How to set up a router as a repeater: Summary
You can set up a spare router as a repeater in order to extend your Wi-Fi network by using Powerline or ethernet adaptors, wirelessly or using custom firmware. In this article we explain how to set up a router as a repeater to improve your wireless signal strength.
How to set up a router as a repeater: Step-by-step guide
There's bound to be a room in your house where Wi-Fi coverage is patchy. If you happen to have a spare router lying around you should be able to cure the problem. Here we explain how to set up a router as a repeater to boost your Wi-Fi signal strength. See also: What's the best 802.11ac router you can buy in the UK?
Depending on the construction and size of the property you might find that there are Wi-Fi ‘black spots’ where the wireless signal doesn’t reach or gives a poor performance. Thick stone walls and long distances are the biggest culprits, but sometimes you might even have an outside building, shed or office where you would love to work or play but get online at the same time. You may also find that wandering around your garden with your smartphone or tablet is fine until you're out of range of your wireless network. See also:How to improve Wi-Fi in your home in 2015.
Using a second wireless router as a ‘repeater’ or 'slave' to your main router is one way of extending your wireless network. This can be done in a couple of different ways, depending on your router and whether or not your home is cabled for Ethernet.
There are some routers and setups where this is not possible. BT's Home Hub routers can be used for this purpose, but it's a slightly more involved process which is explained here. A few ISPs lock down their equipment such that it cannot be used in this way. However routers purchased independently can almost always be used, as can most routers supplied in the past by ISPs. An old router can be connected to a new router: they don’t have to be the same model or even from the same manufacturer to work.
Hopefully one of the three methods below will work for you. If they don’t and you still want better Wi-Fi coverage, it might be worth investing in a powerline adaptor kit with integrated Wi-Fi. When we originally wrote this article several years ago, powerline kits with built-in Wi-Fi were expensive but now they can cost less than £40 - such as the TP-LINK TL-PA4020PKIT AV500. But individual adaptors (without Wi-Fi) can cost as little as £10, so it may well still be worth using your spare router instead of shelling out extra for a Powerline kit with Wi-Fi.
Another option is buying a dedicated range extender or bridge to go along with the existing router. Products such as Netgear’s EX3700 (which as the name hints supports 802.11ac) can today be purchased for less than £30. So improved Wi-Fi coverage doesn’t have to be expensive.
Updated 24 October 2016 with general updates.
