suggestions on WiFi for home

[Homerboy]

So I have 1G bps AT&T fiber to the house. It runs into the basement where the AT&T supplied gateway is located. This gateway also provides WiFi to the rest of the house (couple of Chromecasts, everyone's phones, a smart TV, a laptop or 2 etc etc) Any device that can be wired, is wired (PCs, a smart TV, game console etc etc)

WiFi coverage is spotty though. As I said, the gateway is in the basement of a 2-story house. There's lots of walls, staircases etc. The house (and basement), while not huge (only 1,400 sqft) is brick so that doesn't help with reception while outside either.

I was looking for a way to get better coverage. I don't want to go the route of moving the gateway as my entire server rack is in the basement and everything is nice and confined down there. I was thinking about turning off the WiFi on the gateway, getting a single WiFi AP and putting it on the 1st floor and connecting it via 100/1000baseT back to the gateway.

I was also looking into mesh WiFi and tossing 1 node on the 2nd floor and 2 on the 1st floor at the front and back of the house so help cover the yard more. My concern there is $$$ (and I just want to confirm that mesh networks show up as ONE WiFi network right? It doesn't show multiple networks that you connect to, does it?)

Thoughts? Suggestions?

 

[VirtualLarry]

Yes, I think some sort of Mesh networking could be an option here.

Another option might be a pair of power-line networking transceivers, and another router serving as an AP on an upper floor.

I don't know what you'll do about a signal outside the perimeter of the house. Can you put an AP near a window? Maybe on a table near a window on that side of the house? Brick walls don't work that well with wifi.

Edit: I will say, don't expect your full gigabit speeds over Mesh, or over wireless AC in general.
If you hit 500Mbit/sec, you're doing well with wireless AC or Mesh.

 

[JackMDS]

As a frame reference and self education you can take a look at this article.

https://www.hardwarezone.com.sg/feature-testing-asus-aimesh-mesh-networking-feature

 

[Homerboy]

Yes, I think some sort of Mesh networking could be an option here.

Another option might be a pair of power-line networking transceivers, and another router serving as an AP on an upper floor.

I don't know what you'll do about a signal outside the perimeter of the house. Can you put an AP near a window? Maybe on a table near a window on that side of the house? Brick walls don't work that well with wifi.

Edit: I will say, don't expect your full gigabit speeds over Mesh, or over wireless AC in general.
If you hit 500Mbit/sec, you're doing well with wireless AC or Mesh.

Oh I'm not expecting the 1Gbps over wireless. I (or more so my wife and kids) are just concerned with stable, solid connections. Mesh is intriguing, but pretty damned expensive ($300+ for 3 nodes) compared to what I was hoping to spend. After I posted this I did some more digging around and think I might find a "decent" AP for $80 or so, toss that on the 1st floor and use that. It can't be worse than the WiFi situation right now.

 

[mnewsham]

I just use a standalone Ubiquiti access point (whatever the cheapest one was). Hooked up to ethernet at the top corner of the house, main router at the bottom opposite corner. Provides solid coverage throughout using the same SSID.

Not as good as a mesh system since it isn't using anything fancy to tell the client device which network to connect to, but if you just need solid coverage, it's a cheap option that works well.

I personally hate wireless backhaul. So I made sure my access point was wired directly. Provides ~200-400mbps throughput and cost under $70 on sale.

 

[Homerboy]

I just use a standalone Ubiquiti access point (whatever the cheapest one was). Hooked up to ethernet at the top corner of the house, main router at the bottom opposite corner. Provides solid coverage throughout using the same SSID.

Not as good as a mesh system since it isn't using anything fancy to tell the client device which network to connect to, but if you just need solid coverage, it's a cheap option that works well.

I personally hate wireless backhaul. So I made sure my access point was wired directly. Provides ~200-400mbps throughput and cost under $70 on sale.

I was actually looking at the Ubiquiti line. I was just thinking to grab one of those for $80 or so. Tossing in the middle of my mouse on the 1st floor and running cat6 back to the AT&T Provided gateway/router. As I said, it can't be worse than the current state of affairs.

 

[mnewsham]

I was actually looking at the Ubiquiti line. I was just thinking to grab one of those for $80 or so. Tossing in the middle of my mouse on the 1st floor and running cat6 back to the AT&T Provided gateway/router. As I said, it can't be worse than the current state of affairs.

Probably will be fine for most use-cases. Mesh system have their advantages, but really they're more appropriate for larger layouts (3-4+ access points) with a high client density (10+ devices roaming throughout the network at once).

A small to medium sized home really has no need for a mesh system in most cases

 

[Homerboy]

Probably will be fine for most use-cases. Mesh system have their advantages, but really they're more appropriate for larger layouts (3-4+ access points) with a high client density (10+ devices roaming throughout the network at once).

A small to medium sized home really has no need for a mesh system in most cases

That's sort of what I thought and felt as well. Mesh couldn't hurt, but probably overkill. I'm hoping to extend the range a little bit too so that I can install 1-2 outdoor wireless IP cameras. We'll see how that goes.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Newegg has a Tenda MW3 (3-unit) Wifi AC1200 Mesh kit for $84.99 after promo code in their latest e-mail flyer.

 

[ch33zw1z]

I was actually looking at the Ubiquiti line. I was just thinking to grab one of those for $80 or so. Tossing in the middle of my mouse on the 1st floor and running cat6 back to the AT&T Provided gateway/router. As I said, it can't be worse than the current state of affairs.

I recommend the pro version of the WAP, not sure what your budget is though.

 

[Homerboy]

Probably will be fine for most use-cases. Mesh system have their advantages, but really they're more appropriate for larger layouts (3-4+ access points) with a high client density (10+ devices roaming throughout the network at once).

A small to medium sized home really has no need for a mesh system in most cases

Man there are so many APs from Ubiquiti. I have to admit I'm a bit lost.
Does ceiling mount matter? What if I put on a flat surface like a dresser top, or entertainment center? I don't really have much of a way to mount on a ceiling, sadly.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Man there are so many APs from Ubiquiti. I have to admit I'm a bit lost.
Does ceiling mount matter? What if I put on a flat surface like a dresser top, or entertainment center? I don't really have much of a way to mount on a ceiling, sadly.

It will work fine. I have mine laying on the entertainment center on the upper floor of the house. It covers the main area of my property just fine. Just remember to put it as high as feasibly possible.

I use a UAP-AC-LR

I recommend the UAP-AC-PRO if it's in your budget

 

[mnewsham]

I recommend the UAP-AC-PRO

I'd only recommend that if you're going to daisy chain access points. Since the UAP-AC pro has 2 gigabit ethernet ports.

Besides that, there really isn't any particular reason to buy it. It doesn't offer much else over the UAP-AC LR.

Remember, your wifi speeds are generally constrained on the client side, NOT the access point. The UAP AC LR can hit 867mbps on 5ghz(2x2). The UAP-AC Pro can hit 1300mbps on 5Ghz(3x3). But I doubt he has any client devices that can hit more than 867mbps as it is, so the extra ~450mbps from the UAP-AC Pro isn't going to provide ANY actual benefit. Every single cell phone right now is 1x1 or 2x2. ALMOST every single laptop wifi card is 1x1 or 2x2. About the only laptops that come standard with 3x3 wifi cards are apple macbooks.

 

[ch33zw1z]

I'd only recommend that if you're going to daisy chain access points. Since the UAP-AC pro has 2 gigabit ethernet ports.

Besides that, there really isn't any particular reason to buy it. It doesn't offer much else over the UAP-AC LR.

Remember, your wifi speeds are generally constrained on the client side, NOT the access point. The UAP AC LR can hit 867mbps on 5ghz(2x2). The UAP-AC Pro can hit 1300mbps on 5Ghz(3x3). But I doubt he has any client devices that can hit more than 867mbps as it is, so the extra ~450mbps from the UAP-AC Pro isn't going to provide ANY actual benefit. Every single cell phone right now is 1x1 or 2x2. ALMOST every single laptop wifi card is 1x1 or 2x2. About the only laptops that come standard with 3x3 wifi cards are apple macbooks.

Good info. The LR works fine for me.

 

[13Gigatons]

I have a Access Point and it works great but I also turn it off when not using it.

 

[Homerboy]

Thanks guys
So, this should be the girl? https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Unifi-Ap-AC-Long-Range/dp/B015PRCBBI

I'm really not too concerned with max speeds to be honest. I'm mostly concerned with signal strength and reliability. I have a couple of Chromecasts that can't get a solid/stable connection. There's some complaints of phone WiFi connections, but that's 99% just browsing online while in bed etc. As I said too, a little strong signal outside would be nice so I can deploy a couple of WiFi cameras as well for security purposes. even with all that going full-bore, I don't think we'd be maxing anything out.

 

[mxnerd]

Amplifi HD - router only? Also from Ubiquiti.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01L9O07FS

You can always add meshpoint or teleport later.

https://store.amplifi.com/products/amplifi-hd-meshpoint

https://www.amplifi.com/teleport/

Good looking and no need to mount on the ceiling.

 

[Homerboy]

Amplifi HD - router only? Also from Ubiquiti.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01L9O07FS

You can always add meshpoint or teleport later.

Good looking and no need to mount on the ceiling.

Nope - no router wanted/needed. I can't replace the AT&T provided hardware and I simply do not want to mess with doing a passthrough and re-configuring everything

 

[mxnerd]

Nope - no router wanted/needed. I can't replace the AT&T provided hardware and I simply do not want to mess with doing a passthrough and re-configuring everything

You can use it as an access point instead as a router, no need to touch your AT&T gateway.

The new teleport (with VPN to your home) is very interesting.

Amplifi HD (router/AP) standalone is probably all you need though.

It claims to cover 10,000 sqft if coupled with 2 mesh points, however.

 

[mnewsham]

Thanks guys
So, this should be the girl? https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Unifi-Ap-AC-Long-Range/dp/B015PRCBBI

I'm really not too concerned with max speeds to be honest. I'm mostly concerned with signal strength and reliability. I have a couple of Chromecasts that can't get a solid/stable connection. There's some complaints of phone WiFi connections, but that's 99% just browsing online while in bed etc. As I said too, a little strong signal outside would be nice so I can deploy a couple of WiFi cameras as well for security purposes. even with all that going full-bore, I don't think we'd be maxing anything out.

Yes, the LR has the longest range available.

By law consumer wifi radios are capped at 1w of power output, so realistically the only difference in range will be antenna configuration and the UAP AC LR has an antenna design specifically to extend the range of the network. It wont provide the fastest speeds, but it should provide a good amount of coverage if positioned in a decent location.

 

[sdifox]

Drill a hole in the main floor closet into the basement, run a cat 6 up to main floor, run an AP there.

I ran my cable in the same hole the central vac runs through and just made a hole in the drywall and ran the line to a wifo router configured as wap.
I have a second router on second floor configured as bridge for the printer and computers on second floor.