Questions about Belkin N600 DB

[kunalx969]

Hi,

I recently purchased a new wireless router - Belkin N600 Dual Band N+ Wireless Router. I set up my PPPoE connection and it works perfect. I have just two questions regarding this router and one regarding my old router.

1. I set up the dual band frequency, 2.4 ghz and 5.0 ghz . I use 2.4 ghz on all my computers and laptops but the 5.0 ghz is mainly for my iPhone 5S. I have noticed that the range of the 2.4 ghz frequency is much more than that of the 5.0 ghz frequency. Certain areas of my house when I check from my phone, I can't seem to find the 5.0 ghz frequency. It works only when I'm close to the Router. Is this normal? I was under in the impression that the 5.0 ghz would have a longer range than that of the 2.4 ghz frequency.

2. The router has a USB port at the back which I can use to share printers or a hard drive etc. Now, if I use a USB hub to try to connect two devices - an external hard drive (using its own external power source) and a printer, will this work?

Hard Drive: Western Digital Elements 400 GB External Hard Drive (Yes, it is a very old model - probably 5-6 years old)
Printer: Samsung SCX 4300

Now, my previous router was the Belkin N300 Surf Wireless Router (Model No: F7D2301 v1)
The problem with this router is that the WAN port has stopped working. My question is, can I configure this router to work as a Wireless Repeater for my existing connection. I did check out flashing it with the DD-WRT firmware but it seems my router is not compatible (unless I am mistaken). Is there any other way to configure this to work as a wireless repeater - I would like to extend the range of the current connection even further. (Connecting wires to it from my new router will not be possible, it will have to be wireless)

Any help will be appreciated. I tried searching the forums for quite sometime but did not find responses specific to my questions.

If you require any more information, please let me know and I'd be glad to provide it.

Thanks.

 

[bill001g]

1. It is normal that 5g does not go as far pretty standard radio restriction..the high the frequency the more easily it is blocked/absorbed.
2. Hard to say it might work depends if the router is smart enough to allow 2 devices
3. You can use it is a AP connected via cable. It will not run as a wireless repeater unless it has that function. You want to avoid repeaters in most cases they greatly degrade the signal quality. It is a choice of last resort when any connection is better than nothing.

 

[kunalx969]

1. It is normal that 5g does not go as far pretty standard radio restriction..the high the frequency the more easily it is blocked/absorbed.
2. Hard to say it might work depends if the router is smart enough to allow 2 devices
3. You can use it is a AP connected via cable. It will not run as a wireless repeater unless it has that function. You want to avoid repeaters in most cases they greatly degrade the signal quality. It is a choice of last resort when any connection is better than nothing.

Thanks buddy. I guess I'll just try using a hub and see what happens.