Extending WiFi Network

[tusharva]

My home is spread out laterally. The distances from the main router to other areas is considerable. There are areas in the house where the WiFi signal is weak notwithstanding the fact that I have a dual band 802.11ac router. I have an extensive physical ethernet network with two Cat6 cables in each room… one reserved for the TV and the other for my computer/s. In the room where I have a weak signal, I intend to connect a Cat 6 Ethernet port to a 4-port switch (gigabit). One of the ports on the switch will be connected to a 802.11ac router, to create a wireless access point only. The other ports on the switch can be used for connecting printers or computers. Will this work ? Are there any issues that I need to be aware of ? Would appreciate inputs. I have considered WiFi extenders and they work at 50% capacity only because of the receive transmit nature of their operation.

 

[RealBeast]

With your existing cable you do not need or want an extender. Attach a router configured as an access point at the far end of the house from the main router and you will greatly improved your coverage.

You don't really need a switch, the three unused LAN ports of the access point will also be available and will function just like a switch.

You connect the AP router LAN port to LAN port to the main router via the in wall CAT6, turn off DHCP in the AP router, give the AP router a static address that is in the network but outside of the main router DHCP assignment range, set the radio channels so that they are different and non-overlapping with the main router. It's up to you if you use the same or different SSID and security passkey. I prefer the same passkey but a different SSID so I can control the radio that i connect to.