This is a simple guide to set Raspberry pi as Wi-Fi repeater, I know there are many guides out there, including the official, but none of them worked 100% without modifications.
Based on: Linux raspberrypi 5.10.63-v7+ (Raspbian 10 buster)
In order to achieve our goal we will need to set up two separate interfaces, You will need additional Wi-Fi usb device or use the ethernet connection.
Let's assume your home lan address is 10.0.0.0/24, We will extend this network using another lan at address 10.0.1.0/24.
This guide assumes the OS is a clean installation and running, with the Wi-Fi\ethernet interface to the router "10.0.0.0/24" is set up.
wlan0 interface is being configured
(10.0.22.0/24 network)
# Option 1 |
|
+- Router ----+ +--- Raspberry ---+ / +- Laptop ----+
| DHCP server | | 10.0.0.18 |/ | WLAN Client |
(Internet)---WAN-+ +---LAN----|/ wlan0 AP +-))) (((-+ |
| 10.0.0.0/24 | | 10.0.22.1|\ | 10.0.22.36 |
+-------------+ +-----------------+ | +-------------+
|
new network
DHCP server
# Option 2 |
+- Router ----+ +--- Raspberry ---+ | +- Laptop ----+
| DHCP server | WiFi | 10.0.0.18 |/ | WLAN Client |
(Internet)---WAN-+ +-))) (((-|/ wlan0 AP +-))) (((-+ |
| 10.0.0.0/24 | | 10.0.22.1| | 10.0.22.36 |
+-------------+ +-----------------+ +-------------+
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Option 3 (extended network)
+- Router ----+ +--- Raspberry ---+ +- Laptop ----+
| DHCP server | | 10.0.0.18 (eth0)| | WLAN Client |
(Internet)---WAN-+ +---LAN----|/ wlan0 AP +-))) (((-+ |
| | | |\ | |
| 10.0.0.0/24 | | br eth0<->wlan0 | \ | 10.0.0.36/24|
+-------------+ +-----------------+ \ +-------------+
|
|
wlan0 interface is being configured
(extend original 10.0.0.0/24 network)
Execute from project root directory
(note for the , below, or the ip/dns will be considered a hosts inventory filename)
the configured device ip from above example is 10.0.0.18
- if updating country variable make sure country is a valid Alpha-2 code ISO 3166-1 country code
- Custom access point CIDR can be provided by passing these variables: (view defaults)
ap_ip_addr="10.0.1.1/24" ap_start_ip_addr="10.0.1.2" ap_end_ip_addr="10.0.1.100" ap_subnet_mask="255.255.255.0"
With option one/three you bridge eth0 <-> wlan0 and probably connected to raspberry pi via LAN Ethernet cable (to ip 10.0.0.18),
so only the configured access point name/pass should be provided
(if not provided default ap_ssid_name and ap_ssid_pass will be set to nalkinscloud)
ansible-playbook -u pi --ask-pass \
-i "10.0.0.18," \
ansible/setup_repeater.yaml \
-e ap_ssid_name=AP_SSID \
-e ap_ssid_pass=AP_PASSWORD \
-e country="FI"
## add below variable to deploy as an extended network
#-e extended_network=TrueWith option two/four you bridge wlan0 <-> wlan1 and probably want to ssh to raspberry via the Wi-Fi interface (10.0.0.8),
in this case you should manually set up wpa_supplicant as described below.
If you connected via ethernet cable (to lets say 10.0.0.37) update relevant ip host.
the ssid_name and ssid_pass should contain your home Wi-Fi access.
ansible-playbook -u pi --ask-pass \
-i "10.0.0.18," \
ansible/setup_repeater.yaml \
-e ap_ssid_name="AP_SSID>" \
-e ap_ssid_pass="<AP_PASSWORD>" \
-e ssid_name="<LAN_SSID>" \
-e ssid_pass="<LAN_PASSWORD>"- default password for
piuser is:raspberry
When doing ip a you should have 4\3 interfaces,
loopback, eth0 for lan cable connection, wlan0 is the onboard Wi-Fi
and wlan1 is the usb Wi-Fi interface if connected.
wlan1 or eth0 will connect to your home LAN at 10.0.0.0/24
wlan0 will create a new network using 10.0.1.0/24, or it will extend your current 10.0.0.0/24 network if you choose to.
then a bridge (br0) will bridge the interfaces.
for option 2 only set up (not needed when using eth0 connection to router),
provide your home SSID and password sudo vi /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf
# update with relevant country
country=US
network={
ssid="YOUR_HOME_SSID"
psk="WIFI_PASSWORD"
}
Once raspberry was able to connect to the router (with internet access), do
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgradeInstall hostapd
sudo apt-get install hostapdtype sudo vi /etc/hostapd/hostapd.conf
And append
# update with relevant country
country_code=US
interface=wlan0
## un-comment below line if setting up extended network (options 3)
# bridge=br0
## comment out below line if setting extended network (options 3)
driver=nl80211
ssid=[AP_SSID]
hw_mode=g
channel=6
wmm_enabled=1
macaddr_acl=0
auth_algs=1
ignore_broadcast_ssid=0
wpa=2
wpa_passphrase=[AP_PASS]
wpa_key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
wpa_pairwise=TKIP
rsn_pairwise=CCMPExecute sudo vi /etc/default/hostapd and replace line #DAEMON_CONF with
DAEMON_CONF="/etc/hostapd/hostapd.conf"
Ensure wireless operation (comply regulations)
sudo rfkill unblock wlanStart the service
sudo systemctl unmask hostapd
sudo systemctl start hostapdConfigure sudo vi /etc/dhcpcd.conf
- if setting extended network (option 3)
## set dhcpcd configure only br0 via DHCP
## Add to start of file
denyinterfaces wlan0 eth0
## THIS IS CURRENTLY NOT SUPPORTED
## with additional wifi, add below 3 lines
#denyinterfaces wlan0 wlan1
#interface wlan0
# nohook wpa_supplicant
## Add to end of file
interface br0- if setting routed network (option 1/2)
## configure a static IP for wlan1 (or eth0) and static IP for wlan0
## Add to the end of file lines
## If using static IP with additional wifi (optional)
#interface wlan1
# static ip_address=10.0.0.2/24
# static routers=10.0.0.1
# static domain_name_servers=10.0.0.1 8.8.8.8
## If using static IP with ethernet (optional)
#interface eth0
# static ip_address=10.0.0.2/24
# static routers=10.0.0.1
# static domain_name_servers=10.0.0.1 8.8.8.8
interface wlan0
static ip_address=10.0.1.1/24
nohook wpa_supplicantRestart the service sudo service dhcpcd restart
- If setting an extended network (options 3/4):
Install bridge-utils
sudo apt-get install bridge-utilsExecute sudo vi /etc/network/interfaces.d/raspberry_interfaces
and add
auto br0
iface br0 inet dhcp
bridge_ports eth0 wlan0
## THIS IS CURRENTLY NOT SUPPORTED
## or if setting wlan1 with wlan0 (option 4)
#bridge_ports wlan1 wlan0All set! clients not should be able to connect to the Wi-Fi network chosen at [AP_SSID] and get an IP address from extended router.
Install dnsmasq
sudo apt-get install dnsmasqsudo mv /etc/dnsmasq.conf /etc/dnsmasq.conf.orig
sudo vi /etc/dnsmasq.confAnd append to above file
interface=wlan0
dhcp-range=10.0.1.2,10.0.1.100,255.255.255.0,12hstart the service
sudo systemctl start dnsmasqsudo apt-get install iptablestype sudo vi /etc/sysctl.conf and uncommon line:
net.ipv4.ip_forward=1
net.ipv6.conf.all.forwarding=1
Then run
## if using eth0 as connection to router
#inter=eth0
inter=wlan1
sudo iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -o ${inter} -j MASQUERADE
sudo sh -c "iptables-save > /etc/iptables.ipv4.nat"Edit sudo vi /etc/rc.local and append above "exit 0" line
iptables-restore < /etc/iptables.ipv4.nat- only if setting
wlan1append to/etc/network/interfaces.d/raspberry_interfacesfile:# Bridge setup auto br0 iface br0 inet manual bridge_ports wlan1 wlan0
Then sudo reboot