Hi there,

I am looking for the best way to extend the range of my Vigor 2820Vn using the AP800

I would prefer to connect both devices by cable rather than wirelessly and would want seamless roaming on my mobile devices when walking around the house.

Can somebody please point to a resource or idiots guide to the best way of setting both 2820 & AP800 to operate this way please?

Thanks & kind regards,
-=Glyn=-

Use the cable and set the AP800 up in AP mode forget universal repeater or WDS modes as they are not as fast nor as relaiable. For seamless roaming set the security, SSID and password to be all the same as on your 2820n. I have a similar setup and found the cable connection method to be the best.

Thanks for the reply Howard...just what I wanted to hear!

The AP800 looks ideal...I don't even need a PSU with it as my switch can provide PoE when linked via Cat5

I also have MAC Address filtering setup on the 2820...I am guessing I will also have to set this up to be the same on the AP800? I guess this is what you are referring to when you mention security?

So it would it be fair to say that the AP800 will have to mirror the wireless settings on the 2820 literally number-for-number, letter-for-letter?

So WDS/WPS/W-Whatever/Bridge/Repeater etc. is not needed at all on the 2820/AP800?

No other settings to configure on the 2820 when adding the AP800?

Last question...sorry. Do I have to set the Channels to be the same on both units?

Thanks & kind regards,
-=Glyn=-

The security is WEP or preferably WPA2/PSK then MAC filtering is not necessary, the security method and password must be identical on both.
No need for WDS etc. just Access Mpoint mode AP.
Do not turn on DHCP on the AP800
The channel must be different to the 2820N, use the AP discovery function in the 2820 to discover what channels are being used where you live and pick a free one. Pick one ideally at least 3 channels away from your 2820.
The best is 1 and 13 as they are as far apart as possible but that depends on what other peple nearby are using. I am luck as i dont have near neighbours so Ihave 2 APs and a 2800n the 2820n is on 7 and the others on 1 and 13. 13 however does not work with some apple MACs its only allowed in Europe.

Howard Simpson wrote: Use the cable and set the AP800 up in AP mode forget universal repeater or WDS modes as they are not as fast nor as relaiable. For seamless roaming set the security, SSID and password to be all the same as on your 2820n. I have a similar setup and found the cable connection method to be the best.

I can confirm it is the best options , AP with same SSID and Password , only difference you need to consider is the Signal channel 1-13 to be different...

I have 4 AP700 all wired to the 2830 , all of which have the same SSID password , and security settings only difference is the channel used for the signal so they don't cut into each other , do a walk around and see what channels your neighbours are using and don't use the same as theirs either

Thanks for the replies guys!

One last question...for now anyway until I actually get round to plugging the thing in! :lol:

One of the reasons I purchased the AP800 in preference to the AP700 was because Power-Over-Ethernet would allow me to just run a Cat5 cable from my switch to the AP800 and with no PSU the AP800 should work OK.

But a thought just crossed my mind...do I have to plug the AP800 directly into the back of the 2820 because this does not have PoE like my 3Com managed switch does?

I guess it is no great hardship to run 240v to where the AP800 will be located but it would have been nice to just run an ethernet cable and let it power the unit like I do with my IP CCTV cameras!

Thanks & kind regards,
-=Glyn=-