Is it possible to have two routers on one network?

[#1]

I am interested to know if there is any way I can have two routers running on one network.

I have the Plusnet router running downstairs in the living room which is great but I get pretty much no signal upstairs in my office. I've tried wifi extenders etc but I found these to be pretty useless. I would ideally like a wired network upstairs as there is a spare BT telephone socket.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Jack

[#2]

Hi Jack,
I very much doubt you can have two routers on the same broadband connection as your post implies.

Your best bet and as you say wireless is poor (and you’ve tried extenders) is to consider running a Ethernet cable from the first floor up to upstairs and to a switch on the first floor.

Depends on how practial that is on running a cable to there.

[#3]

You could "hardwire" an extension upstairs.... quite simple to do...  here is a linky to an ebay seller for EXTERNAL cable and socket etc... 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/25M-BT-Extension-Outdoor-External-Cable-Lead-Kit-Telephone-Line-Phone-Bro...

You would need to drill the walls, of course... Or ...you could use the same idea. and use Internal wiring... ( which may be easier, but longer, ).

Here is a link for 40m internal cable... note... it is called "twisted pair" and the code CW1308. 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/40m-Internal-Telephone-Cable-Extension-Kit-CW1308-2-Pair-2-3A-Box-Grommet...

You only use one  twisted  pair of the two...  

If you are looking at other telephone extensions cables... the "soft" flat type is not suitable for use with broadband

You could re-locate your downstairs router, to some "halfway" position, maybe at ceiling level at your stairway, and get good wifi up and down stairs from the one router.

I have an internal extension on my BT master socket, to the extenstion socket of about 15 mtrs, and it doesn`t affect the speed significantly. 

[#4]

You probably can have two on the same network, just not on the same connection to the ISP,

How you'd go about using both is probably a minor task - just set the default gateway in your TCP/IP properties to the preferred router. If you hit the advanced button you can set multiple gateways:

Note that I've no real life experience of doing this, i'm just talking theoretically. Windows also allows you to specify multiple dns servers but that doesn't work well - if it doesn't find a record on one server it doesn't bother asking the others. The multiple gateway option may be just as flaky.

[#5]

Thanks @7up didn't know you could do that.

Another option is to try (forgot to say it in my previous post), are homeplugs.

Again these depend on your property and you may find they work well or don't - trouble is the only way to know is to try them which unless you borrow some it means taking a bit of a gamble and buying some.

[#6]

The person said they had a telephone socket upstairs so no, you cannot plug in a 2nd router.  Unless you want to cable with CAT5 or CAT6 network cable (and you need to know how to do this), the easiest solution is a pair of homeplugs (something like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/TL-WPA4220KIT-Powerline-Broadband-Configuration-UK/dp/B01LXOZ4EN/ref=sr_1_1...) but do some research on others too.  I used to use them but have sine cabled my connections.  Your home MUST be on a single phase electricity supply to use them.  If you live in a big old house with multiple supplies, it may not work.

Edit: And I meant to say, the 2nd router would need a WAN2 connection or be a cable type router.

[#7]

With CAT5 you can buy a specified length of cable with connectors quite cheaply.

You can plug a cable into the router and unroll a piece of wire to the remote router or switch, so provided you don't have to drill through walls you will get a reliable high-speed connection.

[#8]

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@adrianscotter wrote:

The person said they had a telephone socket upstairs so no, you cannot plug in a 2nd router.  Unless you want to cable with CAT5 or CAT6 network cable

Edit: And I meant to say, the 2nd router would need a WAN2 connection or be a cable type router.

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Yes you can use two routers on the same network, you just need to specify which gateway your device will use. If you want both supported then windows may not handle that very well but a software router like NAT32 will provide a round robin functionality between routers.

Of course DHCP would be an interesting issue..

[#9]

Many people confuse a router with the modem-routers that Plusnet are pleased to call routers.