Member Avatar for it@61@sec

I have a D-Link router which is connected to my internet router via a Powerline adapter (PLA).
Both my internet router and my D-Link router is running Wi-fi (D-Link 802.11n and my internet router 802.11b).

I have a PC with Windows 8 Pro connected to the D-Link router. But unfortunately the PLA-adapter does loses connection now and then, and so I'm wondering if there is some way to set up a wireless adapter on my Windows PC, configure it to connect to the internet router, and make it so that when the PLA-connection breaks down the wireless connection seamlessly takes over the connection.

There are no built-in solutions for this in Windows 8 (as it is for Linux), but maybe someone have a solution ?

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Dani AI

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Short summary of the situation (from the thread): has a D‑Link wired to the internet router via a Powerline adapter (PLA), a Windows 8 Pro PC wired to the D‑Link, and a separate Wi‑Fi network on the internet router. The PLA drops sometimes; the goal is automatic failover so the PC uses the internet‑router Wi‑Fi when the PLA link is broken. As observed, Windows can hold multiple SSIDs but it will not automatically switch routes if the local gateway (the D‑Link) is still “up” on the LAN even though that gateway can’t reach the internet.

Why this breaks and practical fixes

  • Having two interfaces in the same IP subnet is the root cause of most strange behavior: Windows’ routing/ARP choices become ambiguous and a “working” local gateway will keep being chosen even when it cannot forward to the internet.
  • Best network fix: give the D‑Link LAN and the internet‑router LAN different subnets (for example 192.168.2.x vs 192.168.1.x), or convert the D‑Link to a pure access‑point (disable its DHCP/NAT) so there is a single, sane gateway. Different subnets make it possible to maintain separate default routes and prefer one interface over the other reliably.

Client‑side choices (no special hardware)

  • Preferred simple step: set manual interface metrics so the wired adapter is primary and the Wi‑Fi is secondary (Control Panel > Network and Sharing Center > Change adapter settings > right‑click adapter > IPv4 Properties > Advanced > uncheck Automatic metric, pick numbers such as wired=10, wifi=50).
  • Because Windows won’t detect “internet unreachable” if the gateway is still on the LAN, add a small watchdog that checks external reachability and swaps metrics or disables the wired interface when the PLA path fails. Example PowerShell logic (requires admin and the NetTCPIP module):
# run elevated; adjust InterfaceAlias names
$ok = Test-Connection -Count 2 -Quiet 8.8.8.8
if ($ok) {
  Set-NetIPInterface -InterfaceAlias "Ethernet" -AddressFamily IPv4 -InterfaceMetric 10
  Set-NetIPInterface -InterfaceAlias "Wi-Fi"    -AddressFamily IPv4 -InterfaceMetric 50
} else {
  Set-NetIPInterface -InterfaceAlias "Ethernet" -AddressFamily IPv4 -InterfaceMetric 50
  Set-NetIPInterface -InterfaceAlias "Wi-Fi"    -AddressFamily IPv4 -InterfaceMetric 10
}

Run that script regularly (Task Scheduler, highest privileges), test by unplugging the PLA, and verify with route print or Get-NetIPInterface.

Extras and troubleshooting

  • Check ipconfig /all and the routing table to confirm which gateway is active. Flush DNS if name resolution persists after switching.
  • If seamless, commercial failover/aggregation tools are preferred for non‑technical maintenance.
  • Always test changes during a maintenance window and keep a plan to restore original settings if something breaks.

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for JorgeM

In Windows, you are able to connect to more than one SSID. You can have your computer configured to connect to both SSIDs automatically. the DLINK Wifi can be set with a higher priority so when you are in range of both wifi networks, you connect to the dlink first, if that is unavailable, your computer should connect to the next SSID without further intervention.

Now, you mentioned that the PLA adapter goes down. if the Dlink wifi is still online, your computer isnt going to try to reconnect to another wifi network since the dlink wifi is still avaiable even though somewhere down the link, the network is unavailable. In this scenario, you would need something running on your PC that is routinely checking some remote system, and if its unavailble, run some sort of script to disconnect from from SSID and connect to another. I'm not aware of any software out there that does that, but that doesnt mean it doesnt exist. Maybe other members on this site may have had a similar experience and would share some other ideas.

Member Avatar for it@61@sec

I have a wired connection from my Windows PC to the D-Link router.
When the PLA adapter goes down I loose the connection to internet via the D-Link router. I was wondering if there was some software which could help me detect this loss of connectivity, and then automatically reroute my internet traffic through the WiFi-connection directly to the internet router. So simple, yet so difficult... ;)

(I'm not connecting my Windows PC to the D-Link router via WiFi, but other devices does. e.g. my Samsung Galaxy S2 smartphone... ).

Edited by it@61@sec
Member Avatar for JorgeM

Ok, Yes I understand now. Regardless of the medium (wifi/wireless), you are looking for a solution where Windows will connect to the wifi network on the internet router) if you no longer have connectivity via the dlink network.

What you really need is some piece of client software to monitor your connections, then switch adapters when a problem occurs.

Member Avatar for it@61@sec

Another issue is that both connections have IP-addresses which belong to the same subnet..

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