Any wireless or network experts out there?

[BloatedGuppy]

Alright, I'm an idiot about these things, and I need help/advice.

I'll try explain the issue as best I can.

I have two PC's currently running off a pretty old router. Something like 7-8 years old. I wanna say it's a Linksys or something, not really sure that matters. Little blue box. Wired internet. I like having a wired connection. I PREFER having a wired connection. But the girlfriend wants the ability to access wireless occasionally at home.

Is there a way to piggyback an optional wireless connection onto my existing wired connection? EASILY? Is there a device I can plug into my existing router that would function as a kind of "wireless port"?

 

[DoPo]

-snip-

Not an expert but I'll try to give you some ideas. Also to bump the thread.

Cost free - most devices with wireless can turn into a hotspot - plug them into the router, then them up as an access point or ad-hoc connection or whatever the device calls it (it should be pretty easy, but Google is always available) and just connect the rest of the stuff. If you have an extra laptop, it should work. Note that generally, they don't cover as much as a router would, but it might not be a problem, depending on the size of the home.

slightly more expensive (as in, costing money), you can get a wireless card for a PC (assuming you don't have one) - at least that guarantees it would be always plugged in.

Both of theses, sort of rely on the device being on all the time, or at least while the other stuff want to use the wireless. It would probably get a bit annoying, unless you actually have a spare computing equipment or one that's always turned on. I kind of assume you don't.

But, I dunno, what is your budget? You can just buy a wireless router. Amazon tells me they have loads up to 50$ - some are around 20$-30$. If you can spare it, just get one and be done with it. You should be able to return them for a refund, if it doesn't work. Wireless routers also have "normal" wired ports, so you should be fine - that's my setup back home - a wireless router with the desktop plugged in (since it doesn't have a wireless card anyway).

 

[klown]

easiest answer, just buy an extra wireless router, plug it into the router you currently use. Give it a good strong password, and now you'll have wireless access through that router, and your PC will be wired in still.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

But, I dunno, what is your budget? You can just buy a wireless router. Amazon tells me they have loads up to 50$ - some are around 20$-30$. If you can spare it, just get one and be done with it. You should be able to return them for a refund, if it doesn't work. Wireless routers also have "normal" wired ports, so you should be fine - that's my setup back home - a wireless router with the desktop plugged in (since it doesn't have a wireless card anyway).

Based on a conversation with a friend, this is where I'm leaning. I wasn't aware a wireless router could double as a wired router.

Is a new router kind of plug and play? Do I just hotswap the routers and everything is hunky dory, except now I have wireless that I need to stick a password on? This is meant to be a surprise, so time spent with me shouting at a new router while trying to puzzle shit out and the internet is down is not ideal.

 

[antidonkey]

Wireless routers have several wired ports on them. Usually 4 but can go higher if it's a nicer router. Your ISP will determine on how easy it is to setup. You're most like running DHCP so you should be able to swap the routers and have your wired connection still work without any tinkering. The wireless portion will work too but it's a bad idea to leave it alone. I'd change the wirless name and give it password at a minimum. If you're inclined to be more secure, you can turn off the SSID and implement mac address filtering.

 

[DoPo]

Is a new router kind of plug and play? Do I just hotswap the routers and everything is hunky dory, except now I have wireless that I need to stick a password on?

Pretty much. That's my experience with most recent routers. Heck, the one at home I got back in 2008. Well, OK, it depends - do you have any weird configurations on the old router? Like DHCP settings and similar? I doubt it, but it's worth asking. If you don't, then the new ones either come with a CD that lets you quickly configure them (so, network name, type of encryption, and password, pretty much), or you just go to the router's config page, I assume you know how to do that, but a refresher - it's usually 192.168.0.1 or .1.1 or 1.0 or something. If you can't find it in the manual (say, there isn't one. Or you're lazy) check the Default Gateway in the network setting - that's the IP of the router.

I'm not going to lie though, I've had some frustrations with some routers. Assuming you run into an issue after you've had it set up and working for a while, "turn it off and on again" seems to do the trick. If not, I'd suggest you just reset it and import the configurations (also, export the configuration and keep a copy) - it's just faster that way.

EDIT:

easiest answer, just buy an extra wireless router, plug it into the router you currently use. Give it a good strong password, and now you'll have wireless access through that router, and your PC will be wired in still.

Forgot to say - you can totally do that, too. It means less hassle with removing the old router. It also means another point of failure - if you've had problems with the old router, you now might not know where an issue is coming from - the line, the router, or the router.

But I actually made the edit to tell you - a couple of security advices - do not set the network name to anything easily identifiable. Especially a street name/address. Also, use WPA2 encryption.