How to setup a wireless bridge with an old router

Bridge mode fixes this by letting multiple routers share one single Wi-Fi network. Connect the two routers using a wired connection from any of port in router 1 to any of port in router 2. Connect the wired network to one of the 4 or more wired LAN ports on the second router. When two NAT devices are connected in series for instance a modem with built-in NAT capabilities is connected to a router which is also a NAT device , it is advisable to configure your modem in bridge mode to avoid conflicts.

Step 1: Change the IP address to From the left side panel, click on Change adapter settings. Now press the Shift button and without releasing it, click on the Wifi adapter and then on the Ethernet adapter for which you want to share the network connection.

Right click on any of the adapters and select the Bridge connection option. You can use a router as a bridge. Warning: It is possible to brick your router when you install the new firmware i. Please take caution in reading the installation instructions carefully. I recommend you install DD-WRT on an old router that you are currently not using, so that if something does go awry there is no major loss. Your DD-WRT router should now allow you to connect your remote computer to your main internet router through the airwaves!

You could always use a nice label maker and slap it right onto the router. Ubuntu is no-doubt one of the best Linux distros out there, then why is the Ubuntu desktop losing its shine? I'm a fairly typical geek that spends hours in front of a computer monitor at work as well as at home. I also enjoy putting together nifty tools and gadgets. Share Share Tweet Email. Jorge Sierra 15 Articles Published. Therefore, LoS bridging is all about the visual proximity and not the actual nearness of the transmitter and receiver.

For a signal to qualify as an LoS link, both the points need to be at the ground level and the maximum distance should be close to 5km. However, you can always raise the antennae to increase the distance but not at the expense of increased attenuation.

If you plan on setting up Non-Line of Sight or even Near Line of Sight connections, we would recommend low-frequency bands. One such example is the bridging system launched by Radio Labs, working on the MHz band. This way, the longer wavelengths associated with this band can penetrate through minor obstacles without compromising throughput. Most NLoS setups are handy when high-frequency systems have failed in the wake of poor weather conditions.

Unlike RF bridges, the connections are immune to radio and electrical interference. FSO links are also license-exempt, making them easy and cost-effective to implement. Still, it is necessary to value the LoS for the FSO lasers as any obstacle can minimize the throughput. Plus, the speed-centric limits are pretty evident, allowing the bridge to reach speeds of up to 1Gbps for up to 3km and something in the range of Mbps for the km range. These bridges take the licensed radio spectrum into account, which is government-issued, and levy operational fees.

However, for this form of bridging to work effectively, it is necessary to use the right equipment for the job. Not every frequency brand falls under the bureaucratic pedantry and allows the users to operate bridges across diverse wavelengths, at lesser costs, and with minimal interferences. Wireless bridging can be a complicated task in itself. However, we shall keep this section lucid and uncomplicated, simply for the sake of understanding. Here are the aspects that you can follow to extend a wireless network using a wireless bridge.

However, we shall also talk a fair bit regarding switches and access points for making the most of the Wireless bridges. Convinced already but a bit sceptical regarding the cost of a brand new wireless bridge! Fret not as you can always convert your old router into a useful bridging device for achieving comparable results. Once this functionality is added, the old router becomes a pretty powerful bridge, allowing you to configure the WDS in the easiest possible way. However, you should carefully read into the directions to install the firmware prep at the beginning, before moving ahead with the actual DD-WRT firmware.

Step 3: Once the DD-WRT firmware is successfully installed, perform a reset, thereby rebooting the router and starting it as a bridge. Step 4: Connect the old router to the PC via an Ethernet cable. Once done, try setting a static IP on the PC, something like This way the bridge becomes a subnet of the main router. Once done, head over to the wireless settings and change the mode, shared key, and even algorithm from the Wireless Security settings. Step 6: The next step concerns accessing the basic settings and changing the existing wireless mode to the client bridge.

However, the SSID and network mode of the primary router needs to be the same, regardless of the point in the network that you place the bridge. Save the settings and head over to the next step. Step 7: Head over to the setup and feed in the IP address that converts the router as a gateway. Do not forget to apply these changes and connect with us for a detailed representation and expert assistance, if you lose your way in between.

Step Enable automatic IP capturing and the connected bridge router then passes the same to the computer for updating the configuration details. Step Once the IP is verified, remove the Ethernet cable and allow the secondary router to weave its magic as a bridge. These steps ensure that the router is connected to the primary network as a bridge and you can connect some of the wired devices to the same to extend the range of the wireless network.

So we finally come to address the elephant in the room. While we did talk about each of these network components directly or indirectly in the aforementioned sections, it is necessary to give each component some well-deserved attention. An access point is a device that takes your router a bit farther, especially for the wireless devices at a distance to take the advantage of. As a wired connection minimizes attenuation, the access point speeds and throughput are at par with the router, provided only one WAP is initially connected to the same.

A wireless bridge is more of an access point in reverse. This means, the initial connection i. However, the router wirelessly feeds to the bridge, which then becomes the secondary routing device and allows wired internet access to the concerning gadgets.