Wireless Ethernet Bridge Mode

Wireless Ethernet Bridge Mode is an easy way to expand your network without having to run long Ethernet cable between devices.

This mode is not available for all routers supporting FreshTomato. However, Media Bridge mode can serve as an alternative.¹⁾ For details about these modes, see the Wireless Mode tables on the Network page.

You are advised not to use Virtual Wireless interface(s) simultaneously with a physical interface in Wireless Ethernet Bridge mode. It may still work properly. However, doing this will not work in Media Bridge mode. Please also be aware that some routers can't pass IPv6 traffic in Wireless Ethernet Bridge mode.²⁾

For this HOWTO, we will:

• Refer to the network you want to expand as the “primary router” network.
• Refer to the router in Wireless Ethernet Bridge mode as the
  “secondary” router.
• Use “192.168.1.1” as the primary router address and “192.168.1.2”
  as the secondary router address.
• Perform all steps on the secondary router, (the one to use in Wireless
  Ethernet Bridge mode).

1. Configure your PC with a static IP address in the same subnet as the
   secondary router (say, “192.168.1.33”).
   
   
2. Go to the Network menu. In the IP Address field in the LAN section:
   1. Enter an IP address in the same subnet as the primary router,
      but outside the DHCP pool of your network. For our example,
      we'll use: “192.168.1.2”.
   2. Uncheck the Use DHCP checkbox and click OK.
   3. Click Save.
      
      
3. Log on to the secondary router via 192.168.1.2. In the Network menu,
   configure the settings of the interface that matches the primary router
   WiFi network you want to bridge (2.4GHz or 5GHz) as follows:
   
   
   1. Set Wireless Mode to: “Wireless Ethernet Bridge”.
   2. Set Wireless Network Mode to: “Auto”.
   3. Set SSID to: “WlanSSID_to_which_you_want_to_connect_to”
      (the primary router's SSID).
   4. Set Channel to: “Auto” or to match the primary router's setting
   5. Set Channel Width to match the primary router setting
   6. Set Control Sideband to match the setting on the primary router
   7. Set Security to match the primary router setting (usually WPA2 Personal)
   8. Set Encryption to match the primary router setting (usually AES)
   9. Set Shared Key to “SharedKey_of_router_to_which_you_want_to_connect”
      (the passphrase of the primary router)
   10. Set Group Key Renewal to match the primary router setting
       (usually 3600 seconds).
   11. Click Save.
       
       
4. In the Network menu, in the LAN section:
   
   
   1. Set Default Gateway to: the primary router's IP address.
      We'll use: “192.168.1.1”.
   2. Set Static DNS to: the primary router's IP address. We'll use: “192.168.1.1”.
   3. In release 2022.6 or later, selecting “Automatic IP” will make the router
      obtain IP/Gateway/DNS data via DHCP (if possible)
   4. Click Save.

The process is now complete. You should now have a working Wireless Ethernet Bridge.

Remember to set your computer back to its previous network settings.