Wireless router (mode) PC cannot ping AP (mode) PC on 2nd router

[wistar38]

Thank you all for suggestions in excellent detail. I so appreciate your time and thought.
I did check firmware, did hard re-sets, entered everything manually, have an Ethernet cable intact running directly and intact between the 2 routers. I checked AP mode on R2 several times. I checked LAN vs WAN connection on R2, even tried both. I'd not made config changes beforehand anyway. I realize that waving the magic wand of new routers may not resolve the issue. There are only so many hours or days that one can, with some knowledge, beat one's head against a router before trying a new approach. We will see. And report.

 

[wistar38]

Final report, with 2 new Asus routers in place: 1 of the old routers was intermittently failing (after 12 years, eligible for Medicare), some of the networking failure to see computers and drives due to BitDefender firewall enhancements (blocking) possibly complicated by having different versions of Win 11 talking to each other (1 a new Win 11 install and another a Win 10 upgraded to Win 11). So as often happens, nothing is simple. But all now, after days, lots of thinking and some money now working.