NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Forum Discussion
Solved
Using WNDR3400v3 as a Wireless Repeater for my T-Mobile cellphone Hotspot
We just moved to a rural setting and I am using Hughesnet for the main internet connection, which has proven less than optimal. With limited bandwidth and a metered connection, if I have a Windows 10 or XBox update, it completely blows up my Data limit and I drop down to minimal bandwidth until the next month. I have found that my T-Mobile cellphone (LG Aristo model LG-M210) has ample bandwidth and I have an unlimited plan which actually has better performance than Hughesnet. I can set the cellphone up to be a Hotspot and connect the Laptops and XBoxes to it, but my main computer will take only a wired connection. I would like to connect my unused WNDR3400v3 (V1.0.1.24_1.0.67) to the T-Mobile hotspot and then connect my home office Windows 10 computer to the WNDR3400v3 with a standard Cat5 wire. I have the manual for this router, but this includes instructions through the use of a "Wireless Repeating Function" that does not show up on my actual router menues.
I do apologize in advance, as while I have used computers my entire life, the networking aspects throw me for a loop. Your help would be greatly appreciated.
Can this configuration be done?
Thanks for the reply. Yes, I am using the Hotspot feature of my T-Mobile cellphone to share my high speed internet connection.
After doing a good amount of reading on the topic, I think that the features were removed on the router, so likely not possible to use it as a Wireless Repeater, so I have approached it a bit differently.
I had a linksys wireless extender that I was using to cover the far corner of the house. It has a Cat5 connector on it, so I reconfigured it to capture and repeat the cellphone Hotpoint signal.
I can then just plug a wire from the Hughesnet router to the Netgear router to use that quota or I can plug the Cat5 cable from the Linksys extender into the NetGear router internet slot to use the T-Mobile quota. So rather than have all of my critical wireless computers in the house connect to the Main router (Hughesnet), I reconfigured them to use the Netgear wireless network. That way it is fairly simple to just change the wire and everyone is back and connected without having to reconfigure the computers.
3 Replies
A lot going on in there.
Garyd43 wrote:
I can set the cellphone up to be a Hotspot and connect the Laptops and XBoxes to it, but my main computer will take only a wired connection.
Does that mean that you have a mobile phone running as a hotspot? Or do you have a separate device providing the wifi?
The easiest option would be to get one of these:
Mobile Broadband | Home | NETGEAR
Cobbling together an ancient (2014) and not very capable router and a phone might not be possible. I see no sign that the WNDR3400v3 can operate as a wireless repeater. You can use it as a wireless access point, with a wired connection to a router.
Thanks for the reply. Yes, I am using the Hotspot feature of my T-Mobile cellphone to share my high speed internet connection.
After doing a good amount of reading on the topic, I think that the features were removed on the router, so likely not possible to use it as a Wireless Repeater, so I have approached it a bit differently.
I had a linksys wireless extender that I was using to cover the far corner of the house. It has a Cat5 connector on it, so I reconfigured it to capture and repeat the cellphone Hotpoint signal.
I can then just plug a wire from the Hughesnet router to the Netgear router to use that quota or I can plug the Cat5 cable from the Linksys extender into the NetGear router internet slot to use the T-Mobile quota. So rather than have all of my critical wireless computers in the house connect to the Main router (Hughesnet), I reconfigured them to use the Netgear wireless network. That way it is fairly simple to just change the wire and everyone is back and connected without having to reconfigure the computers.
Garyd43 wrote:
I had a linksys wireless extender that I was using to cover the far corner of the house. It has a Cat5 connector on it, so I reconfigured it to capture and repeat the cellphone Hotpoint signal.
Sounds good. Nice strategy.
Unfortunately, the WNDR3400v3 doesn't support "WDS" or wireless repeater mode.
You could plug the WNDR3400v3 into the linksys extender as an access point, but that may be gilding the lily. In any case, why bother with something that old?
