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So, have long standing wifi single issues. Long term plan involves satellite WAPs but in the meantime, I have a ceiling mount WAP (Draytek AP960C) wall mounted, with the flat surface facing the living room albeit a couple of walls away.
If I was to mount it horizontally on a bracket instead of vertically directly onto the wall, will this improve the signal? I’ve read suggestions that as ceiling mount APs are meant to be horizontal they don’t direct much signal straight ‘down’.
Does this sound plausible or nonsense?
ceiling mounted AP's do work better when mounted horizontally and on a ceiling, if you do mount it horizontally then you'll get virtually no signal above the access point.
A meshed wireless network is what you're after
For a convenient and tidy installation, the VigorAP 960C is designed for installation on ceilings and walls, blending into its surroundings with a matte finish. It's ideal for providing wireless access to large rooms and public spaces.
WiFi access points aren't generally directional.
They (generally) create something like a spherical ’bubble’ though misshapen I.e. not as large/powerful in back 120° Or so.
Depending on the home construction especially the ceiling/floors if the are standard wooden boards/joists & non foil backed plasterboard then you can often get very good results mounting the ap’s in the loft ~1-2 above floor level.
It allows the wireless ‘beam’ to form before it encounters any walls.
If I was to mount it horizontally on a bracket instead of vertically directly onto the wall, will this improve the signal?
I would think so yes but there really is no guarantee. You are going to fix it much faster by getting some sort of mesh system now. If you want to try out the positioning then just take it down off of the ceiling and stick it on the floor to try it out (a sort of upside down ceiling). Will save you a lot of hassle. You might do equally well by making sure you are on one of the less used channels though and that may help. Similarly if it is a system that can run on 2.4 or 5GHz then use the 2.4GHz band as it will reach further (unless of course all of your neighbours are on the band in which case you might have more luck on 5GHz)
You are going to fix it much faster by getting some sort of mesh system now.
As ever that will depend on the size, shape, number of floors & construction type of the home
The incoming line location & speed, where any existing wifi dead zones are & level of performance the op is looking to achieve.
Plus the budget & willingness/ability to install some ethernet cabling.
Wireless mesh systems are very good for some solutions & inappropriate for others.
Plus the budget & willingness/ability to install some ethernet cabling.
Not all mesh systems need ethernet cabling. Some like Orbi use another wifi channel to communicate with each other, others will use the same WiFi channel to communicate, others can indeed use cabling. But you are right, it does depend on exactly what they are trying to achieve. I have generally found that mesh systems solve most problems as they easily allow you to place satellites in intermediate rooms to extend range
Not all mesh systems need ethernet cabling. Some like Orbi use another wifi channel to communicate with each other, others will use the same WiFi channel to communicate, others can indeed use cabling. But you are right, it does depend on exactly what they are trying to achieve.
Indeed, mesh especially in domestic settings is a nebulous marketing term, it generally relates to systems that use wireless for the interconnect between mesh ‘nodes’, it could be systems labled dual, tri or now quad band, in the strictest sense wired accesspoints are not a mesh system as they have a single route to the router rather than the potential various routes a wireless interconnect could offer.
So by there nature you need to place mesh nodes where they have a good - mid wireless signal to the preceding node to ensure they have a reliable interconnect. Often you find folk place them in the dead zone & wonder why the wifi experience barely improves.
That said wherever possible I’d encourage a wired interconnect if possible. I’ve found them to be more stable, offer greater throughput & can often be cheaper as you often need less accesspoints to cover the same area as wireless mesh nodes.
As ever the devil is in the detail.
Unifi ones definitely are, although you can mount them vertically they work a lot better on the ceiling! Interestingly/usefully I’ve just realised you can use AR on their mobile app and scan your house to create a floor plan WiFi strength heat map. Looks like I could optimally do with another AP downstairs 🤔WiFi access points aren’t generally directional.
Think the problem in our house is the decent amount of structural steel where walls have been taken down.
Long term plan is mesh using wires for the backhaul (which Draytek WAPs will do) rather 5sn mesh with wireless backhaul.
Think the problem in our house is the decent amount of structural steel where walls have been taken down.
Long term plan is mesh using wires for the backhaul (which Draytek WAPs will do) rather 5sn mesh with wireless backhaul.
As per my earlier post you may want to consider loft mounting.
We have a 3bed 2 story Victorian detached with a open plan gf & rear single story extension, so 3 sizeable steels. We cover this with a single tp-link eap225 accesspoint & get ~500-600Mbs up&down on both floors.
It’s certainly worth testing experience.