How do I configure my old wireless router to work with my new Sky broadband?

[yiaggi]

Hi guys,

I have recently moved broadband providers from Virgin to Sky.

When I was connected through Virgin - I had a small Broadband box that plugged into a Netgear WGR614-6VGUKS router. This worked brilliantly around the house and in my office at the end of my garden although the rest of Virgin's service was terrible!

We have now moved over to Sky. They sent us a Netgear DG934G - 1SKUKS all in one Broadband & Router box that connects to the phone line. The box is small and grey / black and resembles an old Sky box and unusually has no arial on it.

I plugged it all in (minus my old router) and took it for a test run on my wireless laptop ... and found I only had 20% wifi signal around the house (in the next room!). The internet works fine when connected via the lead on the main computer. The only way to improve the signal is to sit next to the router!

I know there are ways of improving the signal with tin foil etc but with no arial on the router I dont have much to go on!

We had the idea to plug the old wireless router into the new broadband. I did this by adding the router inbetween the new broadband and the main computer. The main lead from my Sky broadband plugs into the main port on the old router and then I connect to the main computer.

I did all this and it worked brilliantly for about 10 minutes. Then the wireless disappeared from the network lists and we could no longer connect (Sky still shows up - just not the old wireless). The main computers internet was however still working via the wired link going through the old router.

I have done a fair amount of digging around and most people say that it is impossible to use a different wireless router with Sky Broadband. If this is the case - how come I got it to work the first time?

Does anyone no the answer to this? Is there a way you can configure wireless routers to take over from the Sky one?

If not - what is the answer to increasing the wifi strength? I have looked at wifi signal boosters briefly but they all seem to replace an arial that doesnt exist on our new broadband box. My office is at the end of my garden - if it wont work in the next room from the router I have no hope!

Please help - this is ruining my working day! Lol

Thanks in advance.

[Smithy99]

Buy some homeplugs and that will sort it for good.

You should also note that Sky broadband is not for business use so I would not mention that if you ever need to ring them.

[Isitme]

I have done a fair amount of digging around and most people say that it is impossible to use a different wireless router with Sky Broadband.

You have not done much digging in this forum, there are a great many using different routers, both piggy back and connected directly.

If you want to set up your second router follow these instructions.

Enter the primary router LAN settings and change the last figure in DHCP server to 253 from 254. Make sure you click Apply

Remove the Ethernet cable from the Sky router and plug it into the Second router

Enter the settings of the secondary router using the routers default address, which will depend on its make.
Configure the IP address of the secondary router to be in the same subnet as the primary router (255.255.255.0) with an address of 192.168.0.254.

Disable the DHCP server in the secondary router.

Setup the wireless section with the same settings the primary router. Remember to confirm each change you make.

Reconnect the Ethernet cable to the Sky router

Connect from one of the primary router's LAN port to one of the LAN ports on the secondary router. Remember it must be connected by an Ethernet cable which can be up to 100m long..

Leave the WAN port unconnected!!! After connecting the Ethernet cable to the Sky router, reboot everything to allow new addresses to be allocated. Remember to save all changes as you make them

If you have followed this correctly, you should be able to enter the Primary routers settings and in the Attached Devices section, you should see that the Secondary router is shown with the 254 address and the PC attached to it should be shown with a different address. You should also be able to see the Secondary routers settings by typing http://192.168.0.254/ in the address bar of any PC attached to the network.

You may find it better to turn off the Wireless Access point in the Sky router, some find it works OK with both enabled, others have problems.

[IWasNotTheEnemy]

piggy backing is the only wat here as they have cable router...

[yiaggi]

Hi guys,

Thank you very much for the replies .... can anyone help further?

I have followed your instructions as precisly as possible and have had a small amount of success! I feel I am almost there but am stuck a bit now.

Basically - I did all the things you said and then re-attached everything. The main computer (connected with the ethenet cable) booted up straight away like normal. Good skills there.

Then I booted up my laptop and looked in the wireless connections list. I found my secondry router and connected to the wireless. It all connected like normal and gave me every indication it would work.

When I try to connect to the internet however it gives me the hateful "Windows Explorer Cannot Connect" page ... !

I have checked over the settings etc and everything seems to be fine. The 2nd router is showing up under the attached devices of the first router etc.

The only wierd thing is that when I tried to connect up the network by going - WALL SOCKET > 1ST ROUTER > 2ND ROUTER > MAIN COMPUTER (all in a line) - I cannot seem to get the main computer to connect to the net. I also get a message every now and again claiming there is an IP conflict on the network.

I'm v confused! Do u have any idea's?

Am I right in thinkng it goes:

PHONE LINE plugs into ROUTER 1 (Broadband) then
ROUTER 1 LAN to ROUTER 2 internet port then
ROUTER 2 LAN to MAIN COMPUTER?

The only other way I can think to rig it up is to have the normal ROUTER 1 LAN into the MAIN COMPUTER and then to connect the ROUTER 2 to ROUTER 1 via LAN. That makes the internet work on Main Computer but not wireless.

This is literally driving me mad. You are my only hope Obe Wan.

Cheers for your help

[Isitme]

I am not sure if you have connected the Sky router to the 2nd one using the WAN port, it seems like that in your explanation. That may account for the IP conflict. If you have, take the plug out of the WAN port and put it in one of the 2nd routers ordinary ethernet ports.

If you have followed the rest of the instructions about changing the IP address etc, it should work. Remember to leave DHCP turned on in the Sky router and turn it off in the 2nd router, if you missed this it could also cause IP conflicts. Remember to make sure the changes you make are saved, reboot both routers and disconnect the PC for a minute then reconnect it to be sure it is picking up the correct setting.

[yiaggi]

Thanks again for your reply, you are being very helpful!

Just to double check what you had said - I reset my 2nd router and went through your instructions again step by step.

The settings I have are

ROUTER 1 (Sky Broadband)
--------------------------------------
DHCP from 254 to 253
DHCP - enabled
Wireless Access - Off
Starting IP address - [ends] .0 .2
Ending IP address - 192.168.0.253
IP Subnet Mask - 255.255.255.0

ROUTER 2 (my old Netgear wireless router)
----------------------------------------------------------
DHCP - disabled
Wireless Access - On
Ending IP address - 192.168.0.253
IP Subnet Mask - 255.255.255.0

----------------------------------------------------------------------

I have connected via ADSL from my phoneline to ROUTER 1.

Then via Ethanet I have connected from one of the 2 yellow ports on the back of ROUTER 1 to one of the normal LAN ports on ROUTER 2.

Then from another LAN port on ROUTER 2 I have connected to the back of the normal house desktop computer.

This setup allows the internet to work on the main computer but still no joy with the wireless.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

One thing I will say though is that now the SKY wireless is playing up. I tried to re-connect it earlier and although the light was on the box to indicate wireless - my laptop wont pick it up (this is being typed on a dongle!)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

I am also having a strange problem with the signal from Router 2. 5 minutes ago my laptop was displaying that the signal strength is excellent (even thou it wont connect) and now it has disapeared again completely. The same has happened under ROUTER 1 settings - in the ATTACHED DEVICES section. It was there one minute and gone the next!

Could it be that all of this trouble is down to a faulty ROUTER 2?

I can't really believe that because when I first got the SKY Broadband last week, I niavely plugged in my ROUTER 2 expcting it all to work and it did for a little while.

I am not sure if you have connected the Sky router to the 2nd one using the WAN port, it seems like that in your explanation. That may account for the IP conflict. If you have, take the plug out of the WAN port and put it in one of the 2nd routers ordinary ethernet ports.

I have plugged it all in as you have said - out of interest thou - like I said above - when I first got the broadband I plugged it all in and I actually went from ROUTER 1 to ROUTER 2 using the WAN port on ROUTER 2 ..... it worked fine then for a limited time - how come and not now?

Starting to think the plugs are a good idea :S

Cheers for ya help m8

[Smithy99]

Starting to think the plugs are a good idea :S

Well, it would be working by now

[Isitme]

It is possible there is a fault in Router 2, or in the cable you are using to connect them. Try swapping that and see if there is any difference. Also try using different ports in the second router, there may be a bad connection in the ones you are using.

Home plugs are better, but they are not always convenient with a Laptop. If you were using a PC desktop, I would say forget about wireless all together and set up a Homeplug network. The main problem with wireless is that so many are now using it that you can be fine one day then hopeless the next, due to neighbours networks interfering with yours.

[yiaggi]

[QUOTE=Isitme;224297]It is possible there is a fault in Router 2, or in the cable you are using to connect them. Try swapping

that and see if there is any difference. Also try using different ports in the second router, there may be a bad connection

in the ones you are using.QUOTE]

Right-o! Firstly - Thanks again for your reply!

I have checked out all wires etc and everything seems fine. Just to check I wasnt going absolutely crazy - I hold of another

wireless router and did the same steps again.

I am getting the same result only now - after I have configured router 2 - I cannot gain access to router 1's settings or get

on the net via the main computer. If I disconnect the router and plug in directly - it works immediately.

This leads me to believe that it is something that I am doig so if I may - I am going to post the steps I have taken 1 more

time before giving up!

Here goes .....:

1/ Entered Sky router settings then entered the LAN IP SETUP section.

2/ Changed the last 3 digits of ENDING IP ADDRESS from 253 to 254. That section now reads:

IP ADDRESS: 192.168.0.1
IP SUBNET MASK: 255.255.255.0
STARTING IP ADDRESS: 192.168.0.2
ENDING IP ADDRESS: 192.168.0.254

3/ Removed ethernet cable from the sky router and plugged into Router 2 (Belkin).

4/ Entered settings of Belkin and went to LAN settings.

5/ Changed IP ADDRESS to 192.168.0.254

6/ Setup wireless section to be the same as Sky Router. (By this I mean same Channels - Router name - key etc) Should I have

done anything differently there?

7/ I then put the Ethernet cable back into the Sky router and from one of the 2 yellow ports used an ethernet cable to

connect to the Belkin. With the main computer still disconnected - I rebooted everything.

8/ With the main computer re-connected I then try the internet and get nothing.

For a small amount of time I am able to access the SKY router with this config and it shows me the Belkin under attached devices. Then when I try to navigate away it freezes up the screen and will not allow me to do anything. After that - I
cannot gain access to the Sky routers settings unless I disconnect the Belkin and go straight to the main computer.

Onto my laptop - it tells me that the Belkin is transmitting and lets me connect. It wont load any internet pages though and only allows access to the Belkin setup.

Im really stumped! Help me geniuses! I do have 2 wierd points that might give you a clue:

1/ When I try to connect to google on my laptop it shows Google in the address tab at the top of the page as I try to connect - then it changes to the words "Netgear Setup" for a second before showing the "This website cannot be displayed page"

2/ when I try to connect to the wireless on my Sony PSP - it shows the wireless but when I try to access a page it tells me there is a "DNS error".

Any clues from that?

Thanks again for your help - it is truly appreciated!