I have the typical home internet with router inside my house that works great. The router is set up near a glass sliding door, so the signal actually works pretty well outdoors. I have a detached metal building workshop that I need a way to get wifi inside. The building is only about 30-40ft from the back door that has the router next to it, so I actually get a decent signal from the front of the building, and even when I have the roll up doors open. The problem I’m having is getting any signal through the metal. I need some sort of repeater (I think) that captures the signal outside, and has a separate wired repeater (or router?) that I can place inside the building to get signal inside. I found something on Amazon that I believe would work, but it’s definitely on the more expensive side, and seems a bit overkill for what I need. I just want to be able to use the internet and stream music so nothing too demanding. Maybe a YouTube video on my phone when I need to look up some how to videos. There are a lot of devices out there and I’m hoping someone with more knowledge can recommend a more budget friendly alternative. Thanks
Here’s a pic of the thing that I believe will work:
Building to building bridge.
Don’t waste your money on repeaters, can you run a coaxial or Ethernet so you can install an Access Point ?
Run a wire or go with line of sight microwave or whatever the standard is for that nowadays. I think ubiquiti makes a bunch of good stuff for it
Depending on how the 2 buildings are wired electrically, you may be able to use powerline ethernet extenders with a router in AP mode or just an inexpensive AP. I’ve had decent luck with them in the past.
PtP is best.
Direct burial cat6, a shovel and an AP or spare router with AP mode
If you can run the wire for this outside you can run an ethernet cable outside and get a used point-to-point ubiquiti set on eBay…
That’s what I would do… 🤷
I know it has been mentioned at least once but your best bet is to get some kind of p2p bridge set up, I also recommend Ubiquiti as I’ve been using it for years.
Here is a lot of 3 nanobeams (you only need 2 but hey, a spare unit is always good) on ebay - https://www.ebay.com/itm/166387429389?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=S7op1P-wSV6&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=6BvfzwVFQsO&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
You will need two 24v PoE adapters as they aren’t included but are cheap https://store.ui.com/us/en/pro/products/u-poe-af
And you can get mounting accessories from Ubiquiti’s website if you want them. https://store.ui.com/us/en/products/nbe-m5-16
Then just connect some kind of Access Point or old router at the other end for wifi access (if using an old router TURN OFF any routing/NAT/DHCP (aka bridged or AP mode) on the router and plug into one of the 1-4 ports and not WAN/Internet port unless the router specifically says to when bridged (if will be obvious if it says it))
House modem/router>–wired ethernet to nanobeam–> house nanobeam (in AP mode) )))wireless link((( bldg nanobeam (in station mode)>–wired ethernet to AP/Old Bridged Router–> AP/old bridged Router }}}wifi for building
While this route can be a bit more expensive depending on what equipment you get and a bit more involved, you’re going to have a MUCH better experience than using some kind of repeater.
Edit: spelling and formatting
250 for this bs is crazy wtf😭😂😂
You get good signal outside the shop, or with the doors open. If you’ve got an old WiFi router sitting around I would use that as your “repeater” … Kinda.
Personally. I’d hack together something fun, partially for fun, partially for cost savings. Mostly for the fun though.
Old router outside the shop, in a plastic junction box with a hole drilled into the shop where you connect a low cost access point. Place the old router into “media bridge” mode so it basically just receives WiFi and outputs wired to that access point inside that is then your new WiFi.
Parts needed: wireless router (AC is probably plenty and you probably know someone with a spare for free), plastic junction box to hold it, wireless access point (WAP).
Install conduit, run fiber with media converters. Fiber is so easy u can trim it out with a pair of scissors and slap on a mechanical end and would still be 100x better than the money ur wasting on a “repeater”.
Ubiquiti 5AC loco PtP. Basically a wireless Ethernet cable. At 30-40ft, these will be rock solid, probably even through a thick forest of trees.
Do these require a controller?
With only two of them, no. They can be set up stand alone. Controller certainly makes set up easier, but the controller doesn’t have to stay online.
Mesh stuff *could* work, but there is a good chance it will be janky. If cable isn’t an option, then point-2-point wireless is the second best option. It’s basically similar to mesh, but with (1) separate communication channel for “backhaul”, i.e. from the shed to the house, and between the access point and the clients, i.e. inside the shed. Further, (2) you can have separate, directional antennas for the backhaul. I’m pretty sure you will be happy with that.
However if what you want is just to use YouTube and some music on your phone, why not just use mobile data? 4G / 5G is pretty good!
I dont get cell signal inside the shed either
Would be easier to set up a PTP and then run a cable inside with a AP.
I have an Asus AX56U (shed) in a mesh with an AX88U (house). The shed is 65 ft away and I just have the AX56U inside on a shelf, no external antenna outside the shed.
I haven’t had any issues.