[ale] [Semi-OT] Second WiFi in the house?

[DJ-Pfulio]

On 2020-10-09 11:46, Leam Hall via Ale wrote:
> I'm not sure any of my current network gear supplies PoE, and the 
> phones are likely not strong signals as they are older, too.

PoE injectors are provided w/ ubiquiti kits. The older ones at least. 
Buying last-gen gets cheaper prices. If you care about ecurity, use a VPN
with all wifi, regardless.

> The current setup is:   Cable ->  SurfBoard SB 6141  -> ASUS RT-N66R 
> (wifi) -> Linksys EZXS88W (for internal lab)

It that Asus still getting regular patches? Since switching to OPNsense,
I don't worry about having patches available or needing to buy new physical
router every 4-6 rs s support drops.  OTOH, Asus is under mandated FCC 
oversight for their routers and has become a near model for firmware updates 
since that ruling.

> The reality is I probably need to upgrade more than just "add an
> AP", but that was part of what I wasn't sure about. The house isn't
> that big, nor is it concrete, but phones lose connection from 15
> yards away.

15 yards LoS or going thru 3 thick walls?

I'm not a fan of wifi bridges. There are other options to reliably extend
networks inside house.  Powerline ethernet and MoCa if rooms have COAX 
already. I think MoCa provides more bandwidth, but you may need filters 
to keep it only in your house and/or to share with CATV or ISP or other coax 
signals on the same wires.

> On Fri, Oct 9, 2020 at 11:39 AM Michael Martin via Ale <ale at ale.org>
> wrote:
>> 
>> I’ver replaced the Ubiquity WAPs with Eero — mesh networking seems
>> to have come a long way and it is not as fiddly as managing your
>> own infrastructure.
>> 
>> I would consider doing some research into mesh network products
>> (I’m sure Ubiquity has one by this time) and compare.
>> 
>> Mike
>> 
>>> On Oct 9, 2020, at 11:32 AM, James Taylor via Ale <ale at ale.org>
>>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> I have three in my abode. I have wired connections to the two at
>>> the extremities, and one in the middle that is wifi bridged
>>> because no cable there. The bridged works as well as the the
>>> direct wired for most stuff. If you have a situation where you
>>> need to connect a location you can't wire, getting two and
>>> bridging the second would probably work well. -jt
>>> 
>>> 
>>> James Taylor 678-697-9420 james.taylor at eastcobbgroup.com
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>>>>> DJ-Pfulio via Ale <ale at ale.org> 10/9/2020 11:19 AM >>>
>>> On 10/8/20 4:02 PM, Leam Hall via Ale wrote:
>>>> Is there anything particular to look for a second wi-fi in the
>>>> house. Our phones are old, and our current wi-fi switch is old,
>>>> so we keep getting dropped and then using all our limited data.
>>>> My thinking is to get a second wifi and run a wire to the
>>>> living room, which should give us coverage. It theory it should
>>>> be easy, but I don't know what I don't know these days.
>>> Ubiquiti PoE APs are pretty great. Decouples the wifi from the
>>> router.
>>> 
>>> https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-UAP-AC-LR-US-Unifi-AP-AC-Range/dp/B07CLN4BBM
>>> - $222 for a 2-pak, but you probably only need 1 AP unless you
>>> have multiple "wings" on your estate or it has concrete walls.