network Network Extension

[Sir_Awesome]

So i have a wifi network in my house that doesn't reach my office hardly at all. I have a network switch in there for all my devices hooked straight into the network. My question is, is there a device I could attach to my switch in my office to broadcast the wifi network or even make a new one is fine. Just something to get my wireless only devices working in here again

[KuJoe]

Go grab a Ubiquiti UniFi AP, any one of them. This is exactly what I do for my office and my living room since my router is in a closet in the center of the house. Be aware that you'll need either a PoE injector or a PoE switch, but the 802.3af injectors are pretty cheap on Amazon and depending on the model AP some include the injectors. This is also what Linus recommended on one of his videos and it's the only thing that worked for me after trying dozens of "repeaters" and "extenders".

[Sir_Awesome]

i was hoping for something a little cheaper maybe? It litterally only needs to fill a 12x12 room

[KuJoe]

Just now, Sir_Awesome said:

i was hoping for something a little cheaper maybe? It litterally only needs to fill a 12x12 room

I've tried all of the $10-$40 options I could find, none of them worked for more than a week. If you want something you can set once and never touch it again then spend the $60 now because I've spent well over $200 trying to solve the same problem you're having.

 

Here's what I use (one on each end of the house): http://www.amazon.com/UBIQUITI-NETWORKS-UAP-IW-US-UNIFI--WALL/dp/B017MPO1ZK

 

Here's what you probably need (and a similar model to what Linus reviewed): http://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Networks-Enterprise-Unifi-UAP/dp/B00HXT8R2O

[KuJoe]

Actually, I just thought of another device that I keep in my backpack that I'm testing out right now. I'll let you know if it works or not (and if it does work, I can't guarantee for how long or the same network performance as the Ubiquiti devices).

[Sir_Awesome]

okay, what about something like this? http://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-NanoStation-locoM2-2-4GHz-Outdoor/dp/B004EGI3CI/ref=lp_1194486_1_17?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1456368857&sr=1-17

 

[KuJoe]

OK, here's another option for you: http://www.amazon.com/HooToo-Wireless-Performance-TripMate-Hotspot/dp/B00HZWOQZ6

I have it plugged into my switch via a CAT5 cable and set it up as a new wireless AP essentially (new SSID, password, and DHCP server) but it's working fine for now. I'm not getting the same Speedtest.net results than I do on my Ubiquiti AP but it's not bad either (it's about 20% slower for both download and upload). Like I said, I can't attest to how long this will run without issues (it's only been plugged in for 15 minutes and it's quite a bit warmer than my switch). For $16 it might be worth giving it a shot and if you're able to leave it unplugged when you're not at home it might last a while. I'm keeping mine plugged in to see how long it'll work for my phones and tablets before needing a reboot.

 

21 minutes ago, Sir_Awesome said:

okay, what about something like this? http://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-NanoStation-locoM2-2-4GHz-Outdoor/dp/B004EGI3CI/ref=lp_1194486_1_17?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1456368857&sr=1-17

 

I have no experience with their airMax stuff unfortunately.

[skywake]

Dlink make some pretty decent and cheap access points. Check those out. If it's just about range then even N300 will do!

[NetworkPeet]

13 hours ago, Sir_Awesome said:

So i have a wifi network in my house that doesn't reach my office hardly at all. I have a network switch in there for all my devices hooked straight into the network. My question is, is there a device I could attach to my switch in my office to broadcast the wifi network or even make a new one is fine. Just something to get my wireless only devices working in here again

for a cheap solution get a simple wifi AP -- connect it to your router/L3 Switch Interface - and set a static route to the new subnet of the ap at that interface of your router/L3 Switch

[KuJoe]

Surprisingly the HooToo is still going strong even after my phone and tablet have been using it since my last post (13 hours 31 minutes). It's still as warm as it was last night, but not any warmer so I guess that's good.