Home network computers aren't shown in Windows Explorer

I didn't notice that you edited it away.

If an IP address is statically assigned on the device (=printer for instance) this IP address will not get excluded from that pool and may clash with it! That device doesn't use DHCP and has a "real" static IP. The router doesn't know anything about it. Nevertheless, it works like a normal IP address as long as the router doesn't try to assign the same IP address to another device (and it does that because it doesn't know ... the circle closes here). You can circumvent this by switching that device to DHCP and assigning a manual IP address on the router. As you do for the PCs. Same procedure. But you don't have to if it is guaranteed there can't be a clash.

If an IP address is assigned "manually" (manually is a good term to distinguish it from static) on the router it has to come from the dynamic IP pool range, of course. It's that range that the router controls. The manual assignment on the router is not a "real" static IP address. It only tells the router to always keep assigning this address via DHCP. And it can only assign what's in its pool. That's why you can only assign an IP manually that is in that pool. Everything outside this range is for use on the device (e.g. you switch off DHCP on the device and tell it what IP address to use) without any router intervention.

Your first advice was good. I hope your clarification doesn't confuse Roger. ;-)

Roger, the IP pool range doesn't matter. If you have only two devices a range from .50 to .60 (ten numbers) would already suffice. Tell us the current IP numbers of all your devices on the network and if they are on DHCP or not and we can tell you if you should change the IP pool range. If I understood correctly you have at least four devices on the network: router, printer, two PCs.

"As suggested you can reduce the end range to 100 or even lower."

I edited that suggestion away from my answer when I find that possible : issue while I recheck my router settings.

My IP-address lease pool is 192.168.100.101 - 254, from where also those manually assigned addresses are taken so there is no need to change router start and stop addresses for that. That manual assignment should automatic exclude those addresses.

I have another reasons keep part of addresses available for static addressing.

Let us know if you can all working, also that internet connection via mobile phone.

Ok, that page should list the currently connected devices. There should be a list. Where is it? I would suppose it's below the two buttons?

It also looks like your browser window is very narrow. Can you make it wider? I guess the three table headers and the two buttons should be on one line. And below that line there should be a table of the currently connected devices or all the devices that ever connected (that's why there is that button "remove entries").

If that table doesn't show an option or explicit text that it tries to assign permanently you can assign maximum 32 IPs permanently, as Pauli suggests.

How does the table show MAC addresses? with - or with : ? Likely with ":". That's the Unix way. Type them in the same way. It's possible that when a device is currently connected you cannot add a static lease. Normally, just assign the same IP as static that you see in the list, anyway.

As suggested you can reduce the end range to 100 or even lower. I remember you told about a printer earlier. If I recall right you set a static IP address for it (in the printer setup?). Make sure this address is *outside* this range = e.g. 101 or so). It's possible that until now this static assignment created a conflict on your network because that static IP no. was within the range controlled by the DHCP server of the router.

One further notice: WPS is for getting access to the WLAN network. You do not want to use WPS. You already have access to your WLAN. Just ignore that lengthy tutorial by S. It may be correct, but it's too long and too confusingly written.

Thanks for that, but ...

I have now had a long conversation with Optus to find out how to put all the computers onto static IP addresses (I have four altogether). And I have checked the printer still works. Now each computer can access all the others.

However, they are all somewhat erratic in display in Windows Explorer. Sometimes they show all computers and sometimes they don’t – sometimes they show in the ‘Network’ window of Windows Explorer and sometimes they only show in the menu of WE. But I have put shortcuts on each Desktop so I can access them. So that part is finally working.

But that has caused another problem. When away from home I use my mobile as a hotspot and that has always worked fine. However, now if I set up the hotspot each computer will link to it but none can access the internet – it just says ‘no internet, secured’. The phone accesses the internet fine when the hotspot is active, but not the computers.

What am I supposed to do about that!?

No go.

I have been through all the issues in your link above on both computers. I have looked up the IP addresses in the modem for each laptop and put them in the hosts file. It works.

But when I open up the computers next morning and the modem turns on it has changed the IP addresses and no longer works. So I have to change the hosts file again.

I tried setting the hosts file back to the original (blank) but I am back to laptop A being able to access A and B, but laptop B not even listing A in the Network. Only after a restart of B will it see and contact A.

Next suggestion?