If you’re looking for the answer on how to connect a Wi-Fi extender to a Verizon router, you’ve come to the right place.
This article will explain how to be sure you need a Wi-Fi extender, ways to connect a Verizon extender if you choose to use one, and how to set up a different brand Wi-Fi extender to work with your Verizon router.
So, lay back, relax and read carefully, so you don’t miss any critical pieces of information.
Like many other Wi-Fi users, you are probably trying to figure out how to overcome one of the significant downsides of Wi-Fi technology – the penetration capabilities of the wireless signals.
As you probably know, modern Wi-Fi antennas can broadcast signals up to several hundred feet, but only if there are no solid objects between the devices that are trying to communicate wirelessly.
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Because the radio waves, used as signal carriers, lose a lot of strength when penetrating dense materials, you often lose the radio station in your car when driving through the long tunnel, for example.
The same applies here. In theory, the problem can be somewhat remedied by using a stronger, more powerful signal source and a larger antenna. Still, strict international regulations have limited how strong a signal can be.
Verizon uses all the latest technologies in their router, but nothing they implement can amplify that signal over the regulated level. So, what your router is currently sending is as strong as it can legally be.
If there are two or more walls between the router and the other wireless device, you won’t have a reliable and usable connection. And that is without taking into count sources of interference like cordless phones, microwave ovens, and others.
CONTENTS
Do You Really Need a Wi-Fi Extender?
You can do a couple of things to improve your Wi-Fi. One of them is placing the router in a better location. The other is getting a signal booster of some kind. If you live in a smaller house or a flat, you could get away with repositioning the router to the center of the home. If it’s a two-story house, we mean a 3D center. In other words, place it close to the center of the floor plan and near the sealing.
Router antennas are usually omnidirectional, and they broadcast signals evenly in all directions, creating a signal bubble. If the source is at the center, there is a much greater chance that the entire home will be evenly covered.
If that is not an option for you because you can’t move the router or router still doesn’t cover the entire house when relocated, the most recommended option is to get a signal booster, a.k.a Wi-Fi extender.
What Are Your Wi-Fi Extender Options?
Since you are a Verizon user, you probably have a Verizon gateway or the router. With this in mind, the first significant decision you should make is whether you’ll get a Verizon Wi-Fi extender or some other brand. Each choice has some good and some bad sides.
However, if you go for a Verizon Wi-Fi extender, you can be sure it is compatible, and the setup process will go smoothly. After all, the Verizon Wi-Fi extender is designed to pair with a Verizon router.
On the other hand, if you already have some other brand at hand, or you want to buy something else due to the price, loyalty to the other brand, or some unique feature, that will work as well. You may need to take a few extra steps in order to set it up, but, in the end, any compatible extender will do the job.
So, let’s see what you need to do to make the Wi-Fi extender work with the Verizon router.
How to Connect Verizon Fios Wi-Fi Extender to the Fios Router
Depending on the model, there are a couple of ways you can connect the Verizon Wi-Fi extender to the Verizon router, and all of them are pretty simple.
- Connect the Verizon Wi-Fi extender to the Verizon router using WPS.
Both the extender and the router have the WPS feature. The WPS stands for Wi-Fi Protected Setup, and it’s the easiest way to connect any wireless device to the router. Press and hold the round button on the extender until it starts blinking, then do the same on the router and wait for them to sink. Once they do, you’re done. If this, for whatever reason, doesn’t work for you, there are other ways to connect.
NOTE: If you connect the extender and the router using WPS, you will have two networks two passwords, and you will access the admin panel with the password on the sticker at the back of the device,
- Connect Verizon Wi-Fi extender to the Verizon router using an ethernet cable.
Bring the extender close to the router (Gateway), plug in one end of the ethernet cable into one of the LAN ports on the router, and the other end to one of the ports on the extender.
Power up the extender and wait until it turns solid white.
Once it is white, you can turn off the extender, unplug the ethernet cable and move the extender to a permanent location.
If the light turns yellow after you unplug the ethernet cable, don’t worry. It only means the extender is too close to the router.
NOTE: Once you connect this way, the extender will start using the router’s SSID, Admin, and wireless password. The passwords on the sticker at the back will no longer be usable.
How to Connect Other Brands of Wi-Fi Extenders to Verizon Fios Router
If you’re using some other extender brand, you can still use WPS to connect it to the router. If that fails for some reason or the extender doesn’t support WPS, you can set things up manually.
For more convenience, plug the Wi-Fi extender in the same room as the router during the setup process.
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Once you have powered it up, use your phone or laptop to look for available networks. Search for something with the same name as the extender model. Once you locate it, connect to that network. Now open the web browser and enter the IP address printed on the extender.
Note: Some brands will have an app for the setup process, so check the manual that came with the extender.
Once you access the admin panel of the extender, follow quick setup instructions to connect it to the router.
We hope you find these instructions clear and easy to follow and wish for a strong Wi-Fi signal and high internet speeds.
Hey, I’m Jeremy Clifford. I hold a bachelor’s degree in information systems, and I’m a certified network specialist. I worked for several internet providers in LA, San Francisco, Sacramento, and Seattle over the past 21 years.
I worked as a customer service operator, field technician, network engineer, and network specialist. During my career in networking, I’ve come across numerous modems, gateways, routers, and other networking hardware. I’ve installed network equipment, fixed it, designed and administrated networks, etc.
Networking is my passion, and I’m eager to share everything I know with you. On this website, you can read my modem and router reviews, as well as various how-to guides designed to help you solve your network problems. I want to liberate you from the fear that most users feel when they have to deal with modem and router settings.
My favorite free-time activities are gaming, movie-watching, and cooking. I also enjoy fishing, although I’m not good at it. What I’m good at is annoying David when we are fishing together. Apparently, you’re not supposed to talk or laugh while fishing – it scares the fishes.
