Extending wifi to another building.

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Timbro123

Junior Member
Feb 9, 2016
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Hi, I'm trying to figure out how to extend wifi to my workshop, and I don't know much about networking. I have my old Belkin router in the corner of my house closest to the shop. The shop is about 90 ft away from my house, and they both are just wooden framed buildings with drywall and wood siding. I can get one bar of wifi on my iphone if I stand in the corner of the shop closest to my house, but if I move any deeper into the shop, I lose the signal. I would like to have enough wifi in the shop to stream pandora and audiobooks throughout the shop (another 50 feet or so). I don't have fast internet (satellite), I don't game or anything that requires a lot of speed, and I live in the woods, so security isn't a big issue. I can't run a cable, but there's no trees or anything between the two buildings. Will a more powerful router do the job, or will I need to get some kind of bridge? Thanks for any suggestions you guys might have. I apologize in advance for my ignorance.
 
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Timbro123

Junior Member
Feb 9, 2016
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Thanks for your reply Anonymouse! That thing looks pretty cool. I've been googling it and checking out their website, and like I said, I don't know much about networking, and all of the abbreviations have me confused. Is one Ubiquiti PicoStation M2HP all that I need, or do I need a receiver too? I would just like to know what I need to purchase to get this to work, and I can figure out how to set it up by following directions once it all gets here. Thanks again for helping out a newbie!
 
AnonymouseUser

AnonymouseUser

Diamond Member
May 14, 2003
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Timbro123 said:
Is one Ubiquiti PicoStation M2HP all that I need, or do I need a receiver too?
Click to expand...

Yes, you only need the one PicoStation. If you need a stronger signal indoors, but still need to connect buildings wirelessly, you'd need 1 or more base stations in bridge mode. In your case I doubt you'd need more than the one, especially considering the distance and size of building. Note also that this PicoStation is a 2.4GHz 802.11g/n capable access point, so if you want 5GHz 802.11a/c you'd need something else.
 
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Timbro123

Junior Member
Feb 9, 2016
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Hi guys, thank you both for your help. I bought a Picostation, got it set up according to Westy's video that Elixir linked above, with the picostation was plugged into my computer. Then I unplugged it and moved it close to my router, and plugged it into the router. I don't have a long enough CAT5 cable yet to put it outside, but it's in the corner of the house closest to the workshop. All the lights on the picostation are on, but my wifi signal isn't any stronger. I still just get one little wifi bar on my iphone in the corner of the workshop closest to my house, and nothing on the far side. Is there something else I need to do? Also, when I type 192.168.1.20 into my router it no longer accesses the Picostation like it did when I had it plugged into the computer.
 
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Timbro123

Junior Member
Feb 9, 2016
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Picostation isn't showing up on my phone in the Wifi settings. And when I type 192.168.1.20 into my browser it says webpage unavailable. I just rebooted the router and picostation, and now I'm not getting any signal lights on the picostation either.
 
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Timbro123

Junior Member
Feb 9, 2016
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I think I might have gotten a defective picostation (ps). I've rebooted everything. I pressed the reset button on the ps. I've swapped out network cables. I have my ps plugged into my computer, and I still can't connect to it through 192.168.1.20 And my HP Connection Manager keeps flashing "LAN connected," then "LAN not connected" every 30 seconds or so whenever the ps is plugged into my PC. I'll try ubnt support tomorrow, unless you guys have an idea what I'm doing wrong, or what's wrong with this unit. Thanks for your help!
 
AnonymouseUser

AnonymouseUser

Diamond Member
May 14, 2003
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Hopefully ubnt can help you there, but please update this thread with the solution once you get it up and running.
 
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Timbro123

Junior Member
Feb 9, 2016
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So my picostation does get wifi to my workshop, but I'm a little disappointed with the signal strength. The ps signal doesn't go too much farther than the signal from my N router, and where it does, it's only 1 bar out of 3 of signal. It drops wifi on the far side of the shop. I had a lot of problems getting the ps set up, spent hours chatting with their tech support. I'm wondering if there's something wrong with my ps, or if it's not the right tool for this job. Or if I should get another ps, set it up as a bridge, and put another router in the shop. What do you guys think?
 
JackMDS

JackMDS

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 25, 1999
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Given 90 feet outdoor.

Add three APs to the system. One connected with a wire to the main source Router and placed in a spot looking at the destination.

Second, in the destination Windows looking at the at the first AP and configured as a Client Wireless Bridge.

Third, connects with a short wire to the second client Bridge and transmitting into the Shop.

If you use good APs you might get the Wireless Bandwidth from the Main Wireless Router with only small lose.

You cut out anything of the above "recipe" you cut the signal.

Hardware is Not human, it is Not feeling sorry for you. Excuses like I do not have long cable (or can't afford to buy the needed hardware) are Not going to change what is needed for the correct performance.



:cool:
 
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AnonymouseUser

AnonymouseUser

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May 14, 2003
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Have you mounted the PS outside yet? You could try mounting inside to a window if you have one facing the shop, but ideally it should be outside.
 
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