Mweb range extender

[savagezaing]

Has anybody used the "free" range extender, that mweb is giving away at the moment, with their existing infrastructure? If so what did you do to make it work?

 

[StellenboschStudent]

Works seamlessly with the "free" router they supply... cannot get the extender to work with any other router (yet)

 

[JStrike]

It's pretty rubbish. I had a Airport Extreme and Airport Express. Was far simpler and easier to use. This is anything but simple

 

[savagezaing]

Yes I have also tested the extender with 4 other wireless networks and it only works with the free router. Also after you change the wifi SSID and password the WPS stops working :'(

 

[Erpenstine]

I am having problems with my mweb extender, once synced with the router it creates its own ip range, 192.168.2.1, while the router is 192.168.1.1, this in turn change all my devices running dhcp to 192.168.2. ... giving me no internet access on those devices as the proper default gateway is 192.168.1.1, is there a way to edit the ip range on the extender to use the same gateway as the router?

 

[Dubes]

Many weeks on and I'm still waiting for mine to be "delivered shortly".... new clients are getting but those who ordered long ago aren't. As a result of this my new router is also still sitting unused in it's box.

 

[Muki]

Works seamlessly with the "free" router they supply... cannot get the extender to work with any other router (yet)

I managed to get it working wih a "non free" router.

1. Plug into power socket, hold WPS button down on device for about 10sec, till the power light flashes (Factory reset) (Not sure if this is actually necessary, but I done it anyway)
2. Connect to the extender using the LAN port.
3. go to 192.168.1.2 to open admin page. Username: admin Password:1234
4. Follow the steps to add your own network.
5. Range extended

 

[wsbigdog]

Hi Muki
I have also done exactly the same as you, but as soon as I unplug the extender from the power socket or power off. it is not able to connect to my existing router again.

 

[acidrain]

Many weeks on and I'm still waiting for mine to be "delivered shortly".... new clients are getting but those who ordered long ago aren't. As a result of this my new router is also still sitting unused in it's box.

You not missing much. I've since replaced the FON router with my old Linksys Router.

 

[Elaai]

Did anyone manage to flash the range extender with the stock firmware ie AANK? Is this at all possible or is this feature also locked down? I cant use the Range Extender as-is - I need to change IP's and IP ranges, SSID's etc etc and its just way to restrictive.

 

[MDE]

Tried and failed unless theres a work around.

 

[Muki]

Hi Muki
I have also done exactly the same as you, but as soon as I unplug the extender from the power socket or power off. it is not able to connect to my existing router again.

Seems to happen to me as well, simple solution would be to not loose power probably due to the firmware on the device itself though. Will let you know if I figure anything out

 

[bebenl]

Seems to happen to me as well, simple solution would be to not loose power probably due to the firmware on the device itself though. Will let you know if I figure anything out

The Zyxel Range extender is a pretty piece of crap. I managed to get it set up through the web interface, and by means of WPS but it looses signal consitently after about 3 minutes. This was all after I had already changed the routers SSID, and WPA key. I reset the router and the Zyxel back to defaults but now the Zyxel does not connect anymore neither by WPS, or by entering the WPA key. I was thinking of senidng it back to MWeb but doubt that will solve the issues. I wouldn't be surprise if MWeb deadhacked the firmware that's running on the Zyxel.
There is already a guide out there flashing the Technicolor router with stock firmware. Shouldn't it be possible to flash the Zyxel using tftp/bootp, as well?

 

[MarcKruger]

So…. Back to the Wifi Extender (or repeater) ! The ZyXel WRE2205 v2 is what MWEB is shipping with their “FON” Network package. I decided to return this “Extender” back to it’s default state without the FON part and this is what I have done so far:
I visited the ZyXel homepage and downloaded the original and updated firmware. Yes! It comes in .bin format and can be found here (ftp://ftp2.zyxel.com/WRE2205_v2/firmware/WRE2205 v2_V1.00(AANK.1)C0.zip ). I then reset the router to it’s default values by holding the little key button on the front for 15 or so seconds – restarted the router using the switch and then logged in to it via an Ethernet cable with the username: admin and password:1234. I Tried to upgrade the router and got the message “Incorrect firmware version”. 
Thanks MWEB. So I called MWEB and they said “Sorry, you should be able to upgrade if you go to the manufacturers website.” So I kept insisting that MWEB has ISP locked the device and they should provide me with a way to unlock it. (I am sure that ICASA has made it illegal to ISP lock hardware?? I have reported this to them aswell) MWEB eventually conceded that the device has been locked and no-one is permitted to unlock the device and change it’s settings.  So I contacted ZyXel and they said that they are not allowed to change the ISP’s perversion of their software as they would then have an unhappy client……. OK so that means there is a way!
So I looked at the source code of the repeaters web interface and saw…. Wait… who is EDIMAX? OK, so it turns out that EDIMAX is a company that makes and sells these routers and ZyXel just kinda resells them……and EDIMAX provides a tool to flash the device over the Ethernet port and not just the .bin file.  Yay EDIMAX!! You can find the tool here…. And as far as I can see the EDIMAX software is the better one and should work perfectly on the device even though it is a ZyXel (http://www.edimax.com/images/Image/...RPNv2/EW-7438RPn_v2_Firmware_Upgrade_tool.zip )
The Process goes as follows… Make sure you can ping the device on 192.168.1.2.. but in our case MWEB have stuffed this up again and you would have to use 192.168.2.2 . Connect to the devices webpage with the before mentioned username and password and then run the tool. The software finds the Device…  and then, like in the documentation asks for the device password… (The Default should be 1234). I entered the password and clicked the next button and it should now start flashine the unit back to default…..but wait…. I get a dialog box which says “Incorrect Password!!”  Thanks once again MWEB.
So that is where I am up to! I also tried using winrar to unpack the files in the EDIMAX exe file and ended up with the firmware and the actual running exe files inside the EDIMAX exe. There is a small “MFC” () created application that cannot be unencrypted at all .
I just want to see which port and what operation it uses to put the firmware in place and then I will brute force the password for the admin account on that port and we will all be happy campers with our stock standard ZyXel WRE2205 v2 devices but this is where I am stuck. If you have a clue or even a different idea for me to try or even the password then give me a shout and I will give it a bash.
Yes I have also tried all the values that I found when I backed up the device config and then exported the fields from the resulting .bin file with a small app called RouterPassView. None of them work! Oh Yes! And MWEB, if you are reading this then please may I have the ability to return the device back to it’s original firmware. This will stop me snooping!

 

[Willy Strong]

WOW, so much, WOW.

I'm still waiting for my free router + extender 2 months later.

 

[Lament]

WOW, so much, WOW.

I'm still waiting for my free router + extender 2 months later.

I got my router after a month and a few snotty emails/Phone calls, was not very happy about paying for a months usage and technically only getting my router with 3 days left in the month.
In anycase, its been 3 months now, still waiting for the Range extender.
Besides that, this far i'm very happy with Mweb.

 

[Venomous]

WOW, so much, WOW.

I'm still waiting for my free router + extender 2 months later.

read up on more threads about fon routers and the problems...
Then count yourself lucky before walking away.

 

[VetVis]

Got the range extender working with my existing router ,but its pretty much a pice of crap tbh.

crap signal qaulity and poor performance.

 

[3Gee]

I managed to get it working wih a "non free" router.

1. Plug into power socket, hold WPS button down on device for about 10sec, till the power light flashes (Factory reset) (Not sure if this is actually necessary, but I done it anyway)
2. Connect to the extender using the LAN port.
3. go to 192.168.1.2 to open admin page. Username: admin Password:1234
4. Follow the steps to add your own network.
5. Range extended

i cannot login into the router , tried 192.168.1.2 , Lan cable connected , no page opening

any suggestions

 

[3Gee]

i cannot login into the router , tried 192.168.1.2 , Lan cable connected , no page opening

any suggestions

ok , so i managed to setup the extender , problem was Firefox , the extender has been setup , but i cannot detect the extender