Extending wifi to bedrooms and slightly further out of my property

[Adrenalin]

Right so, thought this would be the easiest place to get some solid advice. Lucky this is tech support and not smack talk eh?

So i am renting a 3 storey place, bedrooms upstairs, kitchen etc 'ground' floor and garages below that. All these areas need Wi-Fi. Why? Well because main bedroom is opposite direction to guest bedroom, roughly 6m away down a corridor.
Why the garage? Because that is where I sometimes play darts, play some music, and fix my little things like toys and broken gfx cards etc.

Now, there was a Unifi AP mounted on the wall, it seemed to have lost power, so I reconnected it and voila, it works. Mounted at the bottom of the stairs towards main bedroom. Main bedroom gets wifi, great. Guest bedroom and outside by the washing line where my son often plays, gets squat. The thing is a bit useless. Unless I have configured it wrong.

NOW, I also have this weird little Mikrotik RB711-5hn thing mounted outside on the wall. I have NO idea what it does? A rouyterboard or something?

Took the power from Unifi AP and connected it, logged into router, shows no connected device like the Mikrotik. So what is this thing and can it give me signal?

Other than that, what is the absolute strongest device to connect to a router to give me proper signal throughout the house? I see a whole lot of things like small satellite dishes on other peoples houses. Not sure what they are but they seem to have LAN cables connected to them as well. I'm very close to my neighbor, so can I syphon their internet if i get a LAN cable splitter? (joke, relax)

 

[Asteroid Z]

The Mikrotik might work depending on the model and if it has WiFi. There is a Wifi extender mode (so repeater).

Otherwise, run the network cables and use another Unifi AP.

 

[MR FREEZE]

Not sure if you are dom like me when it comes to these things,

Unifi just was not working, i just got identical router, extended via LAN cable, set up as a repeater.

There is one flat spot between the two routers where i assume the device connecting gets confused sometimes, other then that no problems.

 

[Adrenalin]

The Mikrotik might work depending on the model and if it has WiFi. There is a Wifi extender mode (so repeater).

Otherwise, run the network cables and use another Unifi AP.

Nee. You see this would involve alot of cable, and tearing half the place apart. If it was my house I'd put in the effort, but it isn't.

Not sure if you are dom like me when it comes to these things,

Unifi just was not working, i just got identical router, extended via LAN cable, set up as a repeater.

There is one flat spot between the two routers where i assume the device connecting gets confused sometimes, other then that no problems.

Yep, exactly like you. Took me a few hours to figure out that the AP needed power so yeah.
Did the exact same thing but that also involved running cables out windows because the design of this place is horseshit. It's just a really really bad design for running cabling.

 

[souljazk]

A Mikrotik HAP AX3 will give you lekker range. It should have wireless repeater mode. Can you upload a rough sketch of each floor and indicate where wifi is fine and where you need coverage?

Wifi is best placed as center as possible in your house as possible. Try 2nd floor, do some tests and go from there. Ubiquiti have a nice app called Wifi man, which will help you see the current coverage. Good to know, so you can compare it to when the AP is on the 2nd floor etc. With the Ubiquiti, did youset the Wifi range to max + wireless N only (or AC only if possible). 2.4Ghz will go further then 5Ghz.

Re existing Mikrotik, it might be your ISP router.

 

[Asteroid Z]

Depends on which Unifi you got.
I had the old AP Pro which worked well alone but when I added the AC LR(WiFi 5) everything shat the bed. I then moved to Netgear WiFi 6 and now I'm back to Unifi AP 6 Pro which works lovely and 2x Unfi in wall (2.4ghz)

 

[Adrenalin]

A Mikrotik HAP AX3 will give you lekker range. Can you upload a rough sketch of each floor and indicate where wifi is fine and where need coverage?

Wifi is best placed as center as possible in your house as possible. Try 2nd floor, do some tests and go from there. Ubiquiti have a nice app called Wifi man, which will help you see the current coverage. Good to know, so you can compare it to when the AP is on the 2nd floor etc.

Re existing Mikrotik, it might be your ISP router.

Deffo not my ISP router. That is a shitty little Huawei thing.
My other thought is to get one of those routers with like 6 antennae? Do those give you MUCH better signal?
One of my old routers is a HAP Ac2 and that thing in my old flat was amazing.

 

[souljazk]

Deffo not my ISP router. That is a shitty little Huawei thing.
My other thought is to get one of those routers with like 6 antennae? Do those give you MUCH better signal?
One of my old routers is a HAP Ac2 and that thing in my old flat was amazing.

Lets 1st get an idea of your layout etc before looking at those "spiders" which are usually overpriced IMHO. Without spending any money, you should be able to optimise few things to help your wifi coverage, based on the Huawei, Ubiquiti and near by Wifi.

I'd stick with a decent Mikrotik that can take external antenna's.

The HAP AC2 is amazing, I have the AC3 and a few 900 models aswell. Love them.

 

[Adrenalin]

Lets 1st get an idea of your layout etc before looking at those "spiders" which are usually overpriced IMHO. Without spending any money, you should be able to optimise few things to help your wifi coverage, based on the Huawei, Ubiquiti and near by Wifi.

I'd stick with a decent Mikrotik that can take external antenna's.

The HAP AC2 is amazing, I have the AC3 and a few 900 models aswell. Love them.

Alrighty, here we go. Just call me picasso. Forgot to draw an outside area where I braai and play music outside the lounge. And outside the kitchen area is the washing line where I also like to have signal there.

https://imgur.com/mLMUfT0

The AP is an older Unifi I think. The network cable goes straight in if that makes sense, the newer ones go in on the side.

The Mikrotik is this one >>> MikroTik

 

[AfricanTech]

Most important question - what's your budget?

People who've installed the TP Link Deco stuff swear by it (wireless, easy to setup) - can be a bit pricey though and based on your description, you might need a 3-pack

Takealot

 

[AfricanTech]

Alrighty, here we go. Just call me picasso. Forgot to draw an outside area where I braai and play music outside the lounge. And outside the kitchen area is the washing line where I also like to have signal there.

https://imgur.com/mLMUfT0

The AP is an older Unifi I think. The network cable goes straight in if that makes sense, the newer ones go in on the side.

The Mikrotik is this one >>> MikroTik

What colour is the LED? Green are the older units; Blue is the newer.

You can adopt it using the Unifi app on your phone - that will give you better info and better control of the unit.

Depending on the age of the AP, you could also mesh another one to it wirelessly.

For reference, my mom has two old Unifi APs covering her single-story house that is so old (Green LED) that the FW is not upgradable - for her purposes (cellphone and media box for Netflix and DSTVNow) that works perfectly.

 

[Adrenalin]

It's a green light. Must be older because it was here when I got here and that was 2 years ago.

Don't really have a budget at the moment, but R5k is out the question. Then I'd rather run cabling. R2-3k maybe.

 

[souljazk]

The following should get you going, if not reply and I/we can assist you. I've tried to make it as detailed but simple as possible, hope it is and that it helps.

Use Ubi's Wifi man app when you're next to each router, note current channel of your Wifi. Watch it for 1min and see which channels are used the most by neghibouring Wifi networks. You want to keep 2.4Ghz to either channel 1,6,11 or if avaiable and not overly saturated 13.

EG UF Ubi AP is on channel 6 and channel 4-6 are also used by lots of your neighbours. With minimal channel 1 use.
MF Huawei router is on channel 11, and channels 2-3 are also used by lots of your neighbours.

UF: Set wifi channel to 1 ; Wifi N ; max Wifi Tx (transmit) power, if you can adjust it.
MF: Keep wifi channel to 11 ; Wifi N ; max Wifi Tx (transmit) power, if you can adjust it.
LF: N/A

Regarding that Mikrotik you have, it supports 5Ghz, so it wont go as far as 2.4Ghz, but it should allow you to extend the wifi range by wifi (not guarantted, even if the unit has wifi). Reset it, plug t into your Huawei, (not port 1 which is usually WAN) and plug your laptop into the Mikrotik (not port 1) or connect to its wifi if it has a factory wifi SSID (I doubt it).

Download Winbox from Mikrotik's site. It should see the device and allow you log in with the default username and pw. Very 1st thing to do on ANY router, is check for updates... If it can't find updates (due to being behind the other router and other technical details) then download the firmware from Mikrotik and upload it (Youtube will show you, its quite simple), reboot, check the new FW has taken, reset once more and then you can proceed to config the Mikrotik.

The easiest way for you to set it up with be using the built in Gui's Quick Set options.

Assuming the Huawei is on a DHCP range of 192.168.8.1-254 aka a "/24" network & the Mikrotik is 192.168.88.1-254.

Mikrotik - Quick Set - Set static IP 192.168.8.10 (or an IP within the DHCP scope (default for /24 would be 192.168.x.1-254) ; Disable DHCP server ; Set gateway to Huawei IP (usually 192.168.8.1) ; subnett to 255.255.255.0 ; Click Apply and reboot.

You should now be able to log into the Mikrotik using 192.168.8.10 (or whatever you set it to). Then via Quick Set you can setup the Wifi and DNS. I use 1.1.1.2 , 1.1.1.3 and 9.9.9.9 but you could leave it empty or insert 192.168.8.1 (huewei). The huawei prob uses your ISP DNS. I would set the DNS on the Huawei if you want to not use the ISP DNS. If I recall correctly, all devices will get their DNS server from the gateway and not from the AP they are on (assuming the AP has a diff set of DNS entries).

 

[Smurf]

Just out of interest, why not get a mesh system? I was in the same issue you then I went with the mesh and I will be blatantly honest depends on your walls cause it might just be me but it feels the mesh system penetrates better through walls than a router.

 

[RandomSheepZA]

Just out of interest, why not get a mesh system? I was in the same issue you then I went with the mesh and I will be blatantly honest depends on your walls cause it might just be me but it feels the mesh system penetrates better through walls than a router.

Agree with the this man. If you go for a WiFi6 mesh, it should definitely work for your situation.

 

[Smurf]

It's a green light. Must be older because it was here when I got here and that was 2 years ago.

Don't really have a budget at the moment, but R5k is out the question. Then I'd rather run cabling. R2-3k maybe.

Takealot

Try maybe this and if it does not work return it? Its not Wifi 6 but it would certainly work 100% for your area!

 

[souljazk]

Just out of interest, why not get a mesh system? I was in the same issue you then I went with the mesh and I will be blatantly honest depends on your walls cause it might just be me but it feels the mesh system penetrates better through walls than a router.

I think OP mentioned he doesnt want to spend > R3k? That said, newer Mikrotiks can do mesh aswell Sorry, Mikrotik fanboy

 

[Adrenalin]

The following should get you going, if not reply and I/we can assist you. I've tried to make it as detailed but simple as possible, hope it is and that it helps.

Use Ubi's Wifi man app when you're next to each router, not current channel of your Wifi. Watch it for 1min and see which channels are used the most by neghibouring Wifi networks. You want to keep 2.4Ghz to either channel 1,6,11 or if avaiable 13.

EG UF Ubi AP is on channel 6 and channel 4-6 are also used by lots of your neighbours. With minimal channel 1 use.
MF Huawei router is on channel 11, and channels 2-3 are also used by lots of your neighbours.

UF: Set wifi channel to 1 ; Wifi N ; max Wifi Tx (transmit) power, if you can adjust it.
MF: Keep wifi channel to 11 ; Wifi N ; max Wifi Tx (transmit) power, if you can adjust it.
LF: N/A

Regarding that Mikrotik you have, it supports 5Ghz, so it wont go as far as 2.4Ghz, but it should allow you to extend the wifi range by wifi (not guarantted, even if the unit has wifi). Reset it, plug t into your Huawei, (not port 1 which is usually WAN) and plug your laptop into the Mikrotik (not port 1) or connect to its wifi if it has a factory wifi SSID (I doubt it).

Download Winbox from Mikrotik's site. It should see the device and allow you log in with the default username and pw. Very 1st thing to do on ANY router, is check for updates... If it can't find updates (due to being behind the other router and other technical details) then download the firmware from Mikrotik and upload it (Youtube will show you, its quite simple), reboot, check the new FW has taken, reset once more and then you can proceed to config the Mikrotik.

The easiest way for you to set it up with be using the built in Gui's Quick Set options.

Assuming the Huawei is on a DHCP range of 192.168.8.1-254 aka a "/24" network & the Mikrotik is 192.168.88.1-254.

Mikrotik - Quick Set - Set static IP 192.168.8.10 (or an IP within the DHCP scope (default for /24 would be 192.168.x.1-254) ; Disable DHCP server ; Set gateway to Huawei IP (usually 192.168.8.1) ; subnett to 255.255.255.0 ; Click Apply and reboot.

You should now be able to log into the Mikrotik using 192.168.8.10 (or whatever you set it to). Then via Quick Set you can setup the Wifi and DNS. I use 1.1.1.2 , 1.1.1.3 and 9.9.9.9 but you could leave it empty or insert 192.168.8.1 (huewei). The huawei prob uses your ISP DNS. I would set the DNS on the Huawei if you want to not use the ISP DNS. If I recall correctly, all devices will get their DNS server from the gateway and not from the AP they are on (assuming the AP has a diff set of DNS entries).

Jeepers, thanks man. Will give it a bash!

 

[Adrenalin]

The following should get you going, if not reply and I/we can assist you. I've tried to make it as detailed but simple as possible, hope it is and that it helps.

Use Ubi's Wifi man app when you're next to each router, note current channel of your Wifi. Watch it for 1min and see which channels are used the most by neghibouring Wifi networks. You want to keep 2.4Ghz to either channel 1,6,11 or if avaiable and not overly saturated 13.

EG UF Ubi AP is on channel 6 and channel 4-6 are also used by lots of your neighbours. With minimal channel 1 use.
MF Huawei router is on channel 11, and channels 2-3 are also used by lots of your neighbours.

UF: Set wifi channel to 1 ; Wifi N ; max Wifi Tx (transmit) power, if you can adjust it.
MF: Keep wifi channel to 11 ; Wifi N ; max Wifi Tx (transmit) power, if you can adjust it.
LF: N/A

Regarding that Mikrotik you have, it supports 5Ghz, so it wont go as far as 2.4Ghz, but it should allow you to extend the wifi range by wifi (not guarantted, even if the unit has wifi). Reset it, plug t into your Huawei, (not port 1 which is usually WAN) and plug your laptop into the Mikrotik (not port 1) or connect to its wifi if it has a factory wifi SSID (I doubt it).

Download Winbox from Mikrotik's site. It should see the device and allow you log in with the default username and pw. Very 1st thing to do on ANY router, is check for updates... If it can't find updates (due to being behind the other router and other technical details) then download the firmware from Mikrotik and upload it (Youtube will show you, its quite simple), reboot, check the new FW has taken, reset once more and then you can proceed to config the Mikrotik.

The easiest way for you to set it up with be using the built in Gui's Quick Set options.

Assuming the Huawei is on a DHCP range of 192.168.8.1-254 aka a "/24" network & the Mikrotik is 192.168.88.1-254.

Mikrotik - Quick Set - Set static IP 192.168.8.10 (or an IP within the DHCP scope (default for /24 would be 192.168.x.1-254) ; Disable DHCP server ; Set gateway to Huawei IP (usually 192.168.8.1) ; subnett to 255.255.255.0 ; Click Apply and reboot.

You should now be able to log into the Mikrotik using 192.168.8.10 (or whatever you set it to). Then via Quick Set you can setup the Wifi and DNS. I use 1.1.1.2 , 1.1.1.3 and 9.9.9.9 but you could leave it empty or insert 192.168.8.1 (huewei). The huawei prob uses your ISP DNS. I would set the DNS on the Huawei if you want to not use the ISP DNS. If I recall correctly, all devices will get their DNS server from the gateway and not from the AP they are on (assuming the AP has a diff set of DNS entries).

Ok so...

What is UF? Unifi? I did set the Wifi to channel 1, cant see any setting to change it to WifiN, set the tx to max.
MF? Not sure what that is.

This Mikrotik, took it off the wall. It has 1 LAN port, thats it. Not sure where to reset it but the little button on the side seemed to do nothing.
Plugged it into the router, no lights, nothing showing on router login. Guessing I did this very wrong or it isn't even working.

Scrap that, duh, needed it into the PoE.
Ok, so with a PoE injector, it shows a blue light and makes a beep.
With it plugged directly into router, obviously it does nothing, because it has no power.
So not sure what you mean by plug it into the Huawei, then you say plug the laptop into the Mikrotik. It onlt has 1 LAN input. Need a different PoE injector?

Sidenote : Might just go mesh system, also a big fan of Mikrotik but $$$ .... Yikes.

 

[BlueCrayon]

Maybe take a look at these?

Cudy Dual Band WiFi 5 1200Mbps Gigabit Mesh 2 Pack | M1300 (2-Pack)

Cudy's CD-M13002 is a 2 pack, dual band 802.11ac (WiFi 5) mesh system featuring 2x Gigabit Ethernet Ports, integrated antennas and an aggregate data rate of up to 1167Mbps. The router supports Cudy's whole home mesh system, seamless roaming and VPN.

scoop.co.za

There are Wifi 6 models for a slightly higher price too. I'm going to buy them at the end of the month and I'll drop a little review on them on carb

 

[Ner0]

Grandstream Enterprise 4x4 MU-MIMO Ceiling Mount Access Point - MiRO

The GWN7630 is a high-performance 802.11ac Wave-2 Wi-Fi access point for small to medium sized businesses, multiple floor offices, commercial locations and branch offices. It offers dual-band 4×4:4 MU-MIMO technology and a sophisticated antenna design for maximum network throughput and an...

miro.co.za

 

[Divan85]

Had similar issues with wifi around my house, ended up going with Xiaomi AX3000 mesh system, 2-pack was enough for me. Have one unit cable connected to my router, the second unit connects wirelessly in my office and that extends the wifi far enough into the rest of the house to give full coverage. No messing about with cables in the ceiling or any of that nonsense, way too lazy for that stuff.

 

[Sageofchaos]

[For Sale] - Xiaomi AX3000 Wi-Fi 6 Mesh Router | Networking and internet

This guy is selling one, I also have Xiaomi AX3000 Mesh, works great!

I've got a twin pack a while ago, and connected them both with a cable, I don't know how fussy you are about latency/ping, both of mine are used to connect gaming devices to the net, so it had to be wired.

 

[souljazk]

Ok so...

What is UF? Unifi? I did set the Wifi to channel 1, cant see any setting to change it to WifiN, set the tx to max.
MF? Not sure what that is.

This Mikrotik, took it off the wall. It has 1 LAN port, thats it. Not sure where to reset it but the little button on the side seemed to do nothing.
Plugged it into the router, no lights, nothing showing on router login. Guessing I did this very wrong or it isn't even working.
Scrap that, duh, needed it into the PoE.

Sidenote : Might just go mesh system, also a big fan of Mikrotik but $$$ .... Yikes.

Sorry, UF = Upper Floor ; Mf = mid floor etc as in your diagram.

Re Mikrotik, you can get a 2nd hand HAP Ac2 for +- R500,sure its not the AX2 but as you know, its powerfull & I know it can do wireless station mode (aka wifi repeater). One of those in the bottom level should be good.

 

[Adrenalin]

I have a hap ac2 in the garage. bit lost with what cable goes where for the mikrotik thing....

 

[Adrenalin]

[For Sale] - Xiaomi AX3000 Wi-Fi 6 Mesh Router | Networking and internet

This guy is selling one, I also have Xiaomi AX3000 Mesh, works great!

I've got a twin pack a while ago, and connected them both with a cable, I don't know how fussy you are about latency/ping, both of mine are used to connect gaming devices to the net, so it had to be wired.

No has to be wireless at this point. I am actually leaning towards this because then when I leave I can pick it up and take it to my new place. So might outlay a bit and get a nice set of 3.
Ping can be high, I don't game in my garage or guest bedroom. I game with cabling connected to PC.

 

[Adrenalin]

Had similar issues with wifi around my house, ended up going with Xiaomi AX3000 mesh system, 2-pack was enough for me. Have one unit cable connected to my router, the second unit connects wirelessly in my office and that extends the wifi far enough into the rest of the house to give full coverage. No messing about with cables in the ceiling or any of that nonsense, way too lazy for that stuff.

Does it go through concrete walls? My garage wall is pretty thick, obviously. So is the whole house actually being triple storey it has to be...

 

[Divan85]

Jip, goes through walls. I can even pick up wifi outside the house. The larger the area the more units you use. If two units won't suffice you can just add more. They are no cheap tho, but not that expensive either. I picked up a 2-pack on special in November for R1899 which is why I went with the Xiaomi, but there are other options out there as well. I also went for wifi6 which is more expensive, like others mentioned, it depends how much you are willing to spend.

 

[Adrenalin]

Jip, goes through walls. I can even pick up wifi outside the house. The larger the area the more units you use. If two units won't suffice you can just add more. They are no cheap tho, but not that expensive either. I picked up a 2-pack on special in November for R1899 which is why I went with the Xiaomi, but there are other options out there as well. I also went for wifi6 which is more expensive, like others mentioned, it depends how much you are willing to spend.

Cool thanks man. Does WiFi 6 make a massive difference in terms of speed and distance? I also see you get WiFi 7 now. Sheesh.

 

[Smurf]

[For Sale] - WiFi 6 Routers - Mercusys + Huawei AX3 | Networking and internet

Item: Mercusys MR70X Dual Band WiFi 6 Router + 4 x Huawei AX3 WiFi 6 Routers (Afrihost Units) Age: Unknown (last2/3 years) Price: R1500 for everything Payment Method Accepted: Cash / EFT Warranty: Unknown Warranty Holder: Unknown Packaging: Yes, all included Condition: Excellent Location: JHB...

carbonite.co.za

gooi those ax3 on a mesh sorted and the price is nice!