Yes, that's correct. The "free" (you always pay for it, of course — "bundled" is maybe a better word here) wireless router the ISP provides, if it provides one, would be configured as a wireless access point (routing functions shut off) if the ISP is also providing an unbridged ONR. [Sometimes the ISP provides a combined unit (ONR plus wireless access point in one physical box).] Then you could add a second or even third wireless access point if you'd like. The second "far" WAP has to be connected to the ONR somehow, preferably through a wired connection.
If you want the two WAPs to coordinate with each other then it's probably best if they're provided by the same vendor. For example, if the ISP provides a wireless router (used as a WAP) from ASUS then a second WAP from ASUS may offer some advantages. Specifically, there are protocol standards for wireless roaming: 802.11r/k/v. But there doesn't seem to be good cross-vendor support for these protocols, or at least that hasn't been my experience so far. These wireless roaming protocols allow two or more WAPs (or even one WAP with its 2 or more radios) to help more quickly steer wireless clients to the "best" radio as the clients move around, if they move around. There are a lot of debates about whether wireless roaming offers much benefit. I have it set up, and I think it's a
modest improvement that I occasionally notice if I'm on a voice call (such as FaceTime, Zoom, etc.) and move around. With wireless roaming working properly the device can jump more quickly from WAP to WAP (or even from the 5 GHz radio to the 2.4 GHz radio on the same WAP if that's a better jump), and you're less likely to hear a break in the audio. But "less likely" doesn't mean "impossible." These protocols only provide a little guidance to wireless devices, but it's still up to the devices to make good decisions. YMMV.
So how do you get a second WAP connected to the unbridged ONR? Here are some options:
- Run an Ethernet cable (across the ceiling, for example). That's nice and stable, but it can also be pretty ugly and/or involve some installation costs. Some people run fibre cables across their homes just in case they want super fast wired connections. (Copper cables can go pretty fast, but they trail behind fibre.)
- If you happen to have "legacy" coax cable or even telephone cable inside your walls, use that. Get a pair of adapters (currently MoCA 2.5 or G.hn Wave 2 for coax, or G.hn Wave 2 for telephone cable) that bridge Ethernet onto that in-wall cabling. I'm using MoCA over coax, and it works really well. It's super stable, and the performance is very good — up to around 2.0+ Gb/s with the latest MoCA adapters equipped with 2.5 GbE Ethernet ports, or still very reasonable ~0.9 Gb/s with 1000BASE-T ports. It's a good idea to turn on encryption in these adapters just in case you're "broadcasting" to some neighbor that's also connected to that coax or telephone cable loop. You're not limited to 2 adapters if you have multiple rooms with coax or telephone cable ports on the same loop. You can bridge between 3 or even more adapters.
- Use Powerline adapters to do the same thing. Powerline adapters bridge over your home's electrical wiring. They're typically slower and less reliable than coax or telephone wiring. TP-Link sells many of these adapters. Sometimes you can buy a Powerline adapter that includes a built-in WAP (a single combined unit).
- Use a wireless backhaul, meaning the "far" WAP communicates wirelessly with the WAP (or wireless router configured as a WAP) located near the ONR. It's better if this wireless communication is over a dedicated channel using dedicated radios since that offers better performance. But it's also possible (although slower) to share radios/channels with wireless devices. Naturally the WAPs and wireless routers with dedicated wireless backhaul radios cost more.
- Use some combination. For example, if you're using Powerline bridging you might pair that with wireless bridging. If you have the equipment to do it.
