Increasing WiFi coverage beyond the primary area where it's available.
Increasing WiFi coverage beyond the primary area where it's available.
Hi everyone, I'm facing a challenge with my old house. The walls are thick, so WiFi doesn't reach outside unless someone is in the room with the router. Range extenders don’t work because they can’t connect properly. I’m trying to use an Ethernet-connected extender that uses an Ethernet cable from the outside into the room, so only my WiFi devices stay inside. I’ve seen some options with Ethernet ports, but they seem meant for connecting just one device, not for linking the extender to the router. I need a solution under £40. Any advice would be great! Thanks.
I think what you did with your house was to avoid too many walls between areas and also add hardwiring options. I connected a 100-foot Ethernet from your main router (wireless) to the other end of the house, and also set up an ASUS router there. To make it work, I linked the Ethernet to one of the main ports and connected it to the secondary router’s wireless network so it could act as an extender. Even if Wi-Fi signals are blocked, I made sure the two devices use different channels—like main on channel 2 and the second on channel 10—to maintain connectivity.
Did you configure the second router in Access Point mode? Otherwise your setup was incorrect because connecting it to the WAN port caused double-NAT, making the second network separate from the first. It will function but isn’t the best approach, particularly if you play games on the second AP. Any WiFi device that disables DHCP can serve as an Access Point. Best practice is to verify its IP doesn’t clash with the main router’s address (it can use a different range if needed) and connect it via a LAN port.
it's an ASUS AC-56R, recalling my setup from about four years ago (took roughly 30 minutes to get it stable) and I haven't touched it since—even when switching the main router three times. ...yes, the second one is connected to the WAN port. It runs perfectly for gaming, handling full 200/12 speeds. I'm hardwired it to the main router; my son, daughter, and wife are on the ASUS. My kids can play games while I stream movies, and everyone has their phones active on the Wi-Fi. There are no pings, speed drops, or issues noticed. Right now I don’t have a dedicated PC hardwired to it, but my son will move back in about a week and I’ll check what I did.