Technology does not rest and every day it innovates with the launch of new and better products that greatly facilitate actions such as connecting to the internet.
Due to this, it is normal to acquire new products that arise, despite the fact that we already had equipment that fulfilled the same function and in good condition. This usually happens a lot with WIFI routers, which periodically offer new models with greater coverage and range.
The detail lies in what to do with our old but functional router? There is no need to throw it away or pack it forever. On the contrary, it can be very useful to boost your new router.
You can configure your old router as a Wifi repeater for power and improve the reception of your new model, making the signal reach every corner of your home. The configuration is very simple and you can do it so that both work together.
In the following article we will teach you how to use and configure your old router as a repeater to improve your Wi-Fi, so that you can save money instead of buying a repeater and can put your old router to good use.
Why use a router as a repeater?
Acquiring a repeater can be expensive, but if we have a router we can perform this function effectively. The purpose is to increase the range of the Wi-Fi signal so that you can have a connection throughout the house.
In addition, this way you will not need to install network cables that surround your entire house and rooms, since the process is completely wireless, since one will maximize the coverage of the other.
As if that were not enough, this is the solution that will provide higher browsing speed, since the router, by acting as a repeater, will give the second router much more power than a traditional repeater.
How to configure your router as a repeater to expand your wifi
To configure your router as a repeater we will have to access the settings of our router. It should be noted that you do not have to physically connect both routers since the process is completely wireless.
It should be noted that the explanation that we will give will be with a Tp-Link router because they are usually the most common in most homes. However, the configuration is usually very similar on most computers.
The first thing we will do is access the configuration center of our old router with the IP address that by default is 192.168.0.1 and the first step will be to establish a fixed IP address different from that of the main router.
Although they must be different Ip addresses, they must be in the same range, for example 192.168.0.2. To achieve this we will have to go to the Network-Lan option and after modifying the IP, we will access with the new URL.
After this we can configure the main ADSL / Fiber and the router that will act as a repeater. You will have to go to the Wireless option and select Wireless Settings. In that section there will be several sections that we must configure as follows:
- SSID: You will have to enter the exact name of the new router
- Channel: 11 (This must be different from the new router to avoid generating connection conflicts)
- Finally, the option « Enable WDS « must be enabled.
After doing this, we will have the first part of the configuration ready, but first we will have to click the Search or Survey button as the case may be. In this way the equipment will search for nearby networks, and your new router should appear among them.
You must connect it so that both are synchronized and that’s it. You will see how the SSID and MAC Address fields are filled in automatically but the security fields will have to be filled in manually. These should be exactly the same as the settings for your new router.
Finally, you will have to go to the Wireless section and there select the Wireless Security option, where you will have to configure the security of the repeater router. 3
The most advisable thing is that the password is exactly the same as that of the new router so that they connect with each other automatically without placing two passwords. The only thing left is to deactivate DHCP and for this we will have to go to DHCP Settings and disable it.