Access point queries

Phil2008

Phil2008

Phil2008

Soldato
Joined
17 Dec 2004
Posts
8,743
I have quite a long house and my router is at the 1 end of the house so the wifi doesn't reach the other end of the house. Im thinking to put a access point in the middle of the house and then that should cover all the house.

What I want to know is can you buy access points that communicate with the main router wirelessly and cover the house wirelessly together, or does the router and access point need to be hardwired up together?

I have a old dlink G604t wireless router, can that act as a access point?
 
I've had an AP independent of router in the past.

Have you thought of a Powerline adapter, or does it have to be wireless?
 
I've thought about that, but a access point is prob cheaper and I think my room is on a diff circuit, as my room we had built on to the house. I would need to borrow one to see if it worked.
 
If you want your router and access point to communicate wirelessly you're looking at a WDS (wireless bridging/wireless distribution system) setup. Most good router/access point firmwares should have this feature.

Tomato firmware WDS guide: http://www.polarcloud.com/tomatofaq#how_do_i_use_wds
DD-WRT WDS wiki: http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/WDS_Linked_router_network

The initial setup can be complicated. It's recommended that the router and access points in a WDS all use the same wireless chipset (Atheros, Broadcom, Ralink).
 
Where are you?

[edit]Why don't you buy the powerline adapter and return it under DSA if it isn't suitable?
 
I know the buffalo Nfiniti series can do this. Theres a switch on the back that turns it from a router to an access point.
 
Ummm, I don't know if im doing something wrong, but the access port doesn't seem to be doing much.

Ive set it as a repeater and its connected to the router fine I think, but its just not improving the range at all. This is right, if laptop is close to the access point then the main router, it should use the access point?
 
heres a few screenies of my settings, maybe you can see where Im going wrong........

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When I use my repeater I have to turn DHCP off on the repeater access point. All DHCP functions are still performed by the original router when they are connected wirelessly. You'd in effect have two access points with the same SSID, password and encryption.
 
Ive tried disabling the DHCP on the access point, but all that achieves is that the laptop wont connect using the automatic IP configuration in windows.

I need the same SSID, password and encryption on the access point, so it knows what its connecting to... It does work as when the access point is hard wired up to the pc, the internet works, so both routers are talking to each other. But its from access point to laptop wirelessly, it dont seem to be doing anything, but then again laptop wont automatically connect if I disable the DHCP from the access point. Ummmm

Also Ive notice that when laptop isn't connected, it shows the wireless network to be very good and then as soon as its connected, is drops to "very low". Like its bypassing the access point all together?

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Ok guys got it somewhere sorted now, I needed to use universal repeater mode and now the access point is accessing the net now. but signal it still not great, its gone from very low to low now, I can improve that by moving the access point into the room that I want the net access in. But that means moving the access point further away from the main router, and that causes laptop disconnecting every few secs. So I guess I need to experiment some more with placement, or buy another access point.
 
Using a repeater is always a bit of compromise. If you move the laptop closer to the repeater does the signal improve drastically?

It could be that your room is lined with something that doesn't let wireless signals pass very easily and this could be why only a low signal is getting in there.
 
Im going to loose it with this thing before too long,,,,,,, After its been powered up for 10-15 mins the laptop starts loosing connection every few secs, but if the connection is busy by the laptop it stays connected.

Any ideas why access point cant keep laptop connected after 10-15mins of the access point being switched on guys,, cos Im really thinking about giving up and sell the dam thing on ebay?
 
If the signal is low that can happen and the router will just disconnect the client. I get this sometimes with my iPod Touch in the bathroom. If I am using it to play a video or refresh a page every 20-30 seconds it's fine, but if I read a page in depth for a couple of minutes it will basically drop the signal and I need to reconnect, sometimes anyway.
 
Ah right, like it seems to work fine about 10meters away from the router, but any further it goes wrong, and the place that Im trying to improve the signal is about another 10meters away, plus the upstairs for my sister, but I cant get up their cos im in a chair, so just have to hope the wifi is getting up there aswel

At the moment I have both APs at either ends of the house, but I will now try the access point at about just over quarter the house width, cos half it drops out aswel cos theres a huge thick wall to get through.

Thanks Telalc
 
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