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Wireless Bridge Recommendations

Lochie A
By Lochie A
in Networking
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i've recently moved in to a new rental and got the internet setup but the WAN connection is in the kitchen on the bench and I can't get it moved. So now my modem has to sit on my kitchen bench which is annoying but I can't change it. My computer setup is in a bedroom on the opposite end of the house to the kitchen. I have two computers and a NAS that I want to connect together with a 2.5gbe switch in the same room but also want them connected to the internet without having to run a long ethernet cable through the house to the kitchen. I was thinking about using a wireless extender to plug one side into the ethernet port on the modem and the other side to the switch in the bedroom. I was after some suggestions for ones that work well with not a lot of distance between the two antennas and with a few walls in between. My internet connection can only reach about 70 mb/s so the wireless bridge doesn't have to be fast I just don't want any drop outs. Any suggestions would be helpful, thanks.

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13 hours ago, Lochie A said:

I was thinking about using a wireless extender to plug one side into the ethernet port on the modem and the other side to the switch in the bedroom.

Do not use a "wireless extender" unless it supports 5 GHz because 2.4 GHz will have interference in a kitchen, no matter how ideal the rest of your wifi situation is.

 

I personally would not use a solution with less than wifi 6 (6 GHz band not needed, just 5 GHz) or less than QAM 1024, but wifi 5 might work okay depending on the walls.

 

There happen to be plenty of mesh wifi solutions with 2-3 APs for ~$100. I personally have ASUS ZenMini AX, and put it in AP only mode (router is "off"). TP Link is another reasonable but prolific brand, but theres many others. If you search for "wireless bridge" in stores and don't get much, then that might be because the term is more used in point to point long distance transmission.

My 4 helpful infos/guides: My 5G Home Internet (mobile) guide, PSU watt size guide, Wifi transmit power/range since WiFi 5, and making SSD benchmarks more meaningful.

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How about a long run of thin fiber-optix cable?  It would be faster, and more easy to run along edges of the ceiling and doorways.

 

And, you can remove the cable when you move to another location, and use it at a new place.

: JRE #1914 Siddarth Kara

How bad is e-waste?  Listen to that Joe Rogan episode.

 

"Now you get what you want, but do you want more?
- Bob Marley, Rastaman Vibration album 1976

 

Windows 11 will just force business to "recycle" "obscolete" hardware.  Microsoft definitely isn't bothered by this at all, and seems to want hardware produced just a few years ago to be considered obsolete.  They have also not shown any interest nor has any other company in a similar financial position, to help increase tech recycling whatsoever.  Windows 12 might be cloud-based and be a monthly or yearly fee.

 

Software suggestions


Just get f.lux [Link removed due to forum rules] so your screen isn't bright white at night, a golden orange in place of stark 6500K bluish white.

released in 2008 and still being improved.

 

Dark Reader addon for webpages.  Pick any color you want for both background and text (background and foreground page elements).  Enable the preview mode on desktop for Firefox and Chrome addon, by clicking the dark reader addon settings, Choose dev tools amd click preview mode.

 

NoScript or EFF's privacy badger addons can block many scripts and websites that would load and track you, possibly halving page load time!

 

F-droid is a place to install open-source software for android, Antennapod, RethinkDNS, Fennec which is Firefox with about:config, lots of performance and other changes available, mozilla KB has a huge database of what most of the settings do.  Most software in the repository only requires Android 5 and 6!

 

I recommend firewall apps (blocks apps) and dns filters (redirect all dns requests on android, to your choice of dns, even if overridden).  RethinkDNS is my pick and I set it to use pi-hole, installed inside Ubuntu/Debian, which is inside Virtualbox, until I go to a website, nothing at all connects to any other server.  I also use NextDNS.io to do the same when away from home wi-fi or even cellular!  I can even tether from cellular to any device sharing via wi-fi, and block anything with dns set to NextDNS, regardless if the device allows changing dns.  This style of network filtration is being overridden by software updates on some devices, forcing a backup dns provuder, such as google dns, when built in dns requests are not connecting.  Without a complete firewall setup, dns redirection itself is no longer always effective.

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23 hours ago, E-waste said:

How about a long run of thin fiber-optix cable?  It would be faster, and more easy to run along edges of the ceiling and doorways.

 

And, you can remove the cable when you move to another location, and use it at a new place.

Personally, I don't know how "easier" or less intrusive this will be compared to copper/ethernet.

 

Ethernet might be more forgiving as you tuck and bend it without compromising on signal integrity. With fibre, turn radius might become important, at which point you're not going to be able to hide much of the excess.

 

On 12/27/2024 at 10:29 PM, Lochie A said:

Any suggestions would be helpful, thanks.

Do you have coaxial runs at each end? If you do, consider MoCA.

 

Otherwise, your best bet might be WiFi, but as @NobleGamer advised, avoid products advertised as wireless extenders or range extenders if possible. Mesh will probably be the best option here if you absolutely cannot run a physical cable. However, keep in mind that mesh still has the same challenges compared to using an access point (i.e. signal degradation with walls/obstructions/interference).

 

As to which mesh system to get, that will be up to you to test. If I were doing this for myself today, I'd go with a tri- or quad-band system... maybe even one that is WiFi 7 capable. I've heard of some of the multi-band WiFi 7 mesh systems (e.g. Asus) using MLO over their wireless backhaul which, in theory, should allow for more reliable links between nodes.

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2 hours ago, Falcon1986 said:

Do you have coaxial runs at each end?

No, there is no cable connecting the kitchen to the bedroom at all unfortunately. 

 

2 hours ago, Falcon1986 said:

Personally, I don't know how "easier" or less intrusive this will be compared to copper/ethernet.

Yeah i'm not sure about fibre, I was thinking more about it would probably be more expensive by the time you buy the transceivers for each end and the rj45 converters but i didn't even think about minimum bend radius.

 

2 hours ago, Falcon1986 said:

As to which mesh system to get, that will be up to you to test

I've been looking at mesh systems and I've found the asus ones. I've mainly just been looking at the ones I can buy in stores near me rather than online to avoid shipping delays. I've found the Asus ZenWIFI XD5 which has wifi 6 which I guess could be alright, the only thing is that its $449 AUD 

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16 hours ago, Lochie A said:

I've been looking at mesh systems and I've found the asus ones. I've mainly just been looking at the ones I can buy in stores near me rather than online to avoid shipping delays. I've found the Asus ZenWIFI XD5 which has wifi 6 which I guess could be alright, the only thing is that its $449 AUD

You can always return it within the store's return period if you find that it doesn't perform as you want.

 

But hoping for the best.

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Just having a look around I found the Ubiquiti airMAX NanoStation AC Loco Indoor/Outdoor CPE which I can get for $89, I know it's designed for long range distances but I was wondering if maybe something like this could work inside for a short distance. The maximum speed is only 450 mbps but my internet can only reach 70 mbps so the internet connection should still be the bottleneck. 

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3 hours ago, Lochie A said:

Just having a look around I found the Ubiquiti airMAX NanoStation AC Loco Indoor/Outdoor CPE which I can get for $89, I know it's designed for long range distances but I was wondering if maybe something like this could work inside for a short distance. The maximum speed is only 450 mbps but my internet can only reach 70 mbps so the internet connection should still be the bottleneck. 

No.

 

The reason these are for outdoor point-to-point WiFi applications is because they require [ideally] good line of sight, no intervening obstructions, and height. Indoors, you might get people walking within the signal path, and you'll lose a lot of bandwidth from ceiling and floor being in the Fresnel zone.

 

Also, PtP WiFi uses directional antennae (it's not omnidirectional like other APs), which focuses more of the signal in a certain direction. Some people might be sensitive to this.

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