Extending wifi coverage

[dstill]

I have a Vodafone router for my broadband, I don't get coverage in my garage so need to extend the range. I have an old Sky router, would it be possible to configure the Sky router so it connects to the Vodafone router and place it in my garage to get coverage in there?

 

[matlob]

Depending on the distance it may be easier to try a WiFi extender plug such as tp link. This way you won’t need to run any wires

 

[dstill]

Thanks for the quick reply matlob. I have a pair of TP Link extenders but I wasn't sure if they would do the job.

Is it as simple as setting up the two TP Link plugs and plugging my sky router into the TP plug in the garage? I need wifi coverage within the garage to operate my automatic wifi door openers.

 

[matlob]

I don't think you would even need the sky router. If you just need wifi just plug the tplink into a socket between the garage and where your router sits. You will need to setup the system and connect devices to it.

The routers wifi signal will reach the plug and then your plug will throw the wifi signal further, hopefully to where you need it in the garage.

 

[ericmark]

I bought a wifi extender from Lidi, it has a host of options as to how it can be used, I have hard wired LAN to it, and it works well, coverage throughout house and garden, so my wife can use caravan in garden as a craft studio with her friends.

However I moved broadband supplier from Sky to Post Office, and I have found it does not work as well, I think we are simply using too much broadband and Post Office limits it.

I have looked at WiFi extender sockets but think it does not use the internet over power system, being in a socket is nothing more than handy way to power it.

Warning Lidi unit as it came uses a password which is published in the instructions, so unless you change setting anyone can assess your unit, or anything connected to it.

 

[dstill]

I don't think you would even need the sky router. If you just need wifi just plug the tplink into a socket between the garage and where your router sits. You will need to setup the system and connect devices to it.

The routers wifi signal will reach the plug and then your plug will throw the wifi signal further, hopefully to where you need it in the garage.

Well I got round to having another go to get this to work......without success!

I have connected 1 TP Link extender into my main Vodafone router via an Ethernet cable, then paired my second TP Link extender to it. I've plugged the 2nd extender in my garage which is about 15 metres away and has several solid walls between the 2 locations. The wifi signal in the garage is poor to non existent.......any advice what to do next or is what I'm trying to do simply not feasible.

 

[matlob]

The to link needs to be in range of the router. You should only need one. Putting it in The garage will serve no purpose as there is no WiFi there. Is there a plug in the house closer to the garage?
It only extends the range. Ie if WiFi goes 5m place link at 4m and it will throw it another 3m.

 

[dstill]

The to link needs to be in range of the router. You should only need one. Putting it in The garage will serve no purpose as there is no WiFi there. Is there a plug in the house closer to the garage?
It only extends the range. Ie if WiFi goes 5m place link at 4m and it will throw it another 3m.

Thanks for your help (although I've took some time to say so), all working great now

 

[dstill]

I now have one TP plug near my router and one about 6 metres away. Can I add a third after the second one to extend the WiFi signal even further?

 

[foxhole]

Think I might get a few of these and avoid the plug clutter.
https://www.toolstation.com/wifi-ex...wbI3qgBXDGpuMQ_UngwBWkAOxVWYSf78aAlBKEALw_wcB

 

[Naz1977]

I don't like to use the repeaters because they half your bandwidth everytime you use them.

So if you are supposed to get , for example, 50m at your routers WiFi, then plugging an extender will make this half ( so 25m from where you connect to the repeater). and then so on.

But if you get an extender, then it is different as they connect to the router directly rather than the WiFi and then they broadcast the signal.

You can use the Sky one you had to get better signal. But you need a powerline adaptor to plug it into. You can then plug your sky router and give it a static IP address from your LAN range and use the broadband router IP address as the default gateway. Turn off the DHCP on your sky router. Setup the same SSID as your main SSID . and then you should be ok.

 

[potterton678]

Would you live next to a mobile phone mast?

If not, then why have a router TRANSMITTING wifi radiation in your house?

and disguised one

 

[SimonH2]

But you need a powerline adaptor to plug it into.

Nooooooooooo
Powerline is just horrible and nasty. They are illegal, and kill radio for long distances, but the authorities just don't want to upset certain large businesses and actually do anything.
https://www.ban-plt.org.uk

If running a cable is possible/practical then that would be the way to go. If you can, then you can use a router as a switch and wireless access point (AP) - but you MUST do some steps to avoid nobbling your network.

• Set the IP address of the AP to something that's within your home network address range but not in the range of addresses given out by the main router via DHCP. This does two things: stops there being an address clash, having two routers on the same IP address is "interesting"; and it allows you to access the AP to update it's settings.
• Disable the DHCP server in the AP. It is no controlling the network and if you don't disable it's DHCP server then you will have some "interesting" issues.
• Set it's WiFi SSID (network name) and Password to be the same as the main router, but use a different channel. Only use channels 1, 6, and 11 - if your main router is using (say) channel 1, then use channel 6 or 11 on your "AP". BTW - I always set my own SSID, that way if you replace the router you don't have the hassle of connecting everything to a new SSID.
• Do not plug anything into any of it's WAN or Internet ports, only use it's internal network (LAN) ports.

When you've performed those steps, you can plug it into your network by connecting a network cable from the network into any of it's LAN ports. The "AP" will then bridge wired and wireless traffic. You can also plug other devices into the other LAN ports and avoid the need for a separate network switch.
Setup like this, devices should "just work" and connect to whichever wireless base they can talk to. There may be short drops as you move around since there isn't any active handover between the two - the device will need to figure out it's gone out of range of one base and then connect to the other one.

 

[Davey]

Sorry to hijack this thread but I’m also trying to extend my WiFi coverage and you guys sound like you know what you’re talking about!

I have a Sky router in the lounge and I need to extend the WiFi signal to the study at the bottom of the garden

I have an old Netgear DG834GT router which I want to use as an AP and network switch by connecting this to the Sky router with some 30 metres of external Cat5e cable.

The Sky router is on 192.168.0.1 and has the DHCP starting IP address 192.168.0.2 and ending 192.168.0.254.

What should I set the IP address of the Netgear router to so I can use this as an AP?

Sorry if this is a basic question but I’m totally lost here!

I’m worried about the “interesting issues” that SimonH2 mentioned if I get this wrong? Is there a danger of damaging my Sky router (the kids will kill me!) or is it just a case of disconnecting the Netgear router if it doesn’t work as intended?

Thank you

 

[SimonH2]

I have an old Netgear DG834GT router which I want to use as an AP and network switch by connecting this to the Sky router with some 30 metres of external Cat5e cable.

Great. The DG834 models were a good router in their day - pretty reliable IME.

The Sky router is on 192.168.0.1 and has the DHCP starting IP address 192.168.0.2 and ending 192.168.0.254.
What should I set the IP address of the Netgear router to so I can use this as an AP?

Yuck, that's a stupid default for the Sky router. You need to change the DHCP setup of the Sky router - either increase the .2 to something higher, or the .254 to something lower. So you might change the range to (say) 192.168.0.10 to 192.168.0.254 - and then set the IP address of the Netgear to (say) 192.168.0.2.
That takes care of the first step I outlined above - follow the rest and you're good to go. I've done this a few times, both for clients and myself.

I’m worried about the “interesting issues” that SimonH2 mentioned if I get this wrong? Is there a danger of damaging my Sky router (the kids will kill me!) or is it just a case of disconnecting the Netgear router if it doesn’t work as intended?

You won't physically break the Sky router - worst case is to disconnect the Netgear and possibly reboot the Sky router.