My ISP just upgraded my Broadband Router, so I thought I’d share this simple trick to convert your old router into a (no cost) Wi-Fi extender.
It’s very simple, not requiring much technical knowledge: maybe some Googling to find your way round the menus of your particular router.
Before you turn your old router off to install the new one, go into the old router’s home page as Admin (login details are often on the back of the router) as follows…
1. In the address bar of your browser type the ip address of the router If you don’t know this:
a) In Windows, at a command prompt type ipconfig and look for the Default Gateway
b) On an Android device, use an app like Wi-Fi Analyser which will give you all the details you need
2. Login to the Router using the login credentials from the back
3. Go to the advanced settings menu and…
a) look for a dialogue box where you can change its Gateway IP address
Your new router will quite probably be using the same IP, so you’ll need to change the IP of the old one to an unused IP – sensibly using a low number maybe.
In my case the main router uses 192.168.1.254, so I’ve reset the old one to 192.168.1.2 Other ISPs might use say 192.168.1.1 for the main router, so again the next IP of 192.168.1.2 would be fine (as long a no other device is using it)
Remember that this will be the IP address you'll use to access its Admin home page in the future.
b) Look for an on/off toggle for the DHCP server and set this to “No” (this is the function which assigns IP addresses to other devices in your network, which will now be done by the new router)
c) Save your changes and turn off/disconnect the old router
4. Install the new router
To use the old router is a Wi-Fi extender, run an Ethernet cable from one of the Ethernet ports on the new router to another part of your house, and plug this into an Ethernet port in the old router, which becomes a hard-wired device on the network.
That’s it – the old router will establish its Wi-Fi signal, with the SSID & password your devices are familiar with. It will probably be flashing an error light as it can’t connect to the broadband (as it's not plugged in) – if this annoys you just stick some tape over the light so you won’t see it any more.
Sorted 👍
It’s very simple, not requiring much technical knowledge: maybe some Googling to find your way round the menus of your particular router.
Before you turn your old router off to install the new one, go into the old router’s home page as Admin (login details are often on the back of the router) as follows…
1. In the address bar of your browser type the ip address of the router If you don’t know this:
a) In Windows, at a command prompt type ipconfig and look for the Default Gateway
b) On an Android device, use an app like Wi-Fi Analyser which will give you all the details you need
2. Login to the Router using the login credentials from the back
3. Go to the advanced settings menu and…
a) look for a dialogue box where you can change its Gateway IP address
Your new router will quite probably be using the same IP, so you’ll need to change the IP of the old one to an unused IP – sensibly using a low number maybe.
In my case the main router uses 192.168.1.254, so I’ve reset the old one to 192.168.1.2 Other ISPs might use say 192.168.1.1 for the main router, so again the next IP of 192.168.1.2 would be fine (as long a no other device is using it)
Remember that this will be the IP address you'll use to access its Admin home page in the future.
b) Look for an on/off toggle for the DHCP server and set this to “No” (this is the function which assigns IP addresses to other devices in your network, which will now be done by the new router)
c) Save your changes and turn off/disconnect the old router
4. Install the new router
To use the old router is a Wi-Fi extender, run an Ethernet cable from one of the Ethernet ports on the new router to another part of your house, and plug this into an Ethernet port in the old router, which becomes a hard-wired device on the network.
That’s it – the old router will establish its Wi-Fi signal, with the SSID & password your devices are familiar with. It will probably be flashing an error light as it can’t connect to the broadband (as it's not plugged in) – if this annoys you just stick some tape over the light so you won’t see it any more.
Sorted 👍
Last edited by geoffers; 15-02-24 at 06:35.
