GL.iNets (ZM.1) can be meshed together to extend the coverage in a subscriber's home. Mesh can be configured from the office when enabling the gateway or onsite during the internet installation. To learn how to enable the gateway using the Care Portal, refer to this guide.

A service provider also has the option of providing additional GL.iNet B1300s (ZM.1) to the subscriber to configure using the Minim App. To learn more about this, click here.

What You Will Need

• GL.iNet B1300 (ZM.1) configured as the gateway
  To configure a GL.iNet (ZM.1) as a gateway, follow this process.
• An unaffiliated GL.iNet B1300 (ZM.1) to be used as the access point.
• Ethernet cable
• Access to Minim Care Portal
  Need access? Talk to your Minim system admin and click here for more details.

Adding the access point

To begin, navigate to the Inventory tab of the Care Portal. The GL.iNet (ZM.1) that will be used as an access point will be stored here until it is assigned to an account. Copy the MAC address.

You can confirm the MAC address of the GL.iNet (ZM.1) by turning it over to display the label. The MAC addressed will be listed.

Next, locate the customer's account. Under the Access Points section, you will see a plus sign. Click on it.

A pop-up will appear. In the MAC Address field, paste the MAC address you previously copied from the Inventory tab. You can name the access point to help with identifying it. When finished, click on the Add to LAN button.

TIP - In the pop-up, you'll see a check box next to Replace LAN Gateway. This option gives you the ability to replace the gateway that is currently assigned to the LAN with a new router. Selecting this check box will also return the original router to your Inventory.

The screen will refresh and now show both the gateway and the access point.

Connecting the access point

The access point will need to be powered on and and connected to the gateway using an ethernet cable. You should have one end of the ethernet cable plugged into the port 1 of the access point and the other end into port 2 of the gateway. Refer to the illustration below.

Once the access point has fully powered on and is connected to the internet, you will see a green circle under its name. The extender will typically take between 1 and 3 minutes to come online in the Care Portal. 

If the extender does not come online after being connected for 5 minutes, reboot the extender by unplugging the power cable for about 30 seconds and plugging it back in. The extender will take between 1 and 3 minutes to show as online in the Care Portal. If the unit will still not come online in the Care Portal, please contact our Customer Success using the chat or by emailing support@minim.com.

Congratulations! The access point is now configured as a wired extender. If you were to unplug the ethernet cable, it would go offline. To configure it as a wireless extender, please proceed to the following steps.

Configure Wireless Mesh

First, click on the pencil icon to the right of the gateway's name.

A pop-up will appear. Change the Mesh Type to 802.11s. Click the Update button.

Next, click on the pencil icon to the right of the access point's name. A pop-up will appear. Change the Mesh Type to 802.11s. Click the Update button.

TIP - The Return to Inventory button will appear in this pop-up for access points only. If you click on the button, the access point's association to the customer account will be removed and the MAC address will be returned to the inventory list.

Confirm Wireless Mesh Configuration

You can confirm the gateway and access point are applying the new configuration by clicking on the Router Settings tab. You should see two dark gray bars. Both devices will restart after applying the configuration. This may take up to 5 minutes. Once the bars have disappeared, the configuration has applied. The page will refresh.

Navigate back to the Overview tab. Confirm both the gateway and the access point are online. Unplug the ethernet cable from the back of the access point. Wait about 2 minutes to verify the access point stays online in the Care Portal.

After confirming the access point has stayed online, you may move the access point to a location of your choosing. The unit will go offline once it is removed from power, but it will return to an online state when the power cable is plugged back in, typically taking between 1 and 3 minutes.

TIP - You can check the signal strength of the connection between the access point and the gateway within the Care Portal. Scroll down towards the bottom of the Overview page to the Recent Devices section. The access point will be listed here. The list will show you a summary of the connection. In the example below, the signal strength is very strong for the access point.

To learn more about the connection, click on the access point from the list. A pop-up will appear containing information about the access point. Click on the Signal & Bandwidth tab. You'll be provided a graph, showing the current signal of the access point in dBm. As the access point is online, the graph will record the signal strength.

Congratulations! You successfully set up a GL.iNet (ZM.1) wireless mesh network. Now that the gateway has the mesh configuration applied, you can easily add additional access points. To do so, repeat the process outlined in this guide, skipping the step to set the gateway's mesh type.

If you have any questions or need some help, please reach out to our Customer Success team by emailing support@minim.com or by clicking on the chat bubble in the corner of this page.