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  1. Member
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    I recently moved to a new apartment. My old apartment (I had moved in 10 years ago, so this was well before WiFi was as widespread as it is now) was well set up for home networking without having to rely on wireless (Cat-5 lines had been run to 4 different points in the apartment, all I had to do was connect them to a router). I thought my new apartment was set up similarly, but apparently the leasing manager doesn't know what the term 'ethernet' means and mislead me a little.

    I have my cable modem/wireless router from the cable company (a Ubee DVW3201B), but it's in a different room from a couple of devices I have that don't have WiFi capability. I also happen to have another wireless router (a Netgear WNDR3400) which isn't currently hooked up to anything.


    My question to the crowd here.. what's the best way I could set up my home network so that I can connect wired devices in both rooms? Is there some way to bridge the 2 routers so I can put them on 1 network that works throughout my apartment and I can hook up devices in both rooms that don't necessarily have WiFi? Thanks in advance for anyone who can offer up some advice.
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  2. Member yoda313's Avatar
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    You probably don't want to hear that you need to buy new equipment but I found this to be the easiest solution to going from point a to point b for wireless:

    http://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-Universal-Ethernet-Adapter-WNCE2001/dp/B003KPBRRW/ref=sr...l+wifi+adapter

    It works great on my lan only bluray player. I have cable internet and a wifi n router in one room. The bluray player is in the other room with the wifi adapter connected to it. The adapter connects to my router through the wps configuration.

    I can watch hdx 1080p over VUDU perfectly without stuttering or hiccups.

    Of course I have a pretty fast internet connection to do that. But that point being is it is simple and pretty much bulletproof.

    As Ron Popeil would say - SET IT AND FORGET IT!

    Though I do admit I have had to reset it on occasion. It has had some hiccups that needed resetting to see the router again. But I've only had to do that like twice since I bought it about a year ago.

    ----------------------------

    Please note I'm not a networking expert so there probably is a straight forward way to connect two wireless routers. I tried myself but ended up returning the second router while I could because I couldn't figure out how to do it. THis solution worked and saved my sanity.

    Just something to consider.

    Good luck.

    As I mentioned others here can probably walk you through a way to use your existing equipment.
    Donatello - The Shredder? Michelangelo - Maybe all that hardware is for making coleslaw?
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  3. Can't run a cable between the two routers? Can your Netgear router work as wireless client? Or wireless bridge?
    Last edited by jagabo; 18th Jan 2014 at 22:48.
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  4. Member
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    Originally Posted by jagabo View Post
    Can't run a cable between the two routers?
    Not cleanly from 1 room to the other.


    yoda313.. I did look into a couple of those adapters. Seems like a very workable solution, but like you said, I'd rather see if there's anything I can do with my existing equipment.
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  5. Member yoda313's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by quaker2001
    Seems like a very workable solution,
    For me it saved a lot of extra wasted hours on top of what I tried. I just wanted something that worked and thankfully that did.

    Originally Posted by quaker2001
    but like you said, I'd rather see if there's anything I can do with my existing equipment.
    Sure thing.

    Its just that sometimes its better to spend a little so you can start enjoying what you have rather than wasting time trying to get something else to work.

    But I certainly understand wanting try out the stuff you do have first.

    Good luck.
    Donatello - The Shredder? Michelangelo - Maybe all that hardware is for making coleslaw?
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  6. Member
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    Is there coaxial cable running to the other rooms? If so, you can use a Ethernet over coaxial adapter. I do this at home so I can stream Blu Ray quality movies over my media server to two different rooms without the limitations of wireless bandwidth.

    http://www.amazon.com/Actiontec-Ethernet-Adapter-Service-ECB2500CK01/dp/B008EQ4BQG/ref...net+over+cable
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  7. Member
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    I downloaded a manual for the Netgear WNDR3400 from http://downloadcenter.netgear.com/. It has instructions to set up the router as a wireless repeater starting on page 77 and continuing to the top of page 82. You can download a manual or find your copy and look for the section labeled "Wireless Repeating Function (WDS)". After you set up the router as a wireless repeater, you will have to try connecting the repeater to your devices with cables and see if it works. The manual doesn't say anything about that.
    Last edited by usually_quiet; 19th Jan 2014 at 10:03.
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  8. There are alternate firmwares for many routers that give enhanced capabilities, such as Tomato and , I think, ddwrt or something similar.

    What you want to do is called a wireless bridge, which would allow a wired connection to extend off of the receiving wireless bridge unit. Connecting an Xbox 360 via ethernet cable is one possible use.
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  9. IMHO
    consider (order from best to worse)

    - direct cable connection trough Ethernet (like twisted pair),
    - MoCA (require RF TV cable) - http://www.amazon.com/Actiontec-Ethernet-Adapter-Service-ECB2500CK01/dp/B008EQ4BQG
    - PLC modem (set of two power line modems) - http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-PA511-Powerline-Starter-Kit/dp/B0081FLFQE
    - Netgear WNDR3400 configured as WISP (station with Ethernet output) - probably alternative firmware required (seem that only dd-WRT support this model for now),
    - Netgear WNDR3400 configured as EDS bridge mode (station with Ethernet output) - some security problems can be expected,
    - buy specialized device like NETGEAR WNCE2001.

    Best mean: highest throughput, reliability, lowest latency, low cost - nothing can beat cable.

    Also You can consider turn off WLAN on UBee modem and use Netgear WNDR3400 as a AP (turn off DHCP, routing, configure UBee as plain bridge/modem - Netgear is Dual Band where UBee is single band if i see correct specification).
    Last edited by pandy; 20th Jan 2014 at 06:28.
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  10. I have an old Netgear WNR834B. My PCs are connected to it via cable, and it's connected wirelessly to the ADSL router in the kitchen. It works a treat. Sometimes getting two routers to play nice can drive you nutty, but generally once they're connecting they keep working.

    The way I read the manual for your router, you can connect wired devices to it while it acts as a wireless repeater.

    Page 80
    Wireless repeater. The router sends all traffic from its local wireless or wired computers to a remote access point. To configure this mode, you have to know the MAC address of the remote parent access point.

    If you're brave or can't get it to work, your router supports DD-WRT firmware, or more accurately the DD-WRT firmware supports your router. But it appears there's two models, version 1 and 2, and the firmware currently only supports WNDR3400 v1. You have to be a little brave though, and follow the instructions exactly, otherwise swapping firmware can turn your router into a doorstop.
    I installed the DD-WRT firmware on mine so long ago I can't remember if it was because the Netgear firmware didn't have a repeater/client mode, or whether I just wan't to try it, but it's been very reliable. Every so often the Billion ADSL router locks up (probably due to a lot of traffic) and I have to reboot it. The Netgear router just sits and waits to connect to it again.
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