And one more thing, am I suppose to enable or disable Bri...

[ChantL]

And one more thing, am I suppose to enable or disable Bridge mode on the Bluecurve when I add the second router? Total confusion! Walk me through this please!!!

[mdk · Accepted solution]

@ChantL --  From what I understand, I connect the ethernet cable that is running from the back of my Shaw modem into this router in my basement.

Correct. There are two Ethernet sockets on the BlueCurve modem. The Ethernet cable leading to the basement can connect to either socket.  It would be good to place the basement router somewhere in the "middle" of the basement, to provide equally-strong signals at both "ends" of the basement.  Or, maybe, attempt to place it closer to the basement room with the worst connection to the BlueCurve's WiFi.

You do NOT want to "bridge" the BlueCurve, because you DO want WiFi on the main floor.

The other end of the Ethernet cable must connect to the "uplink" socket on the router in the basement, to enable you to run  laptops through that secondary router using Ethernet cables, or via wireless.

Yes, you will set up a totally different WiFi network for any wireless devices that will now connect to this new router.

Temporarily, use an Ethernet cable to connect a laptop to one port on this router. Hold down the "Windows" key on its keyboard, and tap the "R" key, to open a small window. Release the "Windows" key, and type CMD into that window, and press Enter. Into the window that opens, type IPCONFIG and press Enter. Look through the output for:

            Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1

It might be some other IP-address, still starting with "192.168".

Start your web-browser, and type:  http://192.168.0.1 and press Enter, changing that "0.1" to the value that you see in the above output. You should see a "login" screen. There are to be 4 likely combinations to try:

1. A "blank" ID with a "blank" password
2. A "blank" ID with a password of "admin"
3. An ID of "admin" with a "blank" password
4. An ID of "admin" with a password of "admin"

Hopefully, one of these 4 will be successful. Then, you can navigate through the screens, to find the "WiFi" section, where you can configure an SSID of your choice, and must set a password.

> How complicated is this, and will it screw up anything with the shower modem?

I cannot advise taking any electrical appliance into an active shower. 

> Then it’s just a matter of someone using their cell phone or iPad downstairs and choosing to connect to the router which I have given a name to rather than our current Shaw network?

Correct. The WiFi-enabled device will show the SSID of the BlueCurve's WiFi, and the SSID of the other router. Select the SSID that gives the stronger signal. If you carry the cell-phone to a different location in the basement, the SSID of the "stronger" signal may change. In that case, connect to the "other" SSID.

[ChantL]

@mdk 
Wow! I can’t thank you enough for your detailed information and step by step instructions! You make it sound like this is something I can actually do! This not so techie mom might just save the day thanks to you!

I have to laugh though at my typo and your response (see below). I wouldn’t take an electrical device into the shower either! (shower should have read “Shaw”)!!!
> How complicated is this, and will it screw up anything with the shower modem?

[rickatk]

@ChantL wrote: Forgive my ignorance; I’m trying to teach myself how to make this work!

Your will do fine...it’s not rocket surgery😊

[pwadding]

Hello mdk

I have a house that has good wifi coverage throughout. I use a Blue Curve Gateway and wireless set top boxes. I am adding IoT devices and read elsewhere it may be a good idea for security reasons to create a separate wifi network solely for the IoT devices. 

I considered adding a router but read that might not work for "double Nat" reasons. If no one has flamed you in the last 3 weeks, your solution must work or am i missing something?

Peter

[mdk]

@pwadding -- I considered adding a router but read that might not work for "double Nat" reasons. 

There is nothing inherently wrong with "double-NAT".

The issue is that routers are designed to block "unsolicited" network-traffic (coming from the Internet) from reaching any device on your LAN (local area network). Both the Shaw router and any third-party router "block".

So, if you want to be somewhere out the Internet, and want to connect to any device (web-camera in your backyard), you'll have to do some configuration to poke a virtual "hole" in both routers, for your traffic to reach the web-camera that is connected to your third-party router. Even being connected to the WiFi in the Shaw router will require poking a hole through the third-party router, to reach the web-camera.

Yes, you definitely do not want somebody on the Internet to access your IOT devices, unless you are OK with Hallowe'en "ghosts" doing strange things in your home, such as viewing the output from a "nanny-camera".

[pwadding]

Thanks

The only cameras are on a Nest app which allows access.

[ChantL]

I was able to get a third-party router set up. The basement now has great Wi-Fi connection as well as an ethernet connection for a laptop. I have noticed though that on the main level of the house when we are using the Wi-Fi that is best suited for upstairs, sometimes there is a bit of lag in loading pages. I wondered if this had something to do with bridge mode or not. I was told that I DO NOT want to put my modem into bridge mode so I didn’t. I did read somewhere on the Shaw support website that mentioned potential interference or confusion when using a router. Everything seems to be working ok, but I have noticed a bit of a stall. Not too bothersome. I made sure to setup passwords on the wifi.