How to Make a Wi-Fi Phone Router

How to Make a Wi-Fi Phone Router

Based on the name, a reasonable question arises: why do I need to connect a router through a router, what is the meaning of these actions. The fact is that users often encounter a situation where the Wi-Fi signal is not able to cover the entire area of ​​their homes. This is not uncommon for large private houses, for example, with an area of ​​100 m3 or more. Regardless of the model, routers have a limited coverage area, and to increase it, repeaters are used that can greatly “expand” the space. For the same purpose, two routers are interconnected using a connection to the same network. The second router serves as a repeater, thus, both signal amplification and its expansion are achieved.

It’s important to know! When setting up such a connection scheme, when you need to connect two routers in order to expand the existing “Wi-Fi” network, you will need to configure the router in repeater mode. But this method is not suitable for all devices, some models do not support a similar function.

Cable connection

To connect a router to a router, a LAN cable is most often used. This is easy to do: certain skills are not required, and it does not take much time. But not everyone knows how to connect the router to another router through a cable. It is naive to believe that just connecting one device to another will work. No, of course, it will take a little insight into the process and understand the intricacies, since there are two completely different connection schemes. Before you take any action, you should familiarize yourself with both, and then choose the most suitable option for yourself.

Network of routers in cascade LAN-WAN

This scheme is preferable for the bulk of users, in any case, it is used more often. First you need to figure out how to properly connect two routers with a cable: from a LAN outlet to the WAN input. This is done for a simplified way to configure the Internet, which will be a feasible task even for beginners in this matter. Using this principle, a tree-like “Wi-Fi” bridge is built: in this way, you can connect countless routers that use one access point.

But first you need to establish this chain. It is noteworthy that the last device in this circuit uses the settings of the previous one, this is the simplification of the task. The process of how to connect and connect two routers actually comes down to turning on the dhcp function on the main router:

  1. On the secondary router, open the web interface using the IP address 192.168.1.1.
  2. It is necessary that the IP addresses of both devices do not match, otherwise this will cause a “conflict”. Since the second router is being configured, its IP address must be changed to 192.168.1.2.
  3. In the settings, against the line “Connection Type”, select DHCP, it is also sometimes referred to as IPoE or Dynamic IP.
  4. Mark the line NAT. “Save”.

After the changes are saved, wait until the connection appears, and work quietly.

Communication between routers in an equivalent LAN-LAN scheme

With this option, it is necessary to connect the routers with LAN ports, using a cable, sequentially inserting it into the LAN port of one device, and in the opposite direction. Such a connection creates one logical segment, while wireless networks must have different SSID names with the same addressing. To configure and connect, unlike the previous method, on the contrary, you need to disable the DHCP server. To do this, first go to the web interface of the primary router, the tab with the DHCP server, remember the pool of addresses to be distributed. By default, the range of values ​​is in the range from 2 to 100:

  1. Open the settings of the secondary device, go to “Network”. “Local Area Network”.
  2. If they have one IP address, it needs to be changed. The address is not selected from the pool of the DHCP server, that is, we set the value to 192.168.1.101 or something like that.
  3. Go to “DHCP Settings”, disconnect the server, ticking “Disable”.
  4. Click on the “Save” button, after rebooting. We managed to connect.

Wireless connection

There is another recognized option, how to connect the router to another router via wifi. Connect them together by creating a wireless “Wi-Fi” bridge, as a result of which it turns out to install routers at a great distance from each other, while increasing the coverage area. Cables in this case will not be needed, in this a positive point: they will not interfere. But this option is not without its negative aspects: it’s easy to connect, but the network loses stability, which is accompanied by a decrease in speed. If there are serious reasons not to use a cable for connection, this will not be the worst option. Using the wireless method of connecting and connecting routers, it should be borne in mind that not all devices support WDS mode, mainly for older models.

WDS-based wireless bridge

A network bridge without wires is created simply by connecting two routers into one “Wi-Fi” network, but the process itself is complex and lengthy. Setting methods differ in details on different routers, but the principle of creating such a bridge with your own hands is unchanged: for this, support for WDS is needed.

To expand the coverage, it is recommended to connect and connect one router to another via Wi-Fi using devices of the same brand. In other words, if the main router, for example, Asus, operation and connection will be more stable when using an additional device of the same brand.

Configuring the primary router for WDS mode

Different routers have their own settings, a lot of manuals have been released on this subject. But the process and sequence of actions described in them are so complex and confusing that a novice user is simply lost. And the principle of how to configure a router (main) in order to connect to an additional one comes down to one, regardless of the device model:

  1. The main router must be pre-configured for the provider, the prerequisites are reception and distribution. Internet in “Connected” mode.
  2. Open the web interface and go to “Settings”.
  3. Select “Wireless Settings”.
  4. Change the “Automatic channel selection” mode to manual and apply the values ​​1, 6, 11, which one will be less loaded.
  5. Click on the “Save” button.

Configure a Second Router for WDS Mode

Everything is a bit more complicated here, but figuring out how to set up a WDS wireless bridge for the second router before connecting it will also not be difficult. Setting up the router in bridge mode for an additional device looks like this:

  1. First change the IP address of this device.
  2. Set the same channel as the main channel, the same value is indicated.
  3. Connect the “bridge” function (WDS) by ticking the line.
  4. Identify the network name (SSID) used by the primary device.
  5. Next, enter the mac address of the main router.
  6. Indicate his password, key type and password of the Wi-Fi network.
  7. When the WDS function is turned on, the Search button will appear. Click on it to scan available networks.
  8. Select the desired network. “Connect”.
  9. Indicate the “Key Type” and “Password” of the network of the main device, then. “Save”.
  10. Go to “DHCP Settings”, disable the DHCP server.
  11. Click on the “Save” button and reboot. We managed to connect.

Connecting an access point (AP) to a router

Before connecting both routers to create and configure a wireless bridge, connecting them together, you will need to update the firmware and proceed with the settings of the access point, which helps to expand the coverage radius. Connection will help create a distributed network using several APs to get a connection through both devices.

TD connection among themselves

In order to connect the two devices, the process begins by entering the router address through the computer or laptop in the browser search engine through: http://192.168.1.1. Then press Enter, in the registration window specify user data: admin and admin. Next, go to the web interface of the router:

  1. In the settings, select “Wireless Networks.”
  2. In the network name. SSID. indicate the name, for example, WL550gE, and in the column WPA2-PSK think of a password for the wireless network. Remember it or write it down.
  3. In the IP Config folder, open WAN LAN where the IP address of the first access point is indicated. Remember him.
  4. In the Wireless Networks folder, select Bridge.
  5. In the new window, find AP Mode, where to select “Mixed Mode”, and as a bridge. the WDS Only option.
  6. Here select the fixed WDS channel, value 1, 6 or 11.
  7. Activate the function “Connect to access points in the list of remote bridges”.
  8. Enter the MAC address of the second access point with the value 00: 0E: A6: A1: 3F: 6E. “Add”.
  9. Click on the “Finish” button, then on “Save and reload”.

Setting up a second AP

To connect the second router to the access point and connect to the first, a similar sequence of actions is used. Then go directly to the device settings:

  1. Open the menu and specify the network name (SSID), it must coincide with the first AP.
  2. In the IP Config menu, open the DHCP server.
  3. In the line “Enable DHCP server”, select “No”, then. “Apply”.
  4. In the menu “Bridge” indicate the same channel as the first AP.
  5. Enter the MAC address of the first access point with the value 00: 0E: A6: A1: 3F: 87. “Add”.
  6. In the “Password” field, you must enter the code word invented by the user for “WPA2-PSK” in the first router.
  7. Click on the “Finish” button, and then on “Save and reload”.

Conclusion

The process of how to connect and connect one router through another can be difficult or easy depending on the option selected. But first you need to ask yourself the questions: is it worth it and why do we combine routers? If the answer is yes, and the goal is clear, it remains to choose the most preferable way to combine both devices into one.