Quote:
Originally Posted by flamesrule_kipper34
I have a great Ubiquiti system set up at home with a Dream Machine Pro SE and U6 AP's for inside.
My issue is I don't have eithernet going into the garage and need to boost signal into the garage (it's quite good in the backyard).
I'd like to basically have an access point of some kind in my backyard that can piggyback off of one of the AP's on the main level and boost/send the signal to the garage for connectivity but this access point won't have any ethernet able to connect to it as I don't have ethernet in this part of the house either.
What's my best option here? Can I get a U6 Mesh and connect that outside without ethernet in some way to do what I'm looking for and if so how? Any additional accessories I'd need?
Thanks.
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The best option depends on your restrictions/limitations, wifi speed in garage and budget. Because you're using a UDM SE, instead of limited options, you have a plethora of additional options to do what you're trying to do. It's a dizzying amount of options, but it allows you to select the exact solution you need/want to deploy. If you don't know what you need, it's adding a ton of confusion to the situation.
Option 1: Get two bridge units (beam/station units?) to wifi bridge, then add another AP inside garage connected to the bridge unit (3 additional pieces of hardware + POE plug?). Probably most expensive option, but you'll get to continue having very high speeds in garage that you get in house and it's mostly just plugging things in position. It's basically guaranteed to work, but this is probably serious overkill.
Option 2: Get another AP (ie: U6 extender or mesh?) and set it up to the garage or outdoors and which wirelessly connects to an AP in your house (1 piece of hardware + POE plug). You may need to reposition an AP. Not too expensive, you might get stable and passable internet connection, but real speed depends on your internet package, distance to garage, interference etc. I honestly don't know how well these units can communicate and amplify signal, so I don't know if you'll get an answer as to whether it works until you try it out.
Option 3: Buy a more powerful AP/reposition AP to be closer to garage but broadcasting from indoors (1x more expensive AP such as U6/U7 or in wall?); issue is still broadcasting through multiple layers of concrete plus other stuff that decreases signal so it's not guaranteed to work. This is the least amount of work of the options to do, but it's not guaranteed to be the improvement you need.
Option 4: Buy an outdoor AP and install it (1 piece of hardware such as U7 outdoor or swiss army knife, no POE because you have UDM SE, but you may need to pull ethernet line through the walls and drill a hole to install outdoors). Similar to option 3, but you reduce the interference and walls you have to broadcast through. Bonus I guess is you get really good wifi outdoors as well as passable/decent in garage, but it's also the most complicated install of all options. I assume the APs are doing OK broadcasting through one wall, but with 2 walls it's an issue. So an outdoor AP continues that trend of just broadcasting through a single wall and expecting the signal decrease isn't enough to be annoying. You mentioned that your backyard has good wifi, so I believe there is optimism in this option.
I think these options range from $150-600 excluding any additional work beyond wall mounting you may need to do (ie: Pull cable, drilling holes etc.) that may need to be done. For some, upgrading a phone plan at a cost of $10-20 a month and tethering in the garage may make more sense than spending $200+ on additional hardware.
You basically mentioned option 2 via U6 extender or mesh which is probably around $200-300 options, but IMO those are the most uncertain in terms of the current proposed solutions. Option 3 is basically the same as 2 but indoors/positioned closer to garage instead of an AP/extender at the garage or outdoors at a similar cost. You can try and pull ethernet through the walls or buy a 50-100ft premade cable and do what you can to get that AP closer. The issue is that signal can get messed up easily depending on what it's broadcasting through and every situation is unique. I have an AP on the main floor. I can walk 30-40ft further away from the AP upstairs and get 2-3x the speed. I assume the tile and heated floor wiring in the bathroom messes up the signal far more than just wood and drywall in the next room.
Option 1 is probably closer to $500+ in stuff for bridge units plus a U6 lite, but it's basically guaranteed to work with the fastest final speeds in your garage. But if circumstances change, then you have extra specialized equipment you may not be able to redeploy.
I think you can do option 4 for around $150-300 and because you said wifi in backyard is good, I think you can be optimistic about it being what you need and perhaps more, but it needs the most prep work in doing outdoor work and/or pulling cable to the outdoor location.