Using 2 Modems on The Same Network

Rynox45

So I know this is probably going to be a fairly simple question but I just want to be sure of how I should go about this and I couldn't find anything exactly like it around.

I have an Eircom eFibre modem downstairs but because of the floors in the house, the WiFi signal becomes very weak upstairs and essentially dissipates before reaching the attic.
I have my old Eircom modem and I'm wondering how I would go about using the old modem as another access point for the network.

As it is, the signal is getting to the attic via a power-line adapter and I think I should be able to just plug in the old modem up there and set both modems to be on the same SSID and stuff (I'm not exactly sure what "stuff" entails but I've done some networking before so I could figure it out with a guide - That being said, if you know, do tell ).

If this isn't the case, is there a way to use this second modem as another access point? I know that it wont perform as well because it's only got one frequency and probably has a lower bandwidth limit but just to eliminate blind spots.

Also, I was told that there'd be a problem about needing a filter on the phone line upstairs but I wouldn't have expected that to be a problem since the signal is only getting there after passing through the eFibre modem, right?

Thanks for any help

Mr. G

What you should do is on the second router disable DHCP and set up DHCP Relaying to the eFibre modem. Connect an ethernet cable from the eFibre modem to a LAN port on the other modem. Disable PPPoE etc and change wireless ssid and name to the same as the eFibre modem and you should be good to go.

same ol sh1te

Mr. G wrote: »

What you should do is on the second router disable DHCP and set up DHCP Relaying to the eFibre modem. Connect an ethernet cable from the eFibre modem to a LAN port on the other modem. Disable PPPoE etc and change wireless ssid and name to the same as the eFibre modem and you should be good to go.

DHCP relaying is only to relay to a DHCP server on another subnet (vlans), as it all in the same layer 2 network you do not use it. A DHCP request is sent as a layer 2 broadcast, it goes to all devices, you do not need to relay it.

ED E

Step by step if you want:

1. Set the F1000 (eFibre) to a set wireless channel. It has a scan feature to let you pick the best. It'll be on auto by default.

2.Connect a laptop to the old modem(is it a netopia or a zyxel?) with a cable, nothing else.
3. Set the old modem to the same SSID(name) and PSK(password) and encryption type(WPA2-PSK) as the F1000. Pick a new channel for the old modem, best to pick a few either side (so if the F1000 is 5 use 3/7 or further).
4. Set the old modem to static IP of 192.168.1.253 and turn DHCP off.
5. Laptop will now lose its connection to the old modem. Connect the old modem into your F1000 and then you'll be able to connect to the wireless on either of them.

If you want to change configs from then on the F1000 will still be on .254 and you can get the old one from .253.

Rynox45

Thanks a bunch ED E, your instructions were perfect

For reference, it was a ZyXEL modem

Miike

ED E wrote: »

Step by step if you want:

1. Set the F1000 (eFibre) to a set wireless channel. It has a scan feature to let you pick the best. It'll be on auto by default.

2.Connect a laptop to the old modem(is it a netopia or a zyxel?) with a cable, nothing else.
3. Set the old modem to the same SSID(name) and PSK(password) and encryption type(WPA2-PSK) as the F1000. Pick a new channel for the old modem, best to pick a few either side (so if the F1000 is 5 use 3/7 or further).
4. Set the old modem to static IP of 192.168.1.253 and turn DHCP off.
5. Laptop will now lose its connection to the old modem. Connect the old modem into your F1000 and then you'll be able to connect to the wireless on either of them.

If you want to change configs from then on the F1000 will still be on .254 and you can get the old one from .253.

Would this work using the new UPC Technicolor TC7200? Looking to extend the wireless on it and I've a few old eircom routers around.

ED E

Miike wrote: »

Would this work using the new UPC Technicolor TC7200? Looking to extend the wireless on it and I've a few old eircom routers around.

Yes, just need to check a couple things.

1. Check what the default IP is for the TC, its probably 192.168.1.1 so .1.253 would still be on the same network, but if they happened to use a different scheme you'd need to change the IP. Also, the access points need unique IPs so make them .1.253, .1.252, .1.251...

2. If you have Netopia eircom modems they're ancient and use WPA Version 1 and only the slower b/g standards. You can mix and match WPA versions but it'd probably better to pick something newer for your access points. The newer Zyxels(any version) will match up just fine.

Rynox45

Just a follow up on how the network's been working after a few days.

It seems that when a device connects to the network, it will occasionally be unable to connect to the internet. I've checked the default gateway on the devices when this happens and it's 192.168.1.253 (The second modem).

Does anyone know what could be causing this? Everything works fine when the default gateway is 192.168.1.254.

degsie

Rynox45 wrote: »

Just a follow up on how the network's been working after a few days.

It seems that when a device connects to the network, it will occasionally be unable to connect to the internet. I've checked the default gateway on the devices when this happens and it's 192.168.1.253 (The second modem).

Does anyone know what could be causing this? Everything works fine when the default gateway is 192.168.1.254.

The only way this could happen is if the seconding modem is serving DHCP requests from the devices. Are you sure DHCP is turned off in the second modem?