Why didn t cascading my routers improve my wifi range?

Question

Both Belkin. Slave router settings were automated only, so I had to choose "set as access point". Looks like everything matches the master router, and they have different ip addresses. I had no option to change Gateway to Router or edit dhcp settings or anything, so I assume that happened automatically (or didn t.) What am I doing wrong?

Answer 1

How far apart are your routers?

How far are you from router-2?



--- Update ---

Yep, there's a trick to getting 2 home routers onto the same network. Here's one way to get it done:



1. On R1, change the *DHCP* starting IP address from .2 to .20 -- giving you a small group of static IPs to use (.2 thru .19). Save the change and reboot R1.



2. Disconnect R2 from R1, then access R2's config. Change R2 back to being a normal router, not an AP. Save that change. Now turn off R2's LAN DHCP function, then change R2's LAN IP to 192.168.1.2 (for example) and save that change. R2 will probably need to reboot. (Also, both routers should use the same Subnet Mask. 255.255.255.0 will do.)



3. Connect R2 to R1 via their **LAN ports** (don't use R2's WAN/Internet port). If you're still connected to R2 you should get an IP from R1. Bring up your browser and make sure you can access R1's config page (192.168.1.1) and R2's config page (192.168.1.2). Make sure you can use the Internet.



4. If you plan to use Wi-Fi on *both* routers, make sure their channels differ by at least 5 channels (for example, If R1 uses channel-1, set R2 to channel-6). You can make the SSIDs the same or different -- it's up to you. Same with their Wi-Fi passcodes.



Reasons to use 2 different SSID names and passcodes:

- You don't want anyone connecting to R2, except you.



Reasons to use the *same* SSID and passcode:

- You want to move (or roam) around your house and let your device choose which router to connect to -- in the hopes that it will choose the strongest signal on its own. (Some devices do this better than others.)

- You don't care who in the house connects to which router.



So, when finished you should end up with:

- R1 is the 'master' router and controls the DHCP environment

- R2 is the 'slave', its DHCP function is off, and it has a static IP next to R1's IP

- The Internet line (or modem) connects to R1

- R1 and R2 are connected via one of their LAN ports

- The remaining LAN ports on *both* routers are now in the same LAN and can more easily share resources.

Answer 2

Why would you assume that cascading them would extend their range???? The output of each is the "output" and you cannot simply tie them together and realize an increase in output and signal strength. Frequency and signal strength is basically what determines range before you include environmental factors. To increase the output you'd have to change the internal components to increase the decible output of a single unit. It really doesn't matter if you cascade them since output is not cumlative.

Answer 3

Did you run a cat 5 cable and install the new routers in a good location? Having multiple in the same place does nothing, the client chooses the best one and ignores the other.