Want to set up Two WiFi Routers in my house

[hoofhearted4]

So as the title says I want to set up Two WiFi routers in my house. one in the basement where my room is (nerd cliche i know) and one upstairs. there is already one upstairs, but I dont have the greatest signal downstairs. sometimes im fine, sometimes im not.

I want a router because I want the switch aspect of it as well, which Is why i dont want a simple extender.

Im curious how do i do this. is it as simple as giving them both the same SSID so my phone will connect to whichever is closer/stronger, and do it automatically when i go from upstairs to downstairs? or is this oversimplifying it?

also, do i have to buy the same router or does it not matter? what if one is Wireless N and the other is not (or in my case i think its B/G/N, so it shouldnt matter ya?)

just wanna know what id have to do before i actually buy a second router.

just fyi, this is the current router i have.

Thanks everybody!!

 

[remember300]

how is the internet line brought into the house?

 

[SparkleDJackson]

just fyi, this is the current router i have.

dude. you need a new router. n minimum these days. im pretty sure most cadge today comes with atleast n as standard. that would give you a boost alone. i could connect to my wifi from about 25m from my house with a bt home hub.

 

[MadShadow]

I believe having the SSID the same, will be all you need, right?

 

[Antony1995]

How are you planning on getting internet connection to the second router? I have two set up with ethernet connecting them, as you can't have two connected to your internet connection from my understanding. Also one of my routers supports N and the other doesn't and it works fine.

As for setting's for the second router, you will want to disable DHCP, make sure the static IP is not the same as the router you already have, as for wifi just name it the same as what you already have and give it the same password and your phone will automatically switch between the two.

As for what router to go for if you're happy with what you have atm get another.

Hope this helps

 

[RamboOC]

I would reccomend a wifi repeater.

 

[SPS]

Get some more routers and put dd-wrt firmware on your current router and create a WiFi repeater bridge.

 

[RamboOC]

Get some more routers and put dd-wrt firmware on your current router and create a WiFi repeater bridge.

I remember doing that with my old netgear wnr2000v2 for using it as a repeater and increasing the signal by changing the MX (power) value to the antena.
but it would just be cheaper to get a wifi repeater

 

[Davva2004]

My advise would be to sack off the WiFi completely for your PC and go for powerline adapters. Save the WiFi for low bandwidth devices like tablets and phones.

 

[YouWhat]

How are you planning on getting internet connection to the second router? I have two set up with ethernet connecting them, as you can't have two connected to your internet connection from my understanding. Also one of my routers supports N and the other doesn't and it works fine.

As for setting's for the second router, you will want to disable DHCP, make sure the static IP is not the same as the router you already have, as for wifi just name it the same as what you already have and give it the same password and your phone will automatically switch between the two.

As for what router to go for if you're happy with what you have atm get another.

Hope this helps

This is the way to do it, but I would connect the 2 routers via powerline adapter so you don't have to go installing loads of ethernet cabling around the house.

I have 4 routers setup around my house,

the main router (for fttc fibre broadband) <----> power line adapter, then goes to front room, outside in shed, and upstairs in bedroom.

The main router is Huawei and so is the one in shed (wireless ac and wireless N), the one in front room is D-Link and so it the one in bedroom.

The router in front room has the wireless and DHCP disabled and acts as a switch only to split between old laptop (used for plex home theatre on TV), freesat box and the a YouView box from ISP.

The upstairs router is used for wireless access for kids PC's in their bedrooms and access for me and other half for phones and tablets when we in bed reading (although in reality is used for her to use facebook!!)

The one in shed outside (only switched on when out there) is used when we are in garden (the garden is over 100ft long so needs a little boost part way down)

All the extra routers have the same name and password set on its wireless, all (except main router) have DHCP disabled, all of them are still accessable via their respective web interfaces. The routers all have static IP's addressed to them eg, 192.168.1.201;202;203;204 so if needed I am able to get into them.

Once you have setup the routers (plug in the cable from homeplug to port 1 on router (or WAN / fibre socket if it has it)) then you need to go into the firewall on them and either disable it, or setup DMZ for it to route back to the main router (so you set up 192.168.1.1 as DMZ) that way there will be no conflicts or restrictions from that router and any connections to internet (this could cause problems else, eg one the the Huawei routers I have is a pain in the preverbial arse as its firewall wouldn't let me open ports to the outside world to access my home server when I am not at home, so this will cause problems for you internally also)

Once all the above is sorted you should have a trouble free system setup and complete wireless coverage.

Hope how my experience outlined above helps you to get up and running.

 

[remember300]

you can get some powerline adapters with wifi boosting as part of them and the tp link ones also have 2 ethernet inputs.
enough for a pc and one other device, just a suggestion, also the tp link ones have a setting to clone the settings from your original router acting as an access point for you with just the push of a few buttons.

 

[Thelosouvlakia]

You don't need a second router just buy a wifi repeater and a powerline kit and you should be ready to go

 

[hoofhearted4]

my desktop is connected via ethernet from a cable running from upstairs

i was a router because i want this built in switch. so a repeater/extender will not solve my problem

 

[remember300]

then just get a cable router, and configure it to be an access point.

 

[YouWhat]

It not always a case of get this or that, what you have to remember is sometimes, people can not afford to go out and get a nice shiny new toy, and have to make do with what they have got.

hoofhearted4, if you just leave out the powerline bits on what I said on previous page, and connect to any port on main router, and the other end, connect to WAN / Fibre socket (if router has it) if not to port 1 on it, but make sure you configure the old router you using for the switch prior to installing it;

• Reset it via stud
  
• Disconnect all connections (wired and wifi) from your computer you using to configure it, then plug in a cable to the router and the computer.
  
• login to it with the default user and password.
  
• Go to WiFi settings and set up with same network name and password as main router
  
• change password on router
  
• go to Lan settings, and assign it a new static IP address that is on range of your existing network but away from all other ip's eg 192.168.1.200 (you will probably need to log back in at this point)
  
• Turn off DHCP - Do This Last or else when you reboot router it will not assign a ip address to your PC and then you have to mess about more with assigning a static IP address to your pc too)
  
• make sure you have updated router settings, it doesn't hurt to go back and check at this point as your pc should still retain the IP address assigned from router until it is rebooted.

Now if you are happy with it all, then reboot the router, and plug it all in properly, it should all be sorted out, log into your new switch with the assigned IP address to check it all working properly, also test WiFi by going to other router, load a webpage, then go to other router and refresh it (check the signal strength, if should be full).

 

[remember300]

Nice little guide
But he said he was getting a 2nd router no matter the suggestions.

 

[hoofhearted4]

It' because my signal downstairs isn't that great as it is so a second router would be helpful. And I'd like a switch as well so I can hook up my console directly and have extra ports to troubleshoot PCs when the need arises.

Someone said getting a wireless N router may solve my signal Issue, then I could just get a regular switch for downstairs. This would be a more expensive option though.

 

[BigBlue1]

Ok, you will have to buy a new router then, so go buy the new router, and set it up upstairs in place of the existing one. Then go downstairs and find out that you don't need to put one down there at all anymore and be happy with your new router.

I recommend this one: