2023-05-11 14:27:06
Having a good Wi-Fi connection is not given to everyone. It is quite common to have problems getting good coverage or high speed. To solve them, it is possible to use a wireless repeater. However, this type of material is expensive. Here is a free alternative: use an old router.
If you have an old router in a closet, take it out and give it a second life. And if you don’t have one, a friend or neighbor can give you one, there are even some on second-hand sites for less than 5 euros. This old router, no longer used for years, will allow you to improve your current Internet connection completely free of charge. It will allow you to increase the number of Ethernet ports available on your main router but also to extend Wi-Fi coverage at home, and all this for free without having to buy anything.
An old router has many uses. Depending on the model, you can use it as a VPN, server or even to improve the Internet connection. It is this last point that interests us here. What we are going to do is use the old router as an access point or as a Wi-Fi repeater. They are two different things, but in both cases you will be able to improve the connection. Instead of buying a wireless repeater, you will directly use this old device to improve the wireless signal in your home, and you won’t have to spend a single penny for it.
The first option is to use it as an access point
This is the best solution if you need to extend your network to another location in your home. To do this, you need to connect the new router to the old one via an Ethernet cable. This way, the secondary router will act as an access point and you can connect devices to it, either by cable or Wi-Fi. This is the best option because it will give you the best Wi-Fi performance, and all older routers support this configuration mode.
The only thing you need to do on this old secondary router is to change these settings for it to work properly:
- Put the same Wi-Fi network name and password as the main router
- It is recommended to use different channels from the main router to avoid interference between them
- Disable the DHCP server of the router, you will find it in the LAN section of the router. Set an IP address modeled on that of your main router. For example if your main router uses the address 192.168.1.1, put 192.168.1.2. This way, there will be no IP address conflict.
The second option is to use it as a Wi-Fi repeater
It will logically lose some speed, but it can still be the solution to improve the wireless network in a specific area of the house. For example, a blind spot where the signal is not coming in well and you need to boost coverage. However, not all routers support universal Wi-Fi repeater mode. Depending on the router you have, it will support it or not. If it is a very old model, it is possible that it is compatible with DD-WRT or OpenWRT firmware, both of which allow Wi-Fi repeater mode without problems.
The configuration you will need to do is similar to the previous one:
- Put the same Wi-Fi network name and password as the main router
- It is recommended to use different channels from the main router to avoid interference between them
- Disable the DHCP server of the router, you will find it in the LAN section of the router. Set an IP address modeled on that of your main router. For example if your main router uses the address 192.168.1.1, put 192.168.1.2. This way, there will be no IP address conflict.
but instead of connecting your old router to the ethernet port of your main router, connect it to the Wi-Fi of your main router with the repeater option.
If your router does not support third-party firmware or repeater mode, we recommend that you purchase this Wi-Fi repeater which will give you very good performance:
There are also other cheaper repeaters, but never buy one that costs less than $50 because the performance it will give you will be disastrous. Most of the time, these cheaper devices won’t be dual-band, they won’t have a good top speed, and ultimately they won’t help you really improve your wireless network. Investing in a good device is essential to not having problems.
Not all old routers will fit
Be aware that using an old router as an access point or repeater can be interesting, but not all of them will be compatible. It is important to carefully check what your model is and research on the Internet how to use it as a repeater, to see if it is really compatible with the new router and if you can use it in this way. Additionally, you should also be aware that an older router may have limitations. For example, you may have a very old one that only has Fast Ethernet ports and no Gigabit Ethernet. This means it will be limited to 100Mbps over cable, so you won’t be able to take full advantage of the fiber optic coverage we have today. This router may also not be dual-band, so it won’t perform well on Wi-Fi either. It may even saturate as soon as you connect other devices to it, without reaching a very high number. Our recommendation is to use an old router but only if it is simultaneous dual-band, i.e. it has a 5GHz frequency band, otherwise, if it is too old with Wi-Fi 4, you may not improve the wireless network at all, and it may even work worse than before.
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