Two routers in the same house...

[taralynne193]

Hi,

I've been searching the forums all day trying to figure out a solution to my issue. I am not at all tech say when it comes to setting up networks. If you are able to provide me with a solution, please use layman's terms or be overly specif so I can follow along, lol.

I live in an old house which is not very large, however I cannot get a wifi connection throughout the whole house. I was told that this is due to the old plaster walls. I have fios tv and internet.

I currently have my Verizon actiontec router in my family room. The coax cable wire in that room is split, with one cable going to my set top box and the other to the router. I also have an xbox connected to the router via ethernet since it's not a wireless device. I can get wifi from this router in the bedroom above the family room and other rooms around it in the same floor, but that's it.

I have a second Verizon actiontec router. I would like to connect it the same way but in my living room, which is at the other end of the house. Currently in the living room there is a coax cable wire that is split with one cable going to the set top box and nothing coming out of the other side. I want to attach another cable from the splitter to the 2nd router. I'm hoping by doing this I can get a wifi signal to that end of the house.

I've read about Bridges and Signal Extenders and Access Points. I'm just not sure which applies to my situation. I don't care if there are 2 different network names. I just want to be able to connect laptops, smartphones or tablets throughout my entire house. I read and tried to log into the routers and turn off the DHCP, and change other settings so I'm vaguely familiar with this but I'm not sure which set of directions I should follow to fit my situation.

I cannot run ethernet cable from the 1st router to the 2nd. I'm trying to avoid this by using the coax cable that is already there, if possible. I rent and I'm not allowed to drill holes to make this happen.

Any help I can get would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thank you!

[Anti-Phish1]

Follow the instructions in part 2 of this FAQ:

Can I get an ethernet connection in a room with only coax?

[taralynne193]

Hi,

Thank you so much for the info. I did everything and I think it's almost working...

When I use my smartphone to connect in the room where I put the 2nd router (bridge) and where I used to get poor signal strength, the phone sees the 2nd wifi connection (with the same name) and it shows a stronger signal strength than the 1st one, but I can't connect to it. I entered the password and it accepted it but it just won't connect. The original one still shows but it says it was turned off since I tried to connect to the 2nd one.

Is there something else that I need to do?

Thanks again!!

[viafax999]

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@taralynne193 wrote:
Hi,

Thank you so much for the info. I did everything and I think it's almost working...

When I use my smartphone to connect in the room where I put the 2nd router (bridge) and where I used to get poor signal strength, the phone sees the 2nd wifi connection (with the same name) and it shows a stronger signal strength than the 1st one, but I can't connect to it. I entered the password and it accepted it but it just won't connect. The original one still shows but it says it was turned off since I tried to connect to the 2nd one.

Is there something else that I need to do?

Thanks again!!

---

I entered the password and it accepted it but it just won't connect.  

Typically that means that you entered the wrong password.  I would say forget the connection and then try entering the password again.

Not sure why the last section in 2.4 of the faq says what it does.  I would have thought that the most common reason for setting up a bridge like that is to get extra wireless coverage.  Also don't understand why you would want to set the ssid of the remote to the same as the primary as I'don't see what it is meant to accomplish.  I have 4 different wireless access points in this house.  They all have their own ssid's (means I can actually tell which router I'm connected to) and they all have the same passwords (only for the reason that it makes it easier to remember only 1 password) 

Typically my wifi devices switch ok from 1 to the other with no issues though sometimes they stick on the Verizon router which has the poorest signal and performance by far, I just go into setting on the wifi device and select connect on the router I want to use.