHCP will give you the default IP address as the gateway (see ipconfig /all)

Now login and

• TURN OFF DHCP altogether
  
• disable remote admin and port 8080 usage
• set your own admin password

now save the configuration.

Now we connect the first router, via any RJ45 slot, directly to the TL-WR940N on any of its RJ45, BUT NOT THE WAN PORT.

Now all devices connected to your original router or the TL-WR940N will be controlled by the DHCP in your original router.

If you want/need special IP addresses per device, use the Address Reservation feature.

 

[deyno1903]

Thanks for the reply.

My knowledge with this is very limited.

I will try your suggestion and try and google anything I'm unsure of.

Just one question please. You say connect the new router directly to the computer, I presume just with an ethernet cable with my main router still connected to my home wifi network?

Thanks again.

 

[DelJo63]

Correct. While doing this, the main router does not participate and is not connected

BTW, According to Symantec:

Smart DHCP
A smart traffic filtering option that allows a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) client to receive an IP address from a DHCP server while protecting the client against DHCP attacks from a network. If a Symantec Protection Agent sends a DHCP request to a DHCP server, it waits for five seconds to allow for an incoming DHCP response. If a Symantec Protection Agent does not send a DHCP request to a DHCP server, then Smart DHCP does not allow the packet. Smart DHCP does not block packets. It simply allows the packet if a DHCP request was made. Any other DHCP blocking or allowing is done by the normal security rule set. See also Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP).
​

so there's very little to be gained attempting Smart DHCP in the first place

 

[DelJo63]

One more thought - -
I have a similar setup where the main router is wired only and resides at 192.168.0.1

My secondary is my WiFi AP and setup exactly per the above. Once in a while it's nice to access the secondary without disturbing the connections, so I force the router address to be 192.168.0.254 (the last possible address on 192.168.0 ). Now I can access the secondary anytime with that address and change whatever is needed, including new firmware.

 

[strider2009]

Ran into the same problem, go to `Network` -> `LAN` and change your IP address first. I changed it from `192.168.1.1` -> `192.168.0.2`. Once I had restarted the router I was able to change the DHCP settings