Setting Asus Router to "Repeater"?

[ewwatson]

Right now my router is plugged into my modem to work. If I bought a new router and used the old router as a repeater downstairs so I could reach the far corners of my house, do I have to have a second modem too? Or simply just plug in the second "repeater" router downstairs into a wall socket? Sorry stupid question prob.

 

[L&LD]

No, a second modem is not needed. See the above video as an example of what you'll need to do to get this going with almost any model router and repeater combination.

 

[sfx2000]

A second router/AP can always help improve coverage - note that using it as a repeater will slow down the entire WiFi network, sometimes significantly depending on how many clients are attaching to the "repeater"

If you put the router into AP mode, and backhaul it with ethernet or homeplugs, you'll be much happier

And no, a second modem is not needed.

 

[ewwatson]

Cool thank you! Question? The new router I am getting has the new super fast wifi. My 1 year old asus router (that will be the repeater or AP) has the old. Is this compatable? I assume it is. But how will it function? How will this play out as far as which devices tap into which wifi tech?

 

[ewwatson]

And why is a access point faster than a repeater? Or rather why would a repeater drain the whole system?

I understand that a repeater is only repeating a weaker signal. But why would it drain everything?

 

[ewwatson]

Oh and I wasn't clear I guess. Can I wirelessly do access point? or do I have to hard wire it?

 

[sfx2000]

There's a number of threads discussing pro's and con's of Repeaters - in a nutshell, I don't recommend it, but instead, wire it up - if dropping an ethernet cable isn't practical, then consider PowerLine networking to use as a backhaul from the router to the second AP.

Repeating cuts bandwidth in half...

 

[ewwatson]

Awesome I like the PowerLine networking idea. Getting Ethernet there would not be pretty. Are PowerLine networking adapters any slower than an Ethernet cable?

 

[ewwatson]

Is this right???

So I got router and modem upstairs. I plugin the PowerLine networking adapter to the walk upstairs and plug it into the router. Then down stairs I plug in the other adapter and plug the router into it. And I set the second router downstairs to Access point. Is that all correct?

 

[Jong]

That's right. And give the AP a static IP. I normally set the AP's IP to x.x.x.2 and then set the DHCP server on the main router to issue addresses from x.x.x.3 and up.

The big advantage of this is all the "backhaul" traffic from one router to the other goes over your wiring. With a wireless repeater everything to/from devices connected to the repeater is sent over the same wireless channel twice, halving your available bandwidth. There are other issues with repeaters too - some protocols really struggle to work over them.

Of course the performance of Powerline can vary, just like wireless networks. I'd invest in good quality adapters and get from a company with a good return policy in case you have problems. But, typically, raw Powerline connection speed can match or beat wireless and the fact you are not halving wireless capacity can lead to significantly improved real-world performance.