How to connect your Verizon 4510L to your home Wifi Network
jsarich
Newbie

Hello there! 

I recently set my mom up with one of these guys and ran into the problem of having more than 5 devices that need to connect to the Internet and/or each other.  I couldn't find any resources online that described how this can be done, or even if it is allowed.  So I figured I would finally contribute to the Online community and share my success with all of you!  As a disclaimer:  I am not Verizon/Linksys/etc technical support and provide the following information freely and without warranty. The instructions below are specific to my configuration, and while yours WILL work using the same general principles, the exact steps required to make it work may be different.  In other words, YMMV Smiley Happy  Good Luck!

First off, my environment doesn't equal your environment, and what I will describe below is one of the more complex scenarios.  You can disregard any extra routers if you only use 1.  Here is the environment I had to work with:

A large 2 story home with a basement area as well.  The wifi signal does not travel well from floor to floor, so we had to have 1 wireless router per floor.  We DID have the luxury of using home wiring to to phsycally connect both routers together, if you don't have that luxury, I might suggest using a "Powerline" adapter to help wire your two routers together.  Some devices required wired connectivity on both floors as well, so wireless repeaters would not be sufficient.  We purchased 2 routers to accomplish the following task.  Brand of router should not matter.  If your home is a 1 story, or have adequate coverage from a single router, you can disregard the 2nd (SLAVE) router instructions (4-5) below. 

First off, what you will need to make this work:

One or more Wireless Routers (we used Linksys Wireless-G or Wireless-N 4-port routers)

     *EDIT: You need only 1 router, and if an additional access point is needed, purchase an Access Point or repeater with wired/wireless capabilities*

Verizon JetPack 4510L MiFI device

One Wireless Bridge (we used Linksys WET610 1-port Entertainment Bridge)

Next, lets setup the wireless/wired home network to connect all devices with one another:

1) Choose one router to be the MASTER, and the other to simply be your SLAVE/repeater for the other floor.

2) Before physically connecting the MASTER and SLAVE routers together perform the following:

3) On the MASTER router:

     - Change the router IP address to 192.168.10.1

          - The 10 is random, and you can make it whatever you want (as long as it isn't "1"), just remember it and keep it consistent.

     - Configure DHCP (usually on by default) but change the subnet from 192.168.1.x to 192.168.10.x.

          - The reason for changing the DHCP subnet is because your 4510L device uses DHCP as well, and it is configured to use 192.168.1.x

               - They can't be the same or it won't work

     - Configure your wireless SSID and security (preferably WPA2)

4) On the SLAVE router *EDIT: or repeater or access point*:

     - Change the router IP address something outside the DHCP range 1-100, but on the same subnet as the master router (ie. 192.168.10.101)

     - Disable DHCP on the router, as all address assignment is going to come from the MASTER

          - You may want to tape over the WAN port as well to remind yourself that it will not be used

     - Configure your wireless SSID and security to match that of the MASTER router

          - This will make it easier for your clients to use both access points and move throughout your home without having an issue

5) Connect both routers together with Ethernet (either direct cable, home ethernet wiring, powerline adapter, etc)

     - You want to connect both routers using one of the built in network ports (1-4)

There, now you have both floors of your home setup to accept either wired or wireless clients who will be assigned 192.168.10.x IP addresses.  However, they will not have access to the Internet...yet!

The MiFi device by default has a long SSID, and the password to connect is on a label on the bottom of it.  Power it on in the room next to a computer (probably a windows computer), and view your wireless networks to connect to from the desktop.  You will probably see the wireless network name you just created on the routers and the "Verizon ..." MiFi name.  Simply make a note of the EXACT SSID being broadcasted by the MiFi device.  If you changed the default WiFi password before attempting this, make a note of that new password as well.

Next, lets use the key to making this thing work...the Wireless Bridge.  The wireless bridge first needs to be physically connected to either router on ports 1-4.  The bridge will get an IP address assigned to it and you will need to find that address out so that you can access it from a web browser.  The easiest way to find that out is to connect to the MASTER routers web-based administration page (http://192.168.10.1), click on Status menu->Local network, and then click the "DHCP client table" button.  You will find the bridge name and IP address there.  Keep that administration window open. 

Next, connect your web browser with the bridges IP address so that you can manually configure it to access the MiFi device.  The bridge will ask if you want auto or manual configuration, and you want manual.  When prompted for the SSID and security type, type in the SSID of the MiFi device EXACTLY as you wrote it down.  Next, under security, change the type to WPA2-Personal, and type in the password to access the Verizon MiFi device (either on the sticker under it, or whatever you previously changed it to).  Once you complete that setup, the status page should tell you that the bridge is connected and have an IP address (192.168.1.x) assigned to it.  Once that is done, you can close your web browser to the wireless bridge.

Disconnect the bridge from the routers network ports and now connect it to the MASTER routers WAN port.

Next, return to the MASTER routers web-based administration page (http://192.168.10.1), click on the Status menu and view the WAN IP information.  If everything was connected correctly:

MiFi wirelessly -> Wireless Bridge wired -> Master router WAN port (then optionally wired from port 1) -> Slave router port 1 

Then, you should see the WAN IP address of 192.168.1.x assigned to your MASTER router.

If you do see that, then congratulations, open a web browser from any of your wired/wireless clients connected to your home network, and you should be able to access the Internet!  You will be able to support as many clients as your Routers will allow you to directly connect (104 if I am not mistaken)...Yay!

I hope my experience helps you all in achieving the same results!

Troubleshooting:

If you do not see a WAN IP address, you might want to power off the MASTER router, the Wireless Bridge and MiFi device.  Then in the following order power up each one, one at a time, giving the unit time to fully configure and connect to their respective networks:  First MiFi, then the Bridge, then the MASTER router.

After the Master router is fully powered on, test a webpage again from any client connected to your new home network and it should work. 

If it _still_ doesn't work, I would recheck the steps listed above to see if anything was missed.  Particularly, making sure you changed the router IP and DHCP subnet of the MASTER router to something other than 192.168.1.x.

Good Luck!

Re: How to connect your Verizon 4510L to your home Wifi Network
John_Getzke
Champion - Level 1

Doesnt seem like you need the wireless bridge in this enviornment.  Even with 3 floors to deal with you shouldnt need more than two wireless routers to cover the entire area.  I'd think one in basement and one on top floor would be more ideal.

There are wireless repeater routers available which can accomplish 2 jobs in one.  These repeaters will take in the wireless signal from the MiFi and rebroadcast it wirelessly as well provide an Ethernet Cable conenction to another router/device.  We throw around many models in these discussions but the top contenders are the PepWave Surf Mini and a few of the CradlePoint Routers.  All these devices setup and run thier own network so no there is no need to create a slave/master relationship.  Just turn them on, configure them to connect to the MiFi and let them go. 

With the correct wireless repeater you can simiplify your enviornment to be more like this:

MiFi )))))wireless))))) Repeater ----cable-------- Router ----cable or wireless------- Computer/Tablet

Typical Cat5e Ethernet cables have a maximum suggested distance of 100 meters so as long as your two routers are less than that distance apart you should take advantage of Ethernet mechanics and eliminate the bridge.

That being said I did learn something new and appreciate your suggestion on the "Powerline Adapter".  I wasn't aware there were such devices but now I'm excited to try them out for myself.  If this were the old forum I would have given you Kudos.  Doesnt seem like it will let me Like the OP either, only reply's.

0 Likes
Re: How to connect your Verizon 4510L to your home Wifi Network
jsarich
Newbie

Thanks for the reply John.  I do have a follow-up question though:

In your example of using the wireless repeater, assuming it is on a different floor than the main router, how are the clients connecting to the network on that floor? 

If I am not mistaken, the repeater is rebroadcasting the Verizon WiFi signal to that floor, which does accomplish allowing those clients to connect to the internet, but only up to 5 simultaneously.  Then, the clients connected to the routers wifi on the other floor, would be connected to a different Wifi network which also lifts the 5 client limitation, while taking up only 1 client spot on the Verizon device.

So correct me if I am wrong, but in your setup, there would be 2 wifi networks, and a soft limitation of 4 devices on the repeater floor.

I could have done this, but I wanted NO clients to connect directly to the Verizon device, and instead use the house network which lifts the 5 client limitation.

Also, we already had the 2 routers in the home, so the only thing missing was the capability of converting the wireless broadcast of the Verizon device to a wired input on the existing network.  The bridge was the perfect solution in my case.

But as I said in the post earlier, you may accomplish the same task using different equipment.  Thanks for providing another view.

0 Likes
Re: How to connect your Verizon 4510L to your home Wifi Network
John_Getzke
Champion - Level 1

Q: "In your example of using the wireless repeater, assuming it is on a different floor than the main router, how are the clients connecting to the network on that floor?"

A: However you like, both devices support thier own cabled and wireless connections. 

I assume you are only interested in wireless client connections since cable connections are straight forward.  Depending on how you setup the SSID's clients will connect to either the router or the repeater and they should be overlapping eachother a little. 

Same SSID:

If the router and repeater share the same SSID then the client will decide on thier own which one to connect to.  The client will roam between the two on its own criteria as the user moves around the enviornment.  Roaming and transitioning will happen seamlessly for you and you should not notice a break in your connection unless you have something really specific connected to the internet.  In most cases you cannot influence this behavior on your devices as they all have thier own criteria for choosing one SSID over another with a similar name. 

Different SSID:

If the SSID's are different then the user must manually connect to one network or the other.  Roaming will not be seamless and as the user walks out of range the client will be disconnected from the device.  This provides the best reliability and control but requires more user intervention.

Q:"So correct me if I am wrong, but in your setup, there would be 2 wifi network, and the soft limitation of 4 devices on the repeater floor.

A. Nope, the repeater will support as many devices as it can, depending on the model you purchase.  Even though the repeater needs a wireless connection with the MiFi, the Repeater rebroadcasts and acts as its own independant wireless router.  The MiFi could care lesss how many people are connected to the Repeater, all it see's is one connection.  If you removed the MiFi from the repeater then the repeater will continue to broadcast its own SSID.  Clients connected to the repeater will not be disconnected from the repeater SSID but they would not recieve internet until the MiFi returns.

With the repeater enviornment you could have 10 people on the repeater, 10 people on the wireless router and 4 people directly conneted to the MiFi all at the same time.  I dont suggest it running like that for performance reasons but hopefully you get the idea.

0 Likes
Re: How to connect your Verizon 4510L to your home Wifi Network
jsarich
Newbie

Hmm.  Interesting and confusing. 

Perhaps my understanding of what a repeater is capable of is out of date.  Have you actually done this?

Which device (router or repeater) is serving as DHCP server in your example?  The repeater shouldn't have the capability to accept an IP address wirelessly from one network, and then broadcast DHCP of a completely different network/subnet, and route between them...otherwise it would be called a router.  The repeater you describe sounds an awful lot like a router performing bridge, access point AND router duties.  Also, if that is the case, then the router in your example is not necessary...you would need only a wireless access point with switching capabilities.

In my example, there is only 1 subnet, 1 DHCP server for the whole house, and 1 SSID for all clients to connect to so that they can roam between floors.  In your example, it sounds like it could go 1 of 2 ways:

1) You have a Subnet for clients on the repeater network, and a different Subnet for clients on the router network.

     - This would make communication from the clients on the Repeater network to the Router network difficult since their default gateway would be to go out to the Internet. Unless of course you create static routes in all those clients.

2) You have 1 subnet from the repeater and aren't using the router as a router at all, and instead you make it a Wireless/Wired Access point switch.

     - This would again negate my understanding of what a repeater is capable of.

     - In my example, the 2nd router is only performing Wired/Wireless Access point access as well...I should have clarified that.  We just already owned the router.

Please explain what device is providing what service and how they are connected to one another.

0 Likes
Re: How to connect your Verizon 4510L to your home Wifi Network
jsarich
Newbie

I just thought of one other way your environment would work with both devices providing DHCP addresses for the same subnet.  If you assign addresses 1-100 on one DHCP enabled device, and 101-200 on the other enabled device.  However, this still makes your repeater a router, and your router serving as a DHCP server enabled access point/switch.

0 Likes
Re: How to connect your Verizon 4510L to your home Wifi Network
nsayer
Enthusiast - Level 3

Let me just throw out there for a second that there may be a better answer then trying to shoehorn a 4510L into this role.

A bit more than a year ago, I was an AT&T customer and the MiFi wasn't available. But there was the Netgear MBR624GU, and I got a USB HSPA modem that worked with it. It wasn't nearly as portable and convenient as a MiFi, but it had the singular advantage that it could handle both wired and wireless clients and handle a whole subnet worth of devices. If you don't need to use the 4510L as a mobile device, then I posit that it is not the best tool for the job.

0 Likes
Re: How to connect your Verizon 4510L to your home Wifi Network
jsarich
Newbie

nsayer,

I totally hear what you are saying.  But in this case, the house it is installed in doesn't have other broadband options outside of the terrible hughesNet satellite service.  The Verizon MiFi is providing 20x faster performance than that at a cheaper rate, so it is the best tool for this job.

0 Likes
Re: How to connect your Verizon 4510L to your home Wifi Network
nsayer
Enthusiast - Level 3

I'm not suggesting some other connectivity, I'm suggesting that the MiFi is not the best way to hook to Verizon in your case. I would replace the MiFi with the netgear router and a USB LTE device for a residential installation.

0 Likes
Re: How to connect your Verizon 4510L to your home Wifi Network
John_Getzke
Champion - Level 1

Q: "Have you actually done this?"

A:  You bet. I am doing it right now.  The only difference is that I am using a Cisco/Linksys E2000 router in my setup.

MiFi ))))))wireless))))))Pepwave Surf Mini----Cable-------Cisco E2000----Cable------Laptop

I could connect wirelessly to either the Pepwave or the E2000 with my laptop, I am just demonstraing over the cable for now.

Q: "Which device is service as the DHCP Server?

A: Drum role......Both!  The repeater and the router play well with each other without any additional configuration.  Since I plug my Pepwave into the Internet Port on my E2000 the Cisco router sees the incoming connecting just like any other modem connection.  The Pepwave can perform nearly every duty it needs to right out of the box, including routing.  I have my E2000 running on a 192.168.1.100-150 and the Pepwave on 192.168.20.1-50, so I am running on a dual subnet setup.  They dont step on eachother and routing works wonderfully for what I need, which is mainly browsing.  If needed I could set them both up to be on the same network, you just need to do more work to configure that scenario.

0 Likes