Adding additional Access Point to WIFI - Need a little help

wilked

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Jul 17, 2005
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I have my router installed on second floor of old house in a closet (plaster walls). It's an Asus AC1300. Does a good job distributing throughout the house, but I'd like to add a second point on 1st floor.

I have some ethernet run throughout the house from this 2nd floor closet. One goes to the basement and is used for my solar panels. I plan to add a switch in the basement, then from this switch send a new ethernet line to the first floor for the new repeater.

Any suggestions on what model to use? Should I just get another AC1300? Will this work?

Thanks
 

RSN Diaspora

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Jul 29, 2005
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I have my router installed on second floor of old house in a closet (plaster walls). It's an Asus AC1300. Does a good job distributing throughout the house, but I'd like to add a second point on 1st floor.

I have some ethernet run throughout the house from this 2nd floor closet. One goes to the basement and is used for my solar panels. I plan to add a switch in the basement, then from this switch send a new ethernet line to the first floor for the new repeater.

Any suggestions on what model to use? Should I just get another AC1300? Will this work?

Thanks
Have you considered a powerline adapter? We were having issues in our oldest kid's bedroom, and solved them with this:

View: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0725LPTZR/
 

wilked

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Also, terminology - looking to add an Access Point, not repeater

What are pros/cons of a router as an Access Point vs that Powerline Adapter?
 

GoJeff!

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May 30, 2007
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If you have ethernet going where you want an access point, you don't need a powerline adapter. Ethernet (at least a decent Gigabit implementation) will be faster than any powerline adapter.

Also, I've had mixed results with powerline adapters. I purchased one pair of TP-Link powerline adapters to get a better signal to a TV room where I can't run ethernet. They worked very well, with speeds fine for 4K video, etc. Then I bought a third for the other side of the house because I was too lazy to run ethernet. This one is slow and loses the signal all the time.
 

RSN Diaspora

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Jul 29, 2005
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Could you talk me through how this is connected?
Sure. There is a base unit that plugs into the wall and is connected by ethernet cable to your router. There is a second unit that plugs into an outlet where you would want your second router to be. It can either be used to hardwire in something internet-enabled or as a wifi extender.

That said, it isn't the same thing as an access point, so it likely isn't what you're looking for.
 

begranter

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Jul 9, 2007
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I have my router installed on second floor of old house in a closet (plaster walls). It's an Asus AC1300. Does a good job distributing throughout the house, but I'd like to add a second point on 1st floor.

I have some ethernet run throughout the house from this 2nd floor closet. One goes to the basement and is used for my solar panels. I plan to add a switch in the basement, then from this switch send a new ethernet line to the first floor for the new repeater.

Any suggestions on what model to use? Should I just get another AC1300? Will this work?

Thanks
You don't necessarily need a router to do this, just a wireless access point device. You have a ton of options that somewhat depend on your networking technical aptitude and needs. If you need/want to be able to connect a device via ethernet at the new AP (i.e. for a work computer, streaming, gaming, or really any device that is stationary to lighten the load on wireless connections), that will filter out many AP devices that only have ethernet inputs and no outputs. I imagine an ASUS AC1300 would be able to do what you're trying to do and it's relatively affordable, but there may be a better option for your specific use case.

If you use a router, you'll have to go into the set-up page and configure it correctly -- if you're comfortable with this it's no problem and many modern routers have "AP Mode" as an option on their web-based set up pages. If that seems daunting you may want to go for a dedicated WAP device that has less set-up options. The core difference is a router assigns and distributes the credentials for the devices in addition to being an access point, while a WAP device acts as only an access point and does not assign IP addresses etc. You must have a router between the modem and any wireless APs.
30768


I'm currently using an 'old' Archer C7 v2 as an AP by disabling DHCP and setting the devices LAN address as a stable IP within the range of the settings of the router, and matching the SSIN and wireless passwords. When doing your setup, use a handy-dandy WiFi analyzer app to see which channels are best for a new AP. A lot of the AP modes will default to the same channel as your wireless router, but this isn't always best. When doing set-up it's usually better to have the AP device and computer accessing the web-based tool not connected to the main network until configuration is complete.
 

cgori

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Great picture linked by @begranter - that's exactly how you want it to look (ISP, then modem, then router, then switch, then access point). The router typically also serves as a firewall, so you always want it to be between any device on your network and the modem.

You can use an AC1300 as an access point - you want to figure out the channels as noted above, but setting them to "same" to start out will usually get you going at the beginning.

Since you already have the GigE cables, I wouldn't go the powerline route, normally that's for when you don't have ethernet cable available. Get a cheap switch (any 8 port unmanaged switch will do).
 

wilked

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Thanks. This WAP will only provide WIFI to our outside patio area, nothing else will connect to it.

I think I'll give it a go with a switch and a new router (to be set up as a WAP).
 

cgori

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Thanks. This WAP will only provide WIFI to our outside patio area, nothing else will connect to it.

I think I'll give it a go with a switch and a new router (to be set up as a WAP).
Small afterthought - I'm assuming there is a handy AC outlet to plug in the WAP, but if not, consider a power over ethernet switch. If you don't need it, don't bother because they add a fair bit to the cost though.
 

wilked

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Small afterthought - I'm assuming there is a handy AC outlet to plug in the WAP, but if not, consider a power over ethernet switch. If you don't need it, don't bother because they add a fair bit to the cost though.
Thanks. I have power right where I need it.

I may be back to this thread once everything arrives and I’m setting it up!
 

begranter

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Thanks. This WAP will only provide WIFI to our outside patio area, nothing else will connect to it.

I think I'll give it a go with a switch and a new router (to be set up as a WAP).
That'll probably work fine but if it's just for outside, I'd recommend a dedicated outdoor WAP. Having it outside with direct line of sight to where you'll most be using it will make a difference in latency. Something like the TP-Link EAP225-Outdoor Omada AC1200 is about the same price as the ASUS router but is weatherproof and designed for outdoor use. Having the 5 GHz channel with direct line of sight for your patio space will be *chef's kiss*
 

gtmtnbiker

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Jul 15, 2005
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My recommendation is Ubiquiti UniFi access point. I just bought this one a couple of months ago.

View: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DWW3P6K


I've been using their products since 2013 (checked my Amazon history). They're very reliable. Bought a total of 4 over the past 7 years (one for my church, one for my in-laws and two for myself). I stopped using it for myself in 2016 because it only supported the 802.11n and I got a new Netgear R8000 router with ac. About 2 months ago, I started having issues with the 5Ghz band crashing on a regular basis. I switched to using my Verizon Quantum router as an access point and it also crashed.

The one for my church I bought in 2017 and have not had to deal with it ever since. Reliable.

The product is geared towards the enterprise market so it might be a bit more complex to use but not that difficult. It's also highly recommended in /r/homenetworking Reddit forums.

It uses PoE (power over ethernet). It does come with a PoE injector if your router is not PoE aware. You can mount it on the ceiling, wall, where ever you want it. It's somewhat low profile, stylish looking.
 

wilked

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Ok... bought a used ASUS RT-N66 router for $2 (dual-band wireless-N900 gigabit router). Also bought a simple 4 port switch for $15 and 50’ of Ethernet cable for $15.

Installed the switch in basement with existing Ethernet cable, then from that fed the new router near a basement window looking into my patio. Already had power there.

I setup the router as a WAN and gave it a new SSID. I debated sharing the existing SSID but decided against it.
Should I do anything with wireless channels or can I just leave it alone? Couldn’t find anywhere in the ASUS app to modify channels for some reason. I think that only would matter if I was sharing SSID, right?
 

NomarsFool

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Dec 21, 2001
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I have an XFi modem/router from Xfinity. It's in the middle of my house, by I periodically lose internet connection to devices that are on the periphery. It works most of the time, but it drops often enough to be annoying (lots of zoom calls these days).

I purchased the MESH pods from Xfinity, but I don't feel like it really helped at all. They are reasonably close to one another and are functioning according to the diagnostics from Xfinity, but I still end up with periodic drops.

My house was pre-wired for ethernet, so now I'm thinking of putting another access point or two that would be hooked up to the ethernet cables. I was going to get a very simple switch, rather than the POE switch.

Any recommendations on a WAP or router to use in this situation? My thought was to have something that would have a few ethernet ports so I could plug a tv and gaming console directly into the WAP. But, also need the WiFi aspect as other devices can't be wired in.
 

HriniakPosterChild

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Any recommendations on a WAP or router to use in this situation? My thought was to have something that would have a few ethernet ports so I could plug a tv and gaming console directly into the WAP. But, also need the WiFi aspect as other devices can't be wired in.
We use inexpensive switches to share the ethernet port with multiple devices (Sonos, AppleTV, etc.) near our TV's. You can find gigabit switches on Amazon under $20.
 

cgori

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I have an XFi modem/router from Xfinity. It's in the middle of my house, by I periodically lose internet connection to devices that are on the periphery. It works most of the time, but it drops often enough to be annoying (lots of zoom calls these days).

I purchased the MESH pods from Xfinity, but I don't feel like it really helped at all. They are reasonably close to one another and are functioning according to the diagnostics from Xfinity, but I still end up with periodic drops.

My house was pre-wired for ethernet, so now I'm thinking of putting another access point or two that would be hooked up to the ethernet cables. I was going to get a very simple switch, rather than the POE switch.

Any recommendations on a WAP or router to use in this situation? My thought was to have something that would have a few ethernet ports so I could plug a tv and gaming console directly into the WAP. But, also need the WiFi aspect as other devices can't be wired in.
I would just dump the XFi router + MESH pods, unless you really need the landline functionality, which is the only reason you would need to keep it. The cable-company routers are generally just not that good.

I helped my friend replace this exact setup at her place (XFi router), she went with Google Wifi, base + 2 satellites (3 story house - base on the middle level, satellite above/below). She kept the XFi as the modem. I probably would have gone for an Orbi setup (or Eero Pro?) but the simplicity of the Google Wifi was appealing to her - what's nice about Google Wifi is it can use ethernet as the backhaul, so that might work well for you. I think the Eero satellites don't have local ethernet ports either, so those may be less useful to you. The wirecutter mesh article is probably a good reference to strategize.

Definitely don't worry about multiple ethernet ports on the WAP/satellites, just use a cheap switch as HPC suggested, if need be. Unless you have some really strange locations/setup, you won't need the POE switch.
 

rmurph3

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Nov 28, 2003
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For the same reasons (wifi coverage), I just dumped my XFinity-provided All-in-one device. I bought a Netgear gig-speed modem (NetGear Nighthawk CM1150V) that still supported the landline, and went with Eero Pro for the mesh wifi. (And yes, Eero Pros do have ethernet ports if you want to connect them that way).

One thing that almost bit me: that Netgear device is a modem only, not a modem/router combo. So I couldn't connect both a desktop and the Eero network directly to the modem (since XFinity will only serve one IP address). Luckily I had an old router that I could plug in to the config, between the modem and eero/desktop.

So, it'll take a while to earn back the $750 of equipment with the $14/mo I'm saving on the Xfinity modem/router. But the performance gain is amazing. I was pulling a barely-usable 10-12mb speed over wifi in the corners of my house or on my back porch. Now I'm pulling 150mb+ everywhere in my house, 60-100mb on my porch, and have some usable coverage basically everywhere on my property. That's exactly why I did this, facing the increasing reality of remote school in the fall, repeating the spring reality when there were frequently four concurrent Zoom calls in my house.
 
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cgori

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For the same reasons (wifi coverage), I just dumped my XFinity-provided All-in-one device. I bought a Netgear gig-speed modem (NetGear Nighthawk CM1150V) that still supported the landline, and went with Eero Pro for the mesh wifi. (And yes, Eero Pros do have ethernet ports if you want to connect them that way).

One thing that almost bit me: that Netgear device is a modem only, not a modem/router combo. So I couldn't connect both a desktop and the Eero network directly to the modem (since XFinity will only serve one IP address). Luckily I had an old router that I could plug in to the config, between the modem and eero/desktop.

So, it'll take a while to earn back the $750 of equipment with the $14/mo I'm saving on the Xfinity modem/router. But the performance gain is amazing. I was pulling a barely-usable 10-12gb speed over wifi in the corners of my house or on my back porch. Now I'm pulling 150gb+ everywhere in my house, 60-100gb on my porch, and have some usable coverage basically everywhere on my property. That's exactly why I did this, facing the increasing reality of remote school in the fall, repeating the spring reality when there were frequently four concurrent Zoom calls in my house.
Yah, the Eero Beacon is the thing that doesn't have the GigE ports, so it is using wireless backhaul. When you do the Pros (or the Google Wifi) it can use the GigE as the backhaul.

Glad your setup is working for you though it seems a little overkill-ish (you basically have 3 "routers" in the Eero Pros but only one, or in your case zero, is actually doing any routing). It's also very weird that the one you were plugging the desktop into couldn't be a DHCP server - if it's NAT'ing (which it sort of has to be), it almost has to supply some kind of DHCP functionality for mainstream use.

Also, I'm assuming all your numbers are mb (not gb), because otherwise, you have some crazy level of bandwidth over wireless that I've never seen ;)
 

rmurph3

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LOL yes, mb not gb, of course.

And good point about the config. I could have used the Eero Pro as the router if I were willing to use the nearby desktop via wifi (which would have been fine). Related issue was that I had a couple of other devices (Phillips Hue hub, for instance) that also needed ethernet connections. So easiest fix was to take the old router and use it as essentially a 4-port hub/router between the modem and the Eero. So yeah, overkill, but so far (a week or so) it's been "set it and forget it", which was the goal.
 

gtmtnbiker

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I bought a Netgear gig-speed modem (NetGear Nighthawk CM1150V) that still supported the landline,
So you have phone service with Comcast? You could have gone with Obihai/Google Voice to separate out the landline. I've done this for the last 7 years and pay $0 for service. The cost is $50 for the Obihai device plus the $20 to port my number to GV. By doing this, you have a lot more options for modem/routers.
 

NomarsFool

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Dec 21, 2001
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So, like millions of other people - I'm trying to get my house optimized for maximized internet productivity. The ethernet wiring in my house wasn't fully active, but now that is fully active and a number of my devices are now plugged directly into the ethernet jacks.

Unfortunately, what I did not realize is that two of my family's laptops have no ethernet jack. This surprised me - I didn't know that was even a thing. This may be a stupid question, but is there such a thing as an ethernet dongle that would plug into a USB or something? If so, would that work well? I'm trying to avoid people losing connectivity during zoom calls.

If not, I guess I could just set up another router and use it as a WAP right in that room that would be plugged into the ethernet jack. Any recommendations on an inexpensive router? All the dedicated WAPs seem a bit pricey and overkill for what I need, I would think.
 

DrBlinky

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Jun 18, 2002
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So, like millions of other people - I'm trying to get my house optimized for maximized internet productivity. The ethernet wiring in my house wasn't fully active, but now that is fully active and a number of my devices are now plugged directly into the ethernet jacks.

Unfortunately, what I did not realize is that two of my family's laptops have no ethernet jack. This surprised me - I didn't know that was even a thing. This may be a stupid question, but is there such a thing as an ethernet dongle that would plug into a USB or something? If so, would that work well? I'm trying to avoid people losing connectivity during zoom calls.

If not, I guess I could just set up another router and use it as a WAP right in that room that would be plugged into the ethernet jack. Any recommendations on an inexpensive router? All the dedicated WAPs seem a bit pricey and overkill for what I need, I would think.
I used a USB dongle like this when I had an Ethernet port go bad on a laptop a couple years back.
(Edit: I did not have that particular model. Just showing it as an example of USB to RJ45.)

https://www.newegg.com/trendnet-tu3-etg-usb-to-ethernet/p/N82E16833156468?Item=N82E16833156468&Source=socialshare&cm_mmc=snc-social-_-sr-_-33-156-468-_-08232020