How to turn an old router into a Wi-Fi extender – Guide
Your old router may extend your home network with a few easy changes. If you find that your Wi-Fi or wired internet connection is not stretched enough, a router can take your signal and spread it even further. This can help a lot, especially if you want to use internet hungry devices like the Dell XPS 17 9710. What else would you use your old router for? Here it is how to use an old router as a Wi-Fi extender.
How to turn an old router into a wifi extender
Find a compatible router
If you have an old router, check with the manual to see if the device can be converted into an extender or repeater and get specific instructions. If the router does not support running as a repeater or extender using the manufacturer’s firmware, there is another way. See if the router can use open source firmware (like DD-WRT). In that case, chances are you can use your old router as an extender. Beware of routers from the 802.11beg eras; they won’t work well because they have a lower maximum bandwidth, which creates bottlenecks on your network. Do the math: if you have a 100Mbps connection and the extender is capped at a peak of 11 or 54Mbps, you’re probably wasting most of your bandwidth with an older router. Only an 802.11n or ac router will do. Finally, Asus AiMesh routers can connect to create a mesh network on their own. There are 17 Asus routers that support the AiMesh tool and can automatically create a mesh network topology to fill a home with wireless data. However, you will need to load new firmware to make it work.
Update firmware and reset preferences
After obtaining and installing the latest firmware for the R7000 and connecting the router to our network with a Cat5 jumper cable, we open a browser window and type “www.rouoterlogin.net” to open the login screen. Other brands of routers will have different addresses or will have real IP addresses such as 192.168.1.1. See the chart below to find out the details of your router brand. The default for many Netgear routers is admin/password, but others use different combinations, the most common passwords being admin, default, 1234, and password. If these default passwords don’t work, you can usually find the correct ones on the manufacturer’s product support pages or on sites like RouterPasswords.com and Router-Reset.com. It goes without saying that you should change your password ASAP to something more secure (and we have a guide that guides you through the process). If you set a new password for the router and forgot it, go ahead and perform a hard reset which will wipe all existing data from the system. You normally do this by holding the reset button off for 20 or 30 seconds and then the router will restart. We used Netgear’s Genie software, built into the R7000 router, to change the configuration. Once logged in, go to the Wireless section of the main configuration page. Then open Advanced Setup and Wireless Repeating at the bottom. Start with the 2.4GHz section at the top and make sure the network name and password match the rest of the network to ensure reliable roaming from the router to the extender. Then click or tap Enable Wireless Repeating Function and then Wireless Repeater.
Set a static address
It’s a little tricky, but then you need to enter a static IP address for the repeater. I like to use 192.168.1.2 (one greater than the base router address) to indicate that it is part of the LAN infrastructure and not a client or printer. I keep a handwritten list of static addresses pasted on the router to avoid further confusion about IP addresses. Almost ready. Make sure the subnet mask matches the router’s subnet mask. The subnet mask is what the router uses to determine whether the network segment and client are local or remote. This information can usually be found in the router’s management software, on the same screen as the IP address you just set. The most common default subnet mask is 255.255.255.0 and there is no reason to change it. Before finishing, check the Disable Wireless Client Association box and enter the MAC address of the router; it is usually on a sticker on the back or bottom of the router or included in the device documentation.
Repeat for 5GHz
The R7000 is a dual-band router, so go down to the 5GHz section and repeat the previous instruction set. When finished, click Apply. The router should restart and, in a few minutes, behave like a wireless extender.
check your work
It’s time to define up your extender. Choose a location with an AC outlet that is halfway between your network router and the area you want to fill with Wi-Fi. There are a lot of details to worry about when finding the best location for your router, but you are basically looking for the sweet spot where you get the best reads. To start up the extender, and with a notebook, phone or tablet, try going online. follow this up with a Speedtest.net check on your available bandwidth. It will take a few tries, a lot of errors, and maybe an extension cord if an AC outlet isn’t in the right place.
Final note
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