It is more than likely that on some occasion you need to configure a WiFi repeater to expand the coverage of your current router and make it reach those areas of your office or home where it does not reach, a procedure that you do in a few steps and that will not take you more than a few minutes.
At the time, we explained in detail what a WiFi repeater is , also called a WiFi amplifier , along with a series of advantages and disadvantages that these devices offer, as they are not suitable depending on which circumstances, and can be useful in other scenarios.
We have even recommended a list of WiFi repeaters to take into account if you are going to expand your WiFi network with this method, it is one of many, but it is not unique because there is also what is called WiFi Mesh , which also offers its virtues and its disadvantages.
Once you have bought a repeater, almost all of them are configured in a similar way and what we want to achieve with this device is to expand our WiFi coverage to where it does not reach well through this device, so that we have a signal in places where there was not before.
Plug in and turn on the repeater
Keep in mind that the steps may vary slightly depending on the model you buy, in this case we are going to configure the TP-Link RE210, so the first thing you should do is write down the username and password that is in the plug, we will need it soon. Then, you can plug it into the power near the router and wait a few seconds for it to fully power up.
It is likely that your repeater does not turn on automatically when you plug it in, if so you should check if you have a power button, if you have it, press it so that the repeater can turn on and wait at least 1 or 2 minutes before continuing to the next step.
Connection to repeater
Once plugged in, the next step is to connect to the WiFi repeater and we can do this in two ways, connecting to the device by WiFi or by cable , but first we must disconnect from the Internet since then there will be no way to connect.
If at that time you are connected to the Internet by WiFi, disconnect from the WiFi network and connect to a network called “TP-Link_Extender_x” or similar, which is the one created by the repeater that we have plugged into the current. On the other hand, if you use cable to have Internet, unplug it from your PC.
Instead, leave one end of the RJ45 cable in the PC as it was and the other side, which would previously be connected to the router, remove it from there and plug it into the repeater in case it has an Ethernet port, if not, you don’t have it no choice but to connect via WiFi if your PC has WiFi. If everything goes well you have connected to the amplifier.
Access to repeater configuration
Touch the third step, after plugging in and connecting to the repeater via WiFi or RJ45 cable, now is the time to access the internal configuration to be able to adjust a series of parameters that allow the repeater to be correctly configured and to function as it should.
In this case, with your computer already turned on, open any browser and write the address http://tplinkrepeater.net , if you have done the connection in the previous step correctly, the control panel to configure the repeater should appear, now it is only a question following these steps:
- Write the username and password that it asks for, they are the ones we wrote down at the beginning, they are usually “admin” and “admin” or “admin” and “1234” and the like. If they are correct, the control panel that we mentioned before will appear.
- In the first screen we do not have to configure anything, so we click on “next” or “next”.
- Now we choose the region, in this case Spain and click on “next” again.
- The third screen of the wizard will analyze the WiFi networks available within reach of the site where you have connected the repeater to the power, hence the importance of plugging it in close to the main router or the one from which you are going to extend the signal. Just choose the WiFi you want to expand and click on “next”.
- Finally, now we have to put the password of the WiFi that we have chosen in the previous step to be able to connect to it, below also write the name for the new WiFi. When you have this information, click on “next”.
- If your repeater has a 5 GHz band, you will probably now go through the steps to configure another WiFi network, in this case the 5 GHz one, so if you want to configure them you have to follow the same steps as before, otherwise, press the option “skip” and then on “next”, so you skip those steps.
- To finish, you will see a screen with the data of the new WiFi network and others, just click on “finish”.
- And voila, you will see a last screen that informs you that the repeater is going to restart to acquire the new configuration that we have made so far, it will not take more than 1 or 2 minutes or something more.
Relocate the repeater
The last thing you should do is unplug the repeater and place it in the area where the WiFi coverage was weak , what the repeater will do is “strengthen” it and make it stronger so that a mobile, PC, tablet or other gadget can be can connect.
It is important to relocate the repeater well, you should not put it in an area without WiFi , but in the middle way to where the signal reaches so that it can extend it since remember that this device does is extend or repeat a signal that reaches it.
Now you will be able to connect to the WiFi that this repeater offers , which really comes from the main router, you will have to look for the name that you put previously and put the password that you also configured in the wizard, from there you will already have an Internet connection via WiFi.
In addition, if the repeater has an Ethernet port, you can connect to the Internet from your computer , PS4, PS5 or other device with an RJ45 cable, one end you plug into some of the above devices and the other to the repeater port, so you will have access to Internet too.
The process to configure a repeater is not easy, but if you do it right in a few minutes you will have been able to adjust certain parameters so that the WiFi signal now reaches an area where it did not reach well before and extend it to other places where there was no ante.
