Setup dd-wrt repeater

Configuration Steps Make sure that you backup your configuration before beginning and be aware of all of the settings on the setup page you have enabled before you begin. First, you must disable your connection type. You can do this on the basic setup screen that is reached from the Setup page. If you would like, you have the option of changing the router name as well as the host name.

Give your router a unique IP address for your network. In particular, you need to verify that the address you assign is not used by another router on your network. Wipe the security configuration by browsing to the security page and unchecking everything.

Basically, you are stripping the configuration settings from this router so it acts as nothing more than an access point. There is a slight difference between the two options. The repeater option will only give you wireless capabilities, but the repeater bridge option will also give you the ability to use Ethernet ports as a repeater. This is extremely useful if you need to extend Ethernet cable segments for video game consoles or stationary desktop computers.

The choice between the two modes is completely up to you. Now you need to configure your router to see your wireless network. Remember, it is case sensitive and needs to be copied verbatim. Change the wireless security settings on the Wireless Security tab to match what is configured on your Wi-Fi network. Now, hit the save button again. In the Setup page, go to Basic setup screen and since the router will not be connected to a modem, select Disable your Connection Type.

You can change the Router Name and Host Name if required. Make sure that the Local Router IP address is changed into an option that is not used for any other router on the network. This will avoid issues because if two routers share the IP address, the network will not be accessible.

You can ensure that the routers have different IP addresses by simply changing the last number in one of them. This can be done since all security will be managed by the router.

When you select Repeater, the router will only work as a wireless repeater which will extend the coverage range of your Wi-Fi but if you choose Repeater Bridge, you can use Ethernet ports. This is the ideal option if you wish to connect a media device such as an Xbox console or Smart TV. If this isn't the case, you might want to consider having a word with your ISP. It's a well-known fact that speeds can vary, but in many cases especially in America there have been reports of internet providers just not delivering on their promises.

Check out our guide on how to bypass throttling for some quick tips on improving your internet speeds. For testing throughput, you'll need to download the TamoSoft Throughput Test. You'll need to run the server on a computer that is hard-wired to your router with an Ethernet cable. Then on a laptop, you will need to run the client software.

Enter the IP address provided by the server, then execute the router test. This will give you the throughput speeds of your router. If after testing your settings you decided that you need a larger throughput, then you will likely start looking at changing the advanced wireless settings. As mentioned these are complicated and can cause issues. Since with the default settings we're seeing Mbps on our computer and Mbps on our phone which is the limit due to its hardware we don't think this is necessary and unlikely that you will either.

However, if you do wish to do this, then the best recommendation is heading over to the DD-WRT forum and asking the friendly people there. When you do so make sure you list all your devices and needs so that they can tailor the specifications to you. When discussing the extension of wireless network ranges and speeds, you'll often come across Afterburner. Afterburner is a unique piece of technology, supported by select devices and it is recommended that you have it turned off by default.

One of the quickest and easiest ways of getting better reception on your devices is by using wireless antennas. If you're using the router we've recommended then, unfortunately, you won't be able to attach an additional antenna to it. However, you can still connect one to your desktop computer, as long as you already have a WiFi card inserted into it.

While easy to do, connecting an antenna to your computer is probably the least practical and cost-effective solution as it will only help one device. Therefore, if you're still struggling with getting good wireless coverage, and you've tried the above two steps, then it's worth getting a replacement antenna for your router.

You can get these fairly cheap from Amazon. There are three things to consider if you're going to get one:. The other way you can extend your signal is by using WiFi Range Extenders. With the best WiFi range extender, you will just have to plug it into a power socket, do five minutes of setting up and you'll be done. Many people prefer this option as it takes up very little space and is extremely quick and easy to set up. What this means, is that you can place it in a completely different location to your main router and it will relay the wireless signal.

If after experimenting with all of these settings, you still haven't been able to achieve the best wireless router range that you'd like, then you can always build your own.

Like with a computer, it is possible to overclock the router so that it can perform more operations per second, and give you a better performance. However, unlike with a computer, unless you're very hands-on, you can't apply any cooling to the system. So you will need to watch out for overheating and stability. The standby temperature this way is 67C, compared to the standard 63C. This is a good stable temperature, and while it's possible to overclock even more, I didn't see a need for it. A stable temperature of 70C and above is likely to cause problems or a reduced lifetime.

Every professional in the industry swears against this, and aren't even sure why it's not implemented better or removed. Instead, follow these steps. By using a router with a USB port, or two, you can connect devices to it that allow you to make it even more useful at home, and in your office.

In essence, this means that by attaching an external hard-drive or USB stick to it, you'll be able to access all the files on it as long as your device is connected to the WiFi network. What's even better is if you set up FTP , which we demonstrate later on, then you'll be able to access it anywhere worldwide as long as you're connected to the internet. In some cases, after you've applied the settings and the router reboots, you might get the warning "Unsupported Filesystem".

You'll need to make sure that your printer is USB2. Some modern printers allow you to share them using WiFi, but I want to keep my WiFi networks as clear as possible. Some also allow for you to use it via the ethernet port, but I feel that a USB port is more convenient. If for some reason you want something more capable than your hotspot or just more functionality then you can plug your 3G USB dongle into your router.

While this will mean that you need to carry the router, and it's power source around, we've heard that contractors like to do this due to the versatility that it provides.

In essence, they create a mobile WiFI router. However, since this is a very rare and complicated process, that only a few people are looking for, I won't delve into it myself. If you're interested, have a look at following links. Unfortunately, a WebGUI does have its limitations, and sometimes you will need to get into the deeper workings of the system. To decide between which protocol to use for remote file access, I'd recommend reading this great article by CodeGuru. Hence, I've grouped the two together.

Telnet is used for accessing the router locally, while SSH is suitable for remote access and more convenient for file transfers as well. Of course, the easiest method for local file transfer is setting up a NAS, as described previously. In Windows, you can use the command prompt to access via Telnet. You will also need to make sure that you have the Telnet Client enabled. Wait for the list to load, select 'Telnet Client' and click OK.

At home, you may wish to set up some access restrictions to limit what content your family members can access, especially your children. While I believe that educating them is more important, there are inherently a good number of topics which no lecturing can stop someone from stumbling upon. In an office, you may wish to setup filtering so that employees aren't using work time to access Facebook, Twitter, and other social media unless it is their job to do so.

Personally, I have access restrictions set up as a method of self-censorship. I know that there are some websites that I visit, such as 9GAG, that aren't productive, and I shouldn't access them during the day. If you often have friends, visitors or business partners visiting then most likely you'll want to provide them with WiFi access.

The advantage of creating a guest network is that you can tailor it to suit your needs. For example, you can have different access restrictions and privacy settings.

Since the two networks are separate, you'll also be more secure, and you can even tailor the bandwidth usage so your friends don't start hogging all your download speeds. Apply Settings. Apply settings. If you would like the guest network to have a fixed bandwidth, for example, you need to have a baseline when testing a product, then you can do so in the following way after you've done the above:.

DD-WRT allows you to use four different hub-spots which are extremely convenient and useful for commercial environments. I will go into a bit of detail for each one of these, however, I will only go into the setup of HotSpot System as I found this one the easiest to use and implement.

Sputnik i, like HotSpot system, and in some cases Chilispot work as a paid management provider. This means that they will handle your splash screen, different locations, and more for a monthly or per purchase fee. We found Sputnik to be somewhat annoying to setup, but it does provide you with some good settings and will limit all WiFi use to the Sputnik splash screen. I found HotSpot system to be the easiest to setup and use. The service allows you to charge customers for WiFi in which case the company takes a small percentage of the payment.

You can also provide users with free WiFi connection and have a splash screen which asks them to follow you on your social networks, you have to pay a small monthly price for this. Wifidog and Chilispot are both open source, which means that if you wish, you can set up the server for this yourself, meaning you don't even need an internet connection.

Wifidog is the most complicated, and the least talked about option, so I'd recommend avoiding it and choosing Chilispot instead. Firstly, you can use services such as Wi-Fiplanet and EngageHotspot to have a web-based splash page and system. These work similar to HotSpot system, but they are less commercial and hence it will take a bit more work to get it set up nicely, and to your needs.

It also means that these services are a lot cheaper than HotSpot System. You can learn more about setting up, by watching this YouTube video. Secondly, you can set up Chilispot with your own Debian server, thereby keeping everything within your control as well. This setup does require a lot of technical experience, and goes outside the scope of this guide as well.

If you want, you can also limit access to your network by device. All modern devices have something called a MAC Media Access Control address, which is like a house address and is unique to each device.

Once you know a device's MAC address, you can restrict its access to your network. First, you need to find the MAC address of the device you wish to allow or block. Now that you have determined the MAC address of a device, you can block it or allow it. For example, I'm going to block the Android device shown in the previous image.

As stated at the start of this guide, one of the biggest advantages of DD-WRT is the additional settings and setups they allow you to do. While I have explained most options previously, this section is dedicated to some more unique setups.

As our branding might have given it away already, we love VPNs. However, I will not be covering this. Before starting, you will, of course, need a VPN account. I must mention, that an OpenVPN router can be set up in some ways, so consult your VPN provider before starting as their instructions might vary, and it that case you should follow those.

If running a VPN client on your router is one of your primary concerns, then I'd recommend getting something more powerful as the best VPN router will need a lot of processing power. If you'd like to, it's possible to set up your router as a Dual Gateway.

This uses policy-based routing, and it allows some of your devices to use the VPN connection, while others use your normal connection. This can be really useful if you want to unblock Hulu , changing Netflix region or watching BBC iPlayer outside the UK on your media device as these are now blocking VPNs and want to access local services at the same time. We do, however, recommend that you connect to a VPN as often as possible to ensure your connection is encrypted.

Despite the fact that it doesn't work with Netflix that well anymore, there is still plenty of restricted websites it allows you to access.

I recommend Blockless as it has a great price, and provides a well-rounded overall service. Unfortunately, at the moment, I'm not aware of any free Smart DNS services that are legitimate and will not sell your data.

There are, however, some free VPN services that have good privacy policies and will keep your data secure. If you're a fan of torrenting, then you can install a torrent client called Transmission on your router.

This means that you can download torrents without having to leave your computer switched on and, of course, allows you to have a better seeding ratio as well. I must mention that here at ProPrivacy we do not condone the use of torrenting for illegal purposes.

However, there are plenty of legitimate reasons to use torrent clients. To be able to get Transmission up and running, you will need to have carried out a few of the previous steps, but don't worry I have referenced these accordingly.

Now that you have transmission up and running you will also need to be able to access it quickly, to make the process simple. For information about staying secure when torrenting, see our best VPN for torrent sites guide. DLNA, or the Digital Living Network Alliance as it's called, is a digital standard that makes it easier to stream media content across devices on a network.

The standard has many advocates, but there are many people that do not find it useful. The reason is, that with modern technology it can be easy to access the NAS drive on your router and stream the content easily. Click through to the relevant links below for more a guide on how to setup DLNA with your device.

Unfortunately, one of the downsides of DD-WRT over traditional router firmware, is the lack of a dedicated cloud storage system.

As well as a set of unified apps and easy set-up, both Linksys and AsusWRT firmware provide this capability. While, yes it's possible to use an FTP system and set up a bunch of code, this just isn't the real deal. If you would like, you're also able to set up a DD-WRT Webserver, which allows you to host a web page, share files with colleagues, and carry out a number of other website-related activities.

I will show you the basics of getting set up with Pydio, however, you may wish to check their administration guides to see what else you can use it for.