Wireless Networking Advice Please! Same Wireless Network in 1 House Using Multiple Access Points?

IceCreamBandit on 06/01/2015 - 10:05
Last edited 06/01/2015 - 10:05

Hi all,

As the title suggests, I'd really appreciate some help fixing the networking issue I have at home.

My current setup at home is a modem router at one side of the house, with a wireless router on the other side connected via EOP adapters.

An issue with this here is that I now have 2 networks, which makes file sharing between networks rather difficult.

I'd like to change it so that all the devices in my household are all in the one network, with good WiFi reception everywhere.

Using only the modem/router, I get an intermittent connection that is slow and unreliable on the other side of the house, which is one of the reasons why the EOP and extra router are now in use.

Happy to purchase equipment to make it possible, all suggestions welcome!

Cheers

Computing

Comments

  • ashanrath on 06/01/2015 - 10:20
    +4

    What is the make/model of the wireless router on the other side of the house (non-modem)? Can it be set to Wireless AP Mode, or at least disable DHCP?

    • IceCreamBandit on 06/01/2015 - 10:25

      It's a Netgear WNR2000. It's pretty old (>5 years) though so I've been thinking about replacing it anyway, any suggestions? I'd be looking at streaming movies and/or games through this so speed and reliability is a must.

      I'll have a look at whether wireless AP mode is possible. Cheers!

      • ashanrath on 06/01/2015 - 10:31
        +1

        You should be able to configure that using the stock firmware, but most of the KB articles seem to be gone from the Netgear website. You're right, it's a pretty old device. I'd take a look at loading OpenWRT onto it. Looks like it should be compatible and makes switching to AP mode as easy as a dropdown box.

        http://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/netgear/wnr2000

    • ESEMCE on 06/01/2015 - 10:40
      +1

      This is the solution.
      You'll still have to have 2 WiFi networks, but you'll be able to file share across the 2.

      • ashanrath on 06/01/2015 - 10:55

        Don't need two WiFi networks. You can use the same SSID and key, it will automatically switch between the two points seamlessly without user interaction. Same concept that you would see at a school/office/uni.

  • Gunther on 06/01/2015 - 10:48
    +2

    I have done this. Disable DHCP on the second router, and set the SSID and password as the same. Devices should dynamically switch between the wifi routers when needed. I also used differennt channels to minimise interance (ie. channel 1 and channel 6)

    • ashanrath on 06/01/2015 - 11:01

      Good start, but there's more too it depending on firmware. Off the top of my head you would also need to (depending on firmware of course):

      -Set the gateway address to be the primary router
      -Either set the AP to have a static IP address outside the DHCP range of the router or set the AP as a DHCP client
      -Disable the firewall or add the WAN port to the local VLAN. This way you can still use the WAN port like any other

      If the stock firmware supports AP mode, most of this is done automatically. If not, additional fiddling is required.

    • OldBugger on 06/01/2015 - 11:05

      Yep do this.

  • IceCreamBandit on 06/01/2015 - 20:17
    +1

    Thanks everyone, tried out the above tricks and all seems good so far!

    Much appreciated!

  • [Deactivated] on 08/01/2015 - 13:55
    +1

    Also make sure your router is running the latest firmware. I know it is an old router but it is not something most people check, and it can make a huge difference I have found.

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