How to tell if I'm going through a range expander

How to tell if I'm going through a range expander I just installed a wireless range expander. It seems the only way to get it to work is to give it the same channel and SSID as my router. So how can I tell whether I'm going through the router or the range expander at any particular time?
Asked by: Guest \| Views: 225

Total answers/comments: 1

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Guest [Entry]

"You will need a Linux machine with a wireless card that supports monitor mode to tell.

Configure it to the same channel in monitor mode, then run tcpdump or wireshark capturing on that interface. You should see your laptop using the MAC address of the extender in one of the four 802.11 layer address fields (the AP MAC address will also appear, as will the BSSID of the network... the key thing is the extender's MAC showing up)."