WAN Port Not Working Fix ( Wired Repeater Mode)

So I have had this Tenda router for quite a while. I was free so I thought of fixing it. It did not work before. I couldn't connect to it through wireless.

So, let's fix it.

You will only need:

• A PC (makes the work easier but you can also use your smartphone)

The main problem for failing electronics in my area is dust.

After, opening the router up I noticed a lot of dust. After cleaning the dust it was working fine. But the WAN port did not seem to work.

I looked up ways to fix it. The obvious solution was to install custom firmware like dd-wrt or tomato and chane 1 LAN port to WAN port.

Unfortunately, I could not find firmware for my router AC1200 (see pic). As I am using it to as a secondary router I discovered that using it in wired repeater or extender mode did not require a functioning WAN port. The secondary router is connected to via it's LAN port.

• Power up your router and connect it to your PC (or phone).
• Login to your router. See the sticker on your router for address and credentials.
• Set your SSID and password(optional).
• Go to network configurations -> LAN settings and change the IP address.
• Click save.
• After you do so the router will ask you to reboot, click on the reboot button. If not reboot the router manually by using the power switch on the router.
• Wait for the reboot to complete.

Note: Do not connect your primary router cable to this router now.

• Login to your router again.
• Go to network configurations -> DHCP server.
• Check the disable option.
• Click save.

• After you do so the router will ask you to reboot, click on the reboot button. If not reboot the router manually by using the power switch on the router.

• After the router has been rebooted, connect your Ethernet cable from your primary router to a LAN port.

• Now try some web browsing.

• I haven't tried using this method on a direct connection from the Internet Service Provider (ISP). You can try to do it if you don't have a primary router. Let me know what happens.

Note: After using this method I was not able to connect to the router using Wi-Fi without the cable from the primary router connected to it.

I am a hardware guy so my first step after cleaning it was to inspect the joints. Though everything seemed OK, I decided to reinforce the solder joints of the WAN port. But It did not solve the problem.

My guess is the dust blocked the air inlets and the whole thing reached extreme temperatures. As a result, something broke internally.

Lesson of the day: Clean your electronics regularly if you want them to last and try to live in a dust free area.

Happy surfing.

This video has been of great help. It is in Hindi.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxaWI-6ZLmY