no budget home wifi solution

[kaspermv]

i am working on a wifi setup for my uncle and they just built their new 2 story house with cat7 cables run everywhere but he really only uses wireless. the house is build near the beach so they needed to make a full concrete seperation therefore the wifi cuts completely when moveing to the upper floor.

 

they are not "power users" but they want speed and amazing coverage. the budget is undefined but they need a soloution that reguires zero babysitting as well as seamless transfer between accespoints.

 

what do you guys think is a viable solution. my first thougt was a ubiquiti setup but i dont really have any basis for that choice other than linuses use.

 

ps. products available in denmark is very much preffered.

[ttam]

Just buy a nice router.

 

Download a free wifi scanning app on your mobile and find any dead spots (if any) - I have a 5600sqft house (huge) and a single, centrally placed router that gives 90% at the very edge of the house from my 2gb internet connection.

 

If there are any.. since the house is wired.. just place a access point in that location.

[jwworker201]

If you want a really cheap solution you could pick up 2 of these Xiaomi routers. They are available for around 7€ on eBay. 

But I would advice the same as ttam, a good router in a central location should do the job. My dad has a AVM FRITZ!Box 7590 (don't know if they are sold in denmark, also costs 200€) and it covers his 3 story house plus garden pretty good.

[kaspermv]

first of all think my title was unclear. as in they have no fixed budget

 

with that out of the way... i tried a asus RT-AC88U and that was unable to cover the corners with fast enough wifi.

 

my problem with just adding a AP is the lack of seamless handoff. theyre kindda looking for an enterprise or school type of network if that makes sence.

 

thank you so much for the hastely replies

[jwworker201]

22 minutes ago, kaspermv said:

my problem with just adding a AP is the lack of seamless handoff. theyre kindda looking for an enterprise or school type of network if that makes sence.

So I'd go for something from Ubiquiti networks. They have great APs, I have two of them Running here and the handoff is seamless. Only downside is that you need a controller as they can't run standalone. You can solve this as a VM or you can buy the Ubiquiti Cloud Stick (which is basically only an ARM linux box running the controller software). You should also be able to use a Raspberry pi or a similar board as a controller as there should be an ARM-Version of the controller software.

• one AP of the ac-series is around 90-150€ (depending on which model you get)
• cloud key = 80€

single board arm computer (e.g. Raspberry pi) = 10-35€

EDIT:

you still need a router/modem combo so that you have a DCHP/DNS-Server on your Network. The modem provided by your ISP should be reasonable for this.

[kaspermv]

so lets say i went for two Ubiquiti Unifi AP-AC Pros and the cloud stick. would i be up and running without any other hardware?

 

i seem to recall linus useing a sort of router box in his pimp my wifi episode. is that nessesary or can i use a standard isp router for the dhcp assignment

[jwworker201]

1 minute ago, kaspermv said:

is that nessesary or can i use a standard isp router for the dhcp assignment

Yes, you still need a router for dchp assigment. The box of your ISP should do the job
Even if you would buy a Ubiquiti EdgeRouter you would still need a modem to translate your DSL/Cable signal.

I'd go for the ISP-Box it's free and can do everything you need.

[jwworker201]

23 minutes ago, jwworker201 said:

you need a controller

also note that you need to assign the controller a static ip. Either you assign it in the dchp server of the modem or you set a static ip on the cloud stick (or both)