Help on extending WiFi range please?

ajm

ajm

ajm

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I am currently using a BT modem/router which only has a small WiFi range. I'm wanting to extend this range to cover a longer area. I have tried reading up on networks but can't quite figure out what I should be looking for.

I think I may need multiple APS/ repeaters extenders or what ever they are. It will need to cover approx 150 Metres from end to end. I do have cables already in place if needed and also power points.

Can someone please give me some advice on what might be the best option?
 
If you already have ethernet cables in place where you have poor wifi then you simply add Access Points on the end of them, assuming all the cables run back to your router. That's the best option.
 
BigT said:
If you already have ethernet cables in place where you have poor wifi then you simply add Access Points on the end of them, assuming all the cables run back to your router. That's the best option.
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Thanks for your quick reply. If using access points do they all have to be wired separately or can they be linked together?
 
Each AP will need it's own ethernet feed, although some models also have a LAN port on them which I guess you could daisy chain them on. Note most decent access points will require Power Over Ethernet (PoE). In practice this means that somewhere along the run of cable you need to use something to inject power into the ethernet cable. This needn't be complicated and if you use the normally included injectors it means somewhere you run your ethernet cable into a little brick that also needs power from an electrical socket and then a second ethernet cable is run out of that to the access point to give power and network signal to your access point. This can be anywhere along the run so at the centralised switch/router or where you're going to put the access point or anywhere inbetween.

One exception to each needing their own ethernet feed is if you buy models that allow a wireless backhaul to another access point of the same brand. Ubiquiti can do this for example. You're effectively then creating what is more commonly known as a sort of hybrid mesh network. This has some performance impacts and is less desirable and you still need to run power into them through an injected ethernet cable so best avoided if you can.
 
Thanks @BigT the information you provided is very helpful. There has been a previous setup installed but removed so cables are all in place and also power points at each location were the access points will need to be positioned. Would there be a better option where I can use these power points or is Poe the best way to go? Also you mention each will need their own Ethernet feed. Do you mean I would need to install a switch then plug each ap into that?
 
If there are power plugs next to the network cable outlets then you’d introduce an injector there probably as the easiest option. Think of the injector like something that combines power and network into the one network cable so you only run one cable into the AP. By virtue of this one cable being an Ethernet network cable it offers more flexibility for AP placement because you can have very long network cables but long power cables aren’t come by easily and more bulky and expensive,

I don’t know how many APs you want/need but this is a sample configuration and what I mean by each needs it’s own feed:

Router LAN port 1 >> Ethernet cable >> injector (power introduced here) >> Ethernet cable >> Access point 1
Router LAN port 2 >> Ethernet cable >> injector (power introduced here) >> Ethernet cable >> Access point 2

Now if you’ve got places where only one network cable gets you some way to your APs you can introduce simple unmanaged switches before injecting power. So for example if you’ve only got one cable going from your router to the middle of your house close to where you want to run the two access points then this would be an option

Router LAN port 1 >> Ethernet cable >> Switch
Switch port 1 >> Ethernet cable >> injector (power introduced here) >> Ethernet cable >> Access point 1
Switch port 2 >> Ethernet cable >> injector (power introduced here) >> Ethernet cable >> Access point 2

You can tidy things up using a PoE switch which removes the need for the break in the Ethernet runs and the injectors but I don’t want to over complicate matters. My suggestions above also don’t consider daisychaining or meshing the APs which some brands support. It’s just a different means to ensure an AP gets its network feed really.

If you want some more accurate suggestions then knock up a floor plan in ms paint or something highlighting the rooms your Ethernet cables run between and where your router is and where you want access points and I or others will give you some decent recommendations.

And I should also add that if you have modest expectations of speed and don’t feel comfortable with networks then an all mesh system may be easier for you. There’s a reason that BT market their whole home system as such and there’s lots of two or three node systems that are installed in 10 minutes next to power sockets and improve WiFi coverage. It’s just not the ‘best’ option you asked for if you already have cables in place. Examples include BT’s whole home discs, TP-Link Deco, Tenda MWx , Netgear Orbi, Google WiFi etc.
 
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MzNTUOc
Thanks again @Big T . I'm still a little confused. I have attempted to do a floor plan. It's not the best but all I could do in my tablet.
The green room is where the modem is situated and a cable runs from there to the purple room where all other Ethernet cables run to each white square in the corridor. Power points are also at these points and I think it's where I might need the wifi access points.

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MzNTUOc
 
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So @ajm you have a modem in the green room. Do you have that connected to a router in either the green or purple room?

Not withstanding the response to that, the next bit is likely to be the same. Where all your network cables meet in the purple room you’d plug them all into a switch. Then where they pop out at the other end on the white squares you put access points, as you have deduced. You can inject the power into the network cables either in the purple room or at the white squares. Are the network points in the corridor on the ceiling or in the wall and are they just bare cables or has someone put faceplates on? What sort of distance are we talking between the corridor points? And is it a long bungalow as the floorplan suggests? Reasons for questions is to give better access point recommendations.
 
@Big T In the green room is the BT modem/router cables goes from there to the purple room.

I thought I would need a switch in the purple room with all the cables connected. If I remember correctly, the cables run along the ceiling to the white squares where they are on faceplates with power supplies next to them. At the moment it's just for the ground floor. Roughly about 15m between each of the white squares. With the power points being right next to them might be a better option to use these rather than going for Poe?
 
PoE makes life easy, if you don't use it, then you need to use injectors, that's not ideal as you then need a socket, a kettle lead to injector, a patch lead from injector to the AP as well as the initial data feed to the injector vs just the PoE feed, fewer variables = fewer bits to go wrong and PAT test as obviously this is a commercial at some level (even if private rental). Also in the event of a fault, good luck sorting out a power cycle or hooking up a UPS to each AP. Without knowing the building construction, bandwidth requirements for each unit or having any survey data, it's £60/AP, while I doubt you need 4, i'd buy a 3 pack and a PoE switch and be done with it.
 
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ajm said:
@Big T In the green room is the BT modem/router cables goes from there to the purple room.

I thought I would need a switch in the purple room with all the cables connected. If I remember correctly, the cables run along the ceiling to the white squares where they are on faceplates with power supplies next to them. At the moment it's just for the ground floor. Roughly about 15m between each of the white squares. With the power points being right next to them might be a better option to use these rather than going for Poe?
Click to expand...

Yes the switch would be best placed in the purple room with all the Ethernet cables from both your corridor sockets and router plugged into the same switch. Your situation is exactly the right type to use a PoE switch in that purple room in the manner and for reasons @Avalon says.

if you have faceplates and this is a ground floor then look at something like Ubiquiti In Wall access points. Very neat and just replace the faceplates you already have.
 
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Let’s start with the elephant in the room: What’s the actually budget and usage scenario? Obviously it’s not your personal residential home with a layout like that. If it’s commercial office space or private rental, you can’t just dump everyone on the same LAN network and expect everyone to be nice/honest, that’s unlikely to go down well - users expect at the very least a VLAN and if it’s public, you need some form of landing page/user registration and VLAN’s means a router that supports them and a managed switch. Also if you are running your whole backhaul via 100Mbit switches, that’s likely to get pretty horrible for any wired clients not plugged directly into the router.

The EAP115 is 1/3 the speed (at absolute best) for almost 60% of the cost, while in a strictly WAN limited view point they are fine, you only need one slow device and inter device communication is going to suck, as we have no idea as to the usage, this may or may not be an issue. If you are really in a commercial environment and struggling to justify £120-180 of AP’s, then consider some of the ex contract CISCO Meraki MR16/18 with OpenWRT, less money, more capable product, better firmware.
 
Sorry, I really should have given a little more information. Budget is around the £200 mark. No it's not a personal residence and will be used solely for people staying in the rooms, not all but probably about a third may use the WiFi. Will only be for mobiles and tablets. The only wired devices will be plugged directly into the router.

A separate line with another modem may also added for better speeds and security so will be used just for WiFi. This would be in the purple room.
 
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