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@bell.ca

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Anon

2Wire Modem Low Signal Strength - Can I have 2nd Router??

Hey guys,

I used to have a Cogeco modem which I had connected into a Linksys Router. I had a ethernet wire running into the Cogeco modem ethernet port and back into the Linksys ethernet port.

I used this for awhile and had no issues.

Now I have Bell and I'm having an issue. I have a Bell 2Wire wireless modem but I am in a bedroom in the basement which has very low signal speed. The basement bedroom has some concrete walls which blocks a lot of signal from the upstairs office.

I have run an Ethernet cord from the upstairs office (where the 2wire router is), all the way into my bedroom downstairs with hopes of having a 2nd router piggyback off 2Wire or a way to connect into the Linksys router as a seperate connection.

I haven't connected the RJ45 connectors so I am not sure if this will work yet, but my goal is to connect to the wireless router downstairs which is hooked in directly to the Bell 2Wire.

I realized there is a difference between the Cogeco router and the Bell 2 Wire router. The Cogeco router had an ethernet port to plug into, and the Bell 2 Wires main port is already used with the phone line.

Can I plug an ethernet cord into one of the regular ports, and then have the cord run into the Ethernet port on the Linksys?

Can someone let me know if this way will work?
Cloneman
join:2002-08-29
Montreal

Cloneman

Member

You can certainly use a 2nd router as a access point. There are several ways of doing this.

The best solution is to put the PPPoE information (bell's b1 and password) in the linksys router, connecting its WAN port to one the 2wire's LAN ports.

You'll need to possibly remove the b1 from the 2wire's config page. With this setup the 2wire will act as a modem only.

An alternative would be to use the linksys as a access point only (DHCP disabled on linksys - LAN LAN connection between the 2). This isn't particularly recommended because the 2wire is crummy as a router.

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@bell.ca

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Anon

Thanks Cloneman

Whats Bells B1?

and PPPoE?

I'll try to search online for how to do this but maybe you can clarify that. thanks for taking the time!
Cloneman
join:2002-08-29
Montreal

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your bell b1 is your username like b1xxxxxxx

PPPoE is the setting you choose on your router (ex. linksys) that allows you to enter a username (b1xxxxx) and password.

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@bell.ca

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Anon

OK..
thanks.

Do I find this information somewhere in particular to learn more about how to do this?
Cloneman
join:2002-08-29
Montreal

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not really... it's a somewhat delicate operation, I have a feeling you're doing to lock yourself out and be stuck calling them, which will get you worse than when you started

connect your linksys WAN port to one of your 2wire's ports and see if that gets you anywhere in terms of having both routers working.

Thats a good starting point. If that doesn't work, Reset your linksys to defaults (Pen reset - 30 seconds)
mr weather
Premium Member
join:2002-02-27
Mississauga, ON

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If you're stuck having to use the existing 2-wire modem there are wifi extenders you can buy. I don't personally own one but I've read somewhat decent things about the Netgear WN3000RP which plugs into an outlet and would extend the Bell wifi.

The other (cheaper) way as mentioned above is to turn the Linksys into a wireless access point. I used an old WRT54G that way for a few years. The actual instructions may vary from model to model but it basically involves disabling DHCP in the router and assigning it an IP address within the address block of the existing Bell router. Connect the two devices LAN to LAN and you're golden. You'll have to search around for your instructions for your exact router model.
RickStep
Premium Member
join:2002-11-25
Hamilton, ON

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The 2Wire is really not that bad a modem/router/wireless combination.

Login to the 2Wire Wireless page here:

»192.168.2.1/xslt?PAGE=C_2_1

and if you go to the bottom of the page, you will notice that there is a power level setting. The default is 4. This setting is for the wireless transmitter power. The maximum setting 10.

You could set the level to 10 or increase the level by 2 and and retry. The theory is that by restricting the power level, you reduce the area covered by the transmitter and thus reduce the potential number of hackers that know that you exist.

The Sagemcom 2864 modem (supplied by Bell for speeds higher than 15 Mbits) defaults to 10.

Routers work really well behind a 2Wire, but the world mostly has its head up its ass about routers behind routers.

I currently have a D-Link DIR-835 behind a 2Wire from Bell and it took 4 tries to get it to work properly. I kept getting the following message "unable to setup the 2Wire (wording not exact)" call Bell Internet support for help.

I can give you more details if you are having difficulty.

Rick
mr weather
Premium Member
join:2002-02-27
Mississauga, ON

mr weather

Premium Member

said by RickStep:

The Sagemcom 2864 modem (supplied by Bell for speeds higher than 15 Mbits) defaults to 10.

And yet it still has pathetic wireless range.

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@bell.ca

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Hey RickStep.

I finally ran the wire from the Bell2Wire to downstairs in my basement room.

I plugged the Cat5 into the Port1 of Bell2Wire and ran it into a port of the Linksys. I connected but with limited connection after about 5 minutes. The speed test showed good, but then I lost connection and it went limited.

I also tried plugging into the WAN/Internet port of Linksys but also limited connection (this time right off the bat).

I can log into the Linksys router but not sure what to do.

Any chance you can help me out with this? There isn't much support anywhere.
SpoonyForky
join:2013-01-25

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said by RickStep:

The 2Wire is really not that bad a modem/router/wireless combination.

Login to the 2Wire Wireless page here:

»192.168.2.1/xslt?PAGE=C_2_1

and if you go to the bottom of the page, you will notice that there is a power level setting. The default is 4. This setting is for the wireless transmitter power. The maximum setting 10.

You could set the level to 10 or increase the level by 2 and and retry. The theory is that by restricting the power level, you reduce the area covered by the transmitter and thus reduce the potential number of hackers that know that you exist.

This is true, the 2wire is actually pretty damn good for wireless range. The sagem sucks though. Decent if you are in an apartment, but not so much for housing.