How to Configuring two wireless routers with one SSID (network name)

The SSID, or Service Set Identifier, of a wireless network is the public name that identifies the network for other devices. You can run two routers with the same SSID to increase the range of your Wi-Fi network, but you must set up one router to handle the network administration and the other to act as a bridge back to the primary router. If two routers are both trying to hand out locations on the local area network you'll run into trouble quickly. But with one router set up in a passive mode you can effectively double the coverage area of your Wi-Fi network.

Primary router = 192.168.1.1Secondary Router = 192.168.2.1 Step 1

Open the administration page for your primary router. The page is reached by typing the IP address into the address bar of your browser. Typical IP addresses will be something like 192.168.1.1 or 192.186.2.1. If you aren't sure of your router's IP address, check with your manufacturer (see link in Resources).

Step 2

Log in with your username and password. Identify the SSID, security settings and wireless channel. Carefully note all of that information.

Step 3

Locate the LAN settings and change the range of available IP addresses to remove the first one. For example if the range available is from 192.168.2.2 through 192.168.2.255, change it so the first available IP address is 192.168.2.3 instead.

Step 4

Save the new settings and power off your primary router. It cannot be running while you are configuring the secondary router.

Step 5

Connect to the secondary router by typing in the IP address for it.

Step 6

Change the IP address of the secondary router to the one you made available on the primary router. In the above example it would be 192.168.2.2.

Step 7

Turn off the DHCP server on the secondary router. It should not be assigning IP addresses on your network. If it does, it will cause problems.

Step 8

Change the SSID and security settings to exactly match your primary router.

Step 9

Change the wireless channel so that it is different from your primary channel. This is the portion of the radio spectrum on which the router broadcasts. By using a different channel on the secondary and primary routers, you can reduce interference on your network. The three channels that don't overlap at all are 1, 6 and 11. It's ideal to have the primary take one of those channels and the secondary another.

Step 10

Save the settings on your secondary router.

Step 11

Connect the Ethernet cable from one of the LAN ports on your secondary router to one of the LAN ports on your primary router.

Step 12

Power on your primary router. Now both routers are broadcasting the same SSID and allowing computers on the network to access each other and the Internet.

TECHNICAL SUMMARY

• First Router
• 192.168.1.1
• DHCP to use the range 192.168.1.3-192.168.1.254
• A wireless channel like 11
• Second Router
• 192.168.2.1
• DHCP is disabled
• Identical wireless security setup as First Router
• Except the wireless Channel. Try channel 6 if the first is 11.
• Plug hard-wire into the LAN port, not the WAN port.

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