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Hooking Up Someone Else's Wireless Router

14 years ago

Hi,

A relative of mine had her ex drop by for a week (in his motorhome). He wants to be able to access the internet on his laptop and he brought his own wireless router with him. But he doesn't know much about how to connect things, so I've been asked to do it. (I guess they still don't know why I picked the username I did. ;-) )

Anyway, question: since this is a router he had already been using in his home, is it simply a matter of hooking the thing up to the cable modem my aunt has ? Or must we/I go through the whole set-up procedure (with whatever codes & passwords might be necessary) as if starting from scratch ? IOW, I don't know if the router has somehow saved the information and only needs to be installed, or if it must all be done from the beginning.

Also, can my aunt somehow still have her own laptop connected to the modem by the cable (i.e. "wired") while the other laptop outside uses the wireless router ?

Thanks for any comments ! :-)

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Comments (4)

maybee_gw
14 years ago
I know that when my kids come home, they can all use their i-pads, I-pods and laptops using my wireless router...I can still use my desk top and laptop (all at the same time) At times, we have had four or five "things" going at one time.
not2bright
Original Author
14 years ago
Hi, maybee

It's good to know they can both be on their respective laptops at the same time if they wish, since there will probably be many times like that ! :-)

But my main concern is how to hook up the wireless router, since it's not hers. It's his. He brought it with him and it has never been hooked up to her computer before. Since it's a different computer with a different modem and ISP, I don't know if it can simply be connected and that's it, or if there is some complicated set-up process that we must go through (passwords, etc.) to have it start working. :-) I have no idea what kind of security settings, etc. are required. Would they be already saved 'in' the router, or must we go through all that now because the router is being hooked up to this particular cable modem & service for the first time.

Thanks ! :-)
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zep516
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Do you know the brand name of the router and model # in case we need it. If he had the router set up in his home the router should have retained the settings that he had. Unplugging it does not cause these settings to be lost. So go ahead a connect it.

Also, can my aunt somehow still have her own laptop connected to the modem by the cable (i.e. "wired") while the other laptop outside uses the wireless router ?

Yes that's how I do it here. Remember her connection will come from the router port, right now I would think she is connected directly to the Modem. You will need 1 cable to connect the Modem to the router any Ethernet cable will do.You will pull her cable out of the modem and plug it into 1 of the available router ports. You may have to go through a power down sequence of the modem an router, then verify she can connect by going to www.Google.com. Then see if he can connect too on the wireless signal.
not2bright
Original Author
14 years ago
Great ! Thanks for the input again, zep ! Just what I needed to know. If I run into any problems, I'll be back. ;-)

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