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[DaveUdon]

The original intent of this post was to ask the question if there could be a potential network IP conflict in a hotel when joining to a D-Link AP -- answer below...

I laughed after reading a few complaints here and there about the need to reset on all modes when attempting use in a hotel. Imagine! And just how is the device to know which network to join, or issue an ethernet DHCP request to an AP, without a pre-wizard scan?

Is there the potential for a network IP conflict when this marvelous device makes an association to the hotel's wireless AP network? Suppose the hotel WAP has a gateway of 192.168.0.1, the same default value for this D-Link device?

I decided to document for myself and readers here, the exact chain of events when introducing the device to a stranger AP in a hotel, especially when both devices are D-Link.

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At the start of this test:

Linksys WRT54G IP address: 192.168.1.1 (plays the role of hotel AP after reset below)
DIR-505 DHCP settings, established manually in Web Menu, Hotspot active:

IP Address:    192.168.10.100
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Router:         192.168.10.1
DNS:            192.168.10.1
-------------------

1) Reset the Linksys router to IP 192.168.0.1   At same time, click on factory reset inside the Hotspot Web Menu. I'm hoping to display a router IP conflict after reboot...

Tutorial starts here...

(ie, just walked into hotel room, plugged in the DIR-505 Hotspot, and inserted reset pin for 10 sec's...)

DIR-505 LED goes RED, counting down to 0-sec's, then GREEN again.


2) Scan the iPhone's wifi networks, join the dlink-xxxx SSID network.

At this point you can use the QRS Mobile app which works conveniently and quickly for both iOS and Android devices. Or, you can proceed to step-4 after reading just below.

I'm finding that sometimes QRS Mobile is a quicker, cleaner method of getting back online after a sudden restart (it happens, unfortunately). It doesn't matter whether you are already joined with dlink-xxxx or with a previous private network you set up. Just re-join the device with any 505 SSID name, run QRS Mobile, then http://dlinkrouter.local/ if you want to get into the Web Menu.

dlink-xxxx DCHP values in iPhone:

IP Address:    192.168.0.100    (Ok: 1st available position in DIR-505's client DHCP list)
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Router:         192.168.0.1        (YES! same value as Linksys IP: any potential CONFLICT with hotel WAP??)
DNS:            192.168.0.1

I've found that NO INTERNET ACCESS can be seen in iPhone's Safari browser when www.google.com is requested. No other screen appears. But...


3) An aside here: my Galaxy Note 2 joined dlink-xxxx as 192.168.0.101 (2nd DIR-505 client DHCP position).

www.google.com was entered into stock browser's address bar and immediately the Hotspot pre-wizard was returned, similar to a hotel's login page.

This tells me that the Linksys gateway is not accessible or blocked, but the DIR-505 local gateway is active.

Any comments on this observation?


4) Back to the iPhone:

http://dlinkrouter.local/ gives the pre-wizard for Hotspot.
Select the [Linksys] router in wizard's network scan.
Create a new internal network SSID.
Save the page.

DIR-505 reboots in countdown to 0 sec's with GREEN LED -- connection with dlink-xxxx lost.
New network SSID appears in iPhone wifi scan, but I could not join (3 tries).

LED then turns RED, and then shortly thereafter GREEN.
Join the new network immediately in iPhone wifi scan.

(Posters here recommend waiting a few minutes after reboot before joining: confirmed.)


5) (Drum roll...) The 505's new private network's DHCP values for its client-side are now:

IP Address:    192.168.100.100
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Router:         192.168.100.1   (different sub-net: no potential conflict, I'm happy)
DNS:            192.168.100.1

Tutorial ends here

6) Answer to myself: it's NOT NECESSARY to set DHCP manually in Hotspot's Web Menu to avoid conflict.
In fact, the Hotspot pre-wizard (or the QRS Mobile app) takes care of everything I need.


7) Can anyone explain technically why there was no conflict experienced between the "hotel" AP's IP address and DIR-505's dlink-xxxx gateway?

IE, the pre-wizard came up immediately on the Galaxy phone when an unrelated URL was entered:
how does that work?


-----------------
For those not yet fully familiar with the DIR-505: now that the new private network has been setup, the Hotspot Web Menu can be called up by entering http://dlinkrouter.local/ into the browser's address bar.
When it pops up, the password will be spaces until it is reset either by you in the menu's System tab, or perhaps by your joker neighbor in the next room. Be sure to verify in the menu's upper-left corner that it is for the Hotspot.

-----------------
I obtained the above DHCP values from a connected iPhone and iPad by clicking on the right-side blue arrow on the line of the joined network. These values may be overridden by setting fixed values in the Static tab. However, some action must be taken to force the AP on the WAN side to acknowledge them -- perhaps by Saving a Web Menu page in the browser.

These DHCP values are those seen by the Client on the wireless LAN side of the 505.

[holmes4]

In Hotspot mode, the 505 provides its own network. The same IP works because your client device (iPhone, etc.) never sees the hotel's access point directly. The 505 uses NAT to translate between the networks.

[DaveUdon]

Ah, of course, thank you!