Wifi can't reach back of house. Looking for the best way to extend range

[Railgun]

Our Apple Time Capsule router is incapable of sending a decent wifi signal from one end of the house all the way to the other end and through a brick wall (not too surprised, really). It CAN send a signal through, but the connection often drops. I've been looking into a few ways of extending the range but I need some help.

 

The best option I can think of would be some sort of access point that would plug into the Time Capsule and sit in the same general area, but be capable of sending a signal stronger than the Time Capsule itself. Strong enough to reach the outer rims of the house. Is this reasonable? And if so, what access point would you guys recommend we get?

 

Thanks

 

 

[Oshino Shinobu]

It is possible, but physical obstructions like brick walls are quite tough for access points to get past. 

 

I would recommend a Ubiquiti UniFi AC Pro, they're fantastic. 

[Railgun]

7 minutes ago, Oshino Shinobu said:

It is possible, but physical obstructions like brick walls are quite tough for access points to get past. 

 

I would recommend a Ubiquiti UniFi AC Pro, they're fantastic. 

That one looks good. Is there a cheaper one that can also perform well? I forgot to mention that the brick wall isn't 100% solid. There are several holes for either entry ways or windows. It's also possible that I might be able to set the device inside one of the windows, though I can't guarantee that one

[Cuddlez]

Can't u use old routers to extend range?

[Railgun]

1 minute ago, Cuddlez said:

Can't u use old routers to extend range?

Not really. I kind of need the device to stay in the same location which means I need something that simply outputs a stronger signal than the Time Capsule.

[electrolux]

 

13 minutes ago, Oshino Shinobu said:

It is possible, but physical obstructions like brick walls are quite tough for access points to get past. 

 

I would recommend a Ubiquiti UniFi AC Pro, they're fantastic. 

My brother installed those at work, they are fantastic especially in terms of software control but I'd say they are slightly overkill for a home setup. Have you considered a powerline networking solution?

[Oshino Shinobu]

5 minutes ago, Railgun said:

That one looks good. Is there a cheaper one that can also perform well? I forgot to mention that the brick wall isn't 100% solid. There are several holes for either entry ways or windows. It's also possible that I might be able to set the device inside one of the windows, though I can't guarantee that one

You could also look at the UAP AC Lite rather than pro. Range is slightly less, throughput is slightly lower and has no 802.3af/at support. For most people those won't make too much of a difference. (the lack of 802.3af/at support kills it for me, but most people aren't too fussed about PoE anyway.)

 

If you have a spare router lying around, you could put it in AP mode if it has one and see how it works. 

[Railgun]

1 minute ago, electrolux said:

 

My brother installed those at work, they are fantastic especially in terms of software control but I'd say they are slightly overkill for a home setup. Have you considered a powerline networking solution?

We're trying to avoid that since we don't have a lot of outlets and none of them are in favorable locations.

[Railgun]

1 minute ago, Oshino Shinobu said:

You could also look at the UAP AC Lite rather than pro. Range is slightly less, throughput is slightly lower and has no 802.3af/at support. For most people those won't make too much of a difference. (the lack of 802.3af/at support kills it for me, but most people aren't too fussed about PoE anyway. 

 

If you have a spare router lying around, you could put it in AP mode if it has one and see how it works. 

Just found the light model being advertised right there next to the pro model. I'll go with that one.

 

Thanks for the help everyone

[electrolux]

4 minutes ago, Railgun said:

Just found the light model being advertised right there next to the pro model. I'll go with that one.

 

Thanks for the help everyone

Just wondering, does your nickname come from Tanki Online by any chance?

[Oshino Shinobu]

7 minutes ago, electrolux said:

 

My brother installed those at work, they are fantastic especially in terms of software control but I'd say they are slightly overkill for a home setup. Have you considered a powerline networking solution?

 

Where does your nickname come from BTW?

I figure they're something that will last a long time, especially if OP ends up getting more into networking and wants to expand with more Ubiquiti equipment. I've personally fallen in love with Ubiuiti's wireless equipment. I currently use three standard UAPs (plan to replace them with Pros at some point) and an Outdoor AP+. Everything that I've used from Ubiquiti just works and works well. 

 

Username and display picture are both Oshino Shinobu from the Monogatari Series (if you were asking me, not OP)

[Railgun]

2 hours ago, electrolux said:

Just wondering, does your nickname come from Tanki Online by any chance?

Lol I've been asked if it's from that before. It's actually from an anime series called A Certain Scientific Railgun. The main character (Misaka Mikoto) has the ability to manipulate electricity which also means she can manipulate magnetism. She uses a magnetic field to fire a coin from her hand at extremely high speeds, thus giving her the nickname Railgun

[skywake]

The suggestions for APs in the thread are fine, like a lot of people I've also had good experience with Ubiquiti's gear. It's cheap for what you get and as far as consumer grade gear goes there aren't many options for PoE powered, easily mountable, decent looking APs. But in terms of WiFi range good gear alone isn't necessarily going to solve it. So here's an unintentionally buzzfeed-like list of things you need to consider:

 

1. Placement

Try to position your AP in the middle of the area you want to cover. It sounds obvious but it's the main reason why people have coverage issues. Like you said you're trying to send the signal all the way from one end of the house to the other. If the AP was in the middle of your house the signal would only have to travel through half the house to get to the edges. Very hard to do if you have an all-in-one router, not so hard with something like the Ubiquiti AC Pro/Lite people are recommending you.

 

2. Height

Almost as important as placement. The more stuff a WiFi signal has to go through the worse the strength of that signal at the end. In a house that means furniture and appliances. Fridges, TVs, cupboards, shelving units, couches and even people will block some of the signal. Putting your AP either high up on a wall or on the ceiling will let the signal avoid a lot of that. The best part about this one is that it's super easy and costs almost nothing to do.

 

3. More APs

If you can't get the perfect placement to cover the house with one AP? Get more. For example I'm lazy and couldn't be bothered doing another Ethernet run to the perfect central location for an AP. So instead I have one AP near the front of the house and a second one near the Ethernet run I had already done where the WiFi signal was the weakest. With that setup I have a very strong 2.4Ghz signal across the house from one AP or the other and a decent 5Ghz signal over about 2/3rds of it.