Needless to say, you should change your password as soon as you can to something more secure (and we have a handy guide that walks you through the process). If these default passwords don't work, you can generally find the correct ones through the manufacturer's product-support pages or on sites like and. The default for many Netgear routers is admin/password, but others use different combinations, the most common passwords being admin, default, 1234 and password. See the chart below to find out the details for your brand of router. Other router makes will have different addresses or will have actual IP addresses, like 192.168.1.1. Update Firmware and Reset PreferencesĪfter getting and installing the R7000's latest firmware and connecting the router to our network with a Cat5 jumper cable, we opened a browser window and typed, 'to open the login screen. MORE: How to Set Up Your Wi-Fi Extender for the Best Signal 2. You will need to load new firmware to make it work, though. There are 17 Asus routers that support the AiMesh tool and can automatically create a mesh network topology to fill a home with wireless data. Only an 802.11n or ac router will do.įinally, Asus AiMesh routers can link together to create a mesh network on their own.

Do the math: If you have a 100-Mbps connection and the extender is limited to a peak of 11 or 54 Mbps, you'll likely be wasting most of your bandwidth with an older router. If so, chances are that you can indeed use your old router as an extender.īe careful with routers from the 802.11b and g eras they won't work well, because they have a lower maximum bandwidth, which creates bottlenecks in your network. See if the router can use open-source firmware (like DD-WRT). If the router doesn't support running as a repeater or an extender using the manufacturer's firmware, there's another way. If you have an old router sitting around, check with the manual to make sure the device can be converted into an extender or a repeater, and get specific instructions.

If you don't have one or something similar (like an R6700 or R6900), you can get a used one for about $20 online. The general process for other routers is similar but not exactly the same.

Setting up wifi extenders