Setting up a Comfast Long Range WiFi Access Point, This WiFi access point sends a 2.4GHz WiFi signal, which allows WiFi cameras to easily connect to it, as well as any other WiFi devices that have compatibility issues with 5GHz devices.

Setting up a Comfast long range WiFi access point

Purpose of the guide

This guide will show you how to set up a one of our Comfast long range WiFi access points as an extender, which will allow you to connect a WiFi device to your internet router from a distance of 100-200m.

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Before you begin

If this has not already been pre-configured for you by our Helpdesk team, you will need to log in to the access point and set it up, see below for how to do this.

Make sure you set up the WiFi access point inside first and confirm it is working, and only mount it in the intended position when you have verified that it provides a connection to the internet.

If you will be connecting a WiFi camera or something similar, it is also best to connect it whilst quite close to the access point, then mount the camera in the final position once it has already been connected to the access point.

Background

This WiFi access point sends a 2.4GHz WiFi signal, which allows WiFi cameras to easily connect to it, as well as any other WiFi devices that have compatibility issues with 5GHz devices.

Once the setup is complete you should mount the access point on the highest point that you can, with as few obstructions in between the access point and the location of the WiFi device as possible. The more obstructions that are in the way, the shorter the effective range of the access point, so if you need the signal to reach 200m from the access point then it will need to be a clear line of sight to the WiFi device.

Let’s get started

First of all, remove all components from the packaging and lay them out in front of you.

You will have:

• A phone or tablet that can connect to WiFi
• One Comfast long range WiFi access point
• One POE injector (with included power cable)
• One 3m long ethernet lead, to connect the POE injector to your computer
• A second ethernet lead, to connect the POE injector to the WiFi access point (this supplies power and a connection to the internet router via one cable)

Wiring it up

1. Sitting next to your internet router and a free wall plug, take the POE injector and the power cable and connect it to a wall plug.
2. Connect one end of the short ethernet lead to the port marked ‘LAN' on the POE injector, and connect the other end to a spare port on the back of your internet router.
3. Slide the port cover off the bottom end of the WiFi access point, then connect one end of the long ethernet lead to the port on the POE injector marked ‘POE' and connect that to the port marked ‘WAN' on the WiFi access point.

When the bridge is first connected to power you should see all the indicator lights on the side turn on briefly, this shows it is receiving power.

When the access point has turned on, it will create a WiFi network with a name beginning with ‘COMFAST'. If we have pre-configured the bridges for you then it should now be connected to the internet.

Try connecting to it using our default password of ‘12345Abc' to test that it is definitely connected to the internet. Now skip to the section below called ‘Changing the WiFi name and password'. After that, make sure to complete the next step called ‘Changing the admin password'. The password for logging into the access point should be changed before you finish, or this will make it easy for someone to log in to it and change the settings or access your internet connection.

If it has not been pre-configured by the Helpdesk team then continue below, where we will connect to the access point and change the IP address settings.

Connecting to the WiFi access point

Open the internet browser on your phone/tablet and type ‘192.168.10.1' into the address bar, then press enter.

Type ‘Admin' as the password:

Select ‘AP'

Here you need to set the IP address of the WiFi access point so it works with your internet router. The subnet mask does not need to be changed.

If your internet provider is BT or TalkTalk:

• The IP address will be 192.168.1.200

If your internet provider is Virgin Media or Sky:

• The IP address will be 192.168.0.200

Or follow this guide to find out what it is:

How to use a Windows or Mac computer to find the default gateway

Now click ‘Next':

1. Set the Local SSID to something you want; this is the name that you will see in the list of Wi-Fi networks on your phone/PC when connecting to the access point in future.
2. This is the password people will use when connecting their devices to the access point, so depending on how it is being used you may want a very complicated password or a very simple one. It is of course usually best to have a more complicated password. This is not the same as the admin password used when logging in to the access point.
3. Leave the Bandwidth as 20MHz
4. Set the country to ‘Europe'
5. Leave channel as ‘auto', power as ‘100%' and launch range as 2km.
6. Click ‘Finish' and wait for it to apply the settings.

Comfast Long Range WiFi Access Point Setup

You will now be disconnected from the access point because the IP address has been changed.

Now reconnect to it via Wi-Fi, if you have not changed it to something else this will still be a name beginning with ‘COMFAST'. When prompted, enter the password you set on it previously.

Your device will now be connected to the internet. If you want to confirm this, type ‘192.168.10.1' into the address bar on your phone again and type ‘admin' as the password to log in. You will see a live graph showing the total amount of data being down/uploaded over time.

Changing the WiFi name and password

Open the internet browser on your phone/tablet and type ‘192.168.10.1' into the address bar, then press enter.

Type ‘Admin' as the password:

Comfast Long Range WiFi Access Point Setup

On the left side menu, select ‘Network', then select ‘Wireless' at the top:

1. Set the Local SSID to something you want; this is the name that you will see in the list of Wi-Fi networks on your phone/PC when connecting to the access point in future.
2. This is the password people will use when connecting their devices to the access point, so depending on how it is being used you may want a very complicated password or a very simple one. It is of course usually best to have a more complicated password. This is not the same as the admin password used when logging in to the access point.
3. Leave the Bandwidth as 20MHz
4. Set the country to ‘Europe'
5. Change the channel to ‘auto', set power to ‘100%' and launch range as ‘2km'.
6. Click ‘Finish' and wait for it to apply the settings.

Changing the admin password

Now we need to finish up by changing the admin password.

• Go to System > Change Password.
• The old password is ‘Admin' or ‘admin'.
• Set the new password to something that is not easy to guess. If you forget the password and ever need to edit the settings you can reset it by holding down the reset button in between the two ports for five seconds.

Using this access point with a wired camera

If you want to use a wired camera with your WiFi access point, you will need another accessory; a Wi-Fi repeater with an ethernet port for your camera to connect to. For example, the model sold on the SpyCameraCCTV website will work well but it doesn't have to be that specific model. The reason this is required is because most mobile hot spots only provide a Wi-Fi connection, with no option to connect an ethernet cable. A Wi-Fi repeater can connect to and amplify the signal from a WiFi access point, and also provide access to that data connection via an ethernet port.

Make sure you have set up your mobile data hotspot first, then turn on your Wi-Fi extender. It will begin scanning for Wi-Fi networks, just tell it to connect to the name of the access point. If there is an option, set it to repeater mode so it is just repeating and amplifying the Wi-Fi signal from the access point. Try connecting your phone to the Wi-Fi repeater to check if you can connect to the internet.

If that works, then you should be able to connect the camera directly to the ethernet port on the Wi-Fi extender and have it connected to the internet.

Comfast Long Range WiFi Access Point Setup

How to install the WiFi access point

Using metal ties

Using a pole mount

Configuring Your Comfast Onmi with a Wireless Bridge

In this guide we will take you through how to configure your Comfast Onmi with a Wireless Bridge.

 

Before You Begin

First, remove all components from the packaging and lay them out in front of you.

 

Wire Up the Bridge

Take the first panel and run an Ethernet lead from the WAN port to the PoE port on the power supply, then take a cable from the LAN port directly to your computer.

 

Now take the second panel and run a cable from the WAN port to the PoE port on the power supply.

Link: bit.ly/2KPSMgs

Make sure on both panels that you have the slider switch in the “on” position. If you are looking at the ports face on, with LAN to the left and WAN to the right, slide the switch to the left where it says ‘ON'(this may be upside down and appear to say ‘NO'). Once done you can follow the remaining steps.

 

You may need configure your ethernet adapter to be able to login into the bridges are these Onmi and bridges are on a weird network range.

Link: bit.ly/35yNspE

 

Configuring Your Comfast Onmi

Type in the IP address of your Comfast Omni into your web browser's address bar then login using the password.

 

Once logged in, select Wizard from the menu on the left.

Then Select AP Mode.

Your page should now look like this:

 

If your internet provider is BT or TalkTalk set the IP address as 192.168.1.200.

For Virgin Media or Sky, set the IP address as 192.168.0.200.

Then click Next.

Once this is done, it will ask you to enter a password, this is the wireless password key for the Comfast bridge. For security purposes, set your own password here.

Set the Bandwidth to 80MHz, ‘Country' to Europe and Channel to Auto.

Click Next and repeat as in the previous step. Make sure the password is the same.

On the next screen, click Finish and wait for the percentage bar to configure to 100% and that completes this part of the setup.

 

Configuring Comfast Bridge

Now you need to configure your Comfast bridge panel.

Open your web browser and type 192.168.10.1 into the address bar.

 

Input admin as the password.

Now select Wizard from the left-hand side of the page and then click on Bridge > Station > Client Site.

We need to ensure that the bridge is not on the same IP address as the Omni because otherwise it will cause a conflict. So here we have set this bridge IP address as 192.168.1.201.

Click Next, and then click on Scan and a list of networks will show like the page below. You will need to find the Onmi's network from the list it with a name like: COMFAST_B4564_5G

If the SSID of the Omni doesn't appear in the list, go to Network > Wireless and change the country to ‘Europe':

Input the password that you used on the Onmi earlier.

Then select the Operate button, this is linking both devices together.

Click Finish and wait for the percentage bar to hit 100%, showing you have completed the setup process.

 

Check that Everything is Working

Finally, log in to the bridge and double check they are pairing. Enter the IP addresses you assigned to each device into your web browser to check that they are linked up and working together.

The homepage of the admin area should look like this:

Make sure that everything is up-and-running. Check the Link Status is Linked, RSSI should be showing a negative figure of dBm and a Connection Speed should be displayed. If this is the case, then the setup process is completed.