Hi everyone, looking for some advice on the best setup.
I have a high-end Netgear N router at the head of my network running DD-WRT firmware. I'm pleased with the performance of this router, and the control the DD-WRT firmware offers me, but it's in my office at one end of the house and the other side of the house doesn't get a strong signal.
So I purchased an Airport Express for two purposes: expand WiFi coverage and provide an AirPlay receiver into my home audio system (awesome perk, that). I have some ethernet runs in my house, so I connected the Airport Express via ethernet to the head router.
After a lot of reading, I figured out the way to "extend" the WiFi in this manner (with the Express hooked into the main router via a cable) is to actually setup a second WiFi network on the Express using the same settings as my head router (same SSID, same auth method), and turn the Router Mode Off (Bridge Mode). Initially I was trying to use the functionality labeled Extend Wireless Network, but that appears to actually use the WiFi to connect to the main router, instead of the LAN/WAN wired port.
In principle, this seems to work, with one hiccup: sometimes our devices (iPhones, iPads, etc) seem to hang onto the wrong WiFi station; they'll have virtually no signal, even though I'm 10 feet from one of them. When I'm in the same room as my Netgear, I can pull up its status page and see that my iPad (with an extremely weak signal) is clearly not connected to it, and therefore must still be connecting to the Express over 60 feet away on the other side of the house.
I have experimented with changing the ACK timing on my Netgear router, but once I narrowed it down to 15-20, I can't seem to find the right setting within that range. No matter what I set it to, there are times when my devices hang on to one signal or the other when they should really give it up.
Since I'm considering adding a third WiFi access point (maybe another Express? An Airport Extreme, perhaps?) to provide better coverage in the upstairs front part of the house, I want to get this figured out. Does anyone have any suggestions? Do I need to set things up differently? I know this is possible; businesses obviously have tons of WiFi access points and all use the same SSID, but maybe I need different equipment to achieve a similar setup. Any insight is appreciated.
I have a high-end Netgear N router at the head of my network running DD-WRT firmware. I'm pleased with the performance of this router, and the control the DD-WRT firmware offers me, but it's in my office at one end of the house and the other side of the house doesn't get a strong signal.
So I purchased an Airport Express for two purposes: expand WiFi coverage and provide an AirPlay receiver into my home audio system (awesome perk, that). I have some ethernet runs in my house, so I connected the Airport Express via ethernet to the head router.
After a lot of reading, I figured out the way to "extend" the WiFi in this manner (with the Express hooked into the main router via a cable) is to actually setup a second WiFi network on the Express using the same settings as my head router (same SSID, same auth method), and turn the Router Mode Off (Bridge Mode). Initially I was trying to use the functionality labeled Extend Wireless Network, but that appears to actually use the WiFi to connect to the main router, instead of the LAN/WAN wired port.
In principle, this seems to work, with one hiccup: sometimes our devices (iPhones, iPads, etc) seem to hang onto the wrong WiFi station; they'll have virtually no signal, even though I'm 10 feet from one of them. When I'm in the same room as my Netgear, I can pull up its status page and see that my iPad (with an extremely weak signal) is clearly not connected to it, and therefore must still be connecting to the Express over 60 feet away on the other side of the house.
I have experimented with changing the ACK timing on my Netgear router, but once I narrowed it down to 15-20, I can't seem to find the right setting within that range. No matter what I set it to, there are times when my devices hang on to one signal or the other when they should really give it up.
Since I'm considering adding a third WiFi access point (maybe another Express? An Airport Extreme, perhaps?) to provide better coverage in the upstairs front part of the house, I want to get this figured out. Does anyone have any suggestions? Do I need to set things up differently? I know this is possible; businesses obviously have tons of WiFi access points and all use the same SSID, but maybe I need different equipment to achieve a similar setup. Any insight is appreciated.
