Question about adding a router into a home network

[ShutterBugSteve]

Hello all,

I've got a question about adding a router into an existing home network. I just moved into the "in law" suite of a house. The entire house is already setup with a wired network, but I need a wireless network for a couple of things. So, this leads to my question.

If I plug my computer into the RJ-45 that is in the wall, I get internet just fine. If I plug my router into the same RJ-45 plug, and try to connect to the internet via WiFi, I get nothing. My computer connects to the router just fine, and I can log into the router to make adjustments and what not, I just can't get onto the internet.

Could this be a MAC address issue? Is it because I'm trying to attach a second router to the network?

If it matters, the house is connected to Cox High Speed Internet.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Steve

 

[MustISO]

Do they already have a router setup in the house? They probably do so they can all share connections. You'll need to set yours into bridge mode so it can coexist on the network.

 

[kevnich2]

When you plug the router in, is the LAN & WAN IP address the same subnet (192.168.1.x or 192.168.0.x)? If they are, change the LAN IP of the router to something else (if WAN is 192.168.1.x, change LAN to 192.168.2.x). That should take care of it.

 

[ShutterBugSteve]

Thanks for the replies, I'll have to try these out and see if I can get it straightened out after work.

 

[RebateMonger]

The "trouble-free" way of doing this is to turn your second router into a WiFi access point. Do so by:

1) Logging onto the Router's configuration screen
2) Turning off the DHCP server in the router
3) Changing the Router's internal (LAN) IP address to a value that will put it on the same subnet as the rest of the household (i.e. if other PCs are at 192.168.0.100/255.255.255.0, set the Router's LAN address as 192.168.0.200/255.255.255.0)
4) Put a piece of tape over the "WAN" port on your Router, so you won't use it accidentally.
5) Connect one of the "LAN" ports on your Router to one of the LAN ports on the main house Router.

You'll now be on the same network as the rest of the household, will be able to access the Internet AND the other PCs (be sure that folks have password security if this matters to anybody) and you'll have WiFi.

 

[ShutterBugSteve]

Thanks RebateMonger, your suggestion of turning my wireless router into an access point did the trick. Now I have the wireless access that I need.