1 Wireless Network with 2 Wireless Routers

[wutang112878]

I think this is probably pretty simple to do for someone who actually knows what they are doing, but I wasted about 3 hours last night and couldnt get this to work.

In my house on the 1st floor I have a wireless router (netgear WNR2000) in my living room which is on the far right of my house. On the 2nd floor I have my cable modem and another wireless router (netgear WNDR3000) in my office. Currently I have 2 wireless networks, 1 for each router, and a wired connection where my office router feeds a wired signal to my living room router. Neither router can reach all of my house but at all points in my house you can reach 1 of the wireless networks.

What I want is for both routers to handle traffic for the same wireless network so you would connect to 1 SSID so you could go anywhere in the house and you would automatically connect to either router and stay on the same network. In addition, I need the wired connections on both of the routers to work and be on the same network as the wireless connections.

For example, I have a fire TV in my living room which I want to connect with a wired connection to my living room router, and a Fire TV stick in my office which has to connect to my office router via wireless. For the Fire remote on your phone to work, you have to be connected to the same wifi network as both devices. Also, my work computer is wired to my office router and my printer is connected via wireless to my living room router so I cant print from my work computer.

If anyone can give me advice on how to accomplish this, I would appreciate it.

 

[swiftaw]

It'll be tough to do if either a) you cannot connect the two routers via an ethernet cable, or b) they are too far apart for them to see each other wirelessly (to set up wireless repeating).

 

[wutang112878]

They are connected with an ethernet cable. I have one of the LAN outputs on my office router that feeds into the internet input on my living room router

 

[dirtynine]

If they overlap, you can set the one that's not connected to the modem to repeat/extend the signal of the one that is. This tends to slow down overall network speed unless you can connect the two routers by cable, but it might be a trade-off you're willing to make.

 

[jayhoz]

I think this is what you need.

http://kb.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/20927/~/how-do-i-change-my-netgear-router-to-ap-mode-after-i’ve-already-run-setup?

 

[swiftaw]

They are connected with an ethernet cable. I have one of the LAN outputs on my office router that feeds into the internet input on my living room router

If they are connected by a cable, then try the following.

Suppose that router 1 has IP address 192.168.1.1, configure the DHCP range to start assigning IP addresses from 192.168.1.3. In the settings of the 2nd router, change the IP address to 192.168.1.2, and turn DHCP off.

Now on both devices, set up the wireless network to have exactly the same SSID and password, but on different channels.

Connect the cable from a LAN port of router 1 to a LAN port of router 2.

 

[wutang112878]

I think this is what you need.

http://kb.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/20927/~/how-do-i-change-my-netgear-router-to-ap-mode-after-i’ve-already-run-setup?

I was trying this in the AM today and I couldnt connect more than 1 wired connection to the 2nd router. I tried both my TV and the FireTV and both realized they were connected but they didnt have any internet service.

If they are connected by a cable, then try the following.

Suppose that router 1 has IP address 192.168.1.1, configure the DHCP range to start assigning IP addresses from 192.168.1.3. In the settings of the 2nd router, change the IP address to 192.168.1.2, and turn DHCP off.

Now on both devices, set up the wireless network to have exactly the same SSID and password, but on different channels.

Connect the cable from a LAN port of router 1 to a LAN port of router 2.

Few questions here, on the 1st router do I have to reserve the 192.168.1.2 for the MAC address of the 2nd router? I dont understand the why I wouldnt plug into the Internet Port of router 2

 

[swiftaw]

Few questions here, on the 1st router do I have to reserve the 192.168.1.2 for the MAC address of the 2nd router? I dont understand the why I wouldnt plug into the Internet Port of router 2

1) You shouldn't have to
2) Seems illogical, but it works (or it should).

 

[jercra]

Here's a pretty simple walk-through on this. http://www.wikihow.com/Connect-Two-Routers

 

[wutang112878]

Ok, now I'm starting to see the light. I'm going to try this out tonight. And super stupid question, but all the traffic between router 1 and 2 is through the ethernet cable right?

 

[jercra]

Ok, now I'm starting to see the light. I'm going to try this out tonight. And super stupid question, but all the traffic between router 1 and 2 is through the ethernet cable right?

You've got it.

 

[begranter]

It would help if we knew the router models. Some are easier to do this with than others. For instance, I have a Belkin router that lets you turn on bridge mode, which basically turns the WAN port into a LAN port. Once you get one router as the IP assigning, there a few different ways to configure your channels. Get a Wifi analyzer (there are apps you can use on your phone for this) to see what channels are most open and assign each router to a different one so they don't overlap. You can then assign each router as the same SSID and password (even for the 5 and 2.4 networks) and your device should select the strongest signal. Since 2.4 travels better through objects, sometimes you'll be on 2.4 instead of 5 when 5 would be faster, but that is of minor significance in the grand scheme of things.

I did this recently with 3 routers so if you have questions don't hesitate to reach out to me.

 

[wutang112878]

I have a Netgear WNDR3300 that is in my office and connected to my cable modem. I have a Netgear WNR2000 in my living room that is fed off of the office router. I can also switch these if it made it easier but I think they are basically the same.

 

[begranter]

I think you have the correct configuration as the WNDR3300 should be faster and has dual bands. If you use most of your wireless devices in direct line of sight of the router in the living room, you may want to switch them as the 5 frequency has about double the wireless bandwidth but is weaker through walls/objects. The WNR2000 doesn't have the 5 frequency.

I don't believe either Netgear routers have a "bridge" mode -- no big deal, you just lose a LAN port -- so follow the instructions on the wikihow link for LAN to LAN. Not sure your housing situation, but if you're in a densely populated area or apartment building, make sure you check which channels are the least used..

To help save you some unneeded aggravation, make sure you only have one router powered on at a time when setting up the SSIDs and channels.

 

[saintnick912]

Unrelated to the immediate case here, this is the selling point of the mesh systems on sale now (Eero, Orbi, upcoming Google product). Wrote a fair bit on setting up an Eero in the Google WiFi thread.

 

[dirtynine]

Unrelated to the immediate case here, this is the selling point of the mesh systems on sale now (Eero, Orbi, upcoming Google product). Wrote a fair bit on setting up an Eero in the Google WiFi thread.

I've been hearing a lot about Eero on podcasts I listen to. I checked them out - $500 for 3 nodes. I'd think that's a bit much for most people, even given the "it just works" premium. But who knows.

 

[tims4wins]

2 girls 1 cup? Sorry couldn't help myself

 

[saintnick912]

I've been hearing a lot about Eero on podcasts I listen to. I checked them out - $500 for 3 nodes. I'd think that's a bit much for most people, even given the "it just works" premium. But who knows.

They were on sale under $400 on Friday, and the Google units will be 3 for $300 so hopefully that puts some pressure on the prices.

 

[wutang112878]

I didnt get to try my new setup yet, but I will.

I think you have the correct configuration as the WNDR3300 should be faster and has dual bands. If you use most of your wireless devices in direct line of sight of the router in the living room, you may want to switch them as the 5 frequency has about double the wireless bandwidth but is weaker through walls/objects. The WNR2000 doesn't have the 5 frequency.

Wow I had no idea, I didnt even look at this when I was buying the WNR2000 a few years back I just thought it was newer so it would be better. The crazy thing is that when I was fiddling with this on Monday I changed the channel of the WNR2000 thats in my living room and now I actually get a decent wifi signal when my phone is in my office. but when I make the change I'm going to flip the routers too. Thanks for suggesting this.

Unrelated to the immediate case here, this is the selling point of the mesh systems on sale now (Eero, Orbi, upcoming Google product). Wrote a fair bit on setting up an Eero in the Google WiFi thread.

I had heard about the new google wifi but not the Eero and Orbi, wow those are insanely expensive. I understand part of the price is because of the value proposition of the easy setup, but I think the market of people who are willing to spend $300 or more on a router is amazingly small. Sure someone with a 5K sqft house will buy this, but thats really the market you are catering to.