Using router as wifi extender

[superFoolish]

I have tried to do some search myself, but I suspect that I am using the wrong terminology, which is hampering me.

Problem: my son’s PS4 has lousy wifi reception. My research indicates that this is an issue with the PS4’s built-in wifi adapter, as it seems to be a common complaint.

It’s not my wifi; other equipment such as laptops and phones get good reception in the same location.

There are a number of possible solutions, but the most convenient (and zero) cost, would be if I could repurpose my unused Asus DSL-N55U as a wifi extender. I am not sure what the correct terminology is. I thought it might be ‘bridge’ but the search results I get aren’t quite right.

The PS4 has an Ethernet connection, and I was wondering if it would be possible to connect the PS4 to the one of the router’s LAN ports, and use the router’s wifi to receive the signal from my wifi network. I am sure that this must be possible with the right equipment.

My questions are:

1) what’s the terminology for this solution?
2) does anyone know if the Asus DSL-N55U can do this?

I’m happy to flash the firmware if necessary; the router is currently unused, so nothing to lose.

Thanks in advance.

[colboy]

Not tried this yet but the following article seems to cover the topic:

https://lifehacker.com/how-to-extend-your-wi-fi-network-with-an-old-router-915783308

Good luck!

[dionaeamuscipula]

I have my PS4 wired into the main router through the power cables. I have a mini hub next to it and they also connect to an old BT Home hub (and a bunch of other crud) which gives me wi fi in that corner of the house. The specialist devices - wifi extenders - which both receive and send a wifi signal do it by halving the wifi bandwidth. I don't believe you can do that with many standard router. Repurposing a router as a wifi extender is relatively easy.

I would replace the ethernet over power with a dedicated Cat 6 if I could do it myself, but I worry about the terminations.

DM

[superFoolish]

Thanks for the comments so far; very helpful.

With further research, it looks like there is something strange going on with my wifi. My modem/router has both 2 & 5 GHz. The 5GHz is always great but, the 2GHz for some reason, drops to low speeds after a short time, regardless of the channel I select. e.g. I change the channel, I test the speed with results of around 30Mbps, then it drops to 1Mbps and less. Unfortunately, the PS4 only has a 2GHz wifi connection.

I am more than competent to install Ethernet cabling, and I would do that, but I live in Australia, and its illegal to run your own network cables through walls and lofts here.

As far as I can tell, my spare router cannot be used as a wifi repeater (the model later than mine can).

However, I think I can connect my spare router to a LAN port on my main router, and use it as a bridge (not sure if that’s the correct terminology), so I would be using my old router’s wifi for the 2GHz connections. At least this will assist in identifying if it’s an issue with the new router’s wifi.

For anyone wondering why I am using a new router we have been upgraded to Australia’s NBN network which is VDSL, and my spare router is ADSL.

I’m trying to avoid buying any new kit (at least, my son is, because he’ll be paying for anything that is only going to be used for his PS4), but if all else fails, we’ll probably go for a powerline solution.

I’m a bit short of time at the moment (only have a couple of free hours each evening), and this is not my top priority, so I may not be trying this out again for a few days. I just wanted to provide the updated information and say thanks.

[superFoolish]

Thanks again for input to this thread.

Further to 1nv35t’s comments, I have implemented the following solution:

Changed old router’s IP address to 10.0.0.1, so it didn’t interfere with main modem/router
Disabled DHCP on old router
Gave old router’s 2GHz wifi network a different name
Connected old router to main router’s LAN via Ethernet
Connected PS4 to old router’s wifi

Initial tests on the PS4 give an adequate Internet connection speed which, if maintained, will be okay for gaming purposes, so we’re hoping that the speed doesn’t drop down as it was doing on the new router. As mentioned in my OP, the ‘old’ router is an ASUS DSL-N55U, which has excellent wifi. The new router is a basic ISP-supplied Huawei so, in theory, the ASUS should do a better job with the wifi connections.

Thanks again.

[JonE]

The second router could still provide DHCP I believe,

Yes. Where I live the domestic modem/router is totally and exclusively controlled by the ISP and it can not be replaced by anything else. It's only relatively recently that they allowed the wi-fi to be turned on/off by the user rather than the button being disabled![1]

ISP's router has DHCP enabled and off it I bridge to my own, self-managed router which also has DHCP enabled (but runs its own network).

I allow visitors to connect to the wi-fi provided by the ISP device whereas my own devices are on my own network (via ethernet or wi-fi) and are, in most cases, given fixed IPs by my own router from its own range of addresses.

Cheers!
[1] Merely as an aside, their approach reminds me of my old Hauppauge MVPs in that the modem/router has just enough smarts that every power-on causes it to download its configuration file from the ISP as a preliminary part of the boot and the ISP can also push configuration changes to it whenever it chooses (or when a user has phoned them to ask for one of the few variables to be amended/toggled). My own router specifies the ISP-router's address as its gateway, itself has a specific address in the ISP router's range and must be connected to the first or second port (other two ports on ISP's device don't support this). The ISP device must be located at the 'master socket' because it also provides POTS phones on the internal wiring with VOIP - there is no 'separate' landline for POTS so no filters required. It will maintain a detailed list of calls but, like everything else about the device, that's not user-accessible.

[superFoolish]

The good news is that the PS4 now has consistently good speed rates on the old router's 2GHz wifi network. I'm at a loss as to what's going on with the main router's 2GHz wifi (I have tried different channels). The 5GHz wifi is just fine.

Now I know what I know, all that I had to do was change the old router's ip address and plug it into one of the LAN ports on the new router. However, I've gained some valuable information in the process.

My original goal has now been achieved, but based on the discussions and suggestions in this thread, I will probably refine my configuration further.

I can definitely have the old router's DHCP server active at the same time as my main router (tested), so I think I will configure it as a different network. I like the idea of guests connecting via a different network to the one that I use, both for security purposes, and because my old router has good QoS options, so I'll be able to configure it to give the PS4 a reasonable QoS, and restrict guests to limited bandwidth.

The new router is very basic but is, so far, very reliable (other than the 2GHz wifi!).

I can't remember if I mentioned in my OP, but the reason that I have the new (main) router is because we now have a VDSL connection, which the old ASUS modem router does not support. The new router is 'unlocked', so I can configure it as I wish, but it has no advanced functions whatsoever. QoS is important to me, because I often present live, on-line video sessions from my home. Up until getting VDSL, I had to kick everyone at home off the network, by switching off the wifi, so I was guaranteed all the bandwidth! At some point, I'll look at a more advanced VDSL modem router that provides all the features that I need. I can get by with the current dual router set up, but it's physically messy (i.e. additional power and ethernet cables).

Thanks to all.