Add Wireless Router as Repeater to Increase WiFi Signal

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
jeff-j

jeff-j

Honorable
Dec 13, 2013
508
0
11,060
I have a wireless router in my garage where my ISP cable modem is located. I have the wireless router as close to my house as I can which is about 140ft away from the garage, I am able to get a wireless signal in the house but it is very weak. So right now here is my setup

Cable Modem==Wireless Router----->140ft-----> Then a computer and phone in the house that use wireless.

Is it possible to put a wireless router in the house with the same SSID and password and have it boost my wifi signal in the house. I know I will have to disable DHCP on the one in the house.

I don't have the option to run a network cable from the garage to the house and I can't use power line adapters because they are on different power meters,

I also live on a large piece of land so I dont have to worry that much about interference from my neighbors.
 
Solution
abailey
Ok in your situation I would not try using an extender. It may be possible to purchase a new AP for the garage and for the house with high gain antenna and it may work ok, but it may not and you have spent alot of money. Personally I don't like to use extenders as they cause many problems like they cut your bandwidth in half and cause additional latency. What I would do, personally, is create a P2P wireless bridge between the garage and the house. Then I would put an inexpensive AP in the house.
Since your house is close to your garage without obstructions I would purchase this:
http://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-AirWire-Plug-Wireless-Ethernet/dp/B003Z53K8Q
You would hook one to your router in your garage (with an ethernet cord) and...
Sort by date Sort by votes
abailey

abailey

Distinguished
Mar 23, 2014
944
0
20,960
If the signal is weak inside your house, it will be weak for your wireless extender also. Wireless extenders work when you can locate them between your wireless router and your client devices so the extender can get a good signal from the wireless router and can thus extend your wireless coverage to your clients. Is there a clear line of site between your garage and your house without trees in the way? Are there windows on the walls facing each other?
Also what speed do you need? What is your internet speed?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
jeff-j

jeff-j

Honorable
Dec 13, 2013
508
0
11,060
Yes there is a clear line of site between the garage and house. I have the wireless router in the garage in the window facing the house. Right now there is a computer in the living room with a USB wifi adapter and I have the adapter sitting in the window as well and I get about 20% signal. There is a enclosed porch on the back of the house that faces the garage. I get about 20 Megs in the garage but in the house I am only looking for enough speed to do web browsing, email, and some light downloading. I do not need to to any streaming from netflix or hulu, or any gaming. Mainly I am looking to add some smart phones and a table to the wifi and be able to move about the house without looking signal.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
abailey

abailey

Distinguished
Mar 23, 2014
944
0
20,960
Ok in your situation I would not try using an extender. It may be possible to purchase a new AP for the garage and for the house with high gain antenna and it may work ok, but it may not and you have spent alot of money. Personally I don't like to use extenders as they cause many problems like they cut your bandwidth in half and cause additional latency. What I would do, personally, is create a P2P wireless bridge between the garage and the house. Then I would put an inexpensive AP in the house.
Since your house is close to your garage without obstructions I would purchase this:
http://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-AirWire-Plug-Wireless-Ethernet/dp/B003Z53K8Q
You would hook one to your router in your garage (with an ethernet cord) and you would put the other one in the house and hook it to an AP that would give you wireless signal in your house. An inexpensive AP should work fine. One like this: http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-WA901ND-Wireless-300Mbps-Repeater/dp/B002YETVXC.
Anyway if you could put the wireless bridge devices in the windows, that would be even better. With the Ubiquiti Airwire you do not have to configure anything. Just plug them in and they work.
For best wireless, make sure to use only channels 1,6,or 11 in the 2.4ghz range. Of those 3 channels make sure to set your garage wireless router and the house AP to different channels.
 
Upvote 1 Downvote
Solution
abailey

abailey

Distinguished
Mar 23, 2014
944
0
20,960


For what? For your AP in the house? Or are you talking as an extender?
As an AP in your house, sure you could use it, even without dd-wrt. Its speeds will not be as good as a wireless N AP but you could try it as it may be just fine for your needs.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Saga Lout

Saga Lout

Retired Mod
Mar 31, 2010
24,042
310
69,740
There is an alternative given that you have an electricity supply to the garage, if it's on the same main circuit as the house, powerline adapters may be the answer. You connect one near the router and cable to it then another in the house and cable to the PC from that one. The ethernet service is carried over the power cables.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom