Router Questions

[MaSonZ]

Today my modem got a surge of electricity and shut off. no biggie, reset the fuse in my fusebox downstairs in the basement, came upstairs, unplugged it and turned it back on, red light... ok. call my tech teacher, ask him, tells me my modem is shot. no biggie, go to staples and buy me a NETGEAR router/modem combo for $100, not a half bad deal. 300 mb/s, dual channel, WPA/WPA2 protected. everything I need. come home install it all, get the software set up, turn on my girlfriends computer on the other side of the house, no wifi. no biggie, went plugged it in to the router/modem, unplugged it after it connected and she got wifi. come back into our bedroom, and it drops it. ok, hook up the old router in here (that is still fine, although on the same power strip as the modem was, as well as the printer and my brothers desktop  ) so she has wifi throughout the house and yard. bring her laptop in here, and as expected I had to switch between routers for her to keep wifi. is there any way for me to join the two routers into one so it is like a "cloud" of wifi per say? if she goes outside to have a cigarette shell have to switch routers when she goes out and comes back in..gonna aggrivate her.

I know nothing of networking.... 

[FLS]

The first thing I would try is changing the location of the new router to see if that helps the signal. Sometimes just getting it higher in the room or away from interference is enough.

[MaSonZ]

The first thing I would try is changing the location of the new router to see if that helps the signal. Sometimes just getting it higher in the room or away from interference is enough.

it cna only go in one place, the one wireless router used to have enough coverage as no one ever went much further out of the room, likewise the cables we have for the routers and computers are all barely long enough. I managed to move it about 5 foot closer to my room, but its as high as its getting.

[AAJagerX]

Short answer...  Yes.  You just configure the second router as a switch.   Long answer below.

Configure the IP address of the secondary router to be in the same subnet as the primary router, but out of the range of the DHCP server in the primary router. For instance DHCP server addresses 192.168.0.2 through 192.168.0.100, I'd assign the secondary router 192.168.0.254 as it's IP address.

Note: Do this first, as you will have to reboot the computer to connect to the router again for the remaining changes.

Disable the DHCP server in the secondary router.

Setup the wireless section just the way you would if it was the primary router, channels, encryption, etc.

Connect from the primary router's LAN port to one of the LAN ports on the secondary router. If there is no uplink port and neither of the routers have auto-sensing ports, use a cross-over cable. Leave the WAN port unconnected!

This procedure bypasses the routing function (NAT layer) and configures the router as a switch (or wireless access point for wireless routers).

Here's a link showing how to do it on a netgear router.  The setup for your specific model may be slightly different, but this'll give ya an idea.  http://support.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1080

[Rich52]

There are router extenders as well. They arent cheap, and Ive had mixed results with one, but if all else fails it might be worth a shot. I had issues with wifi on one BR player in the basement that drove me nuts. I tried the extender and it worked a little bit but netflix still occasionally dropped and lip sync occasionally went off sync. I ended up taking the BR player back cause it started having problems with DVDs. I bought a Sony and wifi was perfect without the extender so I returned the extender.

[AAJagerX]

There are router extenders as well. They arent cheap, and Ive had mixed results with one, but if all else fails it might be worth a shot. I had issues with wifi on one BR player in the basement that drove me nuts. I tried the extender and it worked a little bit but netflix still occasionally dropped and lip sync occasionally went off sync. I ended up taking the BR player back cause it started having problems with DVDs. I bought a Sony and wifi was perfect without the extender so I returned the extender.

IMO, he's already got the equipment to fix the issue.  There's no reason to go buying an extender that will probably end up causing more problems when there's equipment in place that will do the job better.

MasonZ, I'd be happy to talk you through the process if need be.  Just shoot me a pm.  It truly sounds more difficult than it really is.

[MaSonZ]

IMO, he's already got the equipment to fix the issue.  There's no reason to go buying an extender that will probably end up causing more problems when there's equipment in place that will do the job better.

MasonZ, I'd be happy to talk you through the process if need be.  Just shoot me a pm.  It truly sounds more difficult than it really is.

I was thionking how difficult it sounds. went, tried it myself, and the Mrs. lost wifi all together. went back and reset things how they were.

[AAJagerX]

Did you lose connection to both routers?  When you say that she lost wifi altogether,  was it that she couldn't connect, or that she wasn't detecting the signal at all?

[MaSonZ]

Did you lose connection to both routers?  When you say that she lost wifi altogether,  was it that she couldn't connect, or that she wasn't detecting the signal at all?

she could detect, but not connect. and yes, both routers.

[AAJagerX]

she could detect, but not connect. and yes, both routers.

Ok, that's a settings issue then.  Did you set up your security the same as your primary router?


Btw, what are the model numbers of both routers?  I'd like to look up the specs.

[MaSonZ]

Netgear N300 Wireless ADSL2+ Modem Router
NETGEAR WNR2000-100NAS Wireless-N Router

I didn't touch anything security related on the second one, but I can do that.

[AAJagerX]

Netgear N300 Wireless ADSL2+ Modem Router
NETGEAR WNR2000-100NAS Wireless-N Router

I didn't touch anything security related on the second one, but I can do that.

Got tied up yesterday.  Sorry bout that.  I'll take a peek now.

[AAJagerX]

Don't connect the secondary router to your network yet, as it may have the same IP address as your other router.  If the IP addresses are the same, it'll muck things up.  You have to get the secondary configured before you do anything else.

Connect a PC directly to the wireless router (secondary).
Reboot the PC.
Log in to the wireless router (usually at 192.168.0.1, with User Name = admin and Password = password).  If that IP doesn't work, let me know.
Go to the LAN IP menu and disable DHCP by unchecking "Use router as DHCP server".
Select LAN IP, and change the IP address to 192.168.0.99.
Click Apply to save the settings. (You lose the connection to the router since its IP address changed.)
Connect one of the wireless router's Local (LAN) ports to your existing network (primary router LAN port).
Do not make any connection to the secondary wireless router's Internet (WAN) port.  The primary router's WAN port is the only one that will be used.
Now, try to log into the secondary router at 192.168.0.99.  You should see the normal router interface at this point.
Disable all security, apply the settings, and attempt to log on.  If successful, awesome.  Go ahead and set up your security and reboot.
If this doesn't work, let me know.  
If you want, I'll talk ya through it.  PM me and I'll give you my number.