Auto switching clients between router and Wireless extender

Guys, I'm a bit confused about what a wireless range extender gives me. I have bought a Sitecom Wireless Range Extender 300N. This extends the wireless range of your router to parts of the house that have a weak signal or none at all. It is setup correctly and is working fine and the SSID is different from the Router.

Essentially, I want to extend the range of my router to parts of the house that have a low signal. This range extender seems to be the correct product to do this. However, I want my clients to switch to the appropriate wireless access point (either the range extender or my router) depending on the strongest signal, how can this be configured?

When a client is the overlap area (the area where both the router and the range extender can be sensed) I want the client to switch to the strongest signal.

In my case My Router is in the loft and the range extender downstairs. You can still get a low signal from the router when you are downstairs but the range extender give a full signal. However, I don't understand what makes a laptop 'switch' from router to extender when its downstairs.
Because the extender has a different SSID a laptop that can still get a low signal from the router when downstairs doesn't automatically attach to the extender to get a strongest signal.

Have you tired making the SSID the same on both?

In general ...

When you make the SSID the same you are telling the client devices that two (or more) access points serve the same underlying network. While connected the wireless radio still scans for other "candidate" access points which may be better to maintain connection to that network.

But when you make the SSIDs different, the client device assumes they represent different underlying networks.

This makes you subject to the "order of preferred networks" often part of the operating system, certainly Windows since XP has this as a dialog of the wireless adapter while Windows Vista / 7 as part of Network and Sharing (Centre).

As it is trying to maintain connection to your chosen network it will hang on grimly to the "preferred" SSID even if weak, until it decides the connection is unusable and moves on to your "second choices".

So the rule of thumb is if your APs connect you to the same network (with the same DHCP server giving out the IPs) then make the SSIDs the same as that is how roaming is meant to work.

But ultimately client devices have their own thresholds for what is "unusable", how often to scan for other APs, and how much stronger a signal has to be to roam (to avoid contstant filpping between similar strength networks).

And "Range Extender" unfortunately is a marketing term for a number of different products, some of which need to be wired to the network (so are really access points) and other which take their feed wirelessly (so better described as wireless bridges or WDS which may require the other Wi-Fi router/AP to be in a special mode).

This makes it harder to be exact about what setup will work best for you.

Edited by prlzx (Sun 21-Aug-11 01:50:47)

Hi, I use Windows WZC (Wireless Zero Configuration) you tell the Windows computer/laptop to which wireless device it should connect.

http://www.corenetworkz.com/2009/07/how-to-start-wir...

http://www.home-network-help.com/wlan-autoconfig.html

http://www.home-network-help.com/wireless-zero-confi...