issues with wireless bridge using AC66U and shibby tomato

[elantra04]

Both routers are AC66U using the latest shibby build. I cannot seem to get these 2 connected when I use encryption (tried many wireless channels on both). With any encryption (WPA, WPA2, WEP, etc.), the WEB will NOT bridge correctly (i.e. none of the wired devices on the bridge receive an IP). However, when I turn off encryption, they connect fine and everything works. I've obviously checked the passkey and other obvious stuff.

I'e used the stock firmware and it works fine under encryption, but tomato is the only firmware which has given me near perfect QOS.

Is this a known issue? It seems ridiculous that a simple wireless bridge can't work with encryption under tomato.

 

[jegesq]

I've read here and elsewhere that others have reported the same issue with Tomato. I don't use it myself on my Asus routers, so I've never tested it to find out.

Why not use Merlin's FW instead? If you set one of the AC66's to use Repeater mode its LAN ports will give you close to the same speed and throughput you'd get if you were in true bridge mode, and you'd still be able to use WPA2 security on both the repeater and router. The repeater will aggregate MAC addresses, so if that's important to you it may not be something you'd care to use, but you still can address clients connected to the repeater and identify them by IP, so if all you're looking to do is find a secured way to connect client devices via LAN ports using a wireless "bridge" then repeater mode would seem to offer the same functionality with devices connected to the LAN ports and it would allow you to use a secured wireless signal instead of having to run "open" and unencrypted. This is the same reason why running in WDS "repeater" mode isn't really an attractive alternative either since it doesn't allow you to run encrypted.

I have two AC66U's running Merlin's FW, and I use one as a router and the other as a repeater. I also use a WD MyACBridge AC1200 connected wirelessly to the router, and that works great as well, so that's another option to consider if you really must have true bridge mode (the WD product has been discontinued, but you can still find them on Amazon for about $50.)

I've never really played around with Tomato on the Asus, so I just don't know what advantages, if any, it would provide over either stock FW or Merlin's which provides additional features not found in Asuswrt stock FW. What benefits do you see, if any, using Tomato over either Asuswrt or Merlin's FW?