A wireless extender, or repeater, strengthens the wireless signal from a router and extends the coverage, improving performance and allowing devices from a distance to detect and connect to the network. Depending on the model, you can configure your Netgear router to act as a wireless extender and connect it to the primary router, or base station, that hosts the primary network. Before you can configure the router as a repeater, you must configure the base station to recognize the wireless extension.
- Navigate to “http://192.168.0.1” or “http://192.168.1.1” (both without the quotation marks) in a web browser to access the Netgear device. Use the second address if the first one does not work.
- Enter your admin credentials, if you have not changed the login details, or log in to the router using “admin” as the user name and “password” as the password.
- Select “Wireless Settings” under setup. Write down the network name, the channel it operates on and the mode it uses.
- Select “WEP,” enter a password in the applicable field, and click “Generate.” Note the password that appears in the Key 1 field.
- Click “Apply” and then re-enter the network using the new password. Select “LAN Configuration” under Advanced.
- Change the IP Address field from “2” to “3”, and then click “Apply.” Select “Wireless Repeating Function” from the ‘Advanced’ submenu.
- Check the “Enable Wireless Repeat Function” option and write down the information next to the “Wireless MAC This Router.”
- Click “Wireless Base Station.” Type in the MAC Address field Repeater the MAC address of the router that is turning into a repeater. You can find this information on the Wireless Retry Function screen in the alternate router.
- Click “Apply” to configure the primary router so as to increase its range.
- It’s time to configure the router as an extender, so for that, log in to the other router. Select “Wireless Settings” and change the SSID settings, channel, security mode, and so that they match the settings of the primary router.
- Select “Wireless Repeat Function” from under the advanced section in the left panel. Check the “Enable Wireless Repeat Function.”
- Select “Wireless Repeater” and enter “192.168.0.2” or “192.168.1.2” – depending on the IP address of the primary router in the Repeat IP Address field.
- Enter the MAC address of the main router in the MAC Base Station Address field. Click “Apply” to configure the Netgear router as a wireless extender.
With that, the process of transforming your Netgear Router into a Wi-Fi extender ends and now, your router can be used to extend the internet signal to other rooms of the house.