Configuring a Linksys router for use in Costa Rica

Although I had no problems getting a “D-Link” router to work in Costa Rica, out of the box with the default settings, I was unsuccessful at doing the same with Linksys routers (to work with the Costa Rican phone company’s (ICEs) DSL service). I tried a Linksys WRT54G and a Linksys WRT300N. I was able to connect from a PC to the router, but not to the internet.

Fortunately, a Network Administrator with the username “toomanydonuts”, on a forum at Linksys.com, provided the following suggestions:

The “modem” that you have is actually a router-modem. You have a few choices as to how you set it up. Your router-modem uses the same IP address (192.168.1.1) as your Linksys router, and this is probably the root of your problems.

Option 1
Place the router-modem in “bridge” mode, then use the Linksys as your router. In this setup, the Linksys should probably work at its factory default settings. (Note: you may need to reset the router to its factory default settings.) The main question here is this: Does ICEs or CTC Union supply the documentation needed to set the ATU-R210 to “bridge mode”? If you cannot find this info, skip this option.

The WRT will work at its factory default settings assuming that ICEs uses “Automatic Setup – DHCP”. If not, you will need to change the “Internet Connection Type” in the WRT.

Option 2
Use the ATU-R210 as your router-modem and DHCP server, and use the WRT300N as a WAP (wireless access point). In this case, you will first need to setup the WRT using a computer that is wired to it (do not connect the ATU at this time). To do this, set the WRT300N to a fixed “Local IP address” of 192.168.1.2 (Note: You may need to change this to a different address if the ATU-R210 requires a different range for fixed LAN IP addresses.), and also, turn off the DHCP server in the WRT. Make sure that the DHCP server in the ATU is turned on. Then wire a port on the ATU to a numbered port on the WRT (not the WAN (Internet) port).

Option 3
Leave the ATU alone, then set the WRT to create a second subnet. To do this, use a computer that is wired to the WRT (do not connect the ATU at this time). Set the “Router IP address” to 192.168.2.1 Leave the DHCP server in the WRT turned on. Then connect one of the numbered ports on the ATU to the WAN (Internet) port of the WRT. This should work.

The ideal setup is option 1. The next best option is 2. Option 3 is the easiest to set up.

I found a manual for the ATU-R210 online, but ICE apparently changed the default password when they installed it, so I couldn’t access the admin panel, which ruled out Option 1. Option 2 worked perfectly, though. I had previously tried changing the IP to .2, but had not tried that in combination with disabling DHCP.

****** Technical support information under this category is provided without any guarantees that it will work as described. Use any advice here at your own risk. ******