2018-05-24 ; Inv #2765 ; 1 hr
Received service call request about networking issues. Symptoms were detailed as WiFi network connections being intermittent, unable to connect to printers, unable to re-authenticate with WiFi network.
Site has two routers: a TDS DSL router (192.168.0.1) with an SSID “shelterkit”. There is a Linksys EA3500 (192.168.1.1) with an SSID “shelterkit2”. The office equipment is behind the Linksys. I was unable to log into the Linksys using the password that was on file.
Based on the symptoms given, my best guess is that the Linksys unit has failed.
The repair was to change the DSL router LAN to be 192.168.1.1 and move the one wired connection (printer) to the DSL router. The Linksys was powered off and removed. I updated the Brother printer to connect to “shelterkit”. Any other PCs in the office should be updated to connect to “shelterkit” instead of “shelterkit2”.
The risk to not having the Linksys is that telecom vendor routers are notorious for not being updated in a timely manner if ever. Options for office firewalls are many and range in price. I prefer firewalls without built-in WiFi so that I can use dedicated WiFi units from Ubiquiti Networks. One solution for replacing the Linksys would be the Ubiquiti Security Gateway 4-port router ($115) and UAP-AC-Lite access point ($80) from bandh.com.