RT-AC66U as range extender

[dubbedout]

I've got my main RT-AC66u in a closet downstairs that's located on one side of the house and hooked up a 2nd RT-AC66u on the opposite side of the house downstairs in my living room. The 2nd RT-AC66u shows an average of 700Mbps connection to the main router but my Internet connection is in and out. I'm able to ping the main router (ping times all over the place though) but unable to load the UI. Obviously when I'm unable to load the main router UI i'm also unable to access any Internet sites either.

Has anyone had success in running a 2nd RT-AC66u as a range extender?

 

[RussellInCincinnati]

Without getting into the details of this particular situation, step one for debugging such a scenario is to start with the two routers in the same room, within a meter or two of each other. And see how the link is behaving in that simpler case.

Am not certain that the default options for the RT-AC66u include range extension. Pretty sure that one of the default setup options is to be a "bridge", or a way for devices plugged into the LAN ports of RemoteRouter2 to be able to bridge wirelessly to, and thus use, the internet connection of MainRouter1. Will further note that a $35 dollar EdiMax BR-6208ac (at that price it only has 100 megabit Ethernet ports) is built out of the box to be set up as a dual-band range extender.

 

[jegesq]

You can set up the second RT-AC66U as a "repeater". Pick a channel from the router (either the 2.4ghz band, or the 5.0ghz band) to "repeat" (depending on the distance you need to cover and the bandwidth you need at the other end), and it will work just fine. You can then "repeat" the signal from the router to where you need to, rebroadcasting it using both the 2.4ghz and 5.0ghz bands on the repeater. You can also use the LAN ports on the repeater for any wired devices you want to connect. All routing, DHCP, firewall, etc., is handled by the main router. The repeater does allow security settings for both the 2.4 ghz and 5.0ghz channels. Suggestion: Use different SSID's for the unit that is set up as a "repeater" so you will know which one you're connected to. You can also set it up for "roaming" on the repeater, so you could use the same SSID's if you wanted, but I've not tried that yet.

I have this same set up, router upstairs, repeater downstairs, two AC66U's. Works very well for me. YMMV.

BTW, this really doesn't pertain to Merlin's FW, but FYI, the "repeater" function works for both the stock ASUS FW and for Merlin's FW. I'm using Merlin 374.38_2 in the router and Merlin 374.41 in the repeater. Works great.

 

[jegesq]

By the way, I assumed when you used the term "range extender" that you were asking about a way to use the second AC66U as a wireless "extender" and that is what I described above, i.e., the two devices connecting wirelessly, with the second (the repeater) effectively extending the wireless range of the original signal from the router.

I neglected to mention that you can also use the second unit as a true "AP" or access point. You will need to run a Cat5e (or better) cable from the router to the second unit, but you can then set it up as in AP mode. That will also extend the range of your wireless signal, and it has one advantage over the first, which is that the wireless signal for devices connecting to the second unit (i.e., the repeater) won't be any less than if they were connected to the router (at least assuming theoretical maximums). Repeaters will "halve" the speed of the signal from the router when the device connects wirelessly to the repeater. In AP mode, that's not the case, since both the router and AP are transmitting the signals between themselves using GigE speeds.

So if you can run a cable between the two, that's clearly better than connecting wirelessly, particularly if your router's signal is getting degraded already. If that's the real problem, i.e., the location of your router, try to move it to a more central location in your home to improve the signal.