Piggy-backing a router

[#1]

As I have mentioned before on this forum, I have a long, narrow house |(three small cottages) with very thick walls.  WiFi signal from my master router is therefore difficult.  I already have three routers acting as Slaves off the Master router, but I am also forced to use a Home plug for access to the internet in one spot, which is not very satisfactory.  I would like to add a fourth WiFi Slave router because the other three work so much better than the Homeplug.

However, wiring it would not be easy.  One way would be to extend one of the existing Slaves by using the existing Slave router also as a hub, which would enable me (I hope) to piggy-back off it, but I do not know if that would work.  I suspect that the terms router and hub are synonymous.

I set up the other three Slave routers with individual IP addresses and disable DHCP in each case.  That is what I was proposing to do with the fourth router and then link the third router with the new fourth router by plugging in a 15 metre network cable to the respective yellow sockets.

I would be grateful to know whether this Is this likely to work or not, before I go out and buy another router ?

[#2]

Hello Shermans,

I had wireless problems and used a second router as a bridge following advice on the " Router " forums with some success. I then replaced my router with a BT Business Hub 6 which has solved my WiFi issues.

I'm sure that someone far more knowledgeable than I am will be along to offer more detailed and helpful advice, but my problem has been solved so if your solution involves yet another router then you are welcome to have my new Plusnet Hub One, still in the box with all the cables / gubbins etc free of charge, just for the cost of Postage.

( Plusnet sent it to me F.O.C. so it wouldn't be right to charge for it )

Just drop me a PM if interested.

[#3]

You don't need to buy a router, all you need is a Wireless Access Point..

If you have a Homeplug in stock and the  'slave' unit is one with both an Ethernet socket and a wireless unit it's worth trying the slave unit on it's own by simply connecting an Ethernet cable between one of the LAN outputs on the nearest router and the Ethernet port on the slave unit. Do not use the other Homeplug unit. I have had this work successfully with both Devolo and TP Link products so give it a try, it will cost you nothing!

[#4]

Baldrick1

Thanks again.  Someone has actually offered me a WiFi router for the cost of postage, so that should do the trick for my main purpose.  The WiFi signal should be stronger in that than a Homeplug Slave.  However, even with another WiFi router, there are still parts that "other beers cannot reach", and your idea of using the Homeplug Slave would be very useful to add an ethernet for a particular black spot which would be easy to cable - it's the conservatory but again very weak WiFi signal from the nearest router due to the thick walls.

The BT Master Socket and the Master router is upstairs right in the centre of the house, which it is like a train - you go from one room into the next and on into the next endlessly.  To make matters worse, we have also added small extensions back and front at each end of the house, so there are so many black spots.  That is not all, there is also my office above the garage which is 30 metres from the house, and that is served by an ethernet cable from the Master router running under the drive attached to its own Slave router.

Running more cables from the Master router using a hub would be the right way to do it, but it is impossible to do so without knocking holes through walls - in one place where two cottages join, each had its own party wall made of chalk, so that wall is actually at least 2 metres thick !  There is no chance of getting a signal through that as the walls are already two rooms away from the Master router !  So the easiest is run a cable through the loft from the closest Slave router which is what I need to do, but it is not very conventional !  When I installed the original ethernet network thirty years ago during renovations, WiFi was unheard of - it was in the days of BT Home Highway for which you needed a dedicated telephone line, and 128 mbps was FAST !  I never thought the time would come when I need access all over the house !

[#5]

I have just temporarily borrowed a neighbour's router to try the piggy-backing with a separate IP and DCHP disabled plugged into one of my Slave routers, and that works perfectly.  So now I look forward to receiving the router which I have been very kindly offered.

Thanks to everyone who responded.