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I have an IP camera that I want to access. The camera has a LAN port. No WIFI. Ideally, I'd plug the camera directly into my router. This would enable me to connect to the camera from any computer connected to the same router. However, life isn't that simple: I can not run a LAN cable from the camera to the router.

As a potential solution, I came up with the following.

I got a Bros Trend wifi extender with a LAN port. The idea was to connect the camera using a LAN cable to the extender. The extender would extend my existing router's network. I was hoping that this way, I could connect to the camera from any computer connected to my original network.

The problem is that the camera does not appear in the list of devices connected to my router. Therefore, I can't connect to the camera. I can connect to the camera when I connect my laptop to the extended network.

I've illustrated the problem in the following.

Is the solution I propose even feasible?

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ElenorDavey
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    Your extender must work in AP mode to make sure all devices connect to extender are on the same local network. Please verify this by connecting your laptop to both router and extender, and check if its IP addresses in both networks are in the same network (e.g., both 192.168.1.*). – charlesz May 10 '23 at 20:23
  • If I run the command hostname -I, I get the same response whether I am connected to my original network or the extended network: 192.168.1.12 Is this the information needed to determine whether the extender works in the correct mode? – ElenorDavey May 10 '23 at 20:45
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    *"The problem is that the camera does not appear in the list of devices connected to my router. Therefore, I can't connect to the camera..."* not coming up in the list doesn't necessarily mean you can't connect to it. Have you actually tried going to the camera's IP (it didn't change from when you were connected to the extender)? – Yisroel Tech May 10 '23 at 20:55
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    @ElenorDavey If this way, you should try to obtain the camera's IP and try directly connecting to it using its IP. If it works, configure your DHCP server on your router to assign your camera's MAC address to a static IP so in the future you can always use the same IP to connect. – charlesz May 10 '23 at 21:56
  • @YisroelTech, that worked! I obtained the camera's IP address while connected to the extended network. Next, I switched to the original network. Using the same IP address, I could connect to the camera. Even though I can still not see the camera as a device connected to my original router, I can now connect to it! charlesz and YisroelTech, thanks for your help. – ElenorDavey May 11 '23 at 16:15

1 Answers1

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Thanks to @YisroelTech and @charlesz, this question is now solved. The solution was the following:

  • Connect to the extended network and get the camera's IP address
  • Connect to the original network and use the same IP address.

The camera still doesn't show up as a device connected to my original network's router, but that does not seem to matter: it works.

ElenorDavey
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