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Question about wireless sub? router?

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eekamouse

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Hello forum. I have a bungalow with a large 3 bedroom basement that I rent out. The internet modem is in the laundry room and right now I have a Netgear nighthawk wireless router serving data for the whole house. When I renovated the basement into an apartment I added rj45 wall mounted outlets in all the rooms. Is there a way to connect another wireless device via cat6 cable to the wireless router in the laundry room and have the basement renters connect to their own little wireless network instead of the netgear? Their apartment is so big that they do not have coverage in their bedrooms which are furthest from the Netgear. I was under the impression I could just get any wireless router and connect two of the rj45 ports but I was told I need something special. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
 
It should be straight forward to connected almost any standard (i.e. not DSL) wireless router to the main router via Ethernet to create a separate wireless network. The only issue might be if you also wanted to provide wired (Ethernet) connections to the basement area as that would depend on your current wiring layout.
 
It should be straight forward to connected almost any standard (i.e. not DSL) wireless router to the main router via Ethernet to create a separate wireless network. The only issue might be if you also wanted to provide wired (Ethernet) connections to the basement area as that would depend on your current wiring layout.
Hi and thanks for the answer. I do not need to create any wired connections. Can you recommend a standard one? Maybe the guy at the store was mistaken because he said I would need a router that I could put in access point mode and that they were sort of rare.
 
Hello forum. I have a bungalow with a large 3 bedroom basement that I rent out. The internet modem is in the laundry room and right now I have a Netgear nighthawk wireless router serving data for the whole house. When I renovated the basement into an apartment I added rj45 wall mounted outlets in all the rooms. Is there a way to connect another wireless device via cat6 cable to the wireless router in the laundry room and have the basement renters connect to their own little wireless network instead of the netgear? Their apartment is so big that they do not have coverage in their bedrooms which are furthest from the Netgear. I was under the impression I could just get any wireless router and connect two of the rj45 ports but I was told I need something special. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Are you renting the whole house to one renter, or are you sharing your one ISP connection with a renter in the basement?

OE
 
Almost all wireless routers can be configured to run in "access point mode". Not rare at all. The problem with using access point mode is that it just extends your main wireless network and therefore doesn't offer any separation. So in your case it's better to operate in "wireless router mode".

Here's the configuration screen from my Asus router but other makes will have something similar.
Untitled.png

Without knowing how much area you want to cover and the construction of intervening walls it's difficult to recommend a specific router. Look at some of the reviews on the main SNB web site. Your ISP download speed might also be relevant.
 
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Are you renting the whole house to one renter, or are you sharing your one ISP connection with a renter in the basement?

OE
Sorry I should have made that clear. I occupy the whole first floor and they occupy the basement which is large. We are all sharing one wireless connection. The netgear wireless router is shoved into the open ceiling joists in the laundry room which is next door to the front of their apartment so they have decent coverage at front but not so good as you move back. The other. issue is that there are no good power outlet locations for a range extender or two hence the idea for a separate wireless network.
 
Almost all wireless routers can be configured to run in "access point mode". Not rare at all. The problem with using access point mode is that it just extends your main wireless network and therefore doesn't offer any separation. So in your case it's better to operate in "wireless router mode".

Here's the configuration screen from my Asus router but other makes will have something similar.
View attachment 37387

Without knowing how much area you want to cover and the construction of intervening walls it's difficult to recommend a specific router. Look at some of the reviews on the main SNB web site. Your ISP download speed might also be relevant.
Thanks! Which Asus router if you don't mind me asking?
 
If security is an issue then you may want to double NAT a second router behind the router connected directly to the ISP. A double NAT setup will not have an impact on speeds. If you double NAT the most secure network is the network on the double NATed router.

Another option is setting up VLANs. Setting up VLANs on a router flashed with Tomato can be done using the GUI. Other routers may need custom scripts. Another option would be to install a "Smart Switch" with port based VLANs and then connect a separate router /AP to the switch for your tenants. Smart switches as those sold by TP-Link are relatively inexpensive.
 
Thanks! Which Asus router if you don't mind me asking?
Since June I've been using an Asus RT-AX86U. Prior to that I used an RT-AC68U (also sold as the RT-AC66_B1) for many years. Both of those are very good and have similar Wi-Fi coverage. YMMV because Wi-Fi coverage is largely dictated by the wireless regulations in your country (I'm in the UK) rather than the router itself.

You might want to use your existing nighthawk as the basement router and use the new router for yourself. As you are already familiar with the nighthawk you probably have a better feel for whether its coverage would be adequate (after relocating it).
 
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Sorry I should have made that clear. I occupy the whole first floor and they occupy the basement which is large. We are all sharing one wireless connection. The netgear wireless router is shoved into the open ceiling joists in the laundry room which is next door to the front of their apartment so they have decent coverage at front but not so good as you move back. The other. issue is that there are no good power outlet locations for a range extender or two hence the idea for a separate wireless network.

Some things to consider...

Given it is your ISP account, the online activity of the renters will trace to you.

Also, there is potential for their unsafe computing habits to compromise your network.

A renter may not (should not) want you to have control over and access to their network/traffic/resources/client devices.

Me, I would have the ISP install separate service provision for the rental unit and let the renter manage their own service and local network. And ensure that your ISP connection and network equipment is physically secured in your space, not theirs.

OE
 
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Some things to consider...

Given it is your ISP account, the online activity of the renters will track to you.

Also, there is potential for their unsafe computing habits to compromise your network.

A renter may not (should not) want you to have control over and access to their network/traffic/resources/client devices.

Me, I would have the ISP install separate service provision for the rental unit and let the renter manage their own service and local network.

OE
Thats great advice. If it were not these particular tenants I would seriously consider it. Just so happens they are not very tech savvy and have been great tenants for 10 years.
 
Since June I've been using an Asus RT-AX86U. Prior to that I used an RT-AC68U (also sold as the RT-AC66_B1) for many years. Both of those are very good and have similar Wi-Fi coverage. YMMV because Wi-Fi coverage is largely dictated by the wireless regulations in your country (I'm in the UK) rather than the router itself.

You might want to use your existing nighthawk as the basement router and use the new router for yourself. As you are already familiar with the nighthawk you probably have a better feel for whether its coverage would be adequate (after relocating it).
Thanks I am in Canada so model might be different.
 

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