I have two situations where I would like to extend a Wi-Fi signal beyond its current reach. In both cases, running cable is not an option.
One obstacle is thick, signal-blocking walls. I see “extenders,” “repeaters,” and “access points” online, as well as contraptions that send the signal through the building’s power line. I tried to set up one of these (I don’t recall which) a few years ago and never got it to work. The signal was fine, but something wasn’t configured correctly. Despite several articles explaining how these work, it’s not clear to me what the differences are or what would be optimal here.
The second obstacle is an outdoor space. The main building has line-of-sight to one of the outbuildings, which has power. I found some infrared Wi-Fi devices that should work, but I’m not sure how to weigh that vs some sort of boosted Wi-Fi relay.
If anyone has experience with any of these, I would appreciate any tips that could get me pointing in the right direction.
If the outbuilding and main house are on the same breaker box, then Powerline networking is likely to work better and more easily than anything wireless:
You may have to try different outlets inside the house if you have crappy old wiring, but you should be able get that to work at some speed.
If you cannot do that the next best options in order are a wired connection to a second wireless access point as close as possible to the outside wall, or a wireless repeater somewhere in between your existing router and the outbuilding. For the repeater, the best location might be someplace like in an attic.
Thanks!.
Best situation for the outbuilding would have been to think of including a cable when we trenched it for power and water :smack:. It’s on a separate line from the transformer. I see some directional antennas that might be worth a second look. I don’t even remember the distance (I have trouble eyeballing that stuff), so I’ll need to check that again.
I second power line networks - great solutions for old houses.
For extending to an outbuilding, look for a wireless bridge. If you have the technical chops, I’ve used the EnGenius ENH500 on each building to connect the two. It mounts externally for best connection, and it essentially extends a cable wirelessly. If you want wireless in the second building, you’ll need another wireless access point to provide the actual wireless network.
At home I have a cable modem connected to a typical WiFi + wired firewall/router. Which gives plenty of signal strength inside my residence. But I want the WiFi signal to extend from my balcony out for a couple hundred feet towards a pool deck. From my balcony I need to cover an area about 30 degrees wide and 200 feet deep.
I can’t install anything anywhere except on my balcony. I have 110V power at the balcony and can easily install a device which connects to my existing wired or, more easily, wireless network segment.
I don’t need extreme speed over this outdoor link, but I do want reliability. IOW, good enough for email, net surfing, & maaaybe RDC, but with no need to stream HD video over it.