How to Connect Two Wireless Routers Together

This step-by-step guide describes how you can configure and connect two wireless routers together to extend the range of WiFi signal in your home network.

If you wish to extend the range of your Wifi  network, you can purchase an additional wireless router and connect it to your existing router with an Ethernet cable.

The setup is pretty easy, inexpensive and the best part is that your two routers need not have to be from the same manufacturer so, for example, you can easily connect your Linksys (Cisco) router to a router from say Netgear or Belkin.   For instance, I am using a 30m long Ethernet cable to connect my two routers – one is a Linksys WRT 160N (N based) and other one is a WRH54G (G based) and the setup works just perfect.

How to Connect One Router to Another

For this example, let’s assume that you have an OLD_ROUTER and a NEW_ROUTER.

Step a: Make sure your old router is working.

1. Connect the Broadband modem to your OLD_ROUTER’s Internet (WAN) port. Then connect the computer to one of the four available ports on your router through an Ethernet cable.
2. Make sure that the Internet connection is working on your computer and on your wireless devices.

Step b: Configure your new router

Most routers have an IP address of 192.168.1.1 so before you connect them, you need to ensure that they have been assigned two different IP addresses.

1. Shut down your OLD_ROUTER and the modem. Also unplug the Ethernet cable from the computer.
2. Plug the Ethernet cable into any of the numbered ports of NEW_ROUTER and connect the other end to your computer. Switch on the NEW_ROUTER.
3. Access the web dashboard of NEW_ROUTER (192.168.1.1) and change the local IP address to something like 192.168.2.1 so that there’s no conflict with the old router. Save the changes.
4. Test the SSID name of the new router and make sure it’s different from the old router. Also make sure that SSID broadcast is turned on. Save the changes.

Step c: Connect the two routers

1. Connect the modem to the Internet Port of the OLD_ROUTER.
2. Connect one of the number ports of OLD_ROUTER to your computer.
3. Connect another free port on the OLD_ROUTER to the Internet Port of your NEW_ROUTER using an Ethernet or LAN cable.

Important Points to remember

• It is suggested that the length of the LAN cable connecting the two routers should not exceed 100m and that you should avoid having any joints in the cable. LAN cables are pretty cheap .
• If you have a compatible router, I suggest upgrading the firmware to DD-WRT as that will slightly boost the wireless signal plus you’ll get access to tons of other settings in your router.
• If you have enabled Wi-Fi security in your previous router, use the same settings in your new router as well.
• It is important that you assign different SSIDs to the two routers else the same network name will appear twice in your wireless network connections window.
• If you don’t remember the username of your router, try these combinations – root + admin, admin + admin, admin + password or admin (as username) and no password.Id

• Steps

  1. 1
     Make sure both of your routers are in working condition. This is important because you don't want to go through the entire process and find out that the dual-router setup isn't working, only to realize that 1 of them has been malfunctioning the entire time.
  2. 2
     Unplug both routers from all Internet connections. This step is meant to normalize the setting before moving on.
  3. 3
     Use 2 cables to set up your main router. One of the cables should connect your main router to your Internet modem. The other cable should connect your main router to your computer.
  4. 4
     Configure your router settings so that SSID is enabled on your main router. An SSID--Service Set Identifier--is simply the name of a wireless Local Area Network. In other words, it's the public name of your router when you try to connect to it wirelessly.
     • Configuring your router requires access to your router's administration panel, and depending on your router's brand and model, accessing the administration panel will have different steps. Enter your router brand and model into a search engine if you're not sure how to access your particular router model's administration panel.
     • When you've gained access to your router's administration panel, a quick browse of the router's settings should show you an "SSID" option. Be sure that the SSID setting on your main router is different from the SSID of your secondary router. If they have the same SSID, the names for both of the routers will appear the same and you will not be able to differentiate which router you wish to connect to.
  5. 5
     Connect the Internet port of your secondary router to an open port on your main router.

  6. Tips

     • You can place the 2 routers apart quite a distance using a physical cable, but it would be best not to place them too far apart. A good maximum range is 330 feet (about 100 meters). Too long of a distance will result in loss of Internet quality.
     • If both of your routers have Wi-Fi capabilities, then be sure to set their wireless settings to be the same.