Help....please!

[Gangbusters wife]

Okay, so I lack knowledge of current electronics, lingo and abbreviations. I guess that makes me techno illiterate. 

 

Here's what I really need help with. I have a Ring System which consists of a Ring Doorbell 2, 2 Spotlight cams (front and back of house (hooked up to solar panels)) and a Ring Chime Pro. Our home has aluminum siding on it and I'm really having difficulties maintaining good Wifi connection. I have tried to move the Chime Pro around to get a better signal, to no avail. Not to mention, every time I unplug the Chime Pro, it takes me 20 minutes or more to get it back online. We have Google Fiber and it has excellent service. 

 

There are so many new gadgets out there to improve Wifi. I've seen Wifi Extenders, Wifi powerline kits and of course, modems. The house has many walls and 3 people using Wifi. Everyone in the house is close to the modem. The house is old and has few and far between outlets. 

 

The question is....what can I do to make these cameras work properly without paying an arm and a leg to do so? I've tried looking it all up, but end up getting more confused than I was before doing so. 

 

Thank you so much for any help you can provide. 

[RasmusDC]

an external extender, is the best way to go, but it depends on what you believe that an arm and a leg is?..

 

Personally i run a UBNT setup with 2 Accesspoints, it gives me enough range, but i you could drag an ethernet cable outside, and just extend it with a outside accesspoint, for me that would be the best solution. 

 

but outdoor equipment, might need that you inject POE (power over ethernet)

 

but that makes it really easy because it is only one cable..

 

i also feel that my Ring setup is a bit picky with wifi, the cams complains a bit, but an internal inwall AP that extended my NanoHD solved my issues.

[Gangbusters wife]

What do you mean by external extender? I'm looking to spend less than $60 USD. What is a UBNT? The Spotlight Cams have no available way to connect to any hardwire or anything like that. They are battery operated with Wifi connection only. 

 

I'm very techno illiterate, sorry. What does "internal in wall AP that extended my Nano HD" mean? I don't understand the abbreviations. How do I know if I need Nano HD? Can you give me a link to explain what to look for? I have an Ethernet connected to my son's Xbox One, because he games constantly and complains about lag from wifi.

 

I really appreciate your help. 

[Donut417]

16 hours ago, Gangbusters wife said:

What do you mean by external extender? I'm looking to spend less than $60 USD. What is a UBNT? The Spotlight Cams have no available way to connect to any hardwire or anything like that. They are battery operated with Wifi connection only. 

 

I'm very techno illiterate, sorry. What does "internal in wall AP that extended my Nano HD" mean? I don't understand the abbreviations. How do I know if I need Nano HD? Can you give me a link to explain what to look for? I have an Ethernet connected to my son's Xbox One, because he games constantly and complains about lag from wifi.

 

I really appreciate your help. 

An AP is an Access point, Think wireless router but without the router, its basically just the wireless radios. In larger homes its best to use multiple AP's wired back to the router to get full WiFi coverage. @RasmusDC is using a setup from a company called Ubiquti Networks, they make prosumer/Small business grade and even some Enterprise grade equipment. I have seen on their Website that they have Access points that can fit in to the wall. My sister has the ring door bell and one of the security light cameras. She purchased a Google Mesh Router system, the 3 unit model so that she had WiFi strength for the security light camera. I can say that this would be way over your budget because the setup cost her like $300 USD.

 

17 hours ago, Gangbusters wife said:

Wifi Extenders

Pro's

1. Extends WiFi
2. Should be simple to setup

Cons 

1. Cuts bandwidth in half 
2. Needs to be placed close enough to router for good signal 

17 hours ago, Gangbusters wife said:

Wifi powerline kits

Pros

1. Easy to setup
2. If wiring in wall is good will most likely be more stable than WiFi 
3. Can some times achieve faster speeds 

Cons

1. Expensive ish
2. Poor wiring means slow speeds to not working at all

17 hours ago, Gangbusters wife said:

modems

OK so people get confused here. Modems are basically the piece of equipment that allows you access to the world wide web. They are different from routers, as generally a standard modem has a hook up for the ISP wiring and 1 Ethernet port for a device connected to the internet. What you might be thinking about is a Gateway or router. A router allows you to share a single IP address given to you buy your ISP between multiple computers, and most routers will provide some WiFi connectivity. A gateway is a modem and router in one box, this is what most ISP's give their customers. Buying a new gateway, modem, router some times can help but not always. As WiFi is hugely affected by the environment is used in, Walls, other devices on the same frequencies, and even the weather to an extent can affect WiFi. 

[Gangbusters wife]

@Donut417

 

Thank you so much for explaining in layman terms- I completely understand what you wrote!  

23 hours ago, RasmusDC said:

i also feel that my Ring setup is a bit picky with wifi, the cams complains a bit, but an internal inwall AP that extended my NanoHD solved my issues.

Is this what he's suggesting: https://store.ui.com/collections/wireless/products/unifi-in-wall-hd-1  ? Or 

https://store.ui.com/collections/wireless/products/inwall-ap ? Or https://store.ui.com/collections/wireless/products/unifi-ac-mesh-ap ?

 

The Google Mesh Router system looks amazing! Is it already out? 

 

I'm unsure of how good the wiring of this house is. What would you recommend that I use? My husband and I discussed the cost and knowing the tech life is here to stay, we may look at something more pricey in order to make everyone happy and safe (long story). I really like our Ring system, but I need to make sure it's working at its optimal performance. 

 

I love that you post: 

'You ever notice that many establishments have a sign that as "No Shirt, No Shoes, No service"? They never say anything about pants............ You know what that implies. You don't have to wear pants.'

 

I have said that for years and glad to see someone else thought about it. 

 

Thank you @RasmusDC and @Donut417 for your quick response. You both are awesome! 

[RasmusDC]

I can see now that explaining what i had was not really smart of me, and i am sorry.

 

If you want to go UBNT, it is going to be too expensive for you.. 

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XY1GHP2/ref=psdc_1194486_t1_B00N2RO63U

 

this could be something simple for you, i don´t know if there is a POE injector in the box, but there should be..

 

so what you do is find your router, put a CAT cable from that into the POE injector, and then pull an ethernet cord to the access point outside, there will now both be data and power in that cord, and then setup the network, it is not fancy and MESH based, like a UBNT system, so it will be it´s own wifi (you can give it the same name, so items will switch over)..

 

But it will work, and support your ring setup. they have solutions with up to 15KM range, but i guess this should do..

 

if you end up buying into the ubnt solutions, they do become expensive, this is an entry level integration.

 

 

[Gangbusters wife]

@RasmusDC

Thank you so much for the information. No worries about your first response. I will discuss your information with my husband, along with the cost. I really appreciate your assistance.