How to Configure a Secondary Router to Use as a Wireless Access Point

Forget bridge mode, forget static IP addresses and forget wifi repeaters. This is the quickest and easiest method to use a secondary modem/router to expand your Wifi coverage by configuring it as an access point.

For this tutorial I am using a TP-Link TD-W8961ND as my secondary router. It is a 300mbps Wireless N ADSL2+ Modem Router.

This method should be very similar on all modern routers.

What you will need:-

An already connected and setup primary router with a spare Ethernet port.

An Ethernet cable long enough to reach to the desired Access Point area from the primary router.

Before I start I must let you know that I have been informed that if your Secondary Router has a WAN port then no configuration is necessary as it should work out of the box from Primary Ethernet to Secondary WAN. If this is not the case then please keep reading.

First off, you must connect your PC or Laptop to your chosen secondary router using a Ethernet cable. Then access the router’s configuration page. You do this by typing in the IP address of your router into a web browsers address bar. For me with this particular TP Link model the ip was 192.168.1.1 This can vary slightly but your correct address should be in the routers manual, if not then try googling the model number.

After successfully connecting you will be asked for a username as password. This is normally printed on the router itself and will usually be admin/admin or admin/password as long as nobody has ever changed it. If there is any issue not allowing you to login then try resetting the router.

Once logged in to the configuration page then it may be worth factory resetting the device so it’s nice and clean ready for the next bit. Not a requirement though!

In the menu look for the DHCP Server and disable it. On the TP-Link TD-W8961ND I did this by entering the Interface Setup then selecting LAN

What is the DHCP Server?

“Definition of DHCP – Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol – is a network protocol that enables a server to automatically assign an IP address to a computer from a defined range of numbers configured for a given network.”

After disabling the DHCP server your router is now configured to be used as an access point, but there’s more. Although the secondary router now works and broadcasts a wireless signal when connected to the primary. It is unsecured. The following steps are what I did on the TP Link to secure the access point.

1. I entered the Interface menu once again but this time I selected Wireless.

2. I disabled WPS (this stopped me from needing to input the routers serial number to access the network). 3. Authentication was disabled so I changed that to WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK.

3. I changed the SSID to my desired network name

4. I entered in the Pre Shared Key my desired password and clicked SAVE.

My secondary router was configured perfectly and I could connect to it using a private password. As a matter of fact I am using it as an access point right now to share this information with you.

One final thing worth mentioning. If the access point is not performing great then there could be interference on the wireless channel with your primary router. To fix this then simply login to your router wireless settings and change the wireless channel from auto to a different number between 1 and 11.

I hope this helps! Please like this page if it did.