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Using a router WITH another router?

adder7712

adder7712

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Mar 9, 2009
1,926
9
I have a D-Link DIR-615 router and there is an Ethernet port in my room that is connected to one of the router's LAN ports. But it's stowed away in a closet so Wi-Fi signal is abysmal at some areas of the house. I have a spare SMC router and I would like to use it as a way to expand Wi-Fi range by connecting it to the Ethernet port.

No, I'm not talking about amplifying the pre-existing Wi-Fi signal but to add another network so I can be completely wireless in my room. Still stuck with Ethernet.

Is there an easy way?
 
miles01110 said:
You do not want a separate network; you want to use the router as an access point to your existing network. Most routers have an "Access point" or "Bridge" mode in their settings.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I'll look into the SMC router's setting to check whether it has an access point mode.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

An aside about the DIR-615: it is crippled by awful firmware. It randomly stops working, and has really clunky and unreliable admin pages.

I cannot recommend DD-WRT highly enough - it is custom firmware for the router that unlocks loads of capabilities which are supported by the hardware but not made accessible by D-link's own software, or that were made so hard to configure that it wasn't worth the effort.

Since I loaded it onto mine, I haven't had to reboot it once (compared with pretty much daily before), and making any changes to the setup is really easy and intuitive. If you are trying to use your router for any serious networking, DD-WRT is a must! Good luck.
 
borisiii said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

An aside about the DIR-615: it is crippled by awful firmware. It randomly stops working, and has really clunky and unreliable admin pages.

I cannot recommend DD-WRT highly enough - it is custom firmware for the router that unlocks loads of capabilities which are supported by the hardware but not made accessible by D-link's own software, or that were made so hard to configure that it wasn't worth the effort.

Since I loaded it onto mine, I haven't had to reboot it once (compared with pretty much daily before), and making any changes to the setup is really easy and intuitive. If you are trying to use your router for any serious networking, DD-WRT is a must! Good luck.
Click to expand...

Not sure if I can load that as the DIR-615 is supplied by my ISP with a modified version of the stock firmware. You know, the log-in pages have their branding and all.
 
adder7712 said:
Not sure if I can load that as the DIR-615 is supplied by my ISP with a modified version of the stock firmware. You know, the log-in pages have their branding and all.
Click to expand...

You should be able to - mine was supplied by virgin media here in the UK. If there's an update firmware option anywhere (you upload the new software) then you can download DD-WRT and install it.
 
borisiii said:
You should be able to - mine was supplied by virgin media here in the UK. If there's an update firmware option anywhere (you upload the new software) then you can download DD-WRT and install it.
Click to expand...

All right, I did some research on my ISP's DIR-615 and if I reflash the router with DD-WRT, I might lose IPTV.
 
A better solution is what's known as a Wi-Fi Range Extender. What that does is take the incoming Wi-Fi signal coming from another part of the house and the range extender becomes the local "hotspot." Or better yet, ditch your current router for one with a way better transceiver antenna.
 
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