[Closed] How do I extend my WiFi?

You just need a wireless access point and a long cable.

There is some configuration required so as the new Wireless access point doesn't mess up the addressing on the network so turn off DHCP on that. Otherwise should be simple enough.

Ubiquiti Unifi wireless access points are brilliant and don’t cost the Earth. £60 or so, but they’re a bit fiddly to set-up if you’re not IT minded.

I’d get someone in to run a length of Cat5 and instal the point for you.

Assuming you want something that actually works then yes, Unifi would be ideal.  A Edgerouter-X would be a satisfactory router unless you've hundreds of users (in which case, non -X) and then two UniFi access points, one for each unit. You'll just need to have a bit of cat5 joining the router to the APs.  UniFis are one of the few APs where roaming actually works so the network doesn't drop out if people walk from one to the other.

Some networking clue required but not a lot, and any local IT contractor should be able to install the lot in a morning.

Thanks.

Only usually 6 or so people at the most use it at any one time. I was hoping for something plug and play as anything more involves our IT ‘department’ as I’d just fudge the lot

Will have a look at the Unifi units, cheers.

Small network then.  The easier solution if you want something simple that avoids IT would be to run a length of cat5 from your router through the wall to the next unit and then plug in a basic AP such as  https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-Wireless-Controller-Software-EAP110/dp/B00VQ8P47O/.  Wall mounted, power-over-ethernet, etc, so you can have the cat5 from next door going into a power injector and then running up the wall to the AP on the ceiling.

If the wall is thick enough to cause problems for wifi then you can try setting it to the same SSID/password as the main one and hope for the best, if you get problems with wifi then just have two wifi networks (Unit 1 and Unit 2) that are on the same router.

If you have an IT department then use them. Anything you put up yourself is likely to get ripped down by them once they find out about it.

edit- oooooo, how did I do that with department and what does it mean?

There might be some hints here:

https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2018/03/how-to-fix-your-homes-crappy-wi-fi/

Not saying it will help, but there might be some ideas that could be of benefit.

What is the max distance you can run a length of cat5 over? I'm in a similar boat, have fibre at home but need to run broadband down to a log cabin quite a distance away.

<div class="bbp-reply-author">jamesfts
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What is the max distance you can run a length of cat5 over? I’m in a similar boat, have fibre at home but need to run broadband down to a log cabin quite a distance away.

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100m

Cheers P-Jay

Over 100m does it just drop in speed or fail completely? A quick measure on Google maps shows the distance to be aprox 200m

200m would be too far.

As I said before OP, do not interfere with your company network if you have an it department. Any IT department worth their salt would have policies in place that means it would constitute gross misconduct.

Over 100m does it just drop in speed or fail completely? A quick measure on Google maps shows the distance to be aprox 200m

Yeah, 200m is way too far to be reliable. A PtP wireless link is probably easiest.

Sorry to hijack the thread but the mention of ubiquiti unify kit got my attention.

I have a long thin house with multiple stone walls and struggle to get wifi throughout the house at the opposite end to the wifi router.

Would the ubiquiti kit sort this out? And if so what is the minimum "starter" kit I'd need? Do I just need a couple of access points and are there advantages of the pro access point?

Thanks

You need more wireless access points in that type of scenario that are configured correctly so as the wireless devices will migrate between them.

The more enterprise style access points have lots of advantages like multiple SSIDs and traffic management but for you the benefits would be power over ethernet making deployment easier. Unless you pay for controllers for the enterprise kit you don't get that much advantage.

Yeah, 200m is way too far to be reliable. A PtP wireless link is probably easiest.

There is no direct line of sight unfortunately but could I potentially run one of those from a say 60m cable at the bottom of the garden? Then there would be a uninterrupted visibility over about 170m.

Sorry to hijack the thread but the mention of ubiquiti unify kit got my attention.

I have a long thin house with multiple stone walls and struggle to get wifi throughout the house at the opposite end to the wifi router.

Would the ubiquiti kit sort this out? And if so what is the minimum “starter” kit I’d need? Do I just need a couple of access points and are there advantages of the pro access point?

Thanks

It would, but you need cabling for them, they're not wi-fi repeaters.

They will run as a single unit - just plug them into any port of your existing router. The units themselves are POE only, but do come with injectors.

If I was cabling my house I'd use 3 WAP, Upstairs, downstars and garage - most modern houses wouldn't need more than one but my house is really old (1910-20ish)  with high ceilings and thick walls.

I'd use one of these to power it and handle the data (they won't work with most POE stuff).

https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/products/17010-ubiquiti-ts-5-poe/

And 3 of these

https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/products/18774-ubiquiti-uap-cloud/

I might be tempted with a 'Lite' if I wanted dual-band but for home use I don't think you really do.

The Pros are over-kill, we use them at large events because they can handle more users at once, but even the basic ones will handle 30 devices with ease, I don't think I've got more than 10 devices in the house that have Wi-Fi and they wouldn't all be on at once.

They're not plug and play though, you need to be fairly technically savvy to configure them and they do, like all internet handling things, need a bit of love from time to time, even if that's to reset them. Oh and disable the wi-fi on the router.

Actually, I shouldn't forget that even a single Unifi WAP is massively better than most wifi routers, certainly the ones the ISP hand out. perhaps a dual-band wap plugged into the back out your existing router might do the biz for you. (not all devices can use 5GHz) might be a good starting point. 

There is no direct line of sight unfortunately but could I potentially run one of those from a say 60m cable at the bottom of the garden? Then there would be a uninterrupted visibility over about 170m.

No reason that I can think of, it's PoE so you should only have to run an ethernet cable from the adapter indoors to the transmitter.

@ bluearsedfly  The one thing to kill wifi signal is Industrial Units/Warehousing  - let me guess, you have steel racking inside and steel outers on the buildings - all things that just kill wifi signal. As such, 'extending' your wifi kicked out for the router is a struggle.

Without spend a fortune and installing a full LAN with Point to Point Wireless, the alternative is to look at something like the NETGEAR Orbi Pro - this replaces your existing router, and creates a mesh of satellites. If you position the satellites on the outer edges of the two buildings, you may be able to get wifi signal in the other building.

http://www.netgear.co.uk/orbi-pro/?cid=uk-orbipro-srch&utm_source=search&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=q118-uk-orbipro-search&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIo7PMjcza2QIVypF-Ch3ZzQvhEAAYASAAEgKvI_D_BwE

there are a few other questions in this thread from people...

@jamesfts  Running a Cat5/5e/6 cable from your router to an Access point wont work either, data will only travel 100m (as others have said) over copper. You could run a fibre cable, but these are expensive and you'll need additional kit (SFP modules and a couple of switchs with SFP ports). You could look at creating a 'wireless bridge' across the buildings using a couple of Outdoor AP's. Do it Point - to - Point...

You'll need some networking expertise to install and configure these though.

@tommyo Look at the Orbi - RBK50 would be a good shout.  http://www.netgear.co.uk/orbi/default.aspx

For a big house, look at the RBK53 kit - it has the router and 2 x satelittes. https://www.amazon.co.uk/NETGEAR-System-Coverage-Tri-Band-Satellites/dp/B072MY95N7/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520439411&sr=8-1&keywords=rbk53

And yes - i do work for NETGEAR

For home use that the new generation of mesh routers are actually good.  You can get a set from BT, Google, or Ubiquti for not a lot and then you get to just plug the access points in wherever makes sense and they all form a single mesh network.

https://store.google.com/uk/config/google_wifi

https://www.shop.bt.com/learnmore/bt-branded-products-and-services/bt-whole-home-wi-fi/

https://www.amplifi.com

For home use that the new generation of mesh routers are actually good.

+1 from me. I replaced Ubiquiti UAPs connected via powerline with BT Whole Home mesh APs 6 months ago. The Ubiquiti APs were great but the powerline adapters needed a reboot every couple of months or so. The BT APs have been completely reliable.

Thanks for all your advice.