My roommates all share a 4 port Linksys Wireless Router. All the ports are used
up and my wireless doesn’t seem to want to connect to their router (… a whole
different question…). Recently I have been sharing an ethernet cable with my
boyfriend’s computer, switching it back and forth bw the two comps which is
really annoying bc we can’t be plugged into the internet at the same time. Is
there a way I may be able to extend how many computers can be plugged into that
one router?? Thanks!
Thanks for the question!
Yes there is a way. Most routers (like yours) comes with only four wired ports. While this is fine for more home networks where people usually only have one or two computers it becomes frustrating in other situations. But not to fear! There is a way to extend the amount of ports on your router.
What you’ll need to buy is a Wired Hub. It’s a cheap device that will connect to your router and basically give it more wired ports. Here are the handy steps:
- Buy a Wired hub. DLINK and Linksys are the most popular brands right now but it doesn’t have to be anything elaborate.
- Make sure that the Hub you buy comes with an up link or MDI port. This is important. If it doesn’t have one of those then you’ll need to buy a crossover cable. The salesperson at the store should know whether it has an up link port or not.
- Take it home, unpack it and run a standard Ethernet cable from the Hub’s up link port to any of the four ports on the router. (While your doing this turn the computers, the router, the Hub and your modem off.)
- Assign and configure both of your computer’s IP address’s and you should have internet access!
Good luck!
The Fake Geek
A hub? Who even sells them anymore? You mean a switch and you don’t need an uplink. You need a crossover cable between the switch and router.
Thanks for commenting!
Many stores still do sell hubs but I agree that a switch will also work. As for the up link port I did mention that you could buy a crossover cable but it would be more convenient and economic to not spend money on one when you could buy a hub/switch with an up link port and use any old Ethernet cable.