![]() ![]() Will WiFi extenders and access points survive outdoors?Īs you may have anticipated, outdoors access points look very different than the indoors ones, well, with the exception of Ubiquiti APs, but we’ll talk more about that in a minute. And let’s not forget that you can’t beat SMB or enterprise-grade hardware. ![]() This way, you should be able to cover a few dozen feet (or more) outside your home without spending a fortune. So, the secondary access point will be positioned somewhere in the range of the first AP, but far enough as to broadcast its own signal without overlapping with the client devices inside the house. In the case of Ubiquiti, they call it Uplink (rightfully so). Ubiquiti, TP-Link, Netgear, EnGenius, Zyxel, all offer the possibility to use some form of the mesh technology. Then, make sure that the AP is positioned on the external walls. The beauty of this approach is that you get to power on the AP using PoE, so no need to use power cables. ![]() Connect the switch to the router and one access point to the Ethernet switch using a fairly long Ethernet cable. Get an inexpensive unmanaged PoE switch and a pair of Ubiquiti access points (you can choose the nanoHD if you prefer WiFi 5 or the U6-LR for the WiFi 6 standard). Like I already mentioned, I know you hate cables outdoors, but hear me out. That’s because you connect the access point via Ethernet cable (as well as a power cable, if necessary) and you get the full available bandwidth to serve your wireless clients. I think this is the best solution by far. Extend the WiFi range outdoors with access points You can take a step forward and go with WiFi 6E since it will open up an entire new frequency band, but this is more of an option in the future, when compatible client devices will be more widespread. I did a full analysis on whether WiFi 6 improves range and the conclusion is that it definitely can. That’s because the new WiFi standard is built to deal a lot better with interference and far-away client devices won’t slow down the network. What I would suggest if you’re willing to go this route is to use at least a dual-band WiFi extender and, if possible to try to upgrade your network and the main client devices to WiFi 6. And speaking from personal preference, I hate installing cables both indoors and outdoors. At the same time, I won’t deny the practicality of such a device where cables are difficult to install. That’s because the WiFi extenders need to communicate with the router, as well as with the clients back and fourth, so a lot of the available bandwidth is simply wasted. That being said, after setting up both the Mikrotik NetMetal ac2 and >the DrayTek VigorAP 920R, it became painfully obvious that the bandwidth was more than halved and the throughput wasn’t nearly as good as it would have been if these devices were operating in access point mode. After I did test the EAP610-Outdoors, I saw that it didn’t really support the Extender Mode, despite the initial claims from some retailers. I have dedicated an entire article for the best outdoor WiFi extenders and I am actually currently preparing to check the TP-Link EAP610-Outdoor to see how well it works as a WiFi extender.
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