I should add that my router is the linksys wrt 310N - which is supposed to be a good router - but I just saw a review which said "Linksys does not support wireless range extension." I figured that would be relevant to any proposed solutions. I don't quite know what wireless range extension is - but I think that's what I'm trying to achieve - and I'm not sure how the linksys does not do this.

Thanks.
Lynn.

you can add a access point at the end of the ethernet cable
images and hardware her

if the link don't work copy and past in your browser

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source=hp&q=access+point&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&fp=c78e48b898b2787e

I have to wonder if there is a problem, my house is 4000sqft and I have full bars reception and speed from end to end and even out into my yard. How many sqft are we talking about?
I get 3 bar reception of my next door neighbors signal in my house.
Has he tried rebooting when he gets the slow speeds? I have found that happens to my netbook sometimes, I have snail speeds for some reason but a reboot brings it right back up to blazing.

I know someone that wanted their wireless out in the barn
and they did put an additional access point out there but normally in a house you should not have to.

Just as a test have you tried other laptops in his den to see if they also have this problem or is it just his imac?

if your router is one of the linksys models that support it you can upgrade to DD-WRT firmware.
Here is one of many articles about DD-WRT
Hack Attack: Turn your $60 router into a $600 router

you can also get from linksys a signal booster that piggybacks right on top of your existing linksys router
Linksys Wireless Signal Booster

also amazingly moving the linksys router around to various spots can make big differences so try moving it around where you have it and see if it makes a difference, put a longer cable on it if needed to move it to various locations in the room.

I think the access point that Canibus recommended sounds much simpler than the instructions to upgrade to DD-WRT firmware. But I can't say as I understand for sure what I need. Would this Cisco-Linksys Imo Dual-Band Wireless-N Gaming and Video Adapter do what I need? here's a link:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002N19YVA/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=A2JUPN4BTA3CZV

When I looked at it, it looked like I could take the ethernet cable from in the family room and plug it in. Then I could transmit wirelessly to my husband's adjacent Imac and (it occured to me) I could also either connect my family room PlayStation 2 and Samsung television via ethernet cable and Wii(via wireless or USB? it has a USB port but I'm not sure what that's used for). I would love to find a device for the family room that I could use to run both wired and wireless network signals to my devices on that lower level (in the family room and my husband's den).

If I go with a solution like above, is there a danger that the wireless signal that's transmitted from my router up in the loft will compete with the wireless signal from this gaming and video adapter? Which signal will a device pick up? I'm thinking of say our bedroom Tivo - which is in between where the router is and where this adapter would be? Is that a problem or will it just pick up whatever it needs and it doesn't matter which source?
------------------------------------------------------
I followed Ravencajun's links and this is what was said about my router:

The WRT310N accepts only the mini, standard, and VPN builds; no other versions are supported on this device. Do not even attempt to flash it with the micro (does not support gigabit ethernet so switch will not work for LAN ports) or mega-build (requires 8 MB of flash, WRT310N only has 4 MB), you will end up with a non-responding router or worse, a very expensive brick! Flashing a virgin WRT310N with the default Linksys firmware will require a special "trailed" mini-build to be flashed first. You should use a build from the BS Broadcom folder 12874 for the initial flash. The name of this file specifically is "dd-wrt.v24_mini_wrt310n.bin". You may proceed to flash it with a generic STD or VPN build next. Remember to do the 30/30/30 Hard Reset after every successful flash. It is absolutely essential.

This sounds like a lot of work and preparation with lots of room for damaging the router.

They talk about spending at least an hour research various posts to be sure I don't turn my router into a useless brick. Not something I want to deal with. So those instructions were intimidating. I have never updated firmware - not sure I should or if that is a risky procedure as well. If I do any of the above -- upgrade linksys' own firmwre or try dd-wrt, in addition to turning it into a useless brick, will I have to redo security settings? Getting a secure wireless network was difficult - mostly bc.of my husband' Vista computer which took hours/night for about a week. The other computers were okay - but I desperately want to avoid redoing his Vista laptop's connection to the home network. I don't even know which of the many things I did finally worked - so I don't know if I could recreate the steps.

For anyone checking this thread, some folks have attempted to do this dd-wrt firmware upgrade that Linksys says shouldn't be done for this router. Some had success (and had lots more technical know-how and time than I have). Here's that thread - very complicated - to me at least:

http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=54817
--------------------------------------

The signal booster Ravencajun linked isn't meant for my particular router - which is linksys WRT 310N. It indicates it's for wireless b routers.
----------------------------------

So - my router is doing fine for most of our needs - except the lower floor. Our house is 3000 square feet. I can't really move the router much without having to run lots of cables (it is wired to 4 devices - 2 pc's, printer, modem - in the loft) to get to it - which is a mess of lengthy wires I'd like to avoid. I moved it a few feet but more would get into a mess.

If the video and gaming adapter works for my needs (providing wired and wireless network access on the lower floor), that would be great. Could somebody tell me if the adapter I linked above will do what I want - or if there's another more suitable device?

Is there a simpler, less risky software update I should do for my linksys router?

Thanks everyone.
Lynn.

Lynn have you tried any other laptops in his den and see if they are getting the same bad speeds and signal strength? It is best to make sure this is not an isolated incident with one computer.

Lynne, does DHs imac have an 802.11n card in it? I'm not an expert, but I believe I read that the speed and range advantages to N only work if the devices you're connecting to have an N radio.

buy you a new router for up stairs and use an old router as a DIY wireless Access Point

it is easy to do and cheaper than a access point

http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/1575/using_an_old_router_as_a_diy_wireless_access_point/index.html

reading quickly.. sounds like you can simply add a network switch at the end of that new network cable the electrician installed... give you four ports there .. one to feed whatever and other add an access point or an on sale wifi router configured as an access point.

Thanks everyone. I have lots of questions - and even a couple of answers.

I did try another laptop in my husband's den - and the signal is very weak - taking very long to load pages with pictures. As soon as we bring that laptop up to the living room, it loads pictured pages quickly. So he does need a better signal down there. I believe he has a built-in wireless N in his Imac (it's 13 months old). Of course, I printed instructions for him to check that - and he hasn't (the mac's os is not user friendly for him - and he just gets overwhelmed with new technology - and I haven't checked it yet bc. I'm busy with other tech researching). At the very least, it's a g - but I think it's an N.

Canibus - your link to using an old router to create a second wireless network was very illuminating. I actually don't have a second router (I took my old linksys AB router to a beach apartment we rent). But it gave me a little sense of what's required. Most importantly, I think it suggests that whatever device I use, I'll be creating a second wireless network (all run from my one broadband connection). I didn't realize I could set up two wireless networks. That would answer my question about what signal the downstairs and bedroom devices would pick up - if both wireless signals are within range. But I guess I'm selecting which wireless network each device should tap in to? is that right. I think it's important that I know if that early understanding is correct.

Mikie - I realize I am quite confused with terms. And I did google and check Wikipedia - which cleared up some things but left plenty of muddle. I gather that a wireless access point can be an actual router or a separate dsigned wireless access point? What's the difference? Again, since there's no old, second router to use, I supposed I'll be getting an access point.

Mikie - you bring up a term I hadn't heard before - a network switch (is this the same as a bridge connection - is a bridge connection relevant to any of what I want to do?). So searching on Amazon, here's what I come up with for a network switch:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000M2TAN4/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

So I'd plug the ethernet cable from the family room into this network switch. From this switch I can run ethernet cables into my television (still not sure what that enables me to do? watch hulu on the big tv screen?), into the Slingbox Pro and into my playstation 2. Then I'd run one more ethernet cable into a separate device (an access point) - which would supply a second wireless network for the ground floor. Do I have this right?

Looking at access points, there's a huge variance in price and I'm not sure why and if I need what a more expensive device does. Here's a more expensive one: Here's an access point I found:

http://www.amazon.com/ZyXEL-WAP3205-Wireless-Access-Ethernet/dp/B002LITI7K/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1274194012&sr=1-16

Or could I just run my ethernet cable in the family room into this Hawking Hi-Gain Wireless-300N Router - run ethernet cables out to my 3 devices (PS2,TV,Slingbox) and it will also supply a second wireless network that seems well suited for Imac's wireless card? Here's the link:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00305GY5C/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Another inexpensive, seeming good router that might do it all is this SMC Wireless N Router / Bridge / Access Point, 4-Port 10/100 LAN Switch for $29:
:
http://www.amazon.com/SMC-Barricade-Wireless-SMCWBR14S-N4-compatible/dp/B002ZDGJX2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1274193183&sr=1-2

And I'm confused why some devices cost so much more than others. Some access points are under $5 - others are well over $100 or $200. For some reason I can't understand, the access points that are also routers seem to be less money than the majority of the devices that are designated access points (and not routers as well). The only other difference I noted was whether it was dual band - which might be helpful with all the many devices we have in our house - 2.4gh phones, Tivos, game systems, laptops, ipod touch. Should I get a dual-band. This one seems to be a router and access point with dual band - but may be overkill:

http://www.amazon.com/D-Link-Premier-Access-Selectable-802-11n/dp/B001P817YO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1274193183&sr=1-1

I'm gettingn myself confused. Any pointers would be helpful. Just not quite sure which devices and configuration to go with. And I'd like to avoid devices that are known to be difficulty to set up - or not good in terms of reliability/performance.

Thanks.
Lynn.

PS - one other device I stumbled on yesterday was something that plugs into my husband's den - picks up our existing wireless network - and then an ethernet cable is run from that into the Imac. I think this solution is more limited than the above configurations - unless it will provide a stronger signal and better video streaming.

PPS - I can't even believe it took me well over an hour to compose this post.

Think I'd buy what you mentioned....
inexpensive, seeming good router that might do it all is this SMC Wireless N Router / Bridge / Access Point, 4-Port 10/100 LAN Switch for $29

Plug it into the end of the new network cable that was installed and configure it as an access point ... it has 4 ports on it... one you plug a patch cable into and plug the other end of that patch cable into your whatever is now on the end of that cable.

You then have wifi access on both sides of your house. Hopefully the new one is closer to that wifi computer with the weak signal.

Thanks, Mikie. yes - the wifi computer is in the adjacent room on the same ground floor level.

I assume by patch cable, you mean a short ethernet cat5 cable? Just want to make sure there's nothing else I need to order but this router? And am I correct that I would set this new router up to create a different wireless network?

To "configure it as an access point" - will those instructions be with the router? or available elsewhere? Is it the same instructions that Canibus linked to before about using an old router as an access point - just in this case I'll set it up with a second newly purchased router?

Thanks.
Lynn.

I did buy the SMC Wireless N Router / Bridge / Access Point, 4-Port 10/100 LAN Switch I found and Mikie endorsed above. But I'm having a hard time configuring it as an WAP.

I've spent a couple of hours - last weekend and this weekend attempting to do so. Last week I used the tweaktown instructions canibus linked above - but I couldn't quite do it. So I spent more time searching for instructions. I found these, which good great reviews:

http://www.speedguide.net/read_articles.php?id=2556&print=friendly

This seemed pretty good. I thought I had it set up - and my laptop connected to the new "family room" wireless network. My husband couldn't connect with his Imac. Then I tried my smartphone - and it said it connected - but the IP address it gave did not match the one I had reset as the new static IP for the new WAP. I tried to go back into the router settings and was unable to. Also, the pages were loading so slowly - and I couldn't get gmail to load at all.

So I tried resetting the router and trying again. Went into Lan settings - set IP address to address outside the DHCP range - but within the subnet range. Clicked apply - and it just kept working on it but not doing anything.

I downloaded the 200 or so page manual for this new router/access point. But the terminology was confusing to me. It mentioned using it as a bridge - but I didn't find a place where it mentioned wireless access point. The manual was confusing as it seemed to go over the same thing many times - and jump from topic to topic - at least I was confused.

I don't know if anyone can help me here. The only other relevant things I can add is that to set up the new router as an access point, I used my laptop in the family room - rather than using the desktop in my loft - and having to unplug the new router and move it downstairs to do it again. But I can't see that this would have been a problem.

My husband is telling me that this is one I should hire a professional for. Maybe. The guide above should only have taken 20 minutes - if it worked.

Thanks for any guidance - whether it's better instructions or the suggestion to hire a professional.

Lynn.

Plug your network cable into an end jack on the new router.... don't plug it into the wan/Internet port.

set the new router/access point to Disable DHCP then set a fixed LAN ip address compatible to the original old/existing router.. most routers are like 192.168.0.1, so I might use a fixed ip in the new router LAN of 192.168.0.2,, or 0.255 .. which is not likely to be in dhcp range of the old/existing router.

The old/existing router will do the dhcp for everything and supply IP for all items connected to the new added router,,, other than that new LAN/fixed-ip.

To access the new now access point for configurations ... you use that fixed LAN ip you set it to.

You need to change the wifi channel on the new router to not match the old existing wifi channel number. channels 1 - 6 or 11 preferred.. so the radio signals from old and new routers dot interfering with each other. You probbly want to use a different wireless name livrm2 or something you will recognise as differet from the original wifi station name. SSiD

one working go back and set up wifi secutity .. passphrase,,, and access login/password for the new

i think.. heheh

Hi, Mikie. Thanks for the above. It sounds very clear - and pretty much what I've gleaned from hours of reading less coherent guidelines.

But - I have done most of the above - and get frozen at various points. I have not plugged into the WAN port - only been using the Lan ports.

I guess one difference is that the guides I read suggested - before plugging into a cable from my current router to this new (to be) access point, that I first disable DHCP and changed to fixed Lan IP address outside the existing router's range. The guides I read said just plug from my computer (I've used my laptop) - via ethernet cable - into a Lan port on the new SMC router/AP to change those settings. Only after those have been changed did it say to plug cable from existing router to the SMC router.

On this SMC router, you have to first choose Operation Mode of Bridge (instead of the default gateway). I did that. Then when to change lan settings - disabled DHCP, changed IP address to 192.168.12 (my existing linksys router is 192.168.1.1 - with a dhcp serving range from .100-.145.

Here's the 2 problems I've encountered with that:
1) when I go to apply these changes, it says loading forever - and sometimes gets stuck there.
2) once it seemed to load over time - but when I went back to check if the new setting took - I clicked Lan and it said it wasn't connecting.
3) at least one time, I thought the settings took - but when I enter the newly set 192.168.1.2 into my browser to access the router and change further settings, it doesn't access the router.

I did not change the Wifi channel number yet. Never got that far.

One time I was able to do the above - and then connect via cat5 from the existing router to the new SMC access point - then went to change security settings (called the new SMC the family room as it's ssid, set a passphrase, was able to access this new wireless network with my laptop - but then discovered that I could not access the router with the new IP address. So I started again - and again.

Perhaps I should set this up with my desktop - near the existing router - in our loft (opposite side of house). Then move it to the family room. I'm not sure if any of this problem is bc. the laptop I'm using has a weak wireless signal from the loft router. Not sure I need a strong signal for this set up, since I think I'm just directly talking from laptop to new SMC - via cat5 - to Lan ports - don't know that I needed a strong wireless signal. If I do, perhaps that's why loading/saving new settings has taken forever and sometimes just stops.

I've gone through these steps so often, I can see that it wouldn't take long - if it worked.

Another reason I didn't set it up by connecting new SMC to the desktop is that there's not a second ethernet port on my desktop - to connect to the new router while it's connected to the old router. If I use the desktop, do I unplug it from the existing router?

I'd love to be able to do this myself (or with help from here). It doesn't sound like it should be so hard - but so far it's not working.

Thank you.
Lynn.

I was setting up the new SMC to have a different name than my original router (original router is Lynn). My new one was named "family room". I just noticed the SMC online manual suggests that to act as an WAP, the SSID's have to be the same. This is different than Mikie's suggestions - and the other guides I've seen. Is it possible that the manual is right? Maybe more likely I'm misreading it.

Thanks.
Lynn.

Just to report back. I tried this for a couple of hours with no luck. I called SMC support and we spent over an hour. It would seem as though we had the "family room" network set up - but then pages barely loaded even though I was 10 inches from the WAP.

I did more google searching and read Amazon reviews for various router/wireless access point devices. Most of them seem to indicate a complicated set up - which resembled what I did on my own - and what the SMC rep had me do. But I don't think we did enough. It looks like after setting it up, I had to change my laptop's IP address (temporarily) to go back to the newly established WAP and make further changes. This was not documented in the SMC manual nor did the SMC rep seem familiar with this. She kept wanting to insist it was a Windows issue. First she said it was being blocked by the firewall - so I turned the firewall off while we tried some more. This didn't make a difference - but she insisted there were more firewalls buried within Windows.

This seems like nonsense to me as I've been able to access numerous wireless networks - at home, travelling, etc with this laptop.

What we did do - as I had done myself, was

1 - set operation mode to bridge (not default of gateway) - this will vary with different devices

2- disable DHCP
3- change ssid to "family room" and set a passphrase
4- change channel to 11 so it doesn't interfere with main router's channel 6
5 - set up wpa-psk security (when I did this myself I did wpa2-psk - the tech rep had me do wpa-psk - I think she mistakenly thought the wpa2 was the problem). I have wpa2 on my main router - and I think the security is supposed to match. She said it didn't have to.

At any rate, my laptop saw the family room network - indicated it was connected - with a strong signal - but then it didn't load web pages. I saw repeated mentions of this in amazon reviews of other devices.

I could have probably tried over and over - with changing my laptops' ip address temporaryily - then changing it back. But having spent perhaps 4-6 hours over 2 weekends, I decided it was better to hire someone. My computer guy is coming tomorrow morning. I do like being able to figure these things out myself - but I was wasting a lot of valuable time on it. And my husband still can't connect his Imac to the internet and download software he needs to start recording music.

I thought I'd report back here in case others encounter similar experiences.

Thanks.
Lynn.

if it has bridge mode then plug your ethernet feed into the wan port as that is what bridge mode is.. normally it would be picking up dhcp and ip from a isp supplied modem/router fed into the wan port.

Thanks, Mikie for posting that. I'm working on it but hit my next roadblock.

I decided to use the install cd to set up the smc. I connected the ethernet cable from the original linksys router to the smc WAN port. Is that right? The security was set up as wpa2 aes (I think - I didn't see the option for combined aes/tkip that I saw when typing the ip address into the browser).

(My computer guy was here - I hope for the last time - and he did what I was afraid he'd do - come up with all the reasons other things weren't working - he said the cat5 cable I ran down to the family room wasn't working when he plugged it into my laptop - I later checked and it did work once I disconnected from the wireless network). He said the SMC wasn't working - and half the time they don't. Well - maybe it doesn't but I don't think we tried the correct way yet. He's gone and I'm back to trying myself).

I don't know if he reset the settings I had for DHCP disbled. He also said that the static ip address I set was in conflict 192.168.1.3. That he did reset.

Anyway - after I reran basic setup - with the ethernet into the WAN port of the SMC, I tried to connect my husband's laptop to the SMC in the family room. And it worked. But I typed cmd, then ipconfig - and see that the SMC's ip address is it's default 192.168.2.1. The ip addresss assigned to the laptop was 192.168.2.100 (under IPv4).

Then I tried connecting his Imac in the adjacent den. I was able to connect - but pages are barely loading - so, so slow. I got Amazon up. But I'm trying to load slingbox.com - and it's dragging. Got the homepage up, but when I click any options, it loads interminably. I checked the Mac's IP address and it says 192.168.2.101 - served by 192.168.2.1 (the SMC).

Now I thought the SMC wasn't supposed to be assigning IP addresses. So I'm thinking I"m not done setting this up right - but I don't want to screw up the little bit of progress I think I've made - so I'd like to confirm my next steps with you.

I think these are what I might have to do:

use husband's laptop in the family room - connected wirelessly to the SMC as it is now (or should it be connected via ethernet cable?). Enter the router ip address of 192.168.2.1 in the address bar to open up the SMC settings.

Then disable DHCP?

Then do I need to assign a static ip address to the SMC? If so, what should it be? I thought something along the lines of 192.168.1.1x (in the range of ip addresses my linksys router is serving - but computer guy said NO - not that I believe him - but when I did that yesterday, it didn't work. perhaps it didn't work bc. it wasn't plugged into the WAN port. The original linksys router has a range of 192.168.1.100-149 (subnet is 255.255.255.0). So I think I don't understand if the IP I assign to the SMC is within that 192.168.1.100-149 range - or outside it? And if outside, what are the parameters? I'm happy to just enter a number if you tell me it will work.

If the above is correct - and I disable DHCP - set a static IP address, then do the devices I connect wirelessly (laptop, husband's mac) get assigned temporary ip addresses by the original linksys router (which has dhcp enabled)? Again - computer guy is throwing me off bc. he said each device would have to be set with it's own static IP address or it would conflict with other devices that are being assigned ip addresses by the linksys router. This seems wrong - but my grasp on this is weak.

The laptop in the family room is connecting fine. The Mac in the next room isn't. Any idea why? Or is it bc. my set up isn't complete and accurate yet.

One more thing - my linksys router is a "n" router with 1GB speed. The SMC has only like 1.5mb. Does that matter? Do the speeds have to match or be close?

At this point I think I have to figure this out (with help here0 - bc. computer guy would have me get a new router entirely - which I would still have to set up - or pay him more money to set it up when he is back in the country in 4 weeks.

Thanks.
Lynn.

the very first thing i would try is find this setting in the new smc for 2.1> ....
the SMC's ip address is it's default 192.168.2.1
and change that 3rd number group,
to same as your orig lan 192.168.1.3?

If i was doing this---I would connect the laptop to the new access point with a cat 5 cable and get it working and then do the wireless connection..usually it is easier to setup connected by cat 5 cable

I did change the SMC's IP address to 192.168.1.2(sorry - I had done 2 before I saw your post). I was able to get into the router settings and also disable DHCP.

(I also played with plugging into Lan instead of WAN bc.the instructions I printed from here:
http://www.speedguide.net/read_articles.php?id=2556&print=friendly
insist not to use the WAN port.

So after I did it from the Lan port, I cannot get back into the router via the browser typing 192.168.1.2. Says Firefox can't establish a connection to the servver at 192.168.1.2. I have a cat5 from the smc to my laptop. And have a cat5 from the router to the lan port on the smc.

I am so confused. This is one of several places I got stuck before. I can't get back in to the router. I don't even know if the change of IP address took - it loaded a long time - but came back to the SMC router page. I just couldn't open any other tabs from there to set up security or do anything else (including seeing if the ip address had changed.)

Right now I can't access it from my browser - either the old IP address or the new one I created.

Everyplace I look says something different.

Canibus - I did connect the laptop to the new access point with a cat 5 - but I can't get back into the router settings to do security, etc.

I also read conflicting things about whether the ssid of my original linksys network (Lynn) has to be the same as my SMC device (which I was naming family room). What I read on the net says different names. The SMC manual suggests the same name.

Thanks.
Lynn.
.

.If I was plug the ethernet feed into the lan port, I would set it back to gateway mode. Follow intstructions to use a router as an access point.

If I set it to bridge, I would set the smc address to 192.168.1.2 or .254 ... provided that ip is not in the dhcp range of the main original router, or in use anywhere else on the network.
..... I would check, but I think bridge mode will disable dhcp automatically in the smc. It should bypass everything and that wan port will just be an uplink port. So now all the wired ports and the invisable wired port(wifi) opperate as an extension of ports from the main old router. Wifi picks up the gateway and works like any access point.
.... Now I can access the smc at the .2 (or my prefered is .254) IP number from anywhere on the network & it is a fixed ip.
..... I'd make sure firewall was off, if I can even access those settings. And make sure any smc internal dhcp is off - if i can access that setting.

I'd power it off for a minute, unplug or power off any ethernet connected devices & wifi conneted devices .... then power the smc back on... and cross my fingers. Finally go set up wifi settings/login-password to the smc.

I like seperate ssid's here, nice to do configurations and remote reboots, from a wifi laptop on opposite ap. same ssid works too here but sometimes i would notice I'm on the weaker signal ap.

sounds simple,, i know.. sometimes its not.

i am not trying to butt in-just trying to catch up because this is a interesting subject..

you are connecting a cat5 from Lan port on old router to Lan port on new wireless you are using for an access point.

am i right?

Canibus - not butting in at all. I appreciate any questions and perspectives. I am connecting a cat5 from my old linksys 310N router (which is wired to the opposite end of the house) - and plugging it into the new SMC to use as an access point. At least I think access point is the correct term.

This is what I'd like the SMC to do - provide wireless internet access to that area of the house (my husband's Mac so he can get internet connection - and possibly use of a laptop in that room). I'd also like to have ethernet cables directly run from the SMC to my Slingbox, Playstation 2 (and not sure yet if it can run to the Wii or TV). So I want it to provide wired and wireless access to the two rooms on that level.

I followed Mikie's instructions - and it worked to a point. I'm ran the cat5 from my preexisting linksys router - to the WAN port of the SMC. That seems correct to me and it's gotten me further than any other method.

I disabled dhcp (which does happen automatically once I select bridge mode - smc only gives options of gateway or bridge mode). I reset ip address to 192.168.1.254. It stuck this time. I set up wpa2-tkip/aes security (same as the linksys). I named the ssid family room.

Then I turned it all off. Started it up again in the family room. My husband's laptop connects - to the newly set address. I changed the channel to 11.

BUT - it is so slow. I tried to load this page on that laptop and after a couple of minutes I still couldn't bring the login page up. I couldn't load gmail. I could load amazon but it's slow.

So - something still needs further tweaking, but I'm not sure what. Any ideas. The family room wireless network exists - it even indicates full bars (strong signal) - but pages take forever to load - or don't load at all.

Thanks.
Lynn.

just guessing,,, what happens with laptop speeds if you set wifi security to its lowest level.. probably wep with shorter key

how is the laptop internet speed when you are connected
by cat 5 cable to the access point....also i would try
no security on the access point until i got it working properly...

So first I plugged the laptop in via cat5 cable. Still quite slow. I was able to open Amazon and the computer forum, but could not load this thread. I also couldn't open gmail.

So next I disabled the security.

I was going to try WEP first, but it was asking me to create many keys - key 1, key 2, etc. Since I wasn't sure what that was for (one key I would have assumed was like the password or passphrase). I don't know why more than one key - so I didn't select it until I get more information.

I also wondered what "open" and "shared" security would do.

So I connected via ethernet cable (and confirmed that I' connected to port 4 of the linksys router - I believe this is correct since the SMC is being fed from port4 of the linksys). The speed is 100mbps. I don't know if that's considered a decent speed or not. Don't know if speed is the problem - but most pages still aren't loading - or are taking forever (10 seconds to a few minutes).

What should I try to do next. I don't know where the breakdown is in transmission. In case it's relevant, before I connected my linksys router to the SMC, the cat5 cable ran from the linksys router - across to the other side of the house - and into my Slingbox. The slingbox worked fine - pages loaded - so this problem didn't seem to exist from just the cable run from the linksys. Although computer guy said he couldn't connect my laptop with that cable. That cable runs outside for part of the way - and we did have lots of rain - just in case the line was effected. Honestly - I don't think the line was effected since we had it set up for a few months with the Slingbox - and had stormy weather before with no ill effects.

This also makes me wonder if this router is just too slow - or a crummy, defective router. Or is it simply not set up properly yet.

Thank you.
Lynn.

this guide you posted

http://www.speedguide.net/read_articles.php?id=2556&print=friendly

has worked for me on several occasions..sometime it went smooth and sometimes not

i would disconnect from your old router and reset the new one..

setting up the access points ip address and configuration before you connect the two routers together

Hi, Canibus. I did it the way you suggested. I was disconnected from the old router -and reset the new one (over and over - I must have tried that sequence 5 or 6 times - maybe more). The last time I did it by disconnecting from the old router and setting it up directly through the modem - all configured before I plugged the existing router back into the chain.

I set it up - upstairs directly from my modem (which i also unplugged first as the smc installation guide suggested). I had hoped that going directly from the modem and leaving out the linksys router would help. But the results still don't work. Perhaps I got a little further but in the end, the something's not working. Laptop connects to the SMC - indicates strong signal - 1000 mbps speed (is that good or bad) - but pages barely load.

Thank you.
Lynn.

PS also good to hear the speedguide/net guide worked for you - sometimes. I combined it with Mikie's suggestion to pluginto the WAN port - and that seemed key as well (also what the SMC long manual suggests - different from speedguide).

Leaving town tonight for a few days and I hope to try a few more things before I leave. Otherwise it waits until Sunday.

Canibus - when it didn't go smoothly, were you able to get it smoothly somehow?

Thank you
Lynn.

The connection speed is 100 mbps - so I don't know if that's slow.

Is this related to the speed of the SMC (which computer guy said was 150 MBPS I believe. I don't know where he saw that. This SMC has 5-6 reviews on amazon- which are positive, so I think it must be capable of delivering a wired and wireless signal that allows reasonably paced page loading. So either this unit is flawed - or I haven't done it right yet.

Thanks.
Lynn.

Sorry to be pesty - but I really don't know where else to turn with this. I did a little more looking online but couldn't figure out a next step.

I do think the 100 MBPS is probably decent (I was using somebody's laptop this weekend with 11 mbps - and it worked just fine). So the laptops say they're connected - reports a speed of 100 mbps - and whether it's wireless or wired connection, the pages just aren't loading. I don't know what else could be the problem.

The IP address was reset correctly, the wpa2-psk. When I connect, I'm able to enter the passphrase I selected. It's the "family room" network I'm connected to.

Could this just be a bad router? Or is there still something missing in how I set it up?

I don't even know a competent person to hire for this. My "computer guy" is supposed to be the best by local reputation - and I know of several others who were even less competent.

Thank you.
Lynn.

The smc has a firewall.. make sure its off/disabled.
if anthing saying NAT or SPI , disable it.
I hate built in logging on routers.. it can slow things. Dissable it too.

Mikie - thanks for hanging in there with me. I didn't get far last night. In fact, I think I went backwards.

I was able to log onto the router (via ethernet cable). Then I looked for any firewall. I didn't find one - but I might not have gotten far enough along the path. I did something that made it impossible to access the router at all. I went to several pages on the router - and didn't find NAT, SPI, logging on to router (not sure what that means) or firewall (it might have been under administration but I didn't get that far).

I was on the Wireless Tab. I saw something that puzzled me before. It was wireless on/off - and in the box it said "turn off". When I looked at that before and clicked the box to see if it toggled to other options, it didn't. I had seen this prior - and the box said wireless off. This time since I was still having trouble connecting, I once more clicked the box to see what other options there might be. Nothing changed. The box didn't get highlighted or unhighlighted - and no other selections appeared. I wondered if I could get the cursor in the box and see if it could be retyped to say on. Well - I didn't get that far either. I got the cursor in the box and hit backspace. Next thing I knew I was unable to access the router. I was off that page and could no longer select a page. I tried unplugging the smc - and replugging it. No change. I can't get into the router through my browser.

I don't know if I have to reset the entire router and start again. I'm still curious as to what that wireless on/off selection means - since it gives no option to change the setting. I think it saying "turn off" did not mean that wireless was off.

Here are other things I found in the settings.
- WDS (wireless distribution system) - disabled
- WPS (wifi protective setup) - disabled

So now I'm two giant steps backwards. I don't know if I can undo whatever I did by clearing that box. Any ideas to get back to the router settings page? Do I have to reset it and do it all over again?

Do you know what WPS and WDS mean - and should they remain disabled?

I'm not sure what built-in logging on router means and where I could go to disable it.

Thank you.
Lynn.

PS - not easy to make lemonade out of these lemons yet - but all this exercise in frustration has taught me something about setting up a wireless router. When we went to a beach apartment we rent this past weekend, it was a breeze for me to set up a wireless router there, after my umpteen go-rounds with this one.

you turned the wireless off

you will have to use a cat 5 to access the router and turn wireless back on

i have had the experience of having to unplug the access point cable from the other router to be able to access
the setup sometimes..don't know why but it has happened

I just wrote a long post and it disappeared - Control z did not restore it.

So briefly - I got wireless back on - but still can't find firewall settings. The manual on page 94:

http://www.smc.com/files/AX/UG_SMCWBR14S_N4.PDF

suggests the firewall has settings - but doesn't show where to access it. And I think I've tried every page and tab on the browser settings. Is it possible that bridge mode precludes any firewall. The manual does say that when bridge mode is selected, there will be many fewer internet/wireless settings to set.

Should it be this hard? Should I cut my losses and buy another device? The nearest decent computer store to me is a 1/2 hour away - but I will be there later today (in 4 hours) for an appointment. Should I buy something else. Are some devices easier than this?

Thank you.
Lynn.

It really should be much simpler. I've watched this thread for a while and my head just spins ;-)

There was a good suggestion from Mikie above, in the beginning of this thread.

quote
"Plug your network cable into an end jack on the new router.... don't plug it into the wan/Internet port.

set the new router/access point to Disable DHCP then set a fixed LAN ip address compatible to the original old/existing router.. most routers are like 192.168.0.1, so I might use a fixed ip in the new router LAN of 192.168.0.2,, or 0.255 .. which is not likely to be in dhcp range of the old/existing router.

The old/existing router will do the dhcp for everything and supply IP for all items connected to the new added router,,, other than that new LAN/fixed-ip.

To access the new now access point for configurations ... you use that fixed LAN ip you set it to.

You need to change the wifi channel on the new router to not match the old existing wifi channel number. channels 1 - 6 or 11 preferred.. so the radio signals from old and new routers dot interfering with each other. You probably want to use a different wireless name livrm2 or something you will recognize as different from the original wifi station name. SSiD

one working go back and set up wifi security .. passphrase,,, and access login/password for the new "

Did I miss where the simple setup didn't work? Since you got a good connection, but pages were loading very slowly, did you try clearing the browser cache on the Mac and maybe flushing the DNS cache? We'll need a Mac guru to tell you how to do that, I have no clue. To sum up why that's important, your browser used DNS tables (they resolve a web address like www.google.com into an IP address). The DNS table that the browser was using has changed with the addition of the SMC and the old entries should be flushed so that the browser looks for a new table. Did you visit any connection speed sites?

I hope you figure it out.

Pam

Pam - my head is spinning too. I followed Mikie's suggestions to the letter - from that first set of instructions you quoted. I've now done this so many times, but my recollection is that this earlier time I was able to set up a wireless network called family room. I disabled dhcp, set a fixed Lan ip address of 192.168.1.254. I changed the sifi channel to 11 (the upstairs original router is 6). After it seemed to be working, I went back in aset up wifi security (wpa2-psk) and a passphrase (same passphrase as the upstairs router).

I was able to see it on the Mac - and connect - but pages hardly loaded. Same for the laptops I brought downstairs to try it. Seemed to connect - the laptops and Mac asked for the passphrase to connect to the secured wireless network family room. It connected - with full bars. But barely loaded pages.

That's the furthest I've gotten. Then I think I called SMC tech support. They told me to set the mode as bridge mode (as opposed to gateway). Those are the only choices on this router - it's supposed to be in bridge mode to configure as a WAP. That automatically disables DHCP server.

Then Mikie suggested plugging into the WAN port (and so did the SMC manual which I downloaded - although their instructions are horribly laid out - they say to set it in bridge mode but don't spell out all the steps). This started to be where I couldn't even connect with the ethernet cable. SMC support said it was an ISP or Windows problem.

I reset the SMC router repeatedly and tried set up all over again. Currently there is no security set up as Mikie and Canibus suggested No security until I got it up and running. This last time I got as far as being able to load pages if connected via CAT5 cable from the SMC to the laptop. Wirelessly it sees the network - but won't connect.

So perhaps flushing the DNS cache makes sense. I only tried to connect the Mac once - so it may not be filled with DNS tables - and the Mac barely has ever connected to our home network - which is why I'm trying to add this access point in the first place).

Before I mess with the Mac, I want to get this working with our laptops. they are windows xp (SP#) and vista. How do I clear the DNS cache in those browsers?

I did not visit connection speed sites? Where would I find those? At one point my laptop said the speed was 100mbps (not sure it that was accurate - but it wasn't loading pages).

Thanks.
Lynn.

On the Windows machines, flushing DNS is easy. On XP and Vista, click Start the Run, type in cmd and click OK...that gets you to the command prompt. The command that you type is
ipconfig /flushdns

There is a space after ipconfig.

Now for the speed tests...I'm just going with the tests recommended by the superusers here found by searching 'online speed tests'.

DSL Reports

CNET Reviews

and a link that may also be helpful in setup

DIY Home Networking Tutorials

Another, albeit more expensive, option is to call your ISP and have a second modem installed for this area of your home. That would assure a nice strong signal to this problematic area.

Pam

I flushed my XP laptop, but it didn't work on the Vista laptop. I got a command prompt - but when I typed ipconfig /flushdns, it says it required "elevation"? I have no idea what that means.

I'll check out the speed sites later.

My set up attempts have migrated from Mikie's earlier suggestions. I have the SMC in bridge mode (not gateway mode) - and plugged in the WAN port (and not the Lan port). Not sure if I should start all over again or not.

Lynn.

ipconfig /flushdns, it says it required "elevation"? I have no idea what that means.

That means run ipconfig elevated to administrative privileges.
If you have the little black cmd icon, right click and choose 'run as administrator'
I often just make a quick desktop shortcut ... cmd ... simple and quicker than searching around.

If Mikie can't help, I'm not sure anyone can. But I have used this other sight in the past and they were also very helpful and seem to have a lot of time to spend working with wireless problems.

Good luck,
Jane

Here is a link that might be useful: Wireless help

I was able to flush the dns on both the xp and vista laptops.

But I still can't connect either laptop wirelessly to the "fmaily room" network (which is still unsecured). I cannot access the Nat,spi or firewall soI don't know if that's the problem.

Both laptops show a strong signal (full bars) to the family room network - but don't connect. They do connect via wired connection (does this mean I have so far created a network switch). On both laptops I selected "family room" as the preferred network to connect to. But both connected to my Lynn network (from the opposite corner of the house - with only a weak signal).

On the Vista laptop it says Windows cannot connect to "family room" - and when asked to connect to family room, it said "Windows association failed due to an unknown reason." When I selected "diagnose and repair, it said Windows did not find any problems with your Internet connection."

Then I tried one further thing. I saw on the Vista laptop that it still listed the family room network as having WPA2 security - so i changed what the laptop had for listed for family room network to reflect no current security settings. Then I tried to connect again. It wouldn't connect. Then I clicked repair/diagnose - and it said "this network is marked as a "hidden" network and is either not in the range of this computer or the wireless settings saved on this computer do not match the settings of the network."

It is in range of the network - 3 feet away and receiving a full strong signal. So perhaps the network settings do not match the router or access point (although I'm not sure where to look to check this since I think I set it all up to match).

The other thing is says is "if you own or set up this network, reset your wireless router or access point and try connecting again." Should I try this? Does it mean unplugging SMC access point, linksys router and modem - waiting and replugging them in? If so, in what order?

Or does this mean resetting the SMC completely and starting from scratch?

So now what?

Jane - I realize that Mikie's the guy - and I very much appreciate his help. Those links helped me get clearer on definitions, but don't really get specific enough to address these set up complications.

Thank you.
Lynn.

Just noticed that when I go to family room Wireless network properties onthe vista laptop, it says the network type is access point (is this hopeful that something in this set up has gone the way it's supposed to)?

says the name is fmaily room and the ssid is family room. network availability: all users.

Security type - No authentication (Open)
Encryption type: none.

So it did change the settings on the laptop to reflect no security on the SMC. Now one more thing I noticed, is in setting up the SMC, there was a choice of disabled security - or open. I chose disabled. Should I pick Open instead? the Vista laptop doesn't offer a "disabled" option - just open or various wpa and wep settings.

The other day I spoke with someone at MicroCenter. He wondered if the DNS was disabled and said it should be enabled. I don't quite see a matching setting on the SMC router. In case this is relevant, under administration - management, there is a DDNS Settings. the Dynamic DNS Provider is set as none (I did not pick that setting, it was like that). The other choices are:

dynd...org (can't mention this here bc. of spam attacks?)
freedns.afraid.org
www.zoneedit.com
www.no-ip.com

Should I be changing this DDNS setting?

Hope some of the above information may shed somelight on this.
Lynn.

Sorry for the third post (maybe it's okay bc. it shows I'm really working on this).

The SMC either forces a choice of disabled security or open (or wpa, wpa2 etc which we decided to forego until this is up and running).

I had disabled - but notice that the vista laptop is asking for open or other security. When I try to select Open on the SMC, it forces me to pick WEP encryption. I avoided this before because the key choices were confusing me. But now I feel ready to tackle that with some help.l

If the security mode is open (and maybe for now that's the only way to match the settings on the vista laptop), it forces me to select a Key. The selection of 4 keys previously confused me. Now i see that is is suggested the default Key by Key 2. I think I oly have to choose a WEP Key for Key 2. is that right?

Then it says choose hex or ASCII key. I'm not sure what that means. If someone could tell me if I should choose hex or axcII - and what the guidelines are for those keys, that would be great. Also - do I have to select all 4 keys - or just the default.

Thank you.
Lynn.

Usually WEP ... would be one or the other, Open or Closed system. Disabled I would think means no WEP keys needed but you still may have to choose a number.

Open = the ssid is broadcast and seen by anyone on any wifi device. USE THIS !!!

Closed = the ssid is only seen by those asking for it specifially by the ssid name. Another words ssid is hidden.. you gotta know it to connect to it.

If you use key 2 on the smc, on the laptop you also have to choose to use key 2. (make all four keys the same.. till you get going speedy - then change over hopefully to wpa or wpa2 whatever apple can handle and smc is happy with)
!~~~~~~~~~

HEX or ASCii ... look at the link below maybe is easier for you... press button, grab key from bottom of page..... see the little notation to prefix apple hex keys with $ .. I dont know apple/mac if that is required or not.. if the apple will take ASCii use ASCii !

Here is a link that might be useful: web key generator online

Holy Moly - that WEP stuff is complicated. No wonder I just bypassed it before in favor of disabling security.

Mikie - the open, closed was not for broadcasting the ssid. I do have that open to broadcast. It is under security settings - which give options of disabled, open, wep, wpa, etc. If I choose open, it forces me to select WEP encryption. There was no "closed" option. And with "disabled" there was no place to still choose a number. But since the laptop isn't offering "disabled" - just open, wep, wpa, etc, I think I should set the SMC router to open so I can match the laptop settings.

I'll give it a try to set up WEP - and make all 4 keys the same.

I don't know about Mac either - but I'm not going to worry about that now. Right now I'd like to at least get a wireless network in the family room that our Windows laptops can connect to. Maybe later on I can change to WPA2-psk.

I'll report back.
Thank you, Mikie.
Lynn.

(Okay - I can't believe this thread has become 47 posts long - so far.)

I set all 4 wep keys to a simple 5 character ascII key.

I went back to my laptop (the vista one) to try to connect wirelessly. Again - it sees the "family room" network - but cannot connect. It says that the network is hidden (or something on the network is hidden). I am not sure what setting this would be - as everything we've mentioned is set to on/enable - ssid broadcasting, open wep with a 5 character key. I set the laptop's key number as 2 as well.

On the laptop network and sharing, I checked the properties - and everything I saw looked fine - and seemed to match the SMC. It even identifies the "family room" network as an access point.

There was an option to see the log for the network connection attempts. I can try to copy and paste it here. I didn't do it yet bc. I wasn't sure it didn't contain sensitive security settings I shouldn't post to a forum. If it's safe to post it - and useful to post that log, let me know and I'll post it. (Could this be related to what the microcenter guy talked about with having the dns server on?).

Thank you.
Lynn.

PS - at this point I've tested several devices with a wired connection through the SMC - and they've all worked. So at this point the problem is with the wireless.

Hidden wireless network sounds like you have disabled the SSID broadcast. Personally I would reset the router to factory and start over. Some setting is just off.