[FAQ] Using two routers together/ Extending Wi-Fi

mickevh

Yes, it's called a Wi-fi Access Point (or "WAP" or "AP".) It's exactly the same thing that is built into a SOHO router, without all the router/NAT/Firewall etc that a router does but wi-fi doesn't need.

You'll still need to "configure" an AP, they won't "just work." At the very least you'd (probably) need to give it an IP address (for admin purposes) and set up the wi-fi SSID name, security and radio channel. But it's not terribly difficult.

AP's need to be plugging into the wired network somewhere, but looking at the equipment list you've got in your lounge, I'd hazzard a gues that you've got a small ethernet switch there which is hanging off your Homeplug and thence connected to everything else. An AP would simply need to be cabled to a spare port in the same switch.

Nathan Brazil

Yep, found this earlier in the thread. Thanks for bringing it to the front again. Looks like I may be doing things the longer way round. I was kind of hoping for a new bit of kit that would do the job, such as the Netgear Universal WiFi Range Extender?

Netgear Universal WiFi Range Extender: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

Does anyone know if I were to route my current lounge ethernet wires (at present going in to the Devolo plug) into this device and then out to the Devolo and from there to my main router, whether that would work?

Nathan Brazil

Hi. Posted before I saw your reply.

The Devolo plug I have in the lounge is this one -

Devolo dLAN 500 AVtriple  Starter Kit: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

So nothing hanging off it, just three ethernet ports. Presumably, if I add WAP straight into this, and configure via laptop that is also plugged into the Devolo, then I'll be in business?

BTW, sorry for my confusion, but is the Netgear Universal WiFi I mentioned earlier no good for what I want to do?

Thanks,

Nathan

mickevh

The range extender is something else - it's what's called a "repeater" - it listens out for any wi-fi traffic, copies it, waits for the wi-fi airwaves to go quiet then rebroadcasts a copy of the original transmission.

As such, they don't need to be connected to the wired network, but do need to be "in range" of your router. Worse still, the original transmissions and the "repeats" cannot occur at the same time, so your wi-fi performance will be at least halved.

The ethernet ports in the one you linked are for connecting ethernet devices that don't have wi-fi capabiliy - it's kind of like adding their own external wi-fi adapter - the "repeater" is functioning as a wi-fi client not an AP. This is often called wi-fi bridging (though I don't like the term.)

Some will combine repeating and bridging functionality at the same time.

Either way isn't what you are looking for.

However, some of these "universal doo-dahs" can function in "proper" AP mode so have a look at it's manual and see if it can do it.

If you have a spare ethernet port on your Homeplug, then you should just need to cable a (proper) AP to it (you'll still need to set it up though.)

Nathan Brazil

Right-ho, many thanks Mickevh, for taking the time to make that clear. I'll order up a likely looking WAP, and go from there.

EDIT: A note for anyone else with the same issue I had -

Following the excellent advice here, I bought a TP-Link TL-WA701ND from Amazon. Along with a TP-Link 5-Port 10/100 Unmanaged Mini Desktop Switch. The latter, I eventually decided not to use for the present. I got it with the idea of not having to sacrifice one of the inputs to my Devolo plug, but on second thoughts realised that I hardly ever used the Home Theatre controller's Net access, and so could use that Ethernet port for the WAP.

Anyway, I plugged the WAP in as directed, and was pleasantly surprised to find that it appeared to work straight out of the box, without configuration. I was able to access the net via this device using my Sony Tablet, and 'sling' photos to the TV. However, as the day wore on, and devices were switched off and on, the situation deteriorated. Next morning, I had no access at all via the WAP. So, this time I set the device up properly by plugging it into a laptop. For those who, like me, had not done this before, no Net access was required. All that happens is that the laptop can see the WAP and settings can be arranged. Once this was done, I once again connected the WAP to the outside world, via the Devolo plug, and so far all seems to be well.

I did find that I had to reset a couple of Internet radios, which were looking for my existing Cisco wireless router, and finding the TP-Link. But once I'd given them the new password, connection worked like a dream.

elephantine

I would like to connect the primary router to the phone socket downstairs and the secondary router to a phone socket upstairs so that I can get a wired internet connection upstairs too. I don't want to connect the routers together via wires as this is dangerous. Will the guide still allow me to achieve my aforementioned aim?

elephantine

I followed Step 2 by noting LAN IP address and IP address range. You say that I need a spare IP address but it should be outside the range I just noted down. Where do I find this spare one? I made one up; it was just outside the range. I entered it for Step 6 and rebooted both the secondary router and computer. Now I can't even enter the admin screen to follow Step 7.

mickevh

We need to ensure that all our routers have a unique IP address. And if we ever want to access them in future, say to adjust their setting or update the firmware, that will be much easier to do if they are all in the same "subnet" range as it's known. Without getting terribly boring about how IP addressing works, if you use subnet mask 255.255.255.0 on your LAN, (most SOHO kit seems to by default,) and IP addresses of the format 192.168.X.Y; keep "192.168.X" the same on everything and make sure "Y" is unique, outside your primary routers DHCP range and not "0" or "255" and between 1 thru 254.

So map out your IP address assignments - note you primary routers IP addresss, (thus you can't use that one,) note your primary routers DHCP range (can't use any of them,) note any other devices on your LAN that have manually (non DHCP assigned) IP addresses (can't use those either - but if your asking the question, I'd guess you probably don't have any) and see what's left and pick one of those.

Post #4 in the thread has a nice worked example.

If your secondary router is no longer answering, probably best to rest it to factory defaults and start again (often there's a pin hole somewhere that you poke a straightened paper clip into to do so, but check the manual.)

elephantine

I changed one of the IP addresses on my secondary router; it was also the default gateway. The mask remained untouched whilst the address was changed as per your instructions. I was then able to complete Step 7.
Step 8 was not needed. For Step 9, I connected the secondary route to a spare phone socket and to my laptop (via ethernet cable) but still the internet would not work. Rebooting everything does not help either.

mickevh

If the IP address you changed had a default gateway, then it was probably the wrong one. Your router's LAN settings won't have a default gateway - I'd guess you changed the ISP addressing information instead of the LAN address.

If you post up the exact make/model of your router (it's often written on the serial number label,) someone will probably know where to find the correct settings. If you can't get connected, you will probably need to reset to factory defaults, just rebooting probably won't help.

Connecting the ADSL socket to a spare phone socket won't help - indeed it may even clobber you primary router's link. Only one device can be connected to your phone line, and that must be your primary router.