Devices to extend WiFi signal

1,918 Views | 13 Replies | Last: 6 yr ago by VAXMaster
Ag_SGT
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I recently moved to Missouri for a job with the Army at Ft Leonard Wood and the house we got is gigantic. One reason we bought the house, is that there is a detached garage with a finished 800 sq ft apartment above it. The plan is to use it as a short term rental for folks coming out to see their kids graduate basic or long term for people coming out for the 6 month Captains course on the post. Intitially I thought our access to broadband would be limited but while not nearly as good as what we had in Florida, it is good enough to stream things like Hulu and all. The problem is the signal barely covers the entire main house. Does anyone have any advice on how to relay that signal to the detached garage? If we were to get a long term renter we would just let them arrange for their own internet, but I was more thinking about ways to ensure short term renters have access to internet. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." Ben Franklin
UmustBKidding
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I like wires, others no to much. Not a fan of "extenders" basically loose half throughput by design. So good options would be power line Ethernet like homeplug pna 2.0 and access point in garage or a point to point Ethernet bridge to garage access point(I like ubiquity) With power like need something on same ac phase so might have to try different plugs to get them to work properly.
Best buy has some power line boxes, can price match Amazon and return if they don't work for you
Jasomania
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What I think you're looking at is a Mesh Wifi System. They are basically set up to solve the problem of wifi dead zones. They will beam your internet from the original modem directly to the satellite router without a drop in speed so you'll have two (or more) zones of coverage instead of just the one. There are a lot of companies that make mesh wifi system, i've linked to the orbi by netgear but you can research which you think is best.

https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-Orbi-Whole-Home-System/dp/B07CQDHPFT/
BQ92
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Jasomania said:

What I think you're looking at is a Mesh Wifi System. They are basically set up to solve the problem of wifi dead zones. They will beam your internet from the original modem directly to the satellite router without a drop in speed so you'll have two (or more) zones of coverage instead of just the one. There are a lot of companies that make mesh wifi system, i've linked to the orbi by netgear but you can research which you think is best.

https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-Orbi-Whole-Home-System/dp/B07CQDHPFT/

This ^^^

I went with eero and can't believe how much better the WiFi experience is.
hunter2012
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With a simple firmware change you can repurpose old routers to be extenders.
spanky
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We use a couple of Asus RT-AC68U in their AiMesh mode. Think I paid around $70 each.
Ag_SGT
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Thanks for the responses, I will definitely need to do a little more research into Mesh WiFi systems. Initially I thought maybe folks could just use their cell phones but coverage here is pretty much nonexistent. Thanks again for the advice
"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." Ben Franklin
ravingfans
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I have repurposed old wifi routers at my place and works really well. Originally I had them just relay the signal, but eventually ran ethernet cable and that works even better.

For my parent's place, I had them set up with PowerLine adapters and was able to stream movies easily.

For a detached garage, the PowerLine approach should work, but only if the garage is on a circuit that uses the same leg of power as the main house. If it somehow uses a different phase the PowerLine would not work, but it is worth trying it.

I also, just last night acquired the Linksys Velop and trying it out instead of the repurposed routers as my main wifi was acting up. The Velop comes in a 3 pack that should cover you pretty well. There is a Basic $200 and Premium $475 or so option. the Basic seems fine for my needs.
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spanky
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My asus system uses Ethernet connections at each node
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MW03
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I use the google mesh system. Love the app GUI, and it works well. A little on the pricey side, though. I appreciate that I can monitor individual devices with the app and prioritize devices. I also like how the it manages guest wifi I can flip on and off.
TxAggieBand85
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The Mesh systems offered are much more affordable and in my opinion and solution solver. Most will work fine. There is a Nerdery thread on this topic.

Mesh WiFi

I have the following system, works great for my situation. Also just installed at parent's home, works great over the past week.

Linksys Velop Dual Band System
Walmart model AC3600 $219 as of 28 Sep.

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VAXMaster
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Depending on the layout and distance I'd be inclined to try a directional antenna to beam it out there. Something like this https://www.walmart.com/ip/RP-SMA-2-4GHz-25dBi-Directional-Outdoor-Wireless-Yagi-Antenna-WiFi-for-Router-VP/623201825
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