I installed two powerline gigabit adapters from the cable router in the back of my house to the area near the TV in my living room. Everything works well going straight from modem through the adapters and into my N300 router (pay for 50 Mbps, and getting 49 Mbps wired and wireless).

I have an extra N300 which I was previously using as a wireless repeater, so I was hoping now to have this router installed at the cable modem before going through the powerline adapter.

So, I think I have 2 concerns...

1) Can I install the one router between the cable modem and powerline and another after the other powerline (two routers each with the same SSID)?

If so, would the TP-Link WR841 N300 reduce the speed if it were in between the cable modem and powerline adapter? Would a gigabit switch fix this issue (i.e. modem to gigabit to Router 1 and Powerline)?

2) What, if any, of the routers' settings would I need to adjust so they can both broadcast the same SSID and assign IP addresses? Would my devices on wifi through one router be able to communicate to devices on wifi through the other router?

TL;DR Synopsis:
Can I go Modem->N300 #1->Powerline #1->Powerline #2->N300 #2 or should go Modem->gigabit switch->N300 #1 and Powerline #1->Powerline #2->N300 #2 to get maximum speeds?

This post was edited on 8/10/15 at 12:03 pm

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Posted by busbeepbeep

When will then be now?

Member since Jan 2004

18348 posts

Posted on 8/10/15 at 1:04 pm to guedeaux

quote:
2) What, if any, of the routers' settings would I need to adjust so they can both broadcast the same SSID and assign IP addresses? Would my devices on wifi through one router be able to communicate to devices on wifi through the other router?

I've done a similar setup at my uncle's house. This is how I did it.

Modem-> Router 1-> Powerline 1 <-----> Powerline 2 -> Router 2

Router 1: set to 192.168.1.1, DHCP on, SSID, channel xx, security xx

Router 2: Powerline ethernet into one of the LAN ports. set device IP to 192.168.1.2, DHCP off, same SSID as router 1, same security, select different wireless channel.

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Posted by guedeaux

Tardis

Member since Jan 2008

13609 posts

Posted on 8/10/15 at 1:21 pm to busbeepbeep

quote:
Router 2: Powerline ethernet into one of the LAN ports. set device IP to 192.168.1.2, DHCP off, same SSID as router 1, same security, select different wireless channel.

Thanks for the info, and good to hear. One potentially ignorant question: If DHCP is off on Router 2, can I still use the remaining LAN ports for wired connections?

I guess the one issue is whether Router 1 will slow the connection since it is only a cheap N300; therefore, the signal that router 2 will be splitting is limited by the output of router 1 (they are both the same cheap model).

This post was edited on 8/10/15 at 1:22 pm

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Posted by Meauxjeaux

98836 posts including my alters

Member since Jun 2005

39947 posts

Posted on 8/11/15 at 1:14 am to guedeaux

quote:
One potentially ignorant question: If DHCP is off on Router 2, can I still use the remaining LAN ports for wired connections?

Yes, router 2 has essentially become a repeater. It's wireless and remaining ports just re-broadcasting the lan segment from router 1.

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Posted by Upperdecker

St. George, LA

Member since Nov 2014

30571 posts

Posted on 8/11/15 at 7:34 am to guedeaux

Why would you want multiple routers broadcasting the same SSID? I have a dual router setup and I use slightly different SSIDs in order to easily distinguish between the two routers. This way I can separate all of my devices evenly between the two routers, which are both dual broadcasting, so 4 SSIDs total. Xbox runs on the best SSID, then entertainment systems, laptops, phones, are all evenly split between the other 3, with some differentiation based on broadcasting signal of the SSID and what it's best for. So my upstairs is set on the lower frequencies and downstairs is set on a higher frequency broadcast

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Posted by ColdDuck

BR via da Parish

Member since Sep 2006

2764 posts

Posted on 8/11/15 at 7:39 am to Upperdecker

Same SSID on business setups, but at home i would go with two different ones. Your phones/tablets will piss you off because they will not swap on their own to the closest one unless the furthest one is totally out of range. A laptop does a better job of finding the closer one, but phones are stupid and will stay connected even if it is one bar.

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Posted by guedeaux

Tardis

Member since Jan 2008

13609 posts

Posted on 8/11/15 at 7:57 am to ColdDuck

quote:
Same SSID on business setups, but at home i would go with two different ones. Your phones/tablets will piss you off because they will not swap on their own to the closest one unless the furthest one is totally out of range. A laptop does a better job of finding the closer one, but phones are stupid and will stay connected even if it is one bar.

I have had a similar setup for several months, just the router in the main room was set up as a wi-fi repeater so I could get a stronger signal in my master shitter. Now I am running powerline from the modem to the router in the main room (which is also much closer to my wifi streaming devices).

I got it set up last night and now I am getting very close speeds (52-45 Mbps down, 10-7 Mpbs up from router 1-router 2, respectively) from each router, and, as before, my phones/tablets always switch to the closest router (although I am rarely ever in the back of the house where the cable modem and router 1 are located).

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