Help with adding additional router to home network please

Hi All,

Thanks in advance for any advice given

We have BT broadband with wall Ethernet ports in most rooms, downstairs we have the main home hub 5 connected directly to the open reach box via DSL cable and it works fine.

In our bedroom we have a Ethernet port which when wired to a device such as the ps4 or roku it works fine and the wired connection is strong.

We'd like to plug in our old home hub 4 however to improve WiFi upstairs

I've tried plugging the home hub 4 into the Ethernet port via the WAN port on the router but it doesn't automatically connect to broadband, the power light is orange.

What do I need to bear in mind and configure to make this work?

Thanks

Use a LAN port not the WAN port on the HH4.

So just one of the 4 yellow Ethernet ports? I did try but it didn't connect to broadband. Any router settings you can think of I would need to change?

Thanks very much for the response

You would need to reconfigure the Home Hub to behave as a wireless access point

http://www.coolwebhome.co.uk/wap/configuring-wap.html shows what to do, but with different hardware. Essentially change the IP address of the HH4 to avoid any clashes and disable its DHCP server and connect to a LAN port rather than the WAN port.

If that proves too much consider something like a TP Link Wireless Access Point at £25, its only 2.4 GHz 802.11n but for many people that is fine, but if the problems are down to lots of wireless networks in the area then a dual band 802.11ac device would be preferable.

Connect the old and new hubs together using one of the four yellow ports on each box.

Make sure thd old box does not have an IP address that conflicts as described above.

Switch off the DHCP server on the old box.

Set the old box to use the same Wifi SSID and password as the new box.

Set one box to use Wifi channel 1 and the other to use channel 11, assuming that this does not conflict with your neighbours.

Thanks and then I can plug the 2nd router in to the wall port?

I tried the previously recommended steps, changing the IP and switching off DHCP on the second router but this was all whilst plugged in upstairs not connected to the main router

The router needs to be connected via an Ethernet cable not the telephone extension - you cannot have 2 routers on one phone extension. Because you are doing it LAN to LAN you won't get a Broadband connected light on the second router because you aren't using it as a broadband router.

Follow the instructions you've been given, ignore the Broadband light, and all should work fine.

Read the OP

In reply to a post by Clockwork85:

We have BT broadband with wall Ethernet ports in most rooms,

Just being crystal clear as OP is not fully understanding the instructions. Avoids any potential confusion.

I think the OP gets it. You should maybe read the first post to avoid any potential confusion.

Edited by deleted (Wed 11-May-16 07:50:13)