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HOW TO: Extend Your WiFi Using DGND3700 Routers

13eastie
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HOW TO: Extend Your WiFi Using DGND3700 Routers

There seem to be a lot of posts around the web from people struggling to complete this apparently simple task – having finally succeeded myself with some help from a couple of other people on the forum, I thought I'd post a "how-to"…

 

PROBLEM:

 

I bought a cheap second-hand router for my home network, hoping to use the built-in "Wireless Repeating Function" to improve the signal strength on the top floor of my home.

 

The issue with these routers is that the built-in "Wireless Repeating Function" is (IMHO) a very poor implementation, which is not even very straightforward to enable, and which will limit your extended WiFi network to a paltry 54 Mbps with WEP the only available encryption method (unless you are willing to offer your unencrypted network to all and sundry!).

 

SOLUTION:

 

The only real drawback with this method is that, while you will get a properly-encrypted network running at maximum speed, you need will need an Ethernet connection between the two routers.  The advatage this method does give over e.g. buying a repeater is that you will also get fully-connected Gigabit Ethernet ports in the room of your choosing – this gives the "bes of both worlds" for your smart TV or DNLA client etc.  In theory you could create dozens of wireless access points this way.

 

Here's how to do it.

 

  1. Set up your primary router (the one that is connected to your ADSL) in the desired manner (I am going to assume throughout that it's IP address on your network is 192.168.0.1 and that you have manually chosen appropriate channels (here's how to do this on Mac OS X), check that everything is working and backup the config to your local machine in case you end up with problems.
  2. Disable the wireless network(s) on the primary router.  (This is not strictly necessary, especially if you're nervous about changing an already-working config, but it will assist you in testing your new set-up, especially if you opt to use the same SSID(s) on multiple access points).
  3. Switch on the secondary router.
  4. Reset the secondary router to factory settings using the pin-hole button on the back (hold the pin in the hole and release it once the power indicator stops blinking red).
  5. Switch off the wireless networking on your local machine.
  6. Establish an ethernet connection from your local machine to one of the LAN ports on the secondary router using a static IP (I suggest 192.168.0.x where x > 2 and is unused elsewhere on the network)
  7. Open a browswer and connect to the configuration page on the router at http://192.168.0.1/
  8. After choosing to configure the device manually, got to "Advanced" settings and select "LAN Setup"
  9. Set a static IP address of 192.168.0.2 and subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 before clicking "Apply"
  10. Browse again to the secondary router's config page, this time using the URL http://192/168.0.2/
  11. Go to "Internet Setup" (this is called "Basic Settings if you have a v1 model).  For "Does your Internet connection require a login?" choose "No".  Manually enter the addresses of your DNS servers (I use Open DNS at 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220).  Disable NAT and Firewall.  Choose "Use This MAC Address" retaining the pre-set address.  Click "Apply"
  12. Go to "Wireless" settings.  You can choose the same SSID(s) as on your primary router (this will save you having to enter new details into your existing wireless devices, but you might lose some visibility as to which router you are actually connecting to).  Choose channel(s) differing from those chosen by your primary router, set the speed to 300 Mbps (which will enforce WPA2-PSK encryption, and enter your passphrase(s).
  13. Remove the ethernet connection between your local machine and the secondary router and revert to your usual network settings.
  14. Connect a pre-tested Cat5e cable between LAN ports on your two routers.  (Some people have suggested that you can only daisy-chain into port 4, but I have not encountered any restriction with this).  Do not use the WAN ports.
  15. Switch on the wireless networking on your local machine – you should now be able to connect to hosts on your LAN and on the Internet
  16. Re-enable the wireless networking on your primary router
  17. Voilà!

You will end up with a network that looks something like this:

 

                           +---2.4 GHz  300 Mbps  Ch a   SSIDw
            DGND3700v2–––––+---5.0 GHz  300 Mbps  Ch b   SSIDx
            192.168.0.2
               LAN
                |
                |
                |Cat5e
                |
                |
               LAN         +---2.4 GHz  300 Mbps  Ch c   SSIDy
BT ADSL–––––DGND3700–––––––+---5.0 GHz  300 Mbps  Ch d   SSIDz
            192.168.0.1
            DHCP Server 

Don't forget to save the config of both routers once you're satisfied everything is working correctly.

 

N.B.  I've tried to make this guide applicable to both the DGND3700 and DGND3700v2 (indeed I am using both models in my setup) – please message me if you cannot something on your config menu and I will look into it.

Message 1 of 5
TheEther
Guru

Re: HOW TO: Extend Your WiFi Using DGND3700 Routers

These are great instructions. For the benefit of readers, the instructions you have provided describe how to deploy wired Access Points. This is the best way to extend a Wi-Fi network.  The instructions should work on all older Netgear routers without an AP Mode setting in the configuration. According to the manual, the DGND3700 has an AP Mode setting, so you might want to see if it works. It will eliminate a few steps. I'll point out the changes in the comments, below.

 

  1. It's too bad the picture is a little munged. Next time, try using Courier New when drawing ASCII pictures. It's a fixed-space font, so white spaces will be placed correctly.

  2. As you stated, the Wireless Repeating Function, which is another way to extend a Wi-Fi network except without using wires, is crippled on the DGND3700. In fact, Wireless Repeating is crippled on all Netgear routers. Only Netgear range extenders can properly perform Wireless Repeating.
  3. I would consider steps 2 and 16 optional.
  4. I would add a step between 2 and 3 to go to the primary router and set the starting address of the DHCP server to 192.168.0.3 or higher. This will prevent the DHCP server from assigning 192.168.0.2 and causing a duplicate IP address conflict. If you intend to deploy additional Access Points, then set the starting address even higher to leave room for expansion.
  5. Steps 11 and 14 are specific to older Netgear routers without an AP Mode setting. On newer Netgear routers, just enable AP Mode. Firewall and NAT will be automatically disabled. Use the WAN port on newer Netgear routers, even in AP Mode.
Message 2 of 5
13eastie
Star

Re: HOW TO: Extend Your WiFi Using DGND3700 Routers

Thanks – all good points.

 

Yes, my own DHCP starts at 64 and I really shouldn't have overlooked this.

 

I too have seen the documentation re. "Access Point Mode" which would indeed simplify things a little, but I have never found any corresponding option in the config menu on either model of the DGND3700.

Message 3 of 5
TheEther
Guru

Re: HOW TO: Extend Your WiFi Using DGND3700 Routers

Yeah, I wasn't sure if the DGND3700 really had an AP Mode setting. It's barely mentioned in the manual. And manuals are frequently wrong.

Message 4 of 5
13eastie
Star

"Access Point Mode" on DGND3700 Routers

Having looked into this a little harder, it seems that:

 

  1. This mode exists only on the DGND3700v2
  2. The setting can be found under "Advanced Setup, Wireless Settings"
  3. You need to daisy chain into the WAN port
  4. I've tested this using a static IP and manual DNS servers and it works fine
  5. Using this config is a little simpler and will free up an extra ethernet port on the access point
Message 5 of 5
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