1 Hour Mods: Home WiFi Extender

WIFI Extender

In this first 1 hour mods we are going to make a home WiFi extender to help boost the signal in the hard to reach areas of your home. This is also great to extend the signal to the garage or garden?

For this mod you will need the following;

Old (or New) WiFi Router

• Link http://www.amazon.co.uk/NETGEAR-DGN2200-100UKS-Wireless-Router-Connections/dp/B003FS40KU/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1424129629&sr=8-6&keywords=netgear+wifi+modem

Lan Powerline adaptors

• Link http://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-LINK-PA411KIT-Powerline-Adapter-Starter/dp/B0084Y9N3O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424129710&sr=8-1&keywords=powerline+adapter

The Idea

What we want is to keep it simple and connect to one SSID with one password even though in effect we will have two routers in the house that at first will broadcast separate WiFi signals. We want the signal to seamlessly move between devices without any fuss.

How to

First connect the second router ( for this example we will call it an extender from here out) to a computer not connected to any other network. We now need to load up the built in configuration tool by typing in 192.168.0.1 into your web browser.

You should now be presented with a login box, input the correct credentials normally found in the manual or at the bottom of the router.

Once logged in we need to set the WiFi SSID name and password to exactly the same as the currently running router so for example.

1. Main Router is running on 192.168.0.1 and my main PC has an address of 192.168.0.2
2. The Wifi Network SSID name (What you see when you search for a signal) is "HomeNet"
3. The Password for "HomeNet" is "Password12345"
4. Wifi Channel is 6

We also want to change the wifi channel to a different number like 11 so it does not interfere. A good way to test this is with a Android app called WiFi Analyzer download it free below;

• Link https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.farproc.wifi.analyzer&hl=en_GB

Now that the extenders settings are the same as the main routers with the exception of the WiFi channels, we need to change its default IP address from 192.168.0.1 to something like 192.168.0.100 this will still enable us to log into each router without conflict.

Save and exit the router settings.

Now Connect it to a power source and plug in the power-line extender to the 1st port on the router it should light up.

Connect to your normal router and access its internal settings the same way via 192.168.0.1 and log in.

All we need to do it reserve a static IP address for the extender, remember we allocated it 192.168.0.100 (Some might even ask for the MAC address)

Once we have done this log out and connect the other power-line adapter to the main router this will supply the extender with a valid IP address of 192.168.0.100 and allow an internet connection.

Testing for a good signal

Now you should always connect to the strongest signal in that area without having to select anything. If it does not seem to work turn off the wifo on your device and back on again,

Also you could use the WiFi Analyzer to see if both signals (6 & 11) are broadcasting under the name "HomeNet" etc

Final Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed this 1 hour mod? If so please leave a comment in the box below or likewise if you need further assistance leave me a comment.

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