increasing wireless coverage with 2 routers.

[mougel01]

Hi guys,

So I'm pretty new to all that is networking..' Iv moved in to a new apartment which is rather large 250m² and is almost entirely in length..

Iv drawn a small diagram to try and illustrate my problem. (attached)

We are 3 people living in the apartment and therefore require all 3 rooms. Being young students we all want wireless internet with a high reception rate that it be in the common areas or in the rooms. Unfortunately there are only two internet connections in the apartment (the stars) and they are at opposite ends of the apartment if we install the router on 1 side, the other has little to no signal whatsoever and vice versa. We however have 2 wireless routers (Netgear TEW-639gr & TEW-631brp). I therefore tried to install the second one (which we took from our old apartment as it was ours but hadn't used till now.) and gave it the same setting than the one we found here when we arrived. This created 2 networks with 2 SSID's. Not only is this unpractical when we move around (like going from the rooms to the living room..) but we quickly started to notice the internet was crashing on both sides. I quickly figured it was due to my settings. The internet was set to "Static IP" so I assumed a conflict occurred... now I believe i have reached the limits of my knowledge so I came to you..

I would like to use both routers so we have access everywhere but without the conflict which causes us to have no internet whatsoever and if possible for them to create one large network.. (same SSID & Password) so we can move around freely.
Anyone got any solutions for me?

 

[stevech]

Improve coverage/signal strength two-way by adding an Access Point (AP), not a router. You can buy an AP, or you can re-purpose a WiFi router to be an AP. There's a FAQ here on how to configure to do that.

 

[jerryk]

I have multiple Wifi APs (actually routers) in my house. I have them set up the same except I ensure they are on different non-overlapping channels. Prior to doing this I had issue with the APs interfering with each other causing all sorts of issues for my clients (PCs, tablets, phones).

To determine the appropriate channels I downloaded an app called Wifi Analyzer (Android) to my phone that showed my devices and my neighbors. This app showed not only each AP but also the channel it used and its signal strength. Using the app I was able to select the appropriate channels for each of my APs. Since performing these changes I have been able to roam around my house with no issue of dropped connections, dead sports, etc.

 

[stevech]

best to have each AP on a different SSID.
This will allow the user to choose manually which AP is preferred.

802.11 inherently lacks the means for clients to select "best" AP.