How to Make a Wireless Router Into an Access Point
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Use a computer to determine the gateway IP address.photo blue screen 1 image by Aleksandar Radovanovic from Fotolia.com
Plug your desktop computer or laptop into your regular network and open up a command prompt by clicking "Start" and then "Run" and typing "cmd." Press "Enter," and at the command prompt, type "ipconfig." In Windows 7, you can access the command prompt by clicking the "Start" button and typing "cmd" into the "Search Programs and files" field. Search through the response to the "ipconfig" command for the "Default Gateway" and write down the IP address you find there. For example, a typical default gateway is usually 192.168.1.1. - 2
Configure your access point outside your DHCP address range.computers network image by Orlando Florin Rosu from Fotolia.com
Find out what IP address range your current network uses. While plugged into your current network, open an Internet browser window and type the IP of the default gateway. Log into the admin panel, and then find the DHCP settings. For example, on a Linksys router, you will find the settings under "Basic setup." Make note of the IP Address range. If the range allows 50 users and the start address is 192.168.1.100, then your last IP in the range will be 192.168.1.149. - 3
Each port on the back of the router bears either a WAN or LAN label.wlan router 02 image by pmphoto from Fotolia.com
Without shutting down your computer, disconnect from the existing network, and then use the CAT5 network cable to connect your computer to one of the LAN ports on the back of your new wireless router. Open the command prompt again, and type "ipconfig /renew." Obtain the default gateway IP and type it into a web browser address bar. Go to the "Basic Setup" screen and change the IP address of the router to something outside the existing range of your current network. Also avoid the IP address of your existing router. For example, if your IP range is 192.168.1.100 to 192.168.1.149, you can set the IP of your new wireless router to 192.168.1.2. While you are on this screen, also disable "DHCP Server." Save the settings, and disconnect your computer. - 4
Connect only to the LAN port.network image by Allyson Ricketts from Fotolia.com
Connect your new wireless access point to your existing network by plugging one end of a network CAT5 cable into the LAN port of your new access point and the other end into the LAN port of your existing network router.
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