Adding a second router: same network name or not?

Two routers in one home is common and often done wrong. The difference between a clean setup and a messy one is a handful of settings.

Published · 2 min read

In this guide
  1. Connect it as an access point, not as a router
  2. What happens if you don't
  3. Same network name or a different one?
  4. Wireless or wired?
  5. When a mesh is simply easier
  6. Check the overlap

Adding a second router is one of the cheapest ways to cover a far part of the house, especially if you already have one lying around. Done properly it behaves like a second access point. Done carelessly it creates a separate network inside your network, and odd problems that are hard to trace.

Connect it as an access point, not as a router

The key point: only one device in the home should be doing the routing. The second one should just provide Wi-Fi and switch ports.

In practice that means:

  • connect the cable from the main router to a LAN port of the second router, not its internet or WAN port;
  • turn off the second router's DHCP server, so addresses come only from the main one;
  • give it a fixed address in the same range as the main router, outside the pool it hands out.

Many routers have an access point mode that does all of this in one switch. The step-by-step version is in use an old router as an access point.

What happens if you don't

Leaving the second router as a router creates a second network behind the first, with its own address range. Some things work fine, others don't: devices on one side can't see devices on the other, and remote access, file sharing, casting and some games get confused. It's called double NAT, and it's the usual cause of "everything works except this one thing".

Same network name or a different one?

  • Same name and password on both lets devices move between them as you walk around, which is what you want for phones and laptops. The handover isn't as smooth as on a mesh system, but it works. See phone won't switch to the nearest node.
  • Different names give you manual control, which suits fixed devices and testing, but means your phone will stay on the far network until it drops. See should you split 2.4 and 5 GHz for the same trade-off between control and convenience.

If you use the same name, set different 2.4 GHz channels on the two units (1, 6 or 11) so they don't fight.

Wireless or wired?

A second router connected by cable is genuinely useful. A second router "connected" over Wi-Fi is a repeater with extra steps, and usually worse than a purpose-built extender or mesh node. If you can't run a cable, see powerline or Ethernet over coax.

When a mesh is simply easier

If you'd need two extra units, or you want seamless handover without thinking about it, a mesh system will be less work. See wired access point vs mesh node.

Check the overlap

After setting it up, map the area where the two units meet. WiFi Heatmap shows whether the coverage overlaps enough for a smooth handover, or whether there's a weak corridor in between where devices get stuck.