We have shown in several articles how it is possible and even simple to extend a wifi network in the home or office. Going back to the old school procedures, let's see today how to configure an Access Point so that you can access the internet from areas where the router's signal does not arrive.
In particular, this guide takes up a discussion left open some time ago, about how to increase the wireless signal with two routers and obtain better, safer and stable operation.
Having a wired network, things are quite simple because you can use the Ethernet network as a backbone and convert secondary routers to simple access points.
In a situation without an already configured Ethernet network, it is necessary to completely rely on wireless technology to connect several access points together.
So if I had explained in the previous article how to make a router network, now let's see how to configure a wireless access point.
The technique described is used to add access points to extend the wifi signal and connect to the internet from any point in the house .
READ ALSO: Configure a Wireless Router to install a secure wifi network at home
What we need, in addition to the primary router, is one or more secondary routers that will be configured to function as repeaters .
Before starting, connect to the primary router and write down some information such as the network name, password, IP address and also the Mac Address.
The secondary router, which will become the Access Point, must be reset by pressing the small button on the back for thirty seconds with a pen, so that it can be configured from scratch.
In case of problems, connect the router to a computer via an Ethernet cable and follow the guide on how to reset the router to restore the default configuration (factory reset).
To access the router configuration panel, just enter the default login and password for that type of router that should be admin admin .
These credentials must be changed at the first access in the general settings.
Keep in mind that access to the router requires you to connect to the network of the same, via cable or even by connecting to the wifi network generated by the router itself.
After resetting the secondary router and assigning a new password, it's time to configure it.
What we need to do are only a few changes of settings .
Their location may vary by router brand, but it shouldn't be difficult to find the options we need.
Then go to the WAN Settings section and set it as static without changing anything else (on some routers the Static option is in the LAN section)
Next you need to change the IP address of the router in the LAN settings, with any number that is not the same as the main router, which is within the range of addresses assigned by DHCP.
For example, if the main router has address 192.168.1.1 we can give the secondary router address 192.168.1.2 .
As DNS Server write the IP of the router, in our case 192.168.1.1 and disable the DHCP Server option in order to keep the configuration simple and to be able to configure the network only from the primary router.
In the Wireless section of the router configuration panel it is necessary to change the operating mode of the router by setting it as an Access Point (AP) or as a repeater .
In some configurations it may be necessary to enter the MAC Address of the primary router, therefore you must open the configuration panel of the primary router by connecting to its wifi network, read it and rewrite it in the configuration panel of the secondary router.
The wireless network mode can be automatic (11bgn mixed), the SSID (the network name) must be the same as the primary router for all access points, the type of security, the type of encryption and the key must also be the same.
In case of problems, to verify that you are doing well, it can be useful to change the name of the network, bones the SSID, of the access point to something like " network2 " to distinguish it from " network1 " (the SSID of the primary router).
The only configuration of the access point that should be different from the primary router is channel selection .
It is worth selecting a channel for access points that do not conflict with the one used by the primary router.
For example, if the primary router uses channel 1 (and this must be imposed by removing the automatic configuration), you must give the secondary router channel 6 or 11.
On 2.4 GHz routers, the channels that don't overlap are just
1, 6, 11
2, 7, 12
3, 8, 13
This is well explained in the guide on how to avoid interference on wifi networks.
Now the router, if it supports it, can act as a repeater and be positioned far from the primary router by taking the signal and making it strong again to extend the Wifi network.
Otherwise, it can be placed in an area where it does not take the network, attached to the Ethernet wall socket (on the LAN port not the WAN one)
If you don't have an Ethernet wall outlet, the ideal would be to have a long cable connecting the two routers or, better yet, use a Powerline adapter to attach to any electrical outlet, which works great for connecting distant network devices.
As an alternative to all this you can buy a range wifi extender, which works as a repeater or basic access point, which you just need to connect to an electrical outlet in an intermediate position between the primary router and the area where you want strong wifi signal.
The configuration of a repeater is the same, just connect it to the router via an ethernet socket and then, from the PC, change the network name and password making them identical to those of the primary router.
Alternatively, you can make an ultra-fast connection with WPS technology, but not recommended because it is not very secure.
Final notes: In the article I always used the word Access point, sometimes improperly.
An Access Point, in its main meaning, is a router that brings the wifi connection and that must be connected to the modem in case it does not have Wifi connectivity.
In our case, on the other hand, we understood the access point as a range extender or wifi repeater.
READ ALSO: Connect a new router to the modem without changing the network
