I am running a RUTX50 (Firmware: RUTX_R_00.07.18) in my camper van. At home I tested things with a sim card and my local WLAN. I could bring my WLAN to top under “Network → WAN” by simply dragging it there. Great stuff!
Now being on the road I am on a campground that offers free WLAN. Of course I prefer to use this instead my sim card.
To do so I search for the 2.4GHz networks under “Network → Wireless → SSIDs”. The wireless search results shows the desired network. When I click on “Join Network” I get an error message:
“2.4GHz radio(s) already have one client or Multi AP. To specify few possible APs for client use single Multi AP.”
On a recent trip I tried to solve this but was not successful. I checked online but could not find a solution that worked. So I reset the RUTX50 and gave it a fresh reinstall. The problem remained.
In the next screen presented to you’ under the ‘General Setup’ tab and in the setion entitled ‘Access Points’, you need to click on the ‘Add’ button, and enter the new AP’s credentials then click on ‘Save & Apply’.
If the new AP utilises a Captive Portal, then again click on ‘Edit’ for the existing Multi AP, and select the ‘Additional Settings’ tab. Set ‘Redirect captive portal’ to ON. Then ‘Save & Apply’, everything. In your use case, I believe that you could have this setting turned on permanently, as indeed I do.
There are some very rare instances, that are dictated by the Campsite’s Network configuration, that you have to turn OFF ‘Rebind Protection’. I have never come accross this scenario but to do so, go to NETWORK > DNS and under the ‘General Settings’ tab, turn OFF ‘Rebind Protection’. You should explore all other option first though as A) it’s a rare circumstance to encounter, and B) for security purposes, it’s best to keep it turned ON.
It is recommended that you have the Multi AP running on a single frequency band only i.e. 2.4GHz or 5GHz but not both. This leaves the other band for your End User Devices to connect to your router. As you can see from the example below, my Multi AP runs only on 2.4GHz and I have disabled all other SSID’s running on that 2.4GHz band. This leaves the 5GHz band free for conecting my phone, TV etc.
If the campsite uses a Captive Portal, then usually you will have to attach your phone / laptop to you router via your normal SSID for the band we have left for our personal use e.g. 5GHz in the example above. You will then need to do a one-off authentication to the portal via your phone / laptop. This will then associate your router’s MAC address with the campsite’s captive portal. The above is how it generally happens but no doubt there will be exceptions depending on how the campsite have configured their authentication regime.
In my opinion, when the device is in a Camper and you will wan’t to access free or subscription WiFi, when you park up, it is better to set up a ‘Multi AP’ rather than a ‘client’. In this way, your router will … A) remember previously used AP’s and their password (if required), which is usefull if they persist …. and B) it’s quicker to set up a new location that you are at.
Is this something that you would consider? Are you OK with how to setup Multi AP?
If you want to continue as a Client rather than Multi AP, then we can talk through its setup and also get it to deal with Captive Portals if that is what the campsite is using for authentication (which is common).
Hi Frank, I’m just about to go aboard and will be at sea for 4 days, so won’t get back to reply until late Monday. In the meantime, below is a very rough draft (needs refining) of how to set up Multi AP. I will check in on this thread on my return to dry land.
I have not forgotten about this and want to keep you updated. As I am traveling right now, the RUTX50 works fine and I my SIM card still has enough GB I decided to set up Multi AP when I will be back home.
Using a “very rough draft” (as Mike described it) might lead to problems which I want to avoid right now. Weather is still nice and I prefer a bicycle tour instead of sitting in front of my notebook setting up devices.
Thanks to you I now have a “rough“ idea what to do. Being back home I will give it a try and report the result.
@FrankJ … That rough draft has been sitting in my ‘to do’ folder for too long - here it is updated. The latest pdf version can be found on my DropBox here.
I could manage to set up Multi AP. I learned how to setup more that one SSID. Great, thanks!
Step 2 (Testing)
I run several Access Points at home that I use to test the Multi AP feature. I added one (named Jason), switched off the sim card and could verify that it works. Good so far.
Now I added a second Access Point (named Warp) and wanted to switch priority. I guess I can do this under
Network –> Wireless –> SSIDs –> Edit Multi AP
and move the preferred Access Point (Warp) up, right? How can I control that Warp is used and not Jason?
So far my report including Question #1.
Step 3 (Additional questions regarding the Edit Multi AP dialogue box [General Setup])
#2: Right on top I see a line that reads <“Jason“ SSID configuration>. I cannot see the equivalent for Warp.
#3: At the bottom of the same screen under Access Points there is an on/off switche for each SSID I entered. These mean if a password is used or not?
#1 - I’ve never experimented with controling priority via NETWORK > WIRELESS > MULTI AP > Edit and grabbing the handle, and moving thing around in the Access Point list - it’s definitely something I’ll explore but unless in a lab environment, there’s normally only one SSID broadcasting that is within reach of my RUTX. In the lab I use the approach below but it may well be possible to influence behaviour using your suggested approach. Food for thought, for me.
My approach to-date ….
If both SSID’s are within reach of my RUTX 50, then to ensure I connect to the desired AP, I ‘turn off’ the SSID that I don’t want, and ‘turn on’ the SSID I do want to authenitcate to. You can turn off, the relevent AP, in the Access Points section.
In the example below, both the EL VENCEJO SSID and the Michael A14 5G SSD are broadcasting at the campsite and are within reach of my RUTX50 but I only want to authenticate to EL VENCEJO. At NETWORK > WIRELESS > MULTI AP > Edit > Access Points, I ensure that Access Point Michael A14 5G is OFF and EL VENCEJO is ON.
#3 - Hopefully my answer to #1 has given you an insight that the ON/OFF switch has nothing to do with password, but simply tells the RUTX Multi AP to look for any SSID’s that are turned ON.
I’ve always put this down to a confusing UI design, as the SSID name <“Jason“ SSID configuration> is the last one that was used. As long as ‘Warp’ shows up in your ‘Access Points’ list, you’re good to go.
Once the Initial Setup has been done, I rarely have to ammend that bit of the page highlighted below, and the only time I do adjust it, is if I need the Multi AP to look for SSID’s broadcasting on a different frequency band. See the example entitled ‘What to do if the campsite is broadcasting on a different frequency band to my Multi AP…’ at the end of the latest pdf version, which can be found on my DropBox here
Note in the example below, I renamed ‘wifi1’ which is the default network name, to ‘WiFi_Uplink’ so that the name better reflects its purpose.
