Find and fix Wi-Fi problems, extend range and increase speed with our complete wireless booster guide
While the steps we've show you above will help improve and stabilise a wireless signal, there's only so much repositioning a router and tweaking settings can do for range. Ultimately, with a wireless technology, there's a physical limit to how far the signal will propagate before you either can't connect or speeds become too slow.
If it's poor range you're suffering from, you need a scheme to improve this, providing you with a strong wireless signal everywhere. There are two ways (and three types of products) to do this, as you can see from the diagram below. We'll look at each in turn.
Wireless range extender
Using a wireless range extender is one of the easiest ways to improve range. These products repeat your existing wireless signal, giving you better Wi-Fi range without having to use any physical cabling. For the best results, you have to place the extender halfway between the existing router and the area you get poor reception in.
There are two types of product that you can use. First, many routers support the Wireless Distribution System (WDS). This allows you to create a single wireless network in your home, with great range. It can work in two modes. First is wireless bridging, which creates a point-to-point link and doesn't allow wireless clients to connect. This mode is useful in businesses, such as for joining two separate buildings together on the same network. The second mode is wireless repeating, where the wireless signal is repeated and wireless clients can join. Unfortunately, in our experience, WDS is a real pain to set up, particularly between different router manufacturers.
An alternative is to use a dedicated wireless range extender. During set-up you connect the extender to your existing wireless network, as though it were just another wireless devices. You then create a new wireless network on the extender, following our advice on how to set up a network. It means you end up with two wireless networks: one original one and one that you use when the main network is out of range. When you're connected to the new network your data is transmitted to the range extender, then repacked and transmitted over the existing wireless network.
The beauty of this system is that a wireless range extender will work with any router and is far easier to configure than WDS. However, you end up with two wireless networks, so it's important to make sure, particularly for 2.4GHz networks, that the new network doesn't overlap or interfere with the old network.
A secondary problem is that you don't have one contiguous wireless network. If you were downloading a file on a laptop, for example, in your lounge on the main network, then moved outside and joined the new wireless network, the connection would be interrupted. You'd then have to resume or restart the download.
Speed can be an issue with these types of products, as you've got two wireless connections. Latency, which is the time it takes for a request to be sent and the reply to be received, can also increase. Latency is important as it dictates how responsive things feel. A high latency wireless network means clicking on a link on a website, for example, takes a while to send the request and receive the reply, making it appear to take a while to load the next page.
For these reasons, wireless range extenders are best for fixed devices that don't currently have very good internet access, or for general web browsing.
Wireless access points
A better way to extend wireless range is to use a dedicated wireless access point or a secondary router, connected to your first router via a physical wired network. This resolves latency and speed problems. Using this method you use the same network name and security key on your new access point as on your existing router. It gives you one seamless wireless network, with devices just attaching to the wireless access point with the strongest signal. For the best results, you should use different channels on each access point, so there's no interference.
A simple way of extending range is to use a HomePlug wireless access point. This plugs into a mains socket where you need to extend your wireless network to. You need a second, normal HomePlug adaptor connected to your router via Ethernet. Communication between your main router and the new access point takes place over your home's power cables.
Probably the best way of extending your wireless network is to buy a new router and connect it to your old router via a physical Ethernet cable. This will guarantee you better speeds, plus you can use the new router's Ethernet switch to connect more devices physically. Running an Ethernet cable isn't always easy, so you can alternatively two regular HomePlug adaptors: one connected to the new router, one connected to the old one.
This method can be a good way of reusing kit. For example, you can buy a new router to replace the old one, giving you better performance generally. The second router can then be put to work extending wireless range. In all cases, using an access point requires roughly the same steps. We'll show you how to use two routers together, as that's potentially the most complicated. We'll assume that your primary router is connected to your broadband connection and that the internet is working properly. You should also follow the advice above to help work out which channel's best for your networks.
How to use two wireless routers to extend range
Using two routers is often the best solution to poor wireless, giving you a seamless and quick way to extend Wi-Fi range. If you've gone down the HomePlug wireless access point route, the instructions here are similar, but check your product's manual for full instructions and how to configure it.
STEP 1 - Connect to your primary router
Connect to your primary router's (the one connected to broadband) web-based management page and navigate to the DHCP settings, which are most likely under the LAN settings. DHCP is the protocol that deals with network addresses for connecting devices, as each one must have its own unique IP address. An IP address is made up of four numbers separated by full stops, such as 192.168.0.2.
The DHCP server information will tell you the first address that is handed out, such as 192.168.0.2. It will then either tell you the last address, such as 192.168.0.100, or the number of addresses it hands out. For the latter, you add the number of addresses to the last number of the starting address to get the end address. If the number of addresses was 100 and the starting address was 192.168.0.2 the last address would be 192.168.0.102.
You need to note down an IP address that falls outside of this range and is not the same as your router's IP address. This means keeping the first three numbers the same, such as 192.168.0, and picking the final number, which can be between 1 and 254. In both of our examples above, 192.168.0.200 would do the job.
Step 2 - Configure the new router
Next turn on your new router, but don't connect it in any way to your existing router. Instead, plug a computer into the new router via Ethernet and visit its web management page.
Look out for the router's IP address setting. This must be for the LAN interface, not the WAN interface, which is for the internet: the two addresses are separate and not related. Change the router's IP address to the one that you found was safe in Step 1 of this guide (192.168.0.200 in our example). Your router may restart. If it does, you'll need to connect to its web-based management page again, this time typing the router's new IP address into your browser.
If your computer won't connect, it's possible that it's still holding on to an old IP address, so you'll need to make it refresh its settings. The easiest way to do that is to unplug the Ethernet cable from your computer and plug-it in again. Once you're connected to your router again, find the DHCP page and select Disable. Click Save to apply the changes. You'll most likely be disconnected from the router, but that's fine for now.
STEP 3 - Connect the two routers together
Disconnect your computer from your new router, as it's time to connect it to your broadband router. You can either do this step using an Ethernet cable, or you can use HomePlug between them: both do the same job. Plug one end of an Ethernet cable into a spare Ethernet port on your broadband-connected router. Plug the other end into a spare Ethernet port on your new router: not the WAN port, as this will not work.
If you're using HomePlug, you'll need two Ethernet cables: one from the new router to a HomePlug adaptor, and one from a HomePlug adaptor to the old internet-connected router.
STEP 4 - Configure both routers to use the same Wi-Fi network
Connect wirelessly to your home network, as you would normally. Get up a browser and type in your new router's IP address to access its web-based management. Go to the wireless settings and input the same network name and security settings as for your existing wireless network. Make sure you pick a new channel that doesn't overlap with the existing network's channel (this is for both 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks) and that you've configured both routers to use optimal settings, as per our 2.4GHz and 5GHz guides. Save the settings. You've now got one big wireless network, with excellent range and throughputs.
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