Wireless for Home

[Shadow_Walker]

Anyone got any recommendations for wireless at home and what i should buy. I currently have one apple airport extreme located in a room downstairs. The issue is the house walls are really thick and the door is usually kept closed so the dogs can't get in. It means that upstairs wifi can be a bit slow at times and even downstairs when people are streaming.

 

It is possible to run cat6 cables outside and into the attic if need be to get an access point up there. Just wondering what equipment you would recommend as i have looked at ubiquiti but wanted an opinion from everyone else.

[mikkydoos]

Powerline - Cheap Powerline Deals | Currys

[synaesthesia]

Unifi without a shadow of doubt. Will muller everything else on price/performance.

[Shadow_Walker]

Powerline - Cheap Powerline Deals | Currys

 

Tried them and hate them.

 

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Unifi without a shadow of doubt. Will muller everything else on price/performance.

Which one would you go for and would i need their router?

[synaesthesia]

No, you can use them entirely standalone. You'd need to set up your PC as a software controller to get it/them up and running but once done, it doesn't need it to run. Personally I'd go for one of the new range but they do cost a fair old whack. A pair of single standard points will be more than enough for the average household although probably wise to get a newer AC model.

[dhicks]

Anyone got any recommendations for wireless at home and what i should buy.

 

Could try Google's snazzy new wireless kit - the access points support wireless mesh networking, so you should be able to extend the network around the house.

[LeeCSE]

Just to adding onto synaesthesia suggestion of Unifi, although you don't need their router if do pair it with the Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X you can easily add separate VLAN's for IOT Devices, Guest users etc. And it's only around £50.

[Joanne]

I use those free Meraki APs you get when you attend a webinar. I've had one of over 3 years and it still updates the software and functions.

[Shadow_Walker]

Just to adding onto synaesthesia suggestion of Unifi, although you don't need their router if do pair it with the Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X you can easily add separate VLAN's for IOT Devices, Guest users etc. And it's only around £50.

Thanks but I don't see the need for doing that for home in my opinion.

[LeeCSE]

Thanks but I don't see the need for doing that for home in my opinion.

 

Fair enough, I'm also going be updating my home wireless shortly and I've always been concerned with security of my IOT Devices (I probably am being a little paranoid I know!) so for me putting IOT devices on a separate VLAN is perfect.

[steveking]

Unifi without a shadow of doubt. Will muller everything else on price/performance.

 

I got fed up of years of various rubbish access points and 3 years ago I gave in and bought a unifi ( https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005VSY0VQ/ ). Coverage is much better than anything I had before, I get full signal everywhere and even in my back yard which no previous WAP managed. It's been rock solid, and I have a limited speed guest AP without routing to my internal network running along with my normal access point. I run the controller on my linux server, but that's not necessary if you only have one AP and don't want to log. I have it mounted in my hallway, and most people just assume it's a large smoke alarm.

[Shadow_Walker]

Thanks everyone, looks like ubiquiti is the one then. Just a couple of questions which one would you get from amazon then or any place cheaper and do you have to mount them to a ceiling or wall?

[steveking]

Mine is wall mounted, and it works fine around the house

[Shadow_Walker]

Mine is wall mounted, and it works fine around the house

I dont really want to mount them if possible but if i have too then i will try and put them in a position where you can barley notice them.

[jmak]

The units are pretty discreet if you ceiling mount them - it's the cable feeding them that I find more difficult to hide. However, I've found them so much better than anything else I've had, you can pretty much chuck them anywhere. Unlike in classrooms/offices where there are loads of potential obstructions (bodies, dozens of active wireless devices) in most houses you'll only have a couple of people/active devices in line from the WAP at a time, so it doesn't seem to cause an issue.

[Guest obsidianpillar]

Hope you enjoy UniFi when you get them installed. We currently have an AC-Lite and an "Original" AP in our home.

 

The AC is working fine, and was "needed" when we upgraded our Broadband as we were only achieving 50 Megabits on our 200 MB connection as the NIC is only 10/100 - something to consider if your going for the "Legacy" model. Since installing the AC-Lite, it's been fine. We've used the AC centrally in the house and we get signal everywhere, however installed the legacy AP on the south-side of the house to extend the signal into the Garden which is more for convenience than speed, at the end of our garden, we still receive full strength and achieve the full 50 MB/s we had when it was located in the house.

 

We're very happy and since purchased the UniFi Security Gateway and their UniFi Switch to compliment the setup as well as a CloudKey to run the Guest Portal. We couldn't be happier, no drop-outs or complaints whatsoever.

[XiJ]

Installed mine at the top of the stairs. The cable goes straight into the loft and my PoE switch up there.

While my virgin router wireless did a tremendous job from its living room base, with the AC-lite I get full coverage in every room of the house and the back garden. Good stuff.

We use them at work and mine is on our cloud controller - so I can see how much data goes through it. I was surprised how much we use!

[IanT]

got two hp msm422 from ebay - can run in controlled and standalone mode