Let usa beginning this guide by saying that although it is technically possible, using an former router to extend your home Wi-Fi coverage isn't the best mode to go about it. It'south the only option if you want to spend no money at all (though you may all the same need to buy a long Ethernet cable), simply it's inelegant and impractical in many cases.

That's because a lot of routers don't back up wireless bridging and, even if they do, you may need two routers from the same manufacturer (or even two identical routers) to make them talk to each other without connecting them together using a network cablevision. If you're lucky, your routers will both support WDS, just in a lot of cases your current and spare routers won't work nicely with each other.

Unless your domicile is already wired with Ethernet ports, abaft a long cable from your main router to the spare in a unlike room is going to exist unsightly and unpopular with anybody else who lives with yous. Y'all could utilize a pair ofpowerline network adapters, simply this will cost you a fair bit if you don't already accept some.

When we originally wrote this guide a few years dorsum mesh Wi-Fi systems had but just begun to appear. With prices starting from around £70/$80, information technology makes a lot more sense to invest in one of these kits than to relieve that money and fiddle around with old routers which are probable to be slower and not support the latest Wi-Fi standards.

For example, Tenda'south MW3 kit includes iii routers for nether £60 at Currys. If that deal has ended by the fourth dimension you read this, bank check the price of the MW3 on Amazon, as it's usually competitive.

Readers in the US can buy the Tenda MW3 from Amazon for $99.99.

If that's not an option for you and you lot want to take a become at using your spare router to increase Wi-Fi coverage beyond the reach of your current router, so we'll explain how to become nigh it.

It's usually best if your spare router supports bridge mode. This effectively turns it into a simple Wi-Fi access point which allows your other router to do all the piece of work (such as routing and dishing out IP addresses). If information technology doesn't support bridge mode, y'all tin try following the steps below, but there are still no guarantees that it will work as you want it to.

If it doesn't work and you however don't to shell out for a mesh arrangement, a lower-cost culling is to buy a range extender such as Netgear's EX3700, which costs effectually £30/$30.

1. Notice your router's IP address

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Kickoff you demand to notice out some details about the router you're currently using, including which Wi-Fi channel it is broadcasting on and what security type it is using.

On any Windows PC continued to that router, open up a command prompt (enter cmd in the search box) and blazon ipconfig.

This will bear witness your gateway and the computer'southward IP address.  Notation down your gateway as this is the address of your chief router ordinarily in the format; 192.168.one.1 or similar. Ignore the longer addresses with letters (if y'all run into them): these are IPv6 addresses and you need just the IPv4 accost.

For more detailed instructions, hither'due south how to connect to your router.

ii. Connect to the router

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Adjacent open a web browser and, in the address bar, blazon the gateway IP address you've noted and hit Enter.  You should run into a gear up screen for your master router.  It may ask for a user proper noun and password.  If yous know these details, enter them.  If not, the information may exist on a label underneath the router, or the information may exist available by searching the cyberspace for the default user names and passwords for your router model.

In one case you've accessed the router'southward configuration screen yous volition see something like to this.

iii. Check your Wi-Fi settings

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As you'll see there are lots of settings you lot can access and change, but you don't want to reconfigure the master router, only check its settings. Take a look at the wireless settings and find the details for the Wi-Fi network name, the channel and the security blazon.

This router's SSID is BT-Hub6-ZG2C, is working on channel 11 (for ii.4GHz) and channel 36 for 5GHz, and uses WPA2 for security. The SSID is the proper noun y'all find when searching for wireless networks from your laptop, tablet or smartphone.

Note: Some routers including this BT one, change Wi-Fi channels automatically for the best operation. That's indicated by the 'smart' here, and y'all may want to turn off that feature and so that both routers volition ever use a unlike channel (to avert interference).

Make a note of the security type because you'll need to set the second router to the aforementioned setting. When you take finished there is commonly a 'log out' option. You have but looked at the settings and made no changes, and so there is nada to save, if asked.

four. Reset the router to manufacturing plant settings

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Plug in the old router and reset it to its manufactory settings. Find a small hole at the back of the router, usually marked 'reset'.

With the router powered on, insert a newspaper clip or similar, and hold in for a few seconds. When yous release the paper prune you lot should run into all the lights on the router go out and come back on once more.  You have reset the router to its manufacturing plant settings.

If this doesn't work for your particular router, expect up the reset procedure online.

5. Configure your 2d router

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Connect this 2d router now, with a network cable, to a PC or laptop which is not continued to the starting time router. The best way to do this is to plow off your chief router for a few minutes while you ready this slave router, to forbid the PC connecting via Wi-Fi.

Once attached to the second router, get through pace 1 again with this router until you become to the stage where you lot have accessed the configuration page. Here, we're using a D-Link router.

vi. Copy over the settings

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Ignore any setup wizards, and go to the Wi-Fi settings page. Enable wireless, change the wireless network name to be the same equally the primary router and cull a channel well away from aqueduct 6, which is what the primary router is using.

Match the security type exactly and type in the aforementioned password you employ for Wi-Fi on your principal router.

7. Give it a fixed IP accost

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Finally you need to make the slave router piece of work alongside the primary router and non confronting it. Essentially you demand to turn of the NAT office and then you lot don't finish up with double NAT, and you need to give the 2d router an IP address in the aforementioned range as the showtime.

This is best done by putting the second router in span mode, but if that'southward not bachelor yous tin can try the post-obit:

Head to the LAN setup page (or like) and give the router an IP address in the aforementioned range as the IP addresses given out by my main router, but outside of the range that is automatically assigned by DHCP.

Dynamic Host Communications Protocol is the process past which a device bug IP addresses to equipment on the network. Y'all need to stop the slave router giving out IP addresses to devices, leaving that task in the hands of the primary router.

Disable DHCP by un-ticking it on the relevant configuration page. To assign a stock-still IP address, allow's assume the main router has an address of 192.168.1.one and that it'south setup to to outcome addresses - by DHCP - betwixt 192.168.1.two and 192.168.1.49. Requite the slave router an IP address of 192.168.i.50. Recall this address as you might need it to admission this router afterwards.

On each configuration folio, confirm your choices by clicking 'salve settings' at the bottom of each folio as you go. Remember, too, that once you've alter the router's IP address y'all will have to wait for it to reboot, and so admission it by typing the new IP address into your browser'southward address bar.

8. Connect it all together

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At present you are ready to connect information technology all together. If your two routers support WDS or wireless bridging, exist sure to enable that on both (come across the next section).

The other way is to connect the 2 routers together with a long network cable or a pair of powerline networking adapters.

These piece of work past using the mains power cables in your walls and floors to act every bit network cables every bit well as passing electricity through them. They work only on ring mains which are all continued back to a unmarried consumer unit (fuse box). If you have two split up buildings or an extension which has its own electricity supply and meter, so powerline adapters aren't going to work.

Nosotros've explained separately how to gear up powerline networking adapters to get your adapters connected.

With both routers now turned on, it'southward time to test your network. Take a smartphone, tablet or laptop, and cheque to run across the signal strength when close to each of the routers. Yous volition find that you lot have successfully extended the achieve of your wireless network and now have a 2nd wireless access point.

nine. Or go wireless

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If you're lucky or yous chose well when you bought your old router it might already accept the features necessary to be reused to meliorate Wi-Fi coverage. Without needing network cables, or powerline adaptors, that is.

We can't listing all the routers that have some sort of bridge or repeater mode, but all the usual suspects (including Apple, Belkin, Linksys, Netgear and TRENDNet) have the functionality in virtually of their recent products. I characteristic to await out for is WDS (Wireless Distribution Arrangement).

The nomenclature vendors' use differs, but the basic steps for setting upwardly are quite similar. In a nutshell, the key steps are finding the bridge or repeater mode in the configuration tool, choose it, so enter whatever network data the tool asks for. That could be a MAC accost, network name (SSID), spectrum ring and security manner, for example.

It's important to annotation that this functionality isn't standard, and then there is no guarantee routers from different vendors will piece of work together.

10. Using custom firmware

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For routers that don't have congenital-in WDS (or similar) you might exist able to install custom firmware such as DD-WRT, OpenWRT or Tomato. To use them takes some technical cognition and the ability to follow instructions very closely.

For case, installing DD-WRT on a router in about cases is near as elementary as installing a program onto your figurer. However, doing it incorrectly can leave y'all with a router that yous take to throw away. So follow the instructions carefully!

Your router has to exist compatible with DD-WRT, OpenWRT or Lycopersicon esculentum and y'all'll have to search online for your specific router model to observe out if a custom firmware can be installed. Once compatibility has been established, there is plenty of data, including precautions, for each manufacturer and router on how to install the firmware.

In one case that's washed, turning on the repeater role is fairly straightforward. Y'all volition notice more information on the DD-WRT website.