Outdoor ( garden ) wifi

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Discussion

JABB

Original Poster:

3,589 posts

242 months

Monday 29th May 2023
quotequote all
We have a long-ish house ( was an old barn ) with a garden running like an L shape along the front and then to one end.
My wife wants wifi so she can walk up and down the garden on zoom calls. ( Mobile networks don't work where we are in the sticks. )
I have Ubiquity in the house, one disk at each end and it does cover one area but not the far end with the L bit.
Is there something I could put on the outside end of the building which would give comfortable coverage of out area? It would be tricky but not impossible to get a cable to the corner.

Doofus

27,863 posts

179 months

Monday 29th May 2023
quotequote all
I use a Netgear wifi booster plugged into an upstairs socket as clost to the back of the house as possible.

It gives excellent coverage up to about 20m, and drops off after that. It doesn't really reach 30m.

PositronicRay

27,389 posts

189 months

Monday 29th May 2023
quotequote all
I use a WiFi booster too. Upstairs is a good shout, but I've also used one in an outside socket during the summer.

Sheepshanks

34,436 posts

125 months

Monday 29th May 2023
quotequote all
As you’ve got Ubiquiti already then why not one of their outdoor access points?

JABB

Original Poster:

3,589 posts

242 months

Monday 29th May 2023
quotequote all
Sheepshanks said:
As you’ve got Ubiquiti already then why not one of their outdoor access points?
Something like this? https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/products/16589-ubiq...

Alex Z

1,424 posts

82 months

Monday 29th May 2023
quotequote all
JABB said:
Sheepshanks said:
As you’ve got Ubiquiti already then why not one of their outdoor access points?
Something like this? https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/products/16589-ubiq...
Get one of the 5Ghz models for a few quid more. https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/products/38029-ubiq...

Captain_Morgan

1,243 posts

65 months

Monday 29th May 2023
quotequote all
Those will work however they are designed to be used in pairs as point to point wireless link between buildings, as such they will not integrate into the unifi controller, will require manual configuration & you will have to choose between the 2.4 & 5GHz wireless bands.

I believe the current weather proof unifi offerings are the u6 pro & u6 mesh.

Of course if you aren’t troubled by manual management then you could just use a tp-link eap 225 external & give it the same ssid/pw combo as the existing ap’s

JABB

Original Poster:

3,589 posts

242 months

Monday 29th May 2023
quotequote all
OK, seems like we are on to something.
Another question, would there be any advantage in spread of signal to mount it high? Ideally I would put it on the top of the ridge so it could see all of the garden but that would then mean it needs at least 270 degree spread

I'll look at the TP now!

JABB

Original Poster:

3,589 posts

242 months

Monday 29th May 2023
quotequote all
Captain_Morgan said:
Those will work however they are designed to be used in pairs as point to point wireless link between buildings, as such they will not integrate into the unifi controller, will require manual configuration & you will have to choose between the 2.4 & 5GHz wireless bands.

I believe the current weather proof unifi offerings are the u6 pro & u6 mesh.

Of course if you aren’t troubled by manual management then you could just use a tp-link eap 225 external & give it the same ssid/pw combo as the existing ap’s
https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/products/19211-tp-link-cpe210/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwmtGjBhDhARIsAEqfDEfbSGPSk_KmepXzmGAjeNdQTww7K5zRqKnTnuPpB4KsJYCriDw4ogcaAoAvEALw_wcB
This seems inexpensive and there are a few others too. What I would want is at least 270 degree and ideally 360 degree coverage. I can't see what these have other than they have adjustable directional antennas, therefore not sure if they would work?

eliot

11,698 posts

260 months

Monday 29th May 2023
quotequote all
I would recommend 2.4ghz for the best coverage, the speed will be plenty for mobile device use.

I have a split of 2.4 for whole house use on one ssid and then specific ssid’s for 5ghz that covers certain parts of the house, things that don’t move around much and need the extra bandwidth go on 5gig, everything else on 2.4

Captain_Morgan

1,243 posts

65 months

Monday 29th May 2023
quotequote all
JABB said:
Captain_Morgan said:
Those will work however they are designed to be used in pairs as point to point wireless link between buildings, as such they will not integrate into the unifi controller, will require manual configuration & you will have to choose between the 2.4 & 5GHz wireless bands.

I believe the current weather proof unifi offerings are the u6 pro & u6 mesh.

Of course if you aren’t troubled by manual management then you could just use a tp-link eap 225 external & give it the same ssid/pw combo as the existing ap’s
https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/products/19211-tp-link-cpe210/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwmtGjBhDhARIsAEqfDEfbSGPSk_KmepXzmGAjeNdQTww7K5zRqKnTnuPpB4KsJYCriDw4ogcaAoAvEALw_wcB
This seems inexpensive and there are a few others too. What I would want is at least 270 degree and ideally 360 degree coverage. I can't see what these have other than they have adjustable directional antennas, therefore not sure if they would work?
Link doesn’t work.

JABB

Original Poster:

3,589 posts

242 months

Monday 29th May 2023
quotequote all
Captain_Morgan said:
Link doesn’t work.
https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/products/19211-tp-link-cpe210/

Captain_Morgan

1,243 posts

65 months

Monday 29th May 2023
quotequote all
The cpe 210 is the same as the unifi options you posted, it is one half of a point to point wireless bridge that only covers one band & generally have focused beam patterns to enhance there point to point performance.

That is why I specifically suggested external access points that cover both 2.4 & 5GHz with wider beam patterns.

JABB

Original Poster:

3,589 posts

242 months

Monday 29th May 2023
quotequote all
Captain_Morgan said:
The cpe 210 is the same as the unifi options you posted, it is one half of a point to point wireless bridge that only covers one band & generally have focused beam patterns to enhance there point to point performance.

That is why I specifically suggested external access points that cover both 2.4 & 5GHz with wider beam patterns.
Sorry, when I did the first search for eap225, I was getting ceiling mount.
Is this what you recommend? Is it 360 degree coverage?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/292670295028

Captain_Morgan

1,243 posts

65 months

Monday 29th May 2023
quotequote all
JABB said:
Sorry, when I did the first search for eap225, I was getting ceiling mount.
Is this what you recommend? Is it 360 degree coverage?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/292670295028
I can’t say I’ve tested how many degrees it covers sorry.

I can say that I’ve used them a couple of times and mounted against a wall I’ve seen 180 coverage easily 30-40meters

LooneyTunes

7,327 posts

164 months

Monday 29th May 2023
quotequote all
Captain_Morgan said:
Those will work however they are designed to be used in pairs as point to point wireless link between buildings, as such they will not integrate into the unifi controller, will require manual configuration & you will have to choose between the 2.4 & 5GHz wireless bands.

I believe the current weather proof unifi offerings are the u6 pro & u6 mesh.

Of course if you aren’t troubled by manual management then you could just use a tp-link eap 225 external & give it the same ssid/pw combo as the existing ap’s
U6 mesh is the indoor/outdoor version in Wi-Fi6. When you look at the specs, Pro doesn’t recommend being installed outside.

Installed a couple of the u6 mesh units week and they’re good. Smaller and less obtrusive than the wifi5 pro outdoor units we also have. About the size and shape of one of the slimline drinks cans they have in some countries.

Captain_Morgan

1,243 posts

65 months

Monday 29th May 2023
quotequote all
LooneyTunes said:
Captain_Morgan said:
Those will work however they are designed to be used in pairs as point to point wireless link between buildings, as such they will not integrate into the unifi controller, will require manual configuration & you will have to choose between the 2.4 & 5GHz wireless bands.

I believe the current weather proof unifi offerings are the u6 pro & u6 mesh.

Of course if you aren’t troubled by manual management then you could just use a tp-link eap 225 external & give it the same ssid/pw combo as the existing ap’s
U6 mesh is the indoor/outdoor version in Wi-Fi6. When you look at the specs, Pro doesn’t recommend being installed outside.

Installed a couple of the u6 mesh units week and they’re good. Smaller and less obtrusive than the wifi5 pro outdoor units we also have. About the size and shape of one of the slimline drinks cans they have in some countries.
Interesting as they appear as a alternative option to the u6 mesh for external use on unifi’s site https://uk.store.ui.com/uk/en/collections/unifi-wi...

It’s the ac mesh pro they recommend I may have miss named earlier.

mikef

5,151 posts

257 months

Monday 29th May 2023
quotequote all
I have a Ubiquiti UAP-AC-PRO disk 40 metres from the house on an outdoor Ethernet cable with the PoE injector next to the main router in the house. I also then run another outdoor Ethernet cable from that disk’s output socket another 40 metres to where I have power for another Ubiuiti router. Using the same SSID so can walk down the garden with continuous WiFi connection

JABB

Original Poster:

3,589 posts

242 months

Monday 29th May 2023
quotequote all
mikef said:
I have a Ubiquiti UAP-AC-PRO disk 40 metres from the house on an outdoor Ethernet cable with the PoE injector next to the main router in the house. I also then run another outdoor Ethernet cable from that disk’s output socket another 40 metres to where I have power for another Ubiuiti router. Using the same SSID so can walk down the garden with continuous WiFi connection
You have put disks outside?

mikef

5,151 posts

257 months

Monday 29th May 2023
quotequote all
Yes, Ubiquiti also do outdoor disks like the one I mentioned as well as other outdoor kit. That disk must be five years old, still going strong in all sorts of weather