Connecting HaLowLink AP over 2.4GHz Wi-Fi instead of Ethernet to Starlink Router

General
1

Hi there,

I currently have my HaLowLink AP connected to my Starlink Router over ethernet, but would like to connect it over 2.4GHz Wi-Fi to the Starlink Router so that I can move the HaLowLink AP to a better spot upstairs in the house to get additional range.

Has anyone done this before, and if so, what steps should I follow?

Thanks!

2

We have an AppNote just for that scenario here:

1 Like
3

Thanks for sharing this David!

I had actually initially followed the instructions in this app note, but wanted to do something that the wizard doesn’t allow you to do (using a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi uplink, but getting an IP on the existing Starlink router).

The HaLowLink wizard only allows these 3 network modes:

  • HaLow Wi-Fi devices will get an IP on your existing router’s network.
  • HaLow Wi-Fi devices will get an IP on this device’s local network.
  • HaLow Wi-Fi devices will get an IP on this device’s local network and use 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi for an uplink (not an Ethernet cable).

I managed to make things work by selecting the first option above (HaLow Wi-Fi devices will get an IP on your existing router’s network) and then going to Advanced Config → Network → Wireless and configuring the 2.4GHz Mediatek interface as follows:

IMG_0665.PNG
IMG_0665.PNG1206×2622 236 KB

I also had to update my firewall settings as follows to access the OpenWRT interface over Wi-Fi:

IMG_0666
IMG_06661206×2622 211 KB

After doing this my unit ends up performing as followed: “HaLow Wi-Fi devices will get an IP on your existing router’s network and use 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi for an uplink (not an Ethernet cable).” :fire:

2 Likes
5

You’re right, that 3rd option in the Wizard creates a double-NAT scenario where HaLow devices and things past the extender would be on the 192.168.12.0/24 subnet and NAT’d to the Starlink 192.168.1.0/24 network on the 2.4GHz interface. So, looks like you found the solution:

  1. Turn off DHCP on the HaLowLink AP and either have it acquire a DHCP itself or assign it a static IP.

  2. Put the 2.4GHz interface on the same layer 2 bridge as the LAN port.

  3. Adjust firewall appropriately so there is no impediment to traffic flow.

I use this exact setup myself except a wired uplink to my home router (which then uplinks to Starlink in passthrough mode). Thanks for posting yoru solution. It’ll be helpful for others.

6

Great that you go it working!

I’m a bit confused about exactly how, though. AFAIK to make this work properly you’d need to configure your 2.4 wireless in Client (WDS) mode AND the Starlink AP would have to be configured to do WDS as well (a lot of routers aren’t configured this way, which is why the wizard page doesn’t provide this setup). The screenshot you’ve shown just shows the 2.4 configured as an AP.

The other thing I’m confused about is that if you’re setup for ‘HaLow Wi-Fi devices will get an IP on your existing router’ this should mean you’re using the wlan network (unfirewalled) and not the wan network, and there should be no need to change your existing firewall rules to allow access to your HL1s admin interface over WiFi.

7

Apologies for the confusion!

  1. I had uploaded the wrong screenshot in my post above - fixed now.

  2. I thought I had it fully working, but my HaLowLink Extender is no longer reachable after making the changes above. I was able to make my HaLowLink AP get an IP on my 2.4GHz Starlink Router and access the OpenWRT GUI over 2.4GHz Wi-Fi after changing the firewall settings, but the HaLowLink Extender no longer gets an IP address…

I tried configuring my HaLowLink AP 2.4GHz wireless interface as Client (WDS) as suggested but that indeed doesn’t seem to be supported on the Starlink Router.

8

@flex84 have a look at this post where a number of bits related to things you are trying to do are discussed with screenshots:

9

At this point I would encourage you to revert to the wizard configuration with the 2.4 uplink and modify the firewall rules to allow access to the HaLowLink AP. The downside is obviously that the attached client devices end up on their own subnet and double-NATed by default. This may be fine, or you could:

  • change the routing rules on your Starlink AP (not sure if this is possible…) and remove the NAT (masquerade stuff)
  • port forward where necessary to access devices attached to the Extender
  • use relayd - Testing to determine if you are a bot! (I have no experience with this dark magic)