Using Actiontec MI424WR Rev 1 router as extender

I have two Actiontec MI424WR Rev 1 routers and would like to use one as my main router and the other as an extender to reach dead zones in my house.

The main one has the coax cable connected to it for all around internet and for TV. The coax comes from a splitter in my basement which is connected to the ONT unit.

The ethernet on the ONT is not active.

Is there a way to connect the secondary Actiontec MI424WR Rev 1 router so it can help stop dead zones?

I can connect it to the coax almost anywhere in my basement as there are many cables going to TV's and one port on the splitter that has a screwed on cap of some type on it, no wire. I can also run an ethernet cable from the main router to the basement if needed as that is where I thought the secondary router could reach dead zones.

I am not sure if either coax or ethernet connection could work to connect this secondary router for expanded wifi area connections.

If it can be done how do I connect it and then what settings do I need to change on the secondary router so it would work. If this can not work would using any other router help to get this done instead of buying an extender?

Accepted answers

Cang_Household

Actiontec MI424WR Rev I is quite old. Theoretically you can turn any router into an extender, wired or wireless.

I believe this model supports MoCA 1.1 and 1000Base-T Ethernet, so either coaxial cable or ethernet cable connection is fine. Here is a caveat, do not connect both coaxial cable and ethernet. This will create a double data link jamming the traffic.

Steps:

1. You need to change the MI424WR's LAN IP to a different one than that of your primary router. For example, if your primary router uses 192.168.1.1/24, you need to change the MI424WR's IP to 192.168.1.x/24 other than 192.168.1.1/24.

2. You need to disable the DHCP server on MR424WR. You only want the primary router to hand out IP addresses. You don't want to hear conflicting directions from two commanders. To do this, go to Web Interface -> Advanced -> IP Address Distribution -> Network (Home/Office) -> Service: IP Address Distribution: Disabled.

If you are wiring it by ethernet, connect the LAN of the primary router to MI424WR's LAN, NOT WAN.

If you are wiring it by coax, establish a coaxial link between the MI424WR and your primary router.

You can give both router's wireless the same SSID, password, and so forth. It is up to you.

If you have more questions, please ask.

All comments

Cang_Household

Actiontec MI424WR Rev I is quite old. Theoretically you can turn any router into an extender, wired or wireless.

Steps:

If you are wiring it by ethernet, connect the LAN of the primary router to MI424WR's LAN, NOT WAN.

If you are wiring it by coax, establish a coaxial link between the MI424WR and your primary router.

You can give both router's wireless the same SSID, password, and so forth. It is up to you.

If you have more questions, please ask.

Dartbowl

Thank you very much I will try the coax method.

How can I change the location to put it in the proper place (high speed internet). As I just started today and I am not sure how to move it.

Cang_Household

Well, I am not sure either. Perhaps you can leave it here and a moderator may move it.

Dartbowl

I did all the steps as listed, and used the coax cable as my connection. The secondary router does work. Maybe I missed a step or did not understand that the secondary router becomes it's own network connection point. I guess I have more to learn about how this all works as I expected just to increase the range of the primary router with the secondary router in a different location. I never considered having 2 different networks to log into.
When I use my iPad on the primary router wifi network everything is as it was, when I go into the dead zone area nothing has changed. However, if I choose the secondary router’s network and switch to that network I will get signal bars for a little strength but I am only able to get online for only a few minutes. It then drops out and is dead again for a few minutes. It is just to much on and off, so I will be moving the secondary router closer, I just need to get a longer wire.
Also I can use the secondary router wifi in many locations but it does drop the connection every so often even though I see higher strength bars on my iPad then I would get with the primary router.
Is there a way for this secondary router to just add to the existing network, so I do not have to choose a different wifi network in the dead zone? I am not sure if I am looking at it correctly and if something like this can not be done or if I missed a step or just expecting too much.
Any information on what to expect or what to try will be helpful.

Cang_Household

@Dartbowl wrote:
However, if I choose the secondary router’s network and switch to that network I will get signal bars for a little strength...

How could this be? Are you further away from the secondary router than the primary? You should get stronger signal as you walk closer to the router.

@Dartbowl wrote:
Is there a way for this secondary router to just add to the existing network, so I do not have to choose a different wifi network in the dead zone?

This setup is never optimal, unless you have meshed wireless network (expensive). You can set the SSID and password of your secondary router same as the primary router. This is done by Verizon when setting up G1100 with WCB3000N years ago.

Dartbowl

I missed the step of setting the SSID name and password of the secondary router to the same as the first router.

Now there is only one network visible in the wifi list and it has so far more strength bars and seems to be more stable. I hope it will even be stronger in the dead zone once I get a longer cable to reach that area.

I have not had any websites dropped since changing that SSID. I did have a few websites I could not get in on the first try in my dead area but did get in on future tries. So right now this seems to be working as I had hoped it would. Thank you very much for the information, directions and help.

CuriousCustomer1

I did all the steps but it's not connecting to the internet. When I check the security logs of my router it has a denied Ethernet access Event type ulogd[887].

The network goes. ONT --> router WAN --> Switch --> Extender LAN.

It's connected over ethernet

Cang_Household

Just realized my response back in September 2020 is lacking an important step. [Revised the original post on March 1, 2021]

I am surprised that you did not receive an IP conflict error. If you have more questions, I am happy to help.