Do you know what is worse than no internet? Slow internet. If you are moving your house or switching to a new office, you might face problems like poor WiFi reception. There are a few ways to overcome this issue. For example, you can use a WiFi repeater which receives signals from the radar and broadcasts it. It is cheap and effective.
There is another device in the market called PowerLine, which, unlike WiFi repeater, does not use WiFi. The PowerLine adapters transmit data across the cables in your home. They are better than WiFi repeaters as you can position them even outside the range of the router, but they are quite expensive.
You can also use an old WiFi router as a repeater. You need an extra WiFi router, an ethernet cable and a laptop with an ethernet port for this DIY project.
Also read: How to use Ping command to test your internet network
How to turn an old router into a repeater?
Follow the steps mentioned below.
- Type your Default Gateway address in the browser’s URL tab. The address could be found by typing ipconfig/all in Windows and route -n get default in Mac.
- Log in using the appropriate credentials. You can find the default login credentials on Google by typing the model number of the router in the search bar.
- Navigate to the Wireless tab and note down important information like SSID, Authentication Type, Mode and Password and then, logout from the portal.
- Reset the secondary router and connect it to the laptop via LAN cable.
- Type the Default Gateway address of the secondary browser and log in using the credentials.
- Set the SSID, Authentication Type, Mode and Password for the secondary router same as that of the first one and turn off DHCP.
- If the IP address of the secondary router is the same as that of the first one, choose a different IP address and logout from the portal.
- Now place both the routers at their respective positions and connect them via a LAN/ethernet cable.
Well, you can buy a repeater if you want to save yourself from doing this tedious task. But DIY projects are fun and surely worth a try. Do let us know if you want to see more such content and tell us in the comments if you did this and your experience.
