Mounting downstairs APs - tips?

[Harnser]

I recently bought a considerably extended 1930s house (thick, previously external walls are now internal).

As well as cabling the house I need to sort the WiFi out. Mounting 1+ APs upstairs seems straightforward (run cable to the loft, install switch w. PoE, make holes in the ceiling and mount them) but downstairs I can't work out how to do them.

The original internal walls are single-layer block/brick and I haven't got into the ceiling void to see if there's gaps around ceiling joists to run cables through. Upstairs has tongue and groove laminate flooring, so a pain to get in that way.

How would you do it? Also, do the APs need to be on the ceiling, or would mounting vertically near the top of the wall also work?

Edit: I haven't got the hardware yet, so guessing how many APs I'll need for good coverage. Are there any apps to work this out first?

 

[robj20]

I went looking for the old access which was used for the original mavity feed boiler system.
I know have my Central heating and all network cables going up there it goes from the crawl space to the loft, with access on the first floor to under the floor boards.
TG boards are ready to take up, chisel the tongue off then cut where you see nails, lift up.
I have loads up all over the house from doing the central heating so have at least 2 X cat6 into each room 4x into main rooms and 2x into the loft.

With your age of house chances are there will be similar somewhere, ours was a back boiler so the access is at the side of the chimney breast directly below the airing cupboard where the hot water tank was.

You can get APs designed for wall mounting.

 

[WJA96]

Mounting the UniFi ‘UFO’ access points on a wall is possible, it definitely not ideal. They radiate primarily in a curtain and contrary to what most folks expect, there is a total dead-zone directly under the access point. So you get very little radiation into the room if you wall-mount the access point. Ubiquiti make a wall-mount specific range of devices - the In-Wall range which mount well on a 30mm surface mount back-box or better yet, sit flush with the wall if you have an embedded back-box.

 

[Harnser]

TG boards are ready to take up, chisel the tongue off then cut where you see nails, lift up.

Oh good, sounds doable. I have no nails visible in my laminate floors - did you have them through your surface?

With your age of house chances are there will be similar somewhere, ours was a back boiler so the access is at the side of the chimney breast directly below the airing cupboard where the hot water tank was.

I'm going hunting. There's an area boxed in behind a built-in wardrobe that *might* be where it was.

 

[Harnser]

Mounting the UniFi ‘UFO’ access points on a wall is possible, it definitely not ideal. They radiate primarily in a curtain and contrary to what most folks expect, there is a total dead-zone directly under the access point.

Oh thanks, that was news to me. Does that mean you pick up a better signal from an AP in the neighbouring room?

Ubiquiti make a wall-mount specific range of devices - the In-Wall range which mount well on a 30mm surface mount back-box or better yet, sit flush with the wall if you have an embedded back-box.

Looks useful if needed in the lounge or hallway. I am confused by the number of different Ubiquiti APs available. For home use, are the Ubiquiti UAP-AC-LITE APs enough? There's Pro and LR too, and then other non-ceiling mounted ones.

 

[bremen1874]

there is a total dead-zone directly under the access point

Not under the AC-Lite and AC-Pro APs I've dealt with. I just double-checked the AP-Lite I have at home and there's no dead spot under it. No drop in speed or reduction in signal strength according to an Android analyser app.

If you look at their published radiation pattern graphs there's nothing special about the IW models compared to 'ufo' style. The one outlier is the IW-HD that doesn't have the dip immediately to the rear.

 

[neil_g]

I'd say wall mounting is always going to be a compromise in terms of coverage over ceiling mounting in a more central location.

If you can then it'd be worth spending a bit more time getting the positioning right.

 

[WJA96]

Not under the AC-Lite and AC-Pro APs I've dealt with. I just double-checked the AP-Lite I have at home and there's no dead spot under it. No drop in speed or reduction in signal strength according to an Android analyser app.

If you look at their published radiation pattern graphs there's nothing special about the IW models compared to 'ufo' style. The one outlier is the IW-HD that doesn't have the dip immediately to the rear.

Life would be really easy if radio waves didn’t reflect off walls. I can assure there is NO transmission directly from the middle of a UniFi Access Point. The antennae are mounted around the sides of the disc and they are designed to give a spread around the access point, not underneath it. So if you are picking up a signal under the access point it’s reflections, not by design.