- Aug 11, 2025
- 2
- 0
- 10
Here is a basic description of my home networking. My main router (call it MainRouter) is connected to my cable modem on the first floor of my 2 story house. On the second floor, in my office, I have a second router set to bridge mode (call if OfficeRouter). The OfficeRouter is connected to the MainRouter via cat 6 ethernet. The MainRouter is acting as the DHCP server.
So, in effect, the OfficeRouter is acting like an access point, extending my home network to the second floor. I use both 2.4 anf 5 GHz wireless frequencies. I broadcast on different channels between the two routers, to minimize overlap (e.g., channel 1 on MainRouter, channel 11 on Office router). Both MainRouter and OfficeRouter have the same SSID (say, myhouse2 for 2.4, and myhouse 5 for 5).
Now, of the 12 different devices I've tested -- 11 either Windows or Android, + 1 iPhone (my son, home from college for the summer -- iPhone 16), 11/11 of the Win or Anddroid devices will absolutely connect to the router with the greatest strength when I turn off and then on wireless. But, no matter what I've tried, I cannot for the life of me get the iPhone to connect to the OfficeRouter (as far as I can tell - figuring out what the access point is on the iPhone is something I can't quite figure out as easily as I can on my Android or Win devices. I've sat there, <2 feet from OfficeRouter, turn off the wireless on the iPhone, and even told it to forget the network and start over, but no matter what I've tried, the thing still keeps trying to connect to the MainRouter, even though its ~80-90 feet away. My son was the one who got me to look into this, because he noticed that when I switched to bridge mode in the OfficeRouter, his phone was dropping signal occasionally, and generally had a weaker signal even when it was connected.
The 'switching to bridge mode' is a key part of this, because my temporary solution is to simply take OfficeRouter out of bridge, put it back into 'normal mode', but turn off DHCP (ignoring possible NAT collisions), and giving it different SSID: myhouse2.4_office, myhouse5_up). Once I did this, his iPhone absolutely connects to whatever router its nearest (if he turns off the networking, and then turns it back on). But, maintaining what is in effect two different wireless networks in the house is a PITA, and I'm hoping someone can explain to me (i) why this is only an issue for the mega-expensive iPhone 16, and (ii) why this seems to be a function f whether or not the OfficeRouter is in bridge mode?
For all I know its related to one of those default settings that the Cupertino folks set out of the box to maximize 'customer experience' (in their view), but I have no idea what said settings would be. The only time I've even touched an iPhone was when my son handed me his earlier today, so I freely admit to not know much about how its configured, or how to change things (as opposed to Linux, or Windows, or Android, where I have more than a little background).
Any suggestions welcome.
So, in effect, the OfficeRouter is acting like an access point, extending my home network to the second floor. I use both 2.4 anf 5 GHz wireless frequencies. I broadcast on different channels between the two routers, to minimize overlap (e.g., channel 1 on MainRouter, channel 11 on Office router). Both MainRouter and OfficeRouter have the same SSID (say, myhouse2 for 2.4, and myhouse 5 for 5).
Now, of the 12 different devices I've tested -- 11 either Windows or Android, + 1 iPhone (my son, home from college for the summer -- iPhone 16), 11/11 of the Win or Anddroid devices will absolutely connect to the router with the greatest strength when I turn off and then on wireless. But, no matter what I've tried, I cannot for the life of me get the iPhone to connect to the OfficeRouter (as far as I can tell - figuring out what the access point is on the iPhone is something I can't quite figure out as easily as I can on my Android or Win devices. I've sat there, <2 feet from OfficeRouter, turn off the wireless on the iPhone, and even told it to forget the network and start over, but no matter what I've tried, the thing still keeps trying to connect to the MainRouter, even though its ~80-90 feet away. My son was the one who got me to look into this, because he noticed that when I switched to bridge mode in the OfficeRouter, his phone was dropping signal occasionally, and generally had a weaker signal even when it was connected.
The 'switching to bridge mode' is a key part of this, because my temporary solution is to simply take OfficeRouter out of bridge, put it back into 'normal mode', but turn off DHCP (ignoring possible NAT collisions), and giving it different SSID: myhouse2.4_office, myhouse5_up). Once I did this, his iPhone absolutely connects to whatever router its nearest (if he turns off the networking, and then turns it back on). But, maintaining what is in effect two different wireless networks in the house is a PITA, and I'm hoping someone can explain to me (i) why this is only an issue for the mega-expensive iPhone 16, and (ii) why this seems to be a function f whether or not the OfficeRouter is in bridge mode?
For all I know its related to one of those default settings that the Cupertino folks set out of the box to maximize 'customer experience' (in their view), but I have no idea what said settings would be. The only time I've even touched an iPhone was when my son handed me his earlier today, so I freely admit to not know much about how its configured, or how to change things (as opposed to Linux, or Windows, or Android, where I have more than a little background).
Any suggestions welcome.
Last edited by a moderator:
Facebook
Twitter