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Extending the network in my house.
Hello, I want to extend our network in the house (5000 sq ft two story) and would like some guideance. I have looked on youtube etc. and found a few videos on extending WPS. So the equipment: R...
fastroads wrote:Thanks for the link. It really helped out with settings ext. on both R7000 & R8000. So not to change too many directions here: To extend wireless coverage in the house with the help of the R8000; knowing I do not have a ethernet connection at the location where the R8000 would be sitting and I would like to have the XBox and PS4 connected to the R8000 in some way either wireless or wired. What would be the best setup: AP Mode, Repeater?
AP Mode requires a wired connection back to the router, so repeater is your own choice. You should wire the XBox and PS4 to the R8000 in order to reduce the load on Wi-Fi.
Not sure this is a viable option for me as crawl space is limited between floors.
If I were to run a cat5/6 line to the location of the R8000; this line would have to connect to the main router via a switch or an OnQ panel.
A wired connection back to the router is ideal. If you end up doing this, then switch from repeater mode to AP Mode.
The hometheater is the easy one. Use the Ethernet connection and set up a router as an Access Point. There is an AP Mode setting under ADVANCED > Advanced Setup > Wireless AP that you can turn on, though if your Internet service is 400 Mbps or faster, then there is a different, better way to set it up. The AP Mode setting is far easier.
The gameroom is more difficult. Netgear routers with stock firmware are terrible as range extenders because they do not support wireless security. Fortunately for you, the R7000 and the R8000 both support 3rd party firmware which have good support. You have to be willing take the risk of installing and learning how to use 3rd party firmware. There is a low, but non-zero, risk of bricking your router if done improperly but the results can be gratifying.
If you only have wired clients in the gameroom, then another option is to use the R7000 as a wireless bridge (think of it as a Wi-Fi adapter for one or more Ethernet devices). You can read about it on page 138 in the manual. If you go this route, then the R8000 would go into the hometheater.
OTOH, if you need Wi-Fi in the gameroom but you are not interested in using 3rd party firmware to convert one of your routers to a range extender, then you'll need to buy a real range extender.
Alrighty then! Nothing is every easy.:smileyfrustrated: I had watched a few videos and this is one - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2wN4wJ2uMw
So extending the WDS is a forgone thing. Flashing the routers to a new firmware doesn't bother me since the R8000 & the R7000 are out of warranty. It certainly can't be harder than reflashing a motherboard from let's say Dell to EVGA.
Where can I find the firmware? I you have any more idea's please post.
Thank's again!
Netgear's implementation of WDS on their routers is very poor. Forgoing it is the correct choice.
I use Asuswrt-Merlin on my R7000. I am very happy with it. You will have to search the forums on dd-wrt.com for the recommended version. Tomato, AdvancedTomato and OpenWRT. You should be able to find R8000 images for some of them.
Thanks so much.
