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I am trying to improve internet and LAN speed for a PC located in a room with walls that are too thick for fast WiFi. The signal is good enough for everyday use but chokes on HD streaming to local devices (such as set-top boxes). Running an Ethernet cable to the main router is not an option.

The idea is to hardwire a second router to the Ethernet port of the PC in that room, and then mount that router outside the room to eliminate wall interference (I have tested this by taking the PC just outside the room, and it improves the signal tremendously). The tricky thing is that all devices need to have fast internet and still be on the same LAN, because they serve files to each other locally.

Does this meet the definition of "bridge" mode for routers or do I need something else?

Edit: Some people are suggesting "repeater" mode, so I am still unsure in which mode the 2nd router needs to be.

Matthew S
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    this is one of those questions I feel like a drawing would really help.. how many devices are in the thick-walled room? if you can get an Ethernet cable into that room, why not just have it come from your existing router? depending on how you have them configured you could still access other resources on your other router. – mael' Jul 03 '19 at 20:14
  • I dont get it why you are not simply using the lan cable. The lan cable will allways be faster and more stable than the wifi. If it is a PC and not a notebook where is the point of using wifi? – Ivan Viktorovic Jul 03 '19 at 20:14
  • @mael' There is only one PC inside the thick-walled room. If I could run an ethernet cable all the way to the main router, that would obviously be the solution. It's not an option in this case. The best I can do is run a cable to a second router and mount it outside the room. That will be sufficient to eliminate the obstacle from the thick walls, which are simply absorbing too much of the signal (this has been already tested). I need to know whether that 2nd router has to be in "bridge," "repeater," or some other mode. – Matthew S Jul 04 '19 at 12:54
  • ...but where is the this cable running to the second router coming from? – mael' Jul 04 '19 at 13:09
  • @mael' The second router would be connecting to existing WiFi created by the main router. I thought the "Convert Ethernet port to WiFi" title made it clear. – Matthew S Jul 04 '19 at 13:16
  • unfortunately I don't believe anything about the question is particularly clear – mael' Jul 04 '19 at 13:54
  • @mael Neither is anything about your comment :D I said absolutely nothing about any kind of cable running to the second router, other than the one connecting it to the PC in question, yet you keep asking what kind of cable runs to the second router ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ – Matthew S Jul 04 '19 at 14:08
  • "The best I can do is run a cable to a second router and mount it outside the room." is literally the fourth sentence in your comment before I asked the question. – mael' Jul 04 '19 at 17:00
  • @mael Yes, that's addressed in the body of the question. "The idea is to hardwire a second router to the Ethernet port of the PC in that room." Do you really need a drawing to visualize a PC connected to a secondary router via an Ethernet cable? – Matthew S Jul 04 '19 at 20:10
  • nah - don't need a drawing, just a stranger on the internet attempting to help another stranger with a poorly phrased question. good luck with it. – mael' Jul 04 '19 at 22:13
  • This is your 4th comment pointing out that the question is poorly phrased, without saying which part exactly is unclear. I appreciate your willingness to help. Maybe you'll help someone who asks better questions. – Matthew S Jul 05 '19 at 01:23

3 Answers3

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On most devices, this is considered bridge mode, as if you were to set up a second router, it would create it's own network. If it is a PC that you are trying to get the wifi to, you could just use the LAN cable, as it would be faster. The 2nd router would have to be set up as a repeater, not a router.

rtyocum
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  • Same ssid, wpa2/psk, in bridge mode will allow seamless roaming. +1 – Tim_Stewart Jul 03 '19 at 20:28
  • Yes that is true. As long as SSID and password, and encryption types are the same, the devices would have no idea which network is which. – rtyocum Jul 03 '19 at 20:33
  • A little confused by your answer. Yes, the device inside the room with thick walls is a PC. I do plan to connect it to the 2nd router with a LAN cable. My question is whether that 2nd router should be set up as a bridge, repeater, or something else. I am getting very conflicting answers on this (both on this site and others). – Matthew S Jul 04 '19 at 12:51
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Your question only makes sense if WiFi is the source of all Internet through a WiFi router inside the room.

The solution is classic:

Internet -- outside router -- Ethernet cable through wall -- repeater WiFi router

The second router is to be setup as repeater or bridged and with no DHCP server capability.

If required, pay attention to connect the routers through LAN-to-LAN so everything is on the same network segment.

harrymc
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  • `The solution is classic: Internet -- outside router -- Ethernet cable through wall -- repeater WiFi router` There will be no Ethernet cables through wall. Drilling or running a super long cable are not an option. The most I can do is take a cable outside the room and into the hall (thus eliminating at least 1-2 thick walls). `The second router is to be setup as repeater or bridged.` So is it bridge OR repeater mode? That's what I'm trying to determine. – Matthew S Jul 04 '19 at 12:45
  • Both terms are mostly used interchangeably : bridge and repeater (depending on the manufacturer). I meant "through wall" figuratively - it would perhaps be better to say "bypassing wall". It might even work reasonably well by WiFi if the two routers are strong enough and are placed as near as possible to each other on both sides of the same wall. – harrymc Jul 04 '19 at 13:23
  • you'd be surprised how many Google search results you get for "bridge vs repeater." That's how I ended up asking this question on Superuser. I also think this 2nd router's firmware has them as separate modes.. – Matthew S Jul 04 '19 at 13:31
  • Terminology is often used by router manufacturer in a vague manner. If you include the router's name and a screenshot of the configuration page I might be able to detect the difference. – harrymc Jul 04 '19 at 15:40
  • The router is called MikroTik hAP lite RB941-2nD. It's made by an obscure Latvian manufacturer. The hardware is supposed to be very robust according to reviews, but the software is not very user-friendly. Here are a few pics of the interface. https://i.imgur.com/lEXqH8G.png https://i.imgur.com/nPe5uny.png As you can see, there is a separate page for bridge mode, and also several different bridge modes under quick presets. – Matthew S Jul 04 '19 at 20:22
  • Manual is [here](https://wiki.mikrotik.com/wiki/Manual:Quickset) and some discussion [here](https://forum.mikrotik.com/viewtopic.php?t=87961). HomeAP might be the simplest to use, but you should just try them and see whether they have enough options to work for you. The terminology here is particular to MikroTik. – harrymc Jul 05 '19 at 06:38
  • I've seen those pages before. The problem is that users on MikroTik forums are advising against using QuickSet settings (which HomeAP is a part of), and manual settings are not only daunting but also very unforgiving. You literally have to do a hard reset of the router by unplugging and holding the reset button with a pin every time you try a new setting, and there are dozens of settings combinations out there. – Matthew S Jul 05 '19 at 15:11
  • For your simple case, one of the simple built-in settings must suffice. Try HomeAP first, then one of the PTP Bridge ones, AP then CPE. See if the configuration parameters are suitable for your really simple case. – harrymc Jul 05 '19 at 15:37
  • Let us [continue this discussion in chat](https://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/95774/discussion-between-knocks-x-and-harrymc). – Matthew S Jul 05 '19 at 15:45
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What you want is a wireless bridge.

Internet <-> router1 <-wifi-> router2 <-ethernet-> PC

This is not a standard application to use a router for, but it can be done. You'll need a router that is compatible with alternative firmware, such as openwrt (https://openwrt.org/) unless it has this functionality built in (rare).

Once done, you can setup your network as you want.

A word of warning though, you will have to route through the connection, so any devices attached to router 1 will by necessity be on a different subnet. This will not prevent any of them accessing the web or each other, but may make some features not work as expected.

https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/network/wifi/relay_configuration

Instructions to set this up can be found on this page: https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/network/wifi/relay_configuration

As another alternative, consider wifi routers / access points that support mesh networking, which will be much closer to what you want, but at the cost of pricier hardware.

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Baldrickk
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