What I originally set out to do was using a MikroTik hAP lite as a wireless AP, i.e. it should connect to an existing WLAN and use this connection as a direct internet connection (as if it were connected to the other router via ethernet) and then broadcast its own WLAN with a unique SSID. As a test, I first connected the MikroTik router to the old router via ethernet and set up the MikroTik router as an AP. This worked fine, I could connect to the new WLAN with a PC and had internet access. I could also access the router config via the router's default IP 192.168.88.1.
Then, after resetting the router I attempted to replace the ethernet connection with a wireless connection and immediately ran into a bunch of problems with this. First, I tried setting up the MikroTik router as a simple wireless repeater:
- Connect PC to router via ethernet (192.168.88.1)
- Quick Set -> CPE
- Keep bridge mode and default config and connect to existing WLAN
Result: PC has internet connection. Ipconfig gives default gateway as 192.168.42.1 with an according IPv4 address, which is how the existing WLAN is set up. However, the MikroTik router does not broadcast any WLAN, i.e. it's not a wireless repeater, merely an ethernet-only AP. Also, I cannot access the MikroTik router via 192.168.88.1, and 192.168.42.1 of course gives me the old router. So I cannot make any further changes to the config, and the router needs to be reset.
I didn't understand why I couldn't connect to the router via its default IP address, so after resetting I tried something else:
- Connect PC to router via ethernet or default WLAN (192.168.88.1)
- WebFig -> IP -> Addresses -> default config (ether2-master)
- Change "Address" from 192.168.88.1/24 to 192.168.96.1/24 and "Network" from 192.168.88.0 to 192.168.96.0
Result: Can still connect to the router network via ethernet or WiFi, but cannot access router via either 192.168.88.1 or 192.168.96.1. Ipconfig shows DHCP and DNS servers as 192.168.96.1, but default gateway as 192.168.88.1 and IPv4 address as 192.168.88.253. Reconnecting to the network or power cycling the router makes no difference; router can't be accessed and needs to be reset.
What am I doing wrong?