Bridging a WRT54G to a local hotspot (iphone) with DD-WRT

These instructions are geared to a mobile phone hotspot, but they should apply to most hotspots.

If you need to reset your router, unplug it for a few minutes, holding the reset button down plug the router in and continue to hold the button for at least 30 seconds.

  1. Connect to your router (192.168.1.1) and reset the user and password (you should be asked, if not do another hard reset)
  2. log in
  3. Go to “Wireless->Wireless Security” enable,
    1. set security mode “WPA2 Personal”
    2. select the WPA algorithm to match your hotspot in my case “TKIP+AES” and enter the password the corresponds to your hotspot
    3. save & apply
  4. Go to “Wireles->Basic Settings”
    1. set wireless mode: Client Bridge
    2. set the SSID to match your hotspot exactly
    3. save & apply
  5. On your phone you should see your WRT54G connection on your phone
  6. Go to “Security->Firewall”
    1. disable SPI Firewall
    2. Uncheck “Block Anonymous WAN request, Filter IDENT”
    3. save & apply
  7. Go to “Setup->Advance Routing”
    1. change “Operating Mode” to “Router”
    2. save & apply
  8. Go to “Setup->Basic Setup”
    1. set your Local DNS to a well known DNS server like Google’s 8.8.8.8

That should be it, you should now be able to connect to the Internet via any port on WRT54G

Note: that any machine that uses DHCP that is connected to your router will get a bridged network IP and will not be able to administer the router. To administer the router manually set your IP to 192.168.1.131 and you will be able to connect to the web administration console.

7 Comments

  1. Jim says:

    Worked for me. I messed around for about 3 whole days trying everything I could imagine. Thanks for the solution!!!
    notes:
    I could see the connection show up on the phone but I had to disconnect the ethernet wire from my Mac and plug it back in to get the ethernet adapter to reset. I also had to enter the iPhone hotspot password on the wireless security page- ‘WPA shared key’ as my Mac never prompted me to enter a password.

    Thanks again.

  2. Moody says:

    I’m using an iphone with ATT and for some reason i cannot see the connection on my phone. Ive tried everything. Any suggestions?

  3. Richard says:

    Made it through #5 no problem. Now cannot access the Web admin console to complete it. Tried changing IP to 192.168.1.131 but that alone does not fix it. What else do I need to do? Seems need to turn off DHCP on router somehow before setting IP? Tried unplugging/plugging as other person suggested, no luck. Once whatever is all done, what address will I put into the browser to access the web admin console? Presume would again be the 192.168.1.1–just would need the hotspot turned off???

    Help?

  4. Richard says:

    Oh! Also, why disable SPI firewall and Block Anonymous WAN Request? Seems that those would open up network to hacking.

    Thanks!

  5. Richard says:

    Still no luck being able to access admin console. Not sure what, “your router will get a bridged network IP” means…? I have hotspot set to 192.168.1.50 and router to 192.168.0.1…have read elsewhere that they must be on different network segments.

    Anyway, PC connected to router is able to access Internet fine, but not the admin console at 192.168.0.1. Note that when I check IP address of PC on the router, it shows a 192.168.1.xx address, which I think is the “bridged network IP”. Have tried changing IP of PC to 192.168.0.xx with no success in access. Maybe am not changing it in a way where it gets updated in router? Reboots of everything do not help.

    If can figure out how to access admin, would be huge help.

    THanks!

  6. techdetails says:

    I haven’t done this in a while, but…

    Once the router is a client of your hotspot, your router will use the network address range provided by the hotspot.
    Can you ping 192.168.0.1 which is presumably your router?
    Have you tried your router at 192.168.1.1?

  7. liam says:

    hi Tried this with a Netgear n900 / WNDR4500 (v1 v2) and set it up to use
    a tethered hotspot from a Huawei mobile with android 4.2 and it worked fine

    thanks for the Info

    liam

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