# Replacing an Orange Livebox



## Neoptolemus (Dec 12, 2009)

Hello all,

My parents just moved into a new place in France and I'm staying with them for the next month or so. It appears as though we've inherited the previous owner's internet setup, and they're currently with Orange until April so we have the dreaded Orange Livebox lurking in the corner of the room.

The Livebox itself works ok, but the wireless signal it puts out is pathetic to say the least, even my PS3 next door suffers badly and I get virtually nothing upstairs. The walls are very thick so this is obviously a problem.

I could get a wireless router and configure it as a repeater or just hook it directly to the Livebox to take over wireless networking duties, but if possible I'd rather replace the whole Livebox with one really good modem/router just so I have the one item rather than two hooked together. Looks tidier and it's one less thing that can break down and confuse my parents when I'm not around.

I've been looking at various 802.11n routers but my knowledge on these matters is very limited so I have no idea if any given router can actually hook directly to the phone line and whether it would be compatible or not.

I'd like a 802.11n capable router, preferably 300mb network speed with MIMO, all that good stuff but in particular it needs good range. I'd like to keep it as cheap as possible, though I am willing to spend if necessary to get a really good one. I don't think I need a dual band one, I dont intend to stream HD movies, just transfer files and maybe play the odd game with my brother.

Thanks for any advice!


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## johnwill (Sep 26, 2002)

Truthfully, since the Orange Box is working, I'd go with your first inclination, configure the secondary router as a WAP. If it breaks down, they'll probably never know, since you'd be the only user of that router. :smile:


Connecting two (or more) SOHO broadband routers together.

*Note:* _The "primary" router can be an actual router, a software gateway like Microsoft Internet Connection Sharing, or a server connection that has the capability to supply more than one IP address using DHCP server capability. No changes are made to the primary "router" configuration._

Configure the IP address of the secondary router(s) to be in the same subnet as the primary router, but out of the range of the DHCP server in the primary router. For instance DHCP server addresses 192.168.0.2 through 192.168.0.100, I'd assign the secondary router 192.168.0.254 as it's IP address, 192.168.0.253 for another router, etc.

_*Note: Do this first, as you will have to reboot the computer to connect to the router again for the remaining changes.*_

Disable the DHCP server in the secondary router.

Setup the wireless section just the way you would if it was the primary router, channels, encryption, etc.

Connect from the primary router's LAN port to one of the LAN ports on the secondary router. If there is no uplink port and neither of the routers have auto-sensing ports, use a cross-over cable. Leave the WAN port unconnected!

This procedure bypasses the routing function (NAT layer) and configures the router as a switch (or wireless access point for wireless routers).

For reference, here's a link to a Typical example config using a Netgear router


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## Neoptolemus (Dec 12, 2009)

Thanks, I'll grab myself a good router then. So far I've pinged this one as a good purchase:

http://www.netgear.com.au/au/Product/Routers-and-Gateways/Ethernet/WNR2000

I've found it on amazon.fr so I could order it online. Do you reckon this will be a good choice?


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## johnwill (Sep 26, 2002)

Given your desire to have it some distance away from the base station, I'd be looking for a model with removable external antennas, that way you can use hi-gain external antennas if the signal strength is not sufficient. I don't like the ones with integrated antennas.


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