Nowadays, having a good Wi-Fi connection at home (but also in the office, study, or workplace) has become an indispensable necessity, especially with the increase in the last period of activities such as smart working, distance learning, video calls, and much more.

But what if the connection doesn’t work well? It will have happened to you at least once that you have to deal with a “dancing” signal, perhaps due to a suboptimal connection quality or the presence of obstacles that slow down the Wi-Fi.

To solve this problem you can rely on a Wi-Fi repeater, which very useful for boosting the Wi-Fi signal at home (on the market you can find several, even according to your budget). However, if you find that you have an old router at home that you no longer use, you can also use this device as a Wi-Fi repeater, without necessarily having to buy a new one. Clearly, you need to know some steps: let’s see them together.

Why prefer a router to a Wi-Fi repeater: all the reasons

Why can a router even be preferred to Wi-Fi repeaters on the market? In addition to the savings, which we focused on previously, the router is able to create a secondary network and also a network for guests, while the repeater hooks up to an existing network and goes to increase the signal in one place. where the connection does not go as it should. In addition, the router will allow you to take advantage of a number of greater features than the Wi-Fi repeater.

Configure the router as a Wi-Fi repeater

Before proceeding to configure the wi-fi router as a Wi-Fi repeater, remember to restart it (there should be a reset button, almost always on the back) to restore it to factory settings. In addition, take note of all the information concerning your Wi-Fi connection, namely the network name, password, and Mac Address (you can do this via the management interface).

Once these preliminary steps have been completed, the first “step” is to know the IP address of your main router, which is almost always 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1. The secondary router needs a different IP, which you can set manually by following some specific steps.

The first thing to do is to connect the router to the PC (to be done via Ethernet cable), which will allow you to type the current IP address into the address bar of your default browser. At this point, you are inside the router and you just have to click on WAN Settings, set the IP address to “static” and then choose an IP address of your choice between 192.168.0.2 and 192.168.0.254.

Complete the configuration with some important parameters

We can say that most are done, but your setup is not finished yet. In fact, it is also necessary to set other parameters, starting with the deactivation of DHCP ( Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol ), in such a way as to prevent it from dynamically assigning an IP address to each connection and avoiding any possible conflict in address management between the two. router. To disable it you need to go to the Wireless Settings (or WAN Settings).

You have thus reached the last “step”, which is the setting of some important features. What is left for you to do? In short, you will need to enter the same network name as the main one and set the same type of protection, as well as the same password you use to log in. Only in this way can you really make your router become a Wi-Fi repeater.
Some of these routers also allow you to choose where to transmit the signal, or which band to opt for between 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz.

In the first case, you will have to take into account that the transfer speeds will not be like with the 5 GHz band, but at the same time, you will be able to take advantage of a greater range. If you choose the 2.4 GHz band, remember to avoid interference by assigning the right channel to broadcast on the router. For example, if your main router broadcasts on channel 1, opt for 6 or 11; if it broadcasts on channel 2, choose 7 or 12.

Faster setups with modern routers

Clearly, it should be noted that most modern routers are equipped with updates that allow you to make configurations much simpler and faster. If in the router you find the “Access Point Mode” option – usually in the Wireless Settings menu, ed – just check the box to already have the router as a Wi-Fi repeater.

Where to place the configured router

The last piece of advice we want to give you is about the location of the router. In order for it to work at its best, it is best to place it in an area that is equidistant from the place where the main router is present and the area where you want the signal to increase.