Mar 11
21
Use Your Spare Wireless Router as a Wireless Access Point
Before we get started, if you are new to home networking I would suggest you use the smart links within the article below to inform yourself with the terms and abbreviations used not only in this article, but in this industry. Don’t let it scare you. Just take it a step at a time.
Perhaps your first question is, “What is a wireless access point (WAP) and don’t I already have one with my wireless modem or wireless router?” The answer is “yes”, your wireless router or wireless modem IS a wireless access point. A wireless access point (WAP), whether it is a wireless router, wireless modem, or an actual wireless access point device, is a device that allows wireless devices to connect to a wired network (your internet service) using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or related standards. The WAP connects to a router or modem using an Ethernet cable and relays data between the wireless devices (computers, printers, etc.) and wired devices on the network.
If you have a spare wireless (Wi-Fi) router laying around, and you are not happy with your current Wi-Fi signal, here is a low cost project for you that can boost your Wi-Fi signal and or bring a signal to a part of your house that was previously inaccessible.
Below are instructions for setting up your spare wireless (Wi-Fi) router as a wireless access point. If you don’t own a spare, wireless routers are readily available at all large retail stores at very low prices. There is really no need to track down an actual wireless access point device that is sure to be more expensive. Adding a wireless access point to a wired network already in place, or to one where the main NAT (Network Address Translation) router is provided by the ISP, is usually the easiest solution. This is what modems and routers do. So we will be making configuration changes to your spare wireless router so that we are not adding a second NAT router on the network. This would only create communication issues on your network
What we will do is configure the new wireless router/access point so that it uses a LAN IP address in your network range (the same subnet as used by your other devices).
Step 1: Find the IP addresses of your current modem/router and other devices that use the Internet
If you are using Windows, the best way to find the internal IP address of your current modem/router that connects your LAN to the Internet is to open the Command Prompt. (Start > Run > type: cmd (enter)) then type: ipconfig
This image shows: My ISP-provided gateway/router (the “Default Gateway” referring to your current modem/router that provides your path to the Internet) is set to 192.168.1.1. My client computer is at 192.168.1.10. (The IP address of the computer you are using) Write these numbers down. Most routers have an IP address in the 192.168.x.x range.
Step 2: Login to your router’s administration page to find the DHCP range
By default, LAN clients are typically set to obtain their IP address automatically. That means that the router is acting as a DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server, and serves IP addresses dynamically (as needed) to the client computers.
Login to your router’s admin interface by typing its IP address in your web browser. Then find the DHCP range. You need to find the range of IP addresses used for DHCP so you can set your access point to use an IP address outside of that range later in the steps. The IP address you assign will be outside the DHCP range but on the same subnet.
This image shows that the DHCP range is from 192.168.1.10 to 192.168.1.100. Record this range. DO NOT make any changes.
Step 3: Connect a computer, using an Ethernet cable, to the wireless router/AP
You will need to connect a computer to one of the LAN ports of the new wireless router that is to be your new access point. From now on I will simply refer to it as the AP. To do this:
1. Set your client computer to obtain its IP automatically. This is a default behavior on Windows based computers.
2. Connect it to a LAN port on the AP using a Cat5 network cable. Be sure you do not use the “Internet/WAN” port on the AP.
3. Open your Command Prompt and type “ipconfig /renew” at the prompt and press enter to force your computer to get an IP address from the AP. Leave your Command Prompt open for step 4.
4. Log into the admin interface of the AP just like you did in step 1 by typing “ipconfig”. Locate the IP address of the AP and type it in your browser.
Step 4: Configure the AP
Now that you are logged into the admin interface of the AP, you will perform two duties. First, you will need to change its internal/LAN IP address to an unused address in the same range/subnet as all your other LAN devices. This will change the IP address that you just used to access the AP. Secondly; you need to disable the DHCP server on your new AP, so there is only one DHCP server on the network. In my case, my main gateway/LAN router is set to 192.168.1.1, and it is serving dynamic IPs via DHCP in the range 192.168.1.10 – 192.168.1.100. I have to use any other address in the 192.168.1.x range for the access point.
If while making changes to your AP, you get the AP in a situation where you need to start over, simply reset it. Most routers have a small reset hole. What you do is push a ballpoint pen or paperclip in to the hole and hold it there about five seconds. You can then start over again with your configuration attempt.
This image shows that my AP’s IP address is set to 192.168.1.2 and the DHCP has been disabled so that it will not interfere with the DHCP server from my gateway/router. It is important to have only one device acting as a DHCP server, and that the IP address of the AP is in the same range as the main router.
Step 5: Connect the AP to the LAN
Now you will connect the reconfigured AP to the network. Use a LAN port on the AP and connect it with a Cat5 network cable to one of the LAN ports on your existing router. DO NOT use the “Internet/WAN” port on the wireless access point.
Connect your client computer to another LAN port of the router (if you do not reboot, you will have to use “ipconfig /renew” in the command prompt to obtain an IP address from your router).
Step 6: Test admin page is reachable and secure the AP
Now that your new AP is connected to your network, with a correct IP address in the same range while at the same time outside the DHCP range, we can test whether it’s reachable and give it a secure connection.
In the above example, I used 192.168.1.2 as the IP address for the AP to use. You should now be able to reach the AP’s admin interface by typing this IP address in your browser. If you were successful in seeing the admin interface, you can proceed with setting the wireless security.
Use WPA2 if your AP and your router support it. Provide a strong key, and keep it written down in a secure place. Try not to use WEP encryption because it can be cracked easily.