You Can Extend Your Wireless Networks Signal Range & obtain a Wi Fi Booster without buying a New Repeater
What should you do to ensure that the Wi-Fi signals are available in full strength in every corner of your house?
You can easily extend your Wi-Fi network with some additional hardware – like Wi-Fi Repeaters and Wireless Access Points –but if you want to save a few bucks, just get hold of an old wireless router that you no longer use (or get a wireless router on sale) and connect it to your existing router using an inexpensive Ethernet cable.
Part One: Note the settings of the existing router
Step One
First we need to determine the IP address of our existing router. Let’s assume the router’s IP address is 192.168.30.1. Also make note of the Sub-net Mask value which is usually 255.255.255.0.
Step Two
Open your web browser and type the router’s IP address, that you determined earlier, into the address bar. Don’t Forget to add http:// to the address. (You can probably Skip that but just to be safe)
Step Three
Once you are in the settings of Old router, switch to wireless settings and make a note of the Wireless mode, the SSID and the channel. If you have protected your Wi-Fi with a password, also note down the security mode used (WPA, WEP or WPA2) and your secret pass-phrase.
Part 2: Configuring the Second Router
Step Four
Press the reset button on the router for about 30 seconds. This is a Hard Reset to restore the factory defaults. Now connect Second Router to your computer using the Ethernet cable. Put one end of the cable in any of the LAN ports available on the router and the other end to your computer’s Ethernet port. Make sure the router is powered on.
Step Five
Open the browser and type 192.168.1.1 – the default Internet IP address of your old router. If you are not using a Cisco (Linksys) router, try 192.168.0.1 which is the default for Netgear and D-Link routers. If you need to login, the user name is usually admin and no password or “password”.
Once you are in, you need to change the values of the default SSID, Wireless mode, the channel, set the security mode and the pass-phrase so they match with your Existing router.
Next disable DHCP Server since our existing primary router will handle the task of assigning IP addresses to devices connecting to the wireless network.
Finally, change the IP address of the New router to any free address in your LAN. For instance, if the IP address of Old Existing router is 192.168.30.1, you can safely assign 192.168.30.2 to the new router. Also make sure that the Sub-net mask is the same as determined in Step 1. Save the settings.
Part 3 Connecting the two Routers
Your existing Router probably has five (1+4) ports – the WAN port here (or the Internet port) should be connected to the ISP provide modem as before. Pick any of the available LAN ports on the router and connect it to any of the LAN ports on the New router using an Ethernet cable, that’s it. Then…
Now that everything is setup, you can connect your computer and mobile devices to the second router using either a wired connection (the three ports are still free) or over Wi-Fi.
Since we have assigned the same SSID and security settings to the second router, you don’t have to configure anything on your laptop as you move around the house. Now you have extended your Wi-Fi Signal to all your Wireless Network, also connect your other devices (like wired printers) directly into the new location of your second router, or eliminate dead spots from your wireless connection on your home or business.
If you prefer to use a New Repeater device to extend your existing Wireless Network range, there are several available in the market that will provide you with an increase in WiFi Booster. Set up may be a little easier than adding a second router, however you may have to pay extra for convenience. I have tried the Amped Wireless Repeater. I connected it to one of my computers and after updating its later drivers my Network Wireless range expanded. As always, choose what works best for you.