How to setup 2 routers to 1 LAN

avz10 · Apr 15, 2010

I initially had a laptop and a desktop with one router, running both wireless and wired (Ethernet cable)

My daughters got laptops, and I bought a Netgear Wireless N300 Router/Modem for a better signal.

The signal is good, but at the extremes of the house poorer.

I read the internet and built a "Windsurfer". The results were not that impressive.

Bedroom 2 had the best signal with a flat foil behind it.(Measured with Network Stumbler)

So I thought to incorporate the first router somewhere in the system for a boost.

I got info, but it did not work for me. I know I need to change the Default Gateway; IP address, etc, but need more guidance.

Start By Gathering Information About Your Network
You will need several bits of information before you're able to run two routers together. The first is, you must know the main router's internal IP address. You router receives two IP addresses, one the outside world sees and another the internal network sees. The easiest way to figure this out is to login to a PC and go to Start>Run and type cmd and hit OK. At the prompt type ipconfig /all and you will see the Default Gateway address. This might be something like 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 or even 10.0.0.1.
You will also need to know your second router's default login because we are going to reset it to system defaults. If you have a D-Link, the username and password might be admin / admin or admin / with no password.
If you have a Linksys router, the username and password will be something like admin / admin or no username and admin as the password.
You can then depress the tiny red button at the back of the router to reset it. Next, connect an ethernet cable to the router and a PC or laptop. Open your browser window and type in the router's default IP address. You should now see the router's login box. Try the default password for that model and you should gain access to the router's configuration window.
Turning Your Router into a Wireless Access Point or Hub
Now that you have access to your router, you can turn off some of the features that make it a router. You will first want to disable DHCP. You will then want to set its IP address to something loacl to your current network. For instance, if your router is 192.168.1.1 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0, you can set the static IP address on the second router as 192.168.1.11 or something similar that doesn't conflict with any other devices on your network. You can specify whatever SSID you want. If your main is also a wireless router and its SSID is OFFICE, then you can make the second router OFFICE2.
Be sure to enable WPA (or if you have to WEP) on the second router. It's a good idea to keep the security and passwords the same as the main router to keep it simple. But you can give them both different setups for security.
Click to expand...

Can anyone help?

KillerBug · Apr 16, 2010

avz10 said:

I initially had a laptop and a desktop with one router, running both wireless and wired (Ethernet cable)

My daughters got laptops, and I bought a Netgear Wireless N300 Router/Modem for a better signal.

The signal is good, but at the extremes of the house poorer.

I read the internet and built a "Windsurfer". The results were not that impressive.

Bedroom 2 had the best signal with a flat foil behind it.(Measured with Network Stumbler)

So I thought to incorporate the first router somewhere in the system for a boost.

I got info, but it did not work for me. I know I need to change the Default Gateway; IP address, etc, but need more guidance.

Start By Gathering Information About Your Network
You will need several bits of information before you're able to run two routers together. The first is, you must know the main router's internal IP address. You router receives two IP addresses, one the outside world sees and another the internal network sees. The easiest way to figure this out is to login to a PC and go to Start>Run and type cmd and hit OK. At the prompt type ipconfig /all and you will see the Default Gateway address. This might be something like 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 or even 10.0.0.1.
You will also need to know your second router's default login because we are going to reset it to system defaults. If you have a D-Link, the username and password might be admin / admin or admin / with no password.
If you have a Linksys router, the username and password will be something like admin / admin or no username and admin as the password.
You can then depress the tiny red button at the back of the router to reset it. Next, connect an ethernet cable to the router and a PC or laptop. Open your browser window and type in the router's default IP address. You should now see the router's login box. Try the default password for that model and you should gain access to the router's configuration window.
Turning Your Router into a Wireless Access Point or Hub
Now that you have access to your router, you can turn off some of the features that make it a router. You will first want to disable DHCP. You will then want to set its IP address to something loacl to your current network. For instance, if your router is 192.168.1.1 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0, you can set the static IP address on the second router as 192.168.1.11 or something similar that doesn't conflict with any other devices on your network. You can specify whatever SSID you want. If your main is also a wireless router and its SSID is OFFICE, then you can make the second router OFFICE2.
Be sure to enable WPA (or if you have to WEP) on the second router. It's a good idea to keep the security and passwords the same as the main router to keep it simple. But you can give them both different setups for security.
Click to expand...

Can anyone help?
Click to expand...

On on of the systems that is connected to the first router (I will assume you are on windows):
1.) Open the command prompt (start>run, then type "CMD")
2.) Type "ipconfig /all"...this will give you a default gateway, subnet mask, and dns servers. The default gateway is the ip address of your first router

Sorry, just got a call and I have to go...anyone else wanna finish this one?

KillerBug · Apr 17, 2010

3.) Disconnect your PC from the wired network, and plug it into the second router.
4.) open internet expolorer and goto this address: 192.168.1.1
5.) Follow the onscreen steps to make it a access point.

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How to setup 2 routers to 1 LAN

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How to setup 2 routers to 1 LAN

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