How to setup 2nd wireless router as a repeater

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RisseN

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Sep 21, 2005
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Hi all,

We've recently moved to a new house which is too big for one wireless router to cover. The router I have connected to the adsl is a Dlink N300. Then I have a Linksys WRT54GL which im not using and would like to place in another area of the house to boost the signal.

Is there any specific firmware I have to install on the Linksys to get this working? (I would Ideally like to just keep things simple without needing to install any new firmware if possible). How do I go about getting everything setup and working?

I use to have the Linksys as my main router plugged into the adsl so it's already configured with the right usernames/passwords etc. All I need is for it to boost the signal.

Thanks for any advice.
 
R

RisseN

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Hey all,

So I changed my firmware by installing DD-WRT and following some tutorials. It seems as though i've got everything setup and working. I've setup the linksys as a repeater with DD-WRT, but it doesn't seem to have improved the signal.

Is there anyway to check that I am in fact connecting to the repeater with my laptop and not to the router? I presume it should automatically connect to the closest (router or repeater), depending on where I am. However im currently sitting on 2 to 3 bars and am right next to the repeater.

thanks.
 
J

jano

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Mar 22, 2005
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I have the primary router (Billion) connected to ADSL, with one WiFi network. The secondary router (TPLink) has its own Wifi network, DHCP disabled, and the Ethernet from the primary router is plugged into one of the LAN ports on the secondary (not WAN).

So the primary router dishes out IP address for devices on the secondary router. Everything works seamlessly, except that you may have to manually switch to the stronger WiFi network at times.
 
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Ecco

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Most tutorials go the easy route and say you plug a Ethernet cable from the primary to the secondary - change one or two settings.

But, without an Ethernet cable going into that router (linking the routers via wifi) its a lot more complicated getting that router to act as a repeater - at least from the few tutorials i read.

I dont have those links any longer cause i couldn't put DD-WRT on my Linksys WRT54G - so i gave up. Do a little more googling, you should find some good links.

Or some clever forumite might be able to sort you out if you hang tight.
 
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RisseN

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Ecco said:
Most tutorials go the easy route and say you plug a Ethernet cable from the primary to the secondary - change one or two settings.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's not going to cut it unfortunately. The routers need to connect to each other wirelessly.

Still not having any luck. I didn't have any problems installing DD-WRT. I just cant seem to get it to work as a repeater.

I've basically just followed this youtube video. No luck :(
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOlpDwh7f1s
 
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R

RisseN

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Whoohoo, I got it working. I now have full wireless signal throughout the house. Wow what a mission.

Im unfortunately not going to post the steps to get it working as this is definitely no easy task. But I can at least say that with DD-WRT installed and a lot of patience, it does work.
 
SauRoNZA

SauRoNZA

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Just bear in mind that anything on the other side of the repeater is getting half the bandwidth available.
 
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RisseN

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SauRoNZA said:
Just bear in mind that anything on the other side of the repeater is getting half the bandwidth available.
Click to expand...

Cool, that's not a problem. My main computers are connected via the LAN. The wireless is just for casual browsing.
 
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RisseN

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When I set up the repeater, I disabled all the security because the tutorials said the security is handled via the router. So the SSID that the repeater is broadcasting shows as an unsecured network. But if someone who can't connect to my main wireless tries to connect to the repeater without the main router wireless password, they'll be out of luck.

Im trying to test to make sure this is working, but am not having much luck. On my laptop I see two wireless networks. The main one, and the repeater. I went to 'Manage Wireless Networks' in control panel and deleted the main network. Then switched off my wireless. When I switched it on again I would have expected to not be able to connect to the internet because I no longer had the main network password stored on my laptop. But it connected and I am able to browse.

Am I suppose to enable certain security items on the repeater?
 
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RisseN

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Argh! The annoyance continues. What a mission.

The repeater is working. However I cant access the DD-WRT config through my web browser. If I reset it, I can access it, setup everything and get it working. However once it's working I can't access the config again. It's as if then the network can't find the IP address.

Can anyone offer some advice on what is going on? Firstly why when the repeater is setup and working, I can no longer access the config. Doesn't find the ip address?

Secondly, why I am able to access the internet (and my network) after deleting the wireless profiles on my laptop and then connecting to the unsecured repeater. ie: Im trying to get blocked out as if I were someone who is not on the network. However it allows me on.

Anyone?
 
AfricanTech

AfricanTech

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Check the thread that DJ started on similar topic couple of days ago. Lots of good advice there.

Would put link but on tablet so that's a pain.
 
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RisseN

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Thanks for the replies. I took a break, watched some TV and the answer dawned on me:

1st issue: I was giving the repeater an IP address in a different range to what the router is. So everything setup fine. But as soon as I saved the settings, the network couldn't see the repeater ip address anymore so I couldn't get to the config.

2nd issue: Even though the security is handled by the router, you still have to enable a shared key on the repeater so that it isn't just an open unsecured network. ie: shared key on the router plus shared key on the repeater.

All seems to be working now. Wow that was far more difficult than I expected but I learnt a few new things and am very happy with the setup.

Thanks.
 
R

RisseN

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DJ... said:
RisseN,

I asked the same question last week and was given some great advice, specifically relating to the security and IP ranges.

http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/543847-Extending-expanding-network-with-multiple-routers

I haven't gotten around to setting it all up yet, but I will...
Click to expand...

Cool thanks DJ ill check your thread out tomorrow in case I can improve the security and functionality of the way i've set this up. However it is at least working. So im happy.
 
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Tim the Techxpert

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Jul 19, 2012
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Hi There,
there have been a lot of requests for wireless routing solutions on the forum and in just about evedry case it is suggested that run the cable is the best and I would agree with that.
For the home network person this is without doubt the best way to go and how to achieve it has been well documented and indeed is in this thread as well.
If there is absolutely no way that you can run the cable then I would get an infrastructure company in to advise on the equipment needed and pay the extra money to achieve it.
Taking the equipment lying around seems a great idea and budget wise excellent for the pocket but the problems it produces and very often the results are not what we wanted at the outset.

regards

Tim
 
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