How to configure an unused Eir F2000 router as a Wi-Fi access point

Eir F2000The Irish ISP Eir (formerly Eircom) supplies the F2000 modem router with its fibre broadband package, which provides 802.11ac Wi-Fi on the 5GHz band in addition to the 802.11n Wi-Fi commonly available on other Wi-Fi access points.  While this may seem great, what if you are using another router in place of the F2000?

In this article, I show how to set up the Eir F2000 as a Wi-Fi access point where another router is used for Internet access and how to configure the Eir F2000 to extend the existing Wi-Fi network where the uplink is carried over a network cable to the main router.

What you need

  1. The SSID (Wi-Fi name) and Wi-Fi passphrase (password).
  2. A computer or tablet with a web browser.
  3. A network cable to link the Eir F2000 to the main router.

Preparation

Before setting up the F2000, you will need to find the DHCP range on the original router and possibly modify it.  Depending on the router, the DHCP range is generally located in a LAN section of its web interface, such as “Home Network -> LAN Interface -> DHCP Server” on another Eir F2000.  Take note of how the IP address is written, which is usually in the form of 192.168.x.x.  If the last digit of the DHCP range goes above 250 (e.g. 192.168.1.254), then reduce the end range to 199, submit the change and allow the router to restart.  If the main router is another Eir F2000, then you don’t need to adjust this as the Eir F2000 DHCP range is usually configured to end at 192.168.1.200.

Configuration process

Do not connect any network cable to the F2000, apart from to a computer if using that computer to configure the F2000.

  1. Switch on the F2000 and allow 3 minutes for it to warm up.
  2. Connect your computer or tablet to the F2000 (using the Wi-Fi password on the back of the F2000 if required.)
  3. Open the web browser and enter http://192.168.1.254/ to bring up the router’s login page.
  4. Enter ‘admin’ for the username and the password printed on the back of the F2000, then click ‘Log in’.
  5. Go into the ‘Home Network’ tab in the top menu, then into ‘LAN Interface’ in the left menu.
  6. Open the ‘LAN Interface Settings’ section.
  7. For the IP address, change the field with ‘1’ to match the main router.  For example, if the main router uses 192.168.0.x, then change the ‘1’ to ‘0’.  If the main router uses 192.168.1.x, then leave this field set to ‘1’.
  8. Change the ‘254’ at the end of the IP address to ‘253’.  Take note of this IP address which you’ll need to continue configuring this router, then click ‘Save’ and allow a minute to save the change.
  9. Close out of your web browser and go back into it.
  10. Enter the router’s new IP address in the web browser and log in again.
  11. Go into the ‘Home Network’ tab in the top menu, then into ‘LAN Interface’ in the left menu.
  12. Open the ‘DHCP Server’ section, remove the tick mark for both ‘DHCP Server’ and ‘DHCP6 server’, then click ‘Save’.
  13. Open the ‘RA Settings’ section just above this and remove the tick mark for ‘Enable RA:’, then click ‘Save’.
  14. Switch off the F2000.
  15. Connect a network cable from one of its LAN ports to the LAN port of the main router.  Do not connect anything to its WAN or telephone ports.
  16. Switch on the F2000 and allow it 3 minutes to warm up again.
  17. Connect a Wi-Fi enabled device to F2000 using the password printed on the back of it and ensure you have Internet connectivity.

At this point you should be able to access the Internet through the F2000’s Wi-Fi connectivity, including its 802.11ac Wi-Fi capability if your Wi-Fi enabled device supports the 5GHz band.  If you would like to F2000 to function as a Wi-Fi extension to your existing Wi-Fi network where the uplink is still carried over the network cable to your main router, carry out the process below.

Using the Eir F2000 to extend your existing Wi-Fi network

First make sure that you can access the Internet through the Wi-Fi provided by the F2000.  The F2000 must remain connected to the main router with a network cable.

With the configuration below the F2000 will extend the Wi-Fi network while carrying this data over the network cable to the main router.  This is different to a Wi-Fi repeater that repeats the signal back and forth between the main Wi-Fi device, wasting bandwidth.

  1. In your web browser, bring up the web interface for the F2000 using the router’s new IP address from the above configuration, then log in.  Ignore the warning message about no Internet connectivity.
  2. Go into ‘Home Network’ it the top menu and into ‘Wireless Settings’ in the left menu.
  3. Open up the ‘Wireless Encryption’ section.
  4. Change SSID field for the 2.4 GHz Frequency band to exactly match the SSID of your main Wi-Fi network.
  5. If your main Wi-Fi network operates on 5 GHz, change the SSID field for the 5 GHz Frequency band to exactly match the 5GHz SSID of your main Wi-Fi network.
  6. Change the WPA pre-shared key field to that of your main Wi-Fi network.
  7. Click ‘Show password’ to double-check the letters and case and double-check the SSID field entries, then click ‘Save’.
  8. After a few minutes, your Wi-Fi enabled devices should see the one main Wi-Fi network name and one for the 5GHz (802.11ac) band if configured with a different SSID name.

At this point, you can place the F2000 in an area that you would like to extend the Wi-Fi to.  It must be linked back to the main router with a network cable connected to one of is LAN ports.  This can be done using an existing network socket or with a pair of HomePlugs.  These carry the network connectivity over the building’s electrical wiring.

If the new area has network sockets that are all in use, then connect the network cable from one wall socket to LAN port #1 of the F2000 and the PC/device’s network connection to LAN port #2 of the F2000.

Wi-Fi devices in this area will automatically switch between the original Wi-Fi network and F2000 depending on which is providing the strongest signal in the device’s location.

Update 15th Dec ’16: Added step to disable DHCP6 server.  Leaving this enabled can cause the router to assign its IPv6 DNS address to connected devices resulting in certain websites failing to load, such as Google.  If an IP lookup returns 129.129.129.129, then this is a pretty good sign that the device picked up its IPv6 address.

Update 29th May ’17: Someone contacted me to say that their Talktalk router experienced the 129.129.129.129 IP lookup issue when configured as a standalone access point.  They resolved this by turning off the IPv6 DNS server.   This means that no matter what router you try configuring as a standalone access point, make sure any IPv6 features (DHCPv6, IPv6 DNS, etc.) are disabled.

Update 27th Sept ’17: Added step to disable RA Settings.  RA stands for Router Advertisements, which provides IPv6 configuration such as IPv6 DNS settings for certain devices.  For example, Android devices do not support DHCP6 and depend on router advertisements for IPv6 configuration.  In fact, Eir’s own IPv6 DNS configuration reportedly causes Wi-Fi stuttering on Android devices.   See this article for further information.

58 thoughts on “How to configure an unused Eir F2000 router as a Wi-Fi access point”

  1. Hi Sean,

    I tried this at home and for whatever reason the download speed of the repeated wifi signal is about half of the original. Any guesses on what it might be?

    My best guesses at the moment are either the Powerline adapters I’m using for the Ethernet not being the best or perhaps the router I’m using as a repeater is faulty. Just wondering if you know where I might of went wrong.

    Thanks in advance, Gary

    Reply

    1. If you have a laptop handy, I suggest try connecting the cable from the second Powerline adapter to your laptop and run a speed test. If the speed is similar to what the router’s Wi-Fi, then the limitation is with the Powerline adapters or the house wiring between the two sockets.

      Based on my experience of using Powerline adapters, a 500Mbps pair will typically deliver around 40Mbps to 50Mbps actual throughput and a 1200Mbps pair will deliver around 80Mbps to 120Mbps, when they have a good link. The speed will sharply nose dive if any adapter is plugged into an extension lead or if there is a long run between either adapter and the mains consumer unit.

      To start with, try the adapter for the access point in other power sockets in that room or an adjacent room. This is best done with a laptop connected directly to the adapter. The Powerline adapters only take a few seconds to sync, where as the router would take a minute or two before its Wi-Fi goes live.

      Reply

      1. Thank you very much, seems obvious looking back on it but I had the Powerline adapter running through two extension leads first. I plugged it into a wall socket and it performed much much better.

        Cheers again, lovely site you have here.

        Reply

      2. Hi Sean,
        Smashing article and the easiest to read I’ve seen.
        I have just moved home and have the new Fritz!box 7530 NQ with Digiweb.

        The walls are quite thick and I am struggling to get coverage in some rooms. I wanted to use an old F2000 to extend the coverage and act as a bridge.

        In this video below it shows how to do this with a TP link router and WITHOUT LAN cables – (I won’t post the YouTube page as it marks this as spam but search YouTube for “How to extend WiFi range with another router wirelessly”)

        Is there no way to extend the range of my wifi (like they do with the TP Link Router) with a F2000 and no LAN cables?

        Thanks again for the excellent article,

        Joey

        Reply

        1. Unfortunately, the F2000 lacks WDS bridge support which the video (sent to me by e-mail: https://youtu.be/_EpCRg5ggEs) has. The WDS bridge basically takes an existing Wi-Fi broadcast signal and repeats it, such as from the router to the user device and vice versa.

          One thing you can try is see if you can flash the third party firmware OpenWRT on it. This is something I haven not tried as this is likely a one-way conversion and the OpenWRT does not have DSL support with this router, which I need on the one I have to keep as spare. OpenWRT has several WiFi extender capabilities, however, again I’m not sure if these work with the F2000 (Huawei HG659 b):

          OpenWRT page for the Huawei HG659b: https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/network/wifi/relay_configuration
          Wi-Fi Extender page: https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/network/wifi/relay_configuration

          The only other think I can think of would be to try selling the F2000 and use this towards the purchase of a Fritz!Wlan repeater as these provide Mesh support with your Fritz!box. Mesh Wi-Fi generally gives better reliability and performance than a regular Wi-Fi repeater/WDS.

          Reply

          1. Thanks for the help Sean and I’ll check out your repeater suggestion.
            Your help was appreciated,
            J

  2. Sean, Thank you for the instructions on the Eircom eFibre F2000 modem. The wireless works like a charm, even better than the cisco meraki 18 that i have – (speed-wise). The spare lan ports on the modem should work as well right? Not sure if i am doing something wrong here. My pc, when connected by cable directly to lan port 2, shows no connection. Lan port 1 is connected to router that has internet. On another modem subject (the Vodafone Home Gateway HG556a – DSL modem with wireless) – Do you think it can be configured to work as a wireless router as well? Thanks, Michael

    Reply

    1. Its additional ports should function as a network switch, at least this is what I would expect. With someone I configured the F2000 as an access point (they have a Sky router for their broadband), I connected one LAN port straight to their Sky broadband router and another F2000 LAN port goes to their Sky TV box, which works fine with their Sky on-demand.

      One thing you can try is bring up a command prompt and ping google.ie. If resolves to 129.129.129.129, you need to turn off DHCP6 on the router. If the ping fails altogether and you can’t ping 8.8.8.8 either, it may be a cable or port issue, e.g. try swapping the cables between the two ports on the F2000.

      I haven’t tried this process with a Vodafone router yet, but expect this process to work in a similar way with most ISP Wi-Fi enabled routers. In the worst case scenario that you end up getting locked out of the router or it doesn’t behave right, just do a factory reset, i.e. push its reset button with a pin for 10 seconds. If I get time, I’ll give this a try with my old Vodafone router, which I think is the same model as yours.

      Reply

  3. Sean,
    Thanks, I will try to ping from cmd prompt tonight. I have tried two cables to connect the pc directly to the F2000 lan port2 – No luck on both – will also try to connect to ports 3 and 4 / maybe port 2 is dead. We live in a world where we buy and dump all the time, filling up land fills and poisoning the land with all those toxic electronic sludge. Everytime i can recycle something and give it to someone who could use them, i am so happy. Thank you for your time in writing the article on the Eir F2000. M.

    Reply

  4. Hi Sean,
    Do you know how to login as support on this modem, I tried username support, password (default as on back of modem) but this isn’t working, I need to login as support to open the ports needed to use Facetime and iMessage on a macbook, Was talking with technical support but they’re somewhat useless to me here.

    Reply

    1. ‘admin’ is the only username that I’m aware of on the F2000. I.e. enter ‘admin’ as the username and the password printed on the back of the box for the password.

      If this combination does not log in, then the password may have been changed. If you don’t mind losing any other previous configuration you (or anyone else) did with the router, you can do a hardware reset by pushing the reset button with a pen for 10 seconds. This will restore it back to the configuration state when Eir first sent you the router, which will let you log in with the default username ‘admin’ and the password on the back of the box.

      If you can log in as admin, the port forwarding settings can be located as follows based on my F2000:

      1. Go into the ‘Internet’ menu at the top, then into the ‘Forwarding’ menu on the left’.
      2. Click the ‘+’ next to ‘New port mapping’.
      3. Enter a mapping name, e.g. Facetime
      4. Click the ‘Add port mapping application’ button.
      5. Scroll down to the bottom and click ‘Add port application’
      6. Enter a name, the external/internal port ranges (these fields should match), the protocol, save and close the window.
      7. Go into the Application drop-down menu and select the port name you created at the bottom of the list.
      8. Select your Macbook from the ‘Internal host’ drop down and click ‘Save’.

      Generally I would expect video calling services (at least Skype, WhatsApp, etc.) to work without having to forward any ports. However, I have not used Facetime or iMessage before, so have not dealt with port forwarding for these applications.

      Reply

  5. Hi Sean.
    I am trying to use a TP-LINK n600 router as the primary router and the F2000 as the secondary router because the DCHP, Port Forward and Address Reservation are better on the n600 router but wifi speed is better on the F2000 ac router.

    My problem is how do set up the tp-link as the primary router. By Broadband comes into the house via optical FTTH so I am not sure if the Optical terminal needs to be configure or if the TP-Link Modem needs to be configured

    Reply

    1. From a quick look at the TP-Link N600 documentation, unfortunately it doesn’t support VLAN tagging, which is required for the Eir FTTH. With a suitable router, in the WAN connection, VLAN support needs to be enabled with the VLAN ID set to 10. You can see an example of this by looking at the WAN configuration of your Eir F2000 router.

      The Optical Network Terminal (ONT) itself does not have any user configuration. One workaround would be to purchase a small managed switch (such as this) to put in-between the ONT and the TP-LINK N600. In this case, you would need to configure the switch port going to the ONT to tag it with VLAN ID 10 (In the NETGEAR web interface, this would be in VLAN > 802.1Q > Advanced > VLAN Configuration to create the VLAN, then VLAN > 802.1Q > Advanced > VLAN Membership to tag the port). The port going to the router would be left configured as an untagged port. Although this would be cheaper than buying a new router, it would mean another box in your set-up, plus another power cable and Ethernet cable.

      Reply

  6. Hi,
    I have recently moved to a new house and have a spare f2000 modem. There is no cabling so I have been forced to get broadband from lightNet. Does anyone know if this router can be configured to work on the current lightNet internet supply? or is it a case of having to buy a new router.
    Thanks

    Reply

    1. If they just require a plain Ethernet router for their wireless broadband service, you can reuse your F2000. You will need to disable VLAN tagging on the WAN port and then the F2000 will function like a regular Ethernet router.

      Go into the F2000’s web interface (username is ‘admin’ and password is on the back of the F2000). Then go into the ‘Internet’ tab in the top menu and ‘Internet Settings’ on the left menu’. In the ‘GE WAN-1’ section, click the ‘Edit’ button’ Clear the checkbox for ‘Enable VLAN:’. Then click the ‘Save’ button. You can then plug the Ethernet connection leading to the PoE box / Outdoor unit to the WAN port of the F2000.

      Reply

  7. Hi Sean
    I have Eir Fibre to the home and have a Netgear R7800 Nighthawk as my main router. I followed the instructions above and got it to work but the wifi speeds dropped to a crawl. The F2000 is wired directly to the nighthawk via ethernet so no power plugs in play (though i did try that). When i disconnected the f2000, i had to reset the Netgear to get the speeds back. Any ideas?

    Reply

    1. This might be IPv6 related. Have a quick check that both “Enable RA” and “DHCP6 server” are unchecked on the F2000 (steps 12 & 13 above). If the F2000 has a firmware version that ends in ‘B035’ or lower, I suggest turning off IPv6 completely on the Netgear router at least temporarily. The older F2000 firmware had buggy IPv6 support that led to very slow Wi-Fi connectivity due to it dropping IPv6 DNS look-ups. Once the devices receive IPv6 configuration, they will use it until the configuration expires or the connection is reset, such as rebooting the device or rooter.

      If you have a PC handy that is affected, try pinging Google from the command prompt, e.g. “ping google.ie” to see whether it is connecting in IPv4 or v6 mode. If the IP address digits are separated by :’s, it is IPv6, e.g. “2a00:1450:400b:c03::5e:”. An IPv4 address is separated by .’s, e.g. “209.85.203.94”.

      Off hand I can’t think of any other reason why the F2000 is slowing down the Wi-Fi. For example, if it’s causing interference or has a faulty radio, the Wi-Fi speed (from the Netgear) should return to normal with the F2000 unplugged.

      Reply

  8. Hi Sean, great website and thanks for taking the time to read my comment. I have FTTH with Eir and have an f2000 but have been experiencing issues both with the signal range across the house (blackspots etc) and also issues with the Wi-Fi signal dropping continuously. To improve the signal I have decided to add 2 tplink access points (tplink ac1200 wireless) and switch off the Wi-Fi in the f2000. Would you be able to advise on the process to carry out this?
    Any advice gratefully received.

    David

    Reply

    1. Sorry for the late reply, I haven’t been near an Eir router in a few weeks. To turn off Wi-Fi on the F2000, go into the ‘Home Network’ tab at the top, then into ‘Wireless Settings’ on the left and open the ‘Basic Settings’ section. Clear the tick boxes for both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz and save the change. You will also need to lower its DHCP end IP address – To do this, go into the ‘Home Network’ tab at the top, then into ‘LAN Interface’ on the left and open the ‘DHCP Server’ section. Change the last field of the ‘End IP Address’ to ‘199’ and save the change.

      For the TP-Link Access Points, you will need to give them different IP addresses. I recommend only switching on one at a time when setting them up as their factory set IP addresses will otherwise conflict. To start with, don’t plug the access point into the network in case its IP address is the same as your router’s IP (192.168.1.254).

      Follow the TP-Link’s quick-start guide to get into its web interface and configure the access wireless security settings, e.g. WPA2-PSK, SSID name (name of your Wi-Fi network) and password. Give the 2.4GHz and 5GHz different SSID names, e.g. “House Wi-Fi” and “House Wi-Fi 5G”. Take note of the SSID names and password, then change its IP address to the next digit after your main router’s DHCP end IP address, e.g. ‘192.168.1.200’. Once you change its IP address, you can connect a network cable from it to your main router.

      Repeat the above process for the second TP-Link access point with the exception of its IP address. Make sure the SSID names, WPA2-PSK setting and password are exactly the same as your other TP-Link. When you configure its address, give it the next IP address after your other TP-Link access point, e.g. ‘192.168.1.201’. Then connect a network cable from it to your main router. If the access point has multiple network ports, you can daisy chain the two, e.g. connect one to the other, then from that one to the main router.

      If all goes well, you should see just two network names in the list, i.e. the 2.4GHz and 5GHz SSIDs. As you move from one area to another, your device should automatically switch to the stronger signal.

      Reply

  9. Hi Sean,

    First of all THANK YOU for your article! It was the only one that described what I need to do to get the F2000 as an accesspoint.

    However… (being a newbie here)
    I do not get it to work. Could this be for the fact that the modem had already been used?

    I get to the modem no problem, and the wireless indicator happily tells me “internet access”. But when I try to browse I get (first of all) the enter password (for the modem) and then it tries to connect to the internet through the ADSL… even though I have that disabled.

    Am thinking maybe I need to reset to factory settings. ….

    Appreciate your thoughts on this,

    Reply

    1. Ah never mind….

      In the middle of the night clear thinking isn’t the best.
      It was a simple DNS issue.

      All sorted.

      Rick 🙂

      Reply

      1. No problem, glad to hear you got sorted. Indeed if any DNS entry still points at this repurposed router’s IP address (or its DHCP / IPv6 DHCP was still ticked), it can bring up its webpage.

        Reply

    1. Technically this should work fine with most routers. I haven’t seen the Eir D2000, so am not sure how different its user interface appears. For each step above, try finding a similar screen on the router as most routers let you change the DHCP, IP and Wireless settings. If it’s not IPv6 capable, it will unlikely have the DHCP v6 and RA settings, in which case you can skip those steps.

      Reply

  11. Hi Sean,
    What a brilliant article!!!
    Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to cover my situation:
    2 x F2000 routers
    One is used as main WiFi routers
    Second one to boost WiFi signal without using a network cable connection between the two routers

    Is it possible?
    If yes, how do I do that?

    Thank you Sean

    Reply

    1. The only way I can think of would be to use a pair of Homeplug units (such as these). Plug one unit where your main F2000 is and the second unit where you would like to place the reconfigured F2000. These Homeplugs use the home’s electrical wiring like a virtual network cable between the two routers. Typically the AV600 Homeplugs carry about 40Mbps based on my experience. Higher AV models can deliver more depending on the home’s wiring. On the other hand, they will not half the main router’s Wi-Fi speed like what a dedicated Wi-Fi repeater would.

      If you have a fast broadband connection (e.g. >30Mbps), I suggest trying several electrical outlets around the area to find the one that gives the fastest throughput, such as using your laptop plugged directly into the second Homeplug unit to run speed tests. The throughput will vary depending on the wiring between the two outlets. Plug both Homeplug units directly into the wall socket, not a power strip.

      Reply

  12. Thank you Sean.
    I really hoped it was possible without any additional hardware. I think I’ll buy a WiFi booster/extender an I’ll leave the second F2000 on the box.

    Marco

    Reply

  13. Hi Sean,
    I read your instructions about the use of the F2000 modem – router with interest. My question relates to the connection of the F2000 to a TP-Link Archer C60 router to which I hope would give better coverage in my house. As I am new to whole concept of changes to the configuration of modem routers, I hope this does present with you the need to repeat details covered in other articles.
    Our house in rural Ireland, is like so many, built with walls constructed from concrete blocks, which absorb WiFi signals after only 1 or 2 thicknesses of blocks. While WiFi extenders are of help, even they fail to register a reasonable signal unless almost in line-of-sight of with the F2000. For this reason (and having bought one prior to connection with FTTH, (courtesy of Eir)), I would like to connect the Archer C60 to the F2000, to improve the WiFi signal. As I understand it, it is possible to configure the F2000 to operate in bridge mode, but am uncertain whether this is the best or indeed correct approach to adopt. I would be most grateful if you could advise what steps I should take to make the necessary connection(s) and changes to the configuration of one or both devices.

    Thank you in advance, Sean.

    Reply

    1. With a FTTH connection, you replace the F2000 instead of bridging it. Unplug the WAN cable from the F2000 and plug it in the WAN socket of your Archer C60. You will need to configure the WAN of the Archer for IPoE and a VLAN of 10. It shouldn’t need any other settings to get online. If your Eir landline phone plugs into the F2000 (instead of a phone socket), you will need a separate VoIP adapter and call Eir for the VoIP settings. I’m not sure about Eir TV (if you have this) as I have not actually used their TV service, let alone tried configuring a third party router for it.

      Reply

  14. Hi Sean

    Is it possible to use the F2000 as the main router as the main router point for a Vodafone internet connection?

    If so what would the setting be? I have changed the account and password but no success so far.
    Help much appreciated.

    Reply

    1. For DSL and VDSL, I think the settings are as follows:
      username: vodafone@vodafone.ie (for DSL) or sn@vfiefttc.ie (for VDSL)
      Password: broadband
      Encapsulation: PPPoE
      VPI: 8, VCI: 35

      You can also try IPoE for the Encapsulation. For SIRO, I think the only setting you need is to set the VLAN to 10.

      Reply

  16. Hi Sean,
    I am looking to do exactly this with the newer eir fibre box f3000.
    Whats very strange is that i cannot even change the Local IPv4 setting from 192.168.1.254 to 192.168.1.253. It says its going to do it but never does and nothing in the log.
    Now, im trying to do this standalone for a friend and am not connected to a eir fibre line at all. Do you know if there are any configuration restricitions based on internet connectivity ?
    I dont have the Maintenance->NTP menu available either which makes me a little suspicious that there are config restrictions in the gui based on being connected.
    Ive had a good search and theres very little on the f3000 out there fullstop.

    Reply

    1. I have not seen a F3000 yet, so am unfamiliar with its web interface. I know the F2000 has a completely different web Interface to the F1000, so likely the same with the F3000.

      You will also need to turn off DHCP, DHCP6 and RA (or Router Advertisements), so make sure you can turn these off on the F3000 after you’ve changed the Wi-Fi username and password to match those of your friend’s network. If the DHCP or DHCP6 remain enabled after a reboot, then unfortunately this reconfiguration as an access point will not work.

      If you were able to make all the other changes, but just not change the IP address, then check what IP address your friend’s router is. If it is not 192.168.1.254 (e.g. 192.168.1.1 or something else), then this should still work, otherwise if it is 192.168.1.254, then change it to 192.168.1.253. Then turn off the router for a few minutes and switch back on. This let all the network devices pick up the new IP address when they reconnect. Then it should be possible to attach the LAN connection of the reconfigured router to the LAN connection of the existing network.

      Reply

      1. Thanks Sean, unless i can change the IP all bets are off. Friends router uses the default 192.168.1.254. Im beginning to think im right that there are config restrictions depending on connectivity. These fibre routers advertise the eir_WiFi network for ANYONE to use, you have to login to my.eir.ie to disable it,pretty shocking really
        http://ubl0g.blogspot.com/2018/11/disable-eirwifi-ssid-wireless-network.html
        I may have to plugin to their connection and see if my suspicions are correct as i do seem to recall seeing the NTP menu on their primary router.

        Reply

  17. Hi Sean,
    Just wondering If I disable the firewall on the 2nd f2000 which is set up as an access point as above, does the firewall settings on the main f2000 provide protection regardless of which one your devices are connected to.

    Declan

    Reply

    1. That’s correct, the firewall on the main connection provides the same protection between the Internet and internal network regardless of the firewall setting on the second router used as an access point. In fact, the firewall only functions on the WAN port, so technically it should have no effect on the second router where nothing is attached to the WAN port.

      Reply

  18. hi sean, i have been trying this with a few different tutorials but at the end of it all, when i connect my phone to the f2000 modem, it brings up the “sign in to wi-fi network” screen, as if its mcdonalds/airport wifi. I have a samsung galaxy a5 if that matters. thanks

    Reply

  19. Hi Sean, I seem to be failing at the first hurdle here. My isp router is 192.168.0.1 (sky) and when I change the f2000 ip to 192.168.1.253 it asks to reboot to save the change, but then when I try to reconnect (using network cable) using the new ip address it fails to connect, and they only way I can get back on it is to reset to factory defaults. Is there something obvious I’ve missed? ATB, David

    Reply

  20. Hi Sean,

    Very informative piece. I have f2000 as my main router, and I have a spare f1000. Would it be possible to set it up as an AP?

    Reply

    1. I don’t have an Eircom F1000 handy to check its web interface, but reckon this would work the same way. The following are rough steps I would try. If this doesn’t work out or you can no longer access the F1000’s web interface, you can reset the router by poking a needle in the F1000’s reset hole for 10 seconds to start over again:

      First change its IP address such that it is different to the F2000, e.g. 192.168.1.253 and then access the web interface from this IP address. Disable anything IPv6 related if it has any IPv6 settings (DHCPv6, Router Advertisements (RA), etc.) Change the Wi-Fi name and passphrase to exactly match your current F2000 and set it to a different Wi-Fi channel (preferably 1, 6 or 11). Finally, disable DHCP, then turn off the router, connect a LAN cable between your main router and a LAN port of the F1000 (don’t plug anything into its WAN port) and finally turn it on. If all goes well, any device near the F1000 will connect over its Wi-Fi.

      Reply

  21. Hi Sean,
    Great post by the way and thanks for doing it. I have two F2000 and I was able to set them up as you laid out with no real issues and got it going. However the repeater F2000 kept on dropping out after a few hours prompting you to loginto the router whilst the main F2000 router still had full wireless so it wasn’t an incoming issue. The cat5 cable between them is fine. The IP address of the repeater is one digit at the end less than the main router and all the DHCP and the RA are unchecked. I have just tried unchecking the last uPnP box on the LAN settings of that page to see if it makes much of a difference. Any thoughts on what might be causing the issue

    Reply

  22. Hi Sean. I have been using this method for 3 years now. Virgin router as main and F2000 as extension same network names and password with no issues. I tried to do same for a friend as they have a granny flat and wanted same signal. Using 2 F2000 routers. I followed all the steps and was working fine in extension side but all WiFi devices on main side lost WiFi signal. On extension side I just used different network name and different password. Should that of given any issue. Head is fried as to why this is not working. Ethernet connections on both ends are all good connection. Just WiFi issue on main side.

    Reply

    1. If you haven’t already done so, I suggest rebooting the main router. From my past experience with the Eir F2000’s, the Wi-Fi occasionally stops working, particularly with the 5Ghz band. The Wi-Fi usually comes back after a reboot. If it’s just a the 5GHz band cutting out, check if there’s any Wi-Fi devices nearby. For example, Sky Q boxes emit their own Wi-Fi signal and if it’s too near the F2000 (or any other 5GHz router), the router can falsely detect the signal as radar and switch the Wi-Fi off.

      Reply

      1. All sorted mate. Logged back in to second router and missed dhcp6 option. Thought it was all in the one section for dhcp. Working like a dream now

        Reply

  23. Hi Sean,

    Great article, managed to get this setup and running much smoother with your help.
    One outstanding question i have is, is it possible to remotely access a computer on the 253 router via the internet?
    i know i can access via the 254 however the computer i need is on the other router(253). I beleive i need to forward port 3389 however im a little lost.

    Reply

    1. Port forwarding should work, however, it needs to be set up on the main router. When it routes the incoming connection, it will send it to the second router, which it will just see as a passive network switch. For example, if you had a network switch in place of the second router, you would set up port forwarding the same way on the main router.

      Reply

      1. Hi Sean,

        Thank you for your response, i think im doing something wrong here, would you happen to have a guide on how to do this?

        Reply

        1. Unfortunately I don’t have access to an F2000 router here to check as the one I had access to is at my workplace, which I’m not sure when I’ll be back at due to lockdown. From what I recall, the port forwarding process should be the same as having the computer connected to the main router. From what I could find online, the following shows where to set up port forward on the F2000:
          https://cottse.wordpress.com/2017/06/29/eir-f2000-configure-external-lan-access/

          Reply

  24. Hi,

    Thanks for writing the article, very helpful. I just have a query on the second part of the guide.

    I am using an eir fibre box as my main router and have gone through this process to use an old F2000 router as a WiFi extender.

    When I went through the first part of the process it worked fine and I could access the internet through the F2000 router. However, when I go through the second part of the guide – and change the SSID names to match that of the main router, it doesn’t seem to work now. When I log into the f2000’s web interface, I see no internet conection.

    The main router has a 2.4GHz and 5GHz network, which are both named identically. Then I named both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks on the F2000 router identically to match these names. I have a feeling this is causing the problem? Should I change the name of the networks on the main router to differentiate 2.4 & 5 GHz networks…..and then do the same on the F2000?

    Thanks

    Reply

    1. The second F2000 will show no internet connection as it’s now acting like a passive access point. The purpose of naming the two Wi-Fi’s with the same name is that Wi-Fi devices see the two as the one Wi-Fi network. You can give the second F2000 router a different Wi-Fi name if you’d like, but you’ll need to manually switch the network devices between the two Wi-Fi names depending which router is the nearest. There also needs to be a network cable between a LAN port of both routers, i.e. the second router will not extend the Wi-Fi without a network cable running to the main router.

      Unfortunately, I’ve heard mixed reports of this no longer working properly in Eir’s newer F2000 firmware. In one location where I did this set up and made this guide, they have since changed to a Tenda Wi-Fi mesh kit as the Wi-Fi kept cutting out on one of the Eir routers.

      Reply

  25. Hi Sean,

    Many thanks for doing this write up. I had configured the router a few weeks ago but was having odd connection issues from time to time and it looks like my mistake was not disabling RA.

    I found this article after googling for specific config instructions for the f2000.

    Really appreciate the write up. Super helpful!

    Reply

  26. Hi Seán

    I have 2 unused f2000 modems as well as a vodafone HG659 which I want to use to extend the network as it is an old house with thick walls.
    I want to try this setup before I go down the route of investing in a ubiquiti setup.
    On the modems that I want to set up as access points Is it enough to just disable the DHCP, IPV6 and RA or should I be placing them into bridged mode?
    If they are not placed in bridged mode is there any double nat taking place?

    Reply

  27. Hi Sean,

    My Vodafone gigabox is gone faulty (DHCP server is gone). I have an odd F2000 can it be configured to act as a router only and I’ll use the gigabox for the broadband connection? Have tried the above steps without turning off the DHCP but no luck. Any help would be appreciated.

    Reply

  28. hi folks, i’m using a few F2000’s as routers for years around the house connected via ethernet as discussed. However, after a week or so, sometimes smart switches seem to disconnect and then reconnect. They are connected on wifi 2.4G. I fix this by rebooting the f2000. Does anyone know howto
    a) fix this issue or
    b) automatically reboot the f2000 after x days?

    Thanks
    Martin

    Reply

  29. Thanks for this valuable information! I managed to apply the same procedure to extend my wifi network (main router: F3000 fibre box, extender: older F3000 fibre box).

    However, I was trying to also extend the guest network however I find that the “extender” Fibre box does a couple of “unexpected” things:
    – assigns IPs with mask 255.225.0.0 (whereas the guest network in the main router assigns more familiar IPs with a 255.255.255.0 mask)
    – it does not assign a router (whereas the guest network in the main router does)

    I was trying to manually setup the IPs and router for the “extended” guest network (with IPs and masks similar to what the main guest network provides) but I didn’t succeed.

    Any advice? Thank you!

    Reply

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