Connecting 2 Asus RT-N66U together

[phantom84]

I have been using the Asus RT-N66U for about 6 months but wifi is very weak on 2nd floor and above so got another Asus RT-N66U which I want to connect but put on 2nd floor with cabled connection from first router to extend wifi without having different SSID.

Cant seem to get it working for some reason. Would the connection have to come direct from the router or can it come through a switch to the 2nd router?

Asus RT-N66U #1:
192.168.1.1
255.255.255.0
DHCP enabled
IP range start: 192.168.1.100
IP range stop: 192.168.199
Wifi channel: 6

Asus RT-N66U #2:
192.168.1.2
255.255.255.0
Gateway 192.168.1.1
DHCP disabled
IP range start: 192.168.1.200
IP range stop: 192.168.254
Wifi channel: 11

Not sure if this is right as im losing connection #2 both routers have latest fw would it be easier to just use the router #2 as access point?

 

[jlake]

Why not just put Asus router #2 in to AP Mode?

Asus designed the router for beginners so you can quickly turn it in to an AP. All you have to do is put router#2 in to AP Mode if you want it to be an AP.

If you're unsure how to put router#2 in to AP Mode, then check out the handy user manual which can found here:

http://support.asus.com/download.aspx?m=RT-N66U+(VER.B1)&os=8&slanguage=en

 

[phantom84]

Why not just put Asus router #2 in to AP Mode?

Asus designed the router for beginners so you can quickly turn it in to an AP. All you have to do is put router#2 in to AP Mode if you want it to be an AP.

If you're unsure how to put router#2 in to AP Mode, then check out the handy user manual which can found here:

http://support.asus.com/download.aspx?m=RT-N66U+(VER.B1)&os=8&slanguage=en

But then don't you only get half of the available bandwidth when using as AP?

 

[Asusnet]

But then don't you only get half of the available bandwidth when using as AP?

AP mode does not cut bandwidth by half, however, repeater mode does (wireless only).

 

[phantom84]

AP mode does not cut bandwidth by half, however, repeater mode does (wireless only).

I must have been getting them confused, so set router #2 to AP mode and have same wifi settings and devices will connect to whichever has strongest signal seamlessly?

 

[jlake]

I must have been getting them confused, so set router #2 to AP mode and have same wifi settings and devices will connect to whichever has strongest signal seamlessly?

I use different SSIDs and different non-overlapping wireless channels. I recommend doing it that way.

But you can do it however you want to do it. Experiment.

Asus added a new feature to the firmware that supposedly helps with seamless roaming. Keep in mind it won't be truly perfectly "seamless". Your device(s) will dictate how well it roams "seamlessly". Iphones and iPads do a pretty good job of roaming. Most laptops don't do so well with their default wireless adapter settings.

From the Asus .979 firmware release notes (I haven't tried this feature):

Added:
1. Roaming assistance option in wireless->professional. Administrator can define the disconnection RSSI threshold. It can help client switch to better signal AP faster in multiple AP environment.

 

[phantom84]

Just a follow up from this 3.0.0.4.374.979 dramatically decreased my wifi, everyone in the house was complaining for weeks. Tried AP mode, tried different SSID but turned after pulling my hair out I finally read that .979 had some driver changes and that explained the poor wifi.

No got both routers running merlin RT-N66U_3.0.0.4_374.38_0 wifi is stronger, gone to original setup wifi SSID being the same but one router on 20mhz channel 6 and the other on 11. No complaints and getting wifi every corner of house even where I wasn't getting it before.

 

[sm00thpapa]

Use power line to connect the routers Lan to Lan. Turn DHCP off on 2nd router. No need to set IP range as it is off. Leave same SSID's or change them and have one side of the house on 1 SSID and the other on the other SSID.