ASUS RT-AC68 but not sufficient wireless what to do?

[Gamma_ed]

I just bought myself an ASUS RT-AC68 and it works marvelous! But wireless isn't strong enough for the whole house. I have a 4 floors, so I would like to place an extra on the third floor, and this second router one will be wired from the main router wich is on the ground floor.

So should I use the router repeater mode or whats the best?
Is it possible that the both have the exact same ssid, so I do not have to switch everytime when walking through the house?

What router can you advice me? This asus is really marvelous and I could buy another one, but its not that cheap, so hoping for also a good solution but cheaper. Maybe two procesors is a bit overdone for a router that only have to do wifi. But then again when this is the best I can get, I just buy myself another one.

I hope you can help me out, because I'm not aware of what the possibilities are.

 

[ColinTaylor]

You say the "main router" is on the ground floor. Is this actually a router or is it a cable modem? If it is a router then you want to try and configure in "bridge" mode, which disables the "router" functions because the ASUS should be doing all the routing.

What you want to avoid is having routers attached to routers. This can cause NAT problems and performance issues. You want a setup something like: [ISP] -> [cable modem] -> [wireless router] -> [(optionally) wireless access point]

To extend your wireless coverage it is preferable to attach a "wireless access point" (not a wireless router) to your main router (the RT-AC68) using an Ethernet cable. If it is impossible to use a cable to connect the two devices then the second preference would be to use 2 powerline adapters to connect them via the mains wiring.

The last and least preferred option would be to use a "wireless repeater" instead of a wireless access point. But they tend to be unreliable and have poor performance.

Regarding SSIDs, yes they can be the same. Client devices tend to stick with the access point they are connected to, but there is sometimes the ability to set the threshold at which clients are dropped. Playing around with this will usually solve the roaming problem.

 

[Gamma_ed]

Thanks Colin,

What I have now IPS -> Cable modem cisco in bridge mode -> Asus RTAC68 with extra switch for all the wired computers in the house.

So you recommend to place a wireless acces point with wired cable to it, is their one you can recommend?

I thought that when you turn off the DHCP of the second router it will allright, and you do not have issues, but I;m wrong?

 

[fryedchikin]

You might want to give this firmware a try. It may allow you to squeeze out enough extra power to solve your coverage issue without spending any money.
http://www.snbforums.com/threads/asuswrt-merlin-378-55-3_hgg-final-mod.26524/

 

[ColinTaylor]

Hi Gamma_ed,

Yes, it looks like just adding an extra access point is the way to go providing you can run a cable to its location. I can't recommend a particular model because I haven't tried enough devices to have a valid opinion. I'm sure there are others on these forums that can suggest something.

Of course, you don't have to buy a dedicated access point. I only suggest that because they are usually cheaper than wireless routers. But if you do have a wireless router there is normally a setting in its menu to turn it into an access point (it does this by disabling DHCP, firewall, NAT, DLNA, Samba, etc).

 

[doczenith1]

I thought that when you turn off the DHCP of the second router it will allright, and you do not have issues, but I;m wrong?

That was my understanding as well. I have a second wireless router with wireless and DHCP turned off that I am using as a switch and am not having any issues.

@fryechikin - Keep in mind that the output power of the wireless devices is typically the bottleneck on throughput and thus increasing the transmit power of the router does not always yield the desired results.

 

[ColinTaylor]

That was my understanding as well. I have a second wireless router with wireless and DHCP turned off that I am using as a switch and am not having any issues.

For access points it's not just a case of turning off DHCP. You need to disable most of the routers other functions as well so it behaves like a switch rather than a router.

[Actually, strictly speaking that's not quite true. Providing that you don't use the WAN socket on the 2nd router you can probably get away with just disabling DHCP. But as there is already an option on most routers to turn them into access points, why not use it?]

 

[Sir Dan Baker]

You could use a second AC-68 and put it in accesspoint mode. It's easiest to give them separate SSID's as you can recognize on which wifi you are. And these Asus units are indeed equipped with Roaming-assistants, so you can force your wireless devices to automatically hop between the two.

 

[joegreat]

You could use a second AC-68 and put it in accesspoint mode.

Hi,

Using a 2nd router as access point is a good idea (see my footer ), but I would go for a N66U: It has a better range and is cheaper then the AC68U - especially if you put this firmware on it!

With kind regards
Joe

 

[Gravityz]

i would try this firmware.

it is the best for range and security.

please read what to do since a factory reset after installing is needed.(no backup restore)

http://www.snbforums.com/threads/fork-update-for-374-43-available-v14e1.18914/

I just bought myself an ASUS RT-AC68 and it works marvelous! But wireless isn't strong enough for the whole house. I have a 4 floors, so I would like to place an extra on the third floor, and this second router one will be wired from the main router wich is on the ground floor.

So should I use the router repeater mode or whats the best?
Is it possible that the both have the exact same ssid, so I do not have to switch everytime when walking through the house?

What router can you advice me? This asus is really marvelous and I could buy another one, but its not that cheap, so hoping for also a good solution but cheaper. Maybe two procesors is a bit overdone for a router that only have to do wifi. But then again when this is the best I can get, I just buy myself another one.

I hope you can help me out, because I'm not aware of what the possibilities are.

 

[Jong]

I have 2 identical Asus routers, one in router mode, one in AP mode and it works fantastically (apart from ongoing struggles with the Quantenna 5Ghz chip, which won't affect you!).

Personally I far prefer using the same SSID for all networks - both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz, router and AP, with roaming assist OFF. Generally, devices are much more likely to sensibly roam to the best radio if they know they are all on the same network. Different SSIDs mean the device is having to take a decision to switch networks - a bigger deal. Roaming Assist can throw them off, but quite a few apps (eg. Music streaming) can break when switching networks.

Yes, it's harder to know which radio you are on, but there are plenty of apps that will show you your BSSID in real time.

 

[Sir Dan Baker]

@Jong: can you explain more about that roaming behaviour? I'm always told that most devices will hold on to a signal as long as possible before roaming.

Dan.

 

[Jong]

They will if they would have to switch networks, but if it's the same SSID they know it's the same network and they can more intelligently switch to the best/strongest radio. Not all devices are incredibly clever, it's true. Our many generations of iDevices and laptops sometimes hang on a little longer than we might ideally like. But generally it works well and better than throwing a device roughly off a radio, or even worse a network, by using roaming assist.

 

[lepa71]

I just want to make sure. You do have both Asus in router mode and 2nd Asus in AP mode connected by wire. Right?

I have 2 identical Asus routers, one in router mode, one in AP mode and it works fantastically (apart from ongoing struggles with the Quantenna 5Ghz chip, which won't affect you!).

Personally I far prefer using the same SSID for all networks - both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz, router and AP, with roaming assist OFF. Generally, devices are much more likely to sensibly roam to the best radio if they know they are all on the same network. Different SSIDs mean the device is having to take a decision to switch networks - a bigger deal. Roaming Assist can throw them off, but quite a few apps (eg. Music streaming) can break when switching networks.

Yes, it's harder to know which radio you are on, but there are plenty of apps that will show you your BSSID in real time.

 

[Jong]

I just want to make sure. You do have both Asus in router mode and 2nd Asus in AP mode connected by wire. Right?

Not sure I understand your question. What do you mean by "both Asus in router mode" AND "2nd Asus in AP mode"? I have one Asus in router mode and the 2nd in AP Mode connected to the first by wire (from the WAN port of the AP to a LAN port on the router), if that is what you are asking.

 

[lepa71]

I should of said:"both, 1st Asus in router mode and 2nd Asus in AP mode". Thank you for confirmation.

 

[G997]

Jong..
Same channels on both router and ap or different ones?

 

[Jong]

Different.