I recently changed over my internet connection to fibre optics and currently enjoying an upgrade in speed. I am faced with a problem. I have a big house and not all rooms are receiving Wi-Fi. The good point is that I received 2 routers from my isp. Can anyone tell me if I can one of them in a Wi-Fi repeater and how?
Having two routers and using one of them as repeater
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Open the Control Panel on the computer where the router you are currently using is connected to.
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Double click on “Network” / “Network and Internet”
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Depending on which version of Windows you are using, do the following:
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Windows XP: Right click on the Network connection that you are using to connect the router (Wi-Fi or Ethernet), and click on “Status”, then on “Support”.
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Vista, Windows 7 / 8: Click on “Network and Sharing Centre” and click on “Change Adapter Settings”. Right click on the connection and click on “Status”, then “Details”.
A window as shown below will open up, showing your Network setup.
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Write down your Gateway (Address of your primary router)
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Open your web browser and type the Gateway IP address that you wrote down, and press “Enter”. A page that shows your set up screen for the primary router will open up.
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Enter the username and password if requested. (I’ve included an example in the picture below). The configuration page opens up.
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Make a note of the wireless settings and look for the details of the router name, channel and security category. In the example below, the router’s Name/SSID is “Belkin”, the Channel is “6” and the Security is WEP.
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Once you have noted the information down, log out. As no settings have been changed, you don’t need to save anything.
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On the second router, you need to reset it to the factory settings. There is normally a small hole in the back, marked “Reset”. While the router is on, reset it to the default factory settings.
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Connect your second router, via a network cable to a computer that isn’t on the network. If you only have one computer, you can disconnect it from the Network.
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Repeat step number 1 – 8 above (until you get to the configuration page and make a note of it.)
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Go to the Wi-Fi settings page and enable wireless. Change the Network Name to the same name of the first router and choose a channel that isn’t the same as the first one. Choose the same Security type as for the first router. Enter the same password that you use for the first router in the appropriate space.
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Lastly, you need to assign a fixed IP address to the second router. This is needed so that the main router will recognize and work with the second router. To do this:
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Go to the LAN setup page and assign it an IP address that is in the same range as the IP address of the first router, but that is outside the range automatically assigned.
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Un-tick the checkbox next to DHCP on the configuration page.
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As an example, if the first router’s IP address is 192.168.1.1 and DHCP is setup to assign IP address of between 192.168.1.2 and 192.168.1.49, give the second router an IP address of 192.168.1.50. Make a note of the IP address that you assign, as you might need it to access the router.
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Click “Save/Save Settings” on each page.
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Connect the two routers together. This can be done via a network cable.
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Test the wireless connection (via a smartphone, tablet, or laptop) and check the signal strength at each router.
