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Extending wifi signal - linksys WRT devices - how?

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  • 05-11-2012 9:20am
    #1
    dcGT
    Registered Users Posts: 948 ✭✭✭


    Hi All,
    I'm hoping for a bit of help on extending the wifi signal in the house. I've looked this up but haven't really seen all of my questions answered.

    Current setup:
    Linksys WRP400 on the ground floor (Router A). There's no real option to move this to another area of the house
    The wireless signal is not reaching the attic conversion (the signal is poor/intermittent)
    I want to avoid running ethernet cable up/down the house

    I have 2 spare linksys routers: (Router B)
    WRT54GC
    WRT54GL

    Question 1:
    Can I use either of these spare routers as the 'repeater' to get a signal up to the attic without needing to run ethernet between router A and router B

    Question 2: If the answer to question 1 is Yes, what does the setup on router A and router B look like?
    e.g.
    DHCP Settings (I assume this is disabled on router B)
    SSID
    Static IPs (if any/if required?)
    Subnets (if any/if required?)
    Security settings/wifi passwords and encryption types
    Any other settings to change?

    Any help would be great!

    Cheers,

    DC


Comments

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    #2
    PogMoThoin
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13,874 ✭✭✭✭PogMoThoin


    Get a set of homeplugs and connect them as access points (on another channel well away from existing wireless). Give them the same SSID and encryption and your devices should roam. A repeater will half the throughput of your wireless network.


  • Options
    #3
    dcGT
    Registered Users Posts: 948 ✭✭✭dcGT


    PogMoThoin wrote: »
    Get a set of homeplugs and connect them as access points (on another channel well away from existing wireless). Give them the same SSID and encryption and your devices should roam. A repeater will half the throughput of your wireless network.

    Many thanks for the suggestion. However, I'm looking for the most cost effective way of doing this. I'd like to recycle the devices I have if at all possible.

    By the way, do you know any places that do good value homeplugs?

    Cheers,

    DC


  • Options
    #4
    PogMoThoin
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13,874 ✭✭✭✭PogMoThoin


    dcGT wrote: »
    Many thanks for the suggestion. However, I'm looking for the most cost effective way of doing this. I'd like to recycle the devices I have if at all possible.

    By the way, do you know any places that do good value homeplugs?

    Cheers,

    DC

    Amazon have a huge selection like this set
    http://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-PA411KIT-AV500-Powerline-Adapter/dp/B0084Y9N3O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1352107426&sr=8-1


  • Options
    #5
    neacy69
    Registered Users Posts: 2,823 ✭✭✭neacy69


    dcGT wrote: »
    Hi All,
    I'm hoping for a bit of help on extending the wifi signal in the house. I've looked this up but haven't really seen all of my questions answered.

    Current setup:
    Linksys WRP400 on the ground floor (Router A). There's no real option to move this to another area of the house
    The wireless signal is not reaching the attic conversion (the signal is poor/intermittent)
    I want to avoid running ethernet cable up/down the house

    I have 2 spare linksys routers: (Router B)
    WRT54GC
    WRT54GL

    Question 1:
    Can I use either of these spare routers as the 'repeater' to get a signal up to the attic without needing to run ethernet between router A and router B

    Question 2: If the answer to question 1 is Yes, what does the setup on router A and router B look like?
    e.g.
    DHCP Settings (I assume this is disabled on router B)
    SSID
    Static IPs (if any/if required?)
    Subnets (if any/if required?)
    Security settings/wifi passwords and encryption types
    Any other settings to change?

    Any help would be great!

    Cheers,

    DC

    This guide looks decent:

    http://lifehacker.com/5563196/turn-your-old-router-into-a-range+boosting-wi+fi-repeater

    I havent done it myself but as already mentioned the speed through the second router will be quite slower than the main router but if you are happy with that then you should be good to go with the equipment you have already


  • Options
    #6
    dcGT
    Registered Users Posts: 948 ✭✭✭dcGT


    neacy69 wrote: »
    This guide looks decent:

    http://lifehacker.com/5563196/turn-your-old-router-into-a-range+boosting-wi+fi-repeater

    I havent done it myself but as already mentioned the speed through the second router will be quite slower than the main router but if you are happy with that then you should be good to go with the equipment you have already

    Great thanks! Sounds do-able. I will give that a try.

    DC


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    #7
    neacy69
    Registered Users Posts: 2,823 ✭✭✭neacy69


    dcGT wrote: »
    Great thanks! Sounds do-able. I will give that a try.

    DC

    Let me know how you get on....I wouldnt mind trying it myself


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    #8
    dcGT
    Registered Users Posts: 948 ✭✭✭dcGT


    neacy69 wrote: »
    Let me know how you get on....I wouldnt mind trying it myself

    Ok, I gave it a try. It's a very good guide. Everything is well explained. You just need a bit of time to become familiar with the instructions.
    I downloaded and installed the 'mini generic' firmware as it said this was the one I needed to install first.

    http://www.dd-wrt.com/routerdb/de/download/Linksys/WRT54GL/1.0/1.1/dd-wrt.v24_mini_generic.bin/1961

    This version has the 'repeater' mode within it, so there was no need to apply any further versions, which was good.

    Install succeeded without a problem. I followed the instructions to enter the wireless security settings of the 'physical' (my existing router - the WRP400) and 'virtual' interface (the repeater - WRT54GL).
    I did exactly as per the guide and double checked this.

    I can connect wirelessly to the repeater and I entered the key I set. I also get an IP address. This is no problem, however there's no connection to the internet and I don't get a WAN IP in the top right corner when I log into dd-wrt on the repeater. (I just see 0.0.0.0)

    Subnet of the main router is 192.168.15.X
    Subnet of the repeater is 192.168.16.X
    This is setup as per the instructions, the main router and the repeater should be on different subnets.

    The main router is also well within range so the repeater should be picking this up

    I also took a look at the footnotes and problems here but there was nothing that helped.

    http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Wlan_Repeater

    Does anyone have any suggestions or things to check?

    Cheers,

    DC


  • Options
    #9
    dcGT
    Registered Users Posts: 948 ✭✭✭dcGT


    I've just done another re-read of the instructions. It looks like there was a bit I missed (it was included in the custom firmware steps as the writer was installing a specific firmware)

    Before you install the firmware, you need to do a 30/30/30 reset (which I did)

    However, AFTER you install the firmware, you need to perform another 30/30/30 reset (which I didn't do) :rolleyes:

    I will try this later and see if it works. Will let you know. Fingers crossed!

    Cheers,

    DC


  • Options
    #10
    dcGT
    Registered Users Posts: 948 ✭✭✭dcGT


    I did the 30/30/30 reset, entered the settings again and it worked perfectly.
    Job done!

    Thanks for the help.

    I'd also recommend a read of this thread (it's referred to as the peacock thread) and has some very good info
    http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=51486

    If anyone needs any specific info on this setup, I'm happy to help if I can.

    Cheers,

    DC


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