D-Link Router As Access Point

If you’ve recently upgraded your router, you can use your old D-Link router as a wireless access point elsewhere in the house to extend the range of your wireless coverage. Routers perform tasks that make running two routers on the same network difficult, so you will first need to disable some features in the old D-Link before it can be used as a WAP. To dumb the router down, you’ll need to disable Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) and DHCP, and then change the IP address to an address within the range on your LAN.

Note: These principles apply to other router manufacturers, as well, but the specifics–such as IP address–will be different.

Steps To Make Your D-Link Router A Wireless Access Point

To convert your old D-Link router into a Wireless Access Point, first make sure your computer has an IP address similar to 192.168.0.xxx. If your new router is also a D-Link, then it should be. To confirm, go to Start, Run and type cmd and hit OK. At the command prompt, type ipconfig /all and hit return. You will see your Ethernet adapter in the list, along with the IP address. Write this IP address down if it’s different.
If it is NOT similar to 192.168.0.xxx, you’ll need to change it in the Network Settings. Right-click your network adapter and change it to Static IP Address of 192.168.0.10 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0. Save and reboot to confirm the settings take effect. When we’re completely finished, you will want to go back to this section and change it back to Obtain IP Address Automatically.

Once your computer has the correct IP address, perform the following steps:

1. Reset the router (recommended). There is a button on the back. Use a paperclip and depress the button for twenty seconds or until you see the lights on the front of the router flash. The router may reboot on its own.
2. Next, plug your computer into the router via an Ethernet cable into one of the available LAN ports on the router.
3. Open your web browser and enter http://192.168.0.1 and press enter. When the login box appears, type admin and leave the password field empty, then hit enter.
4. Click on Advanced and then click Advanced Network. Uncheck the option that enables UPnP and then click Save.
5. Click Setup, then click Network Settings. Uncheck the option for DHCP server and click Save to continue.
6. Next, look under the router settings and enter an IP address in the range of your current network. If the IP address you wrote down above is different than something like 192.168.0.xxx, you will need to change. For instance, if your computer’s previous IP addresss was 192.168.1.2 this means the new router has an IP address like 192.168.1.1. Therefore, your old D-link router will need to be on that network, too. To do this, make the address something like 192.168.1.20. In this example, you changed the third number (octet) to a “1″ instead of “0.” If your computer previously had a “0″ in that position, make the IP address of the D-Link something like 192.168.0.20. Save, then close the browser.
7. At this point, you’ll want to go back into the network adapter of your computer and change it back to Obtain IP Address Automatically if you had to change it to a static IP address before we started.
8. Disconnect your computer from the D-Link and hook it back up to your network and reboot the PC.
9. Connect the old D-Link router to a LAN port of your new router.
10. You should now be able to login to the old D-Link at http://192.168.0.20 if you used the IP address we used in the example above. You will want to configure wireless settings, such as WPA-2 for security and set a new admin username and password if you haven’t already.

Your D-Link is now a WAP on your network. To get maximum range, run an Ethernet line to a location furthest from the new router. You might need to go through the walls and ceiling or basement, but this will give you maximum range and  speed with a new wired WAP in a location where there was previously dead spots.