How Do I Extend the Range of my WiFi Network?

[HappyDude20]

I have Time Warner Cable, which I hate because it's so slow... but the issue today is how my modem and WiFi Router are located on one side of the house and my main bedroom is on the other side of the house. It's a Belkin 54G router and I was considering swapping it with an AirPort Express.

That or perhaps I was thinking of extending the WiFi network but someone told me that I'll need a long ethernet cable to connect the Belkin 54G WiFi router to the other WiFi router (AEX) that would be located near the master bedroom. Is this true?

I always thought 2nd WiFi router could extend the reach of the 1st simply by connecting them to each other. If so, how would I go about this?

 

[zhenya]

If you are indeed still on an old 'G' router, your best bet is to first buy a new router with multiple antennae and see if that fixes the problem. That would be your easiest choice. If that does not fix it, yes, some routers can be joined together in what is called Bridge mode to extend a network wireless, but it's not a great solution, as bridging effectively halves the bandwidth that the remote device can carry. That may or may not matter to you depending on your needs, and the speeds that it is able to connect at.

 

[Mikael H]

What @zhenya wrote. A cable-bound connection between routers is always best.
Extending a wireless network using Apple hardware is extremely convenient (just follow Apple's own instructions and it will work brilliantly), but doing so requires both ends to be Airports: You can't extend a non-Airport wireless network using an Airport device.

Extending a wireless network using non-Apple hardware sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. In many cases, extending a non-Airport based wireless network requires the network to be unsecured, which may not be what you want. Someone else may be able to recommend you non-Apple hardware that works.

 

[johnh57]

We have a netgear wireless router upstairs and a netgear extender in the living room. To set it up the extender had to be plugged in and setup in the same room as the main router. Once it identified the main router and was set up with appropriate passwords it could be unplugged and moved to anywhere it could pick up the signal from the main router. It seems to work fine. Only thing I've noticed is that it somehow lost the 5g signal. I suppose I will have to temporarily move it closer to the main router to find it again.