Re-purposing an old router

rmg1

Hi all

I'm moving from Plusnet ADSL to Plusnet fibre.
I've got the new fibre router but I haven't gone live as yet (that's tomorrow, in theory).

I want to use the ADSL router to improve the wifi signal in the further reaches of my home (the wifi just about reaches at the moment, but the signal is garbage).

Is it possible to take my current ADSL router and use it to extend the wifi signal or set it up as an access point (whichever is better)?
If it is, does anyone have any idiot-proof instructions for doing so?

TIA

Paula_Smith

I don't know if it is possible and reusing is a great way of recycling if you can do it - but bear in mind that dedicated wireless extenders are not expensive - there are plenty available for less than 30 quid.

rmg1

I know I can pick up various items are easily obtainable, but I'd rather use something I've already got if possible rather than buying something extra if I don't need to.

arciere

You can do it, although it's not best practice for a lot of reasons.
The best way is to run a cable between router A and router B. Then, put router B on the same subnet as router A but with a different IP address (i.e. router A 192.168.1.1, router B 192.168.1.2), but make sure that this address is outside the scope of the DHCP on router A.
Then you need to disable the DHCP on router B. If you want to have wifi roaming, you will need to use the same SSID (name of the wireless network, case sensitive), possibly different channels (i.e. 1 and 6, or 1 and 11, etc.), same password, same encryption and same authentication.
If you can't run a cable between the two routers, you need to look at power line adaptors, unless your router B supports WiFi bridge mode or WiFi client mode (repeater), which I doubt it does.

arciere

Paula_Smith said:

I don't know if it is possible and reusing is a great way of recycling if you can do it - but bear in mind that dedicated wireless extenders are not expensive - there are plenty available for less than 30 quid.

Wireless extenders should be avoided unless it's really really really necessary to use them.

dggar

I recently did something similar with a second vodafone router.
I found this youtube video very useful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5QJb3O19zI
 

Chino

arciere said:

Wireless extenders should be avoided unless it's really really really necessary to use them.

You're going to have to explain why. That way, the OP can decide whether your pronouncements of doom are relevant to them.

arciere

Chino said:

arciere said:

Wireless extenders should be avoided unless it's really really really necessary to use them.

You're going to have to explain why. That way, the OP can decide whether your pronouncements of doom are relevant to them.

Yeah, you could have just asked without the attitude.
Bandwidth: a WiFi repeater normally cuts the bandwidth into half because it has to switch between receiving from source and transmitting to clients
Double NAT: if you are using a router as an range extender, you are effectively double NATting (this also applies if the routers are connected with a wire)
Weaker signal: the signal that the repeater gets from the original source is degraded by X percent. The signal is further degraded by another X percent when it travels from the repeater to your phone/laptop/WiFi client
Lower speed: weaker signal often translates to lower speeds from clients to main router and viceversa.
Latency: since the signal doesn't go from client to WiFi access point (or router) directly, it has to wirelessly travel from client to repeater and then from repeater from source (in case of mesh solutions, you could have even more than 2 'hops').
Let me know if my pronouncements of doom are not clear.

rmg1

arciere said:

<snip>If you can't run a cable between the two routers, you need to look at power line adaptors, unless your router B supports WiFi bridge mode or WiFi client mode (repeater), which I doubt it does. </snip>

How do I find out it it supports bridge or client modes?

arciere

rmg1 said:

arciere said:

<snip>If you can't run a cable between the two routers, you need to look at power line adaptors, unless your router B supports WiFi bridge mode or WiFi client mode (repeater), which I doubt it does. </snip>

How do I find out it it supports bridge or client modes?

You will need to check the settings, but if you can post the exact model number we can look online.

rmg1

I've got the following from the router help page:-
Product name - Plusnet router
Serial number - N7171171B006289
Board version - F@ST2704N

There's various other things on there but mostly to do with speed, wifi channel, wifi security, etc.
Am I looking for anything specific?