What AP do i need?
Discussion
I want to buy a ceiling mounted access point to put in my home office because i think they're a little bit cool, i have space in my (loft mounted) switch, and i have a few grumbling wifi issues which may or may not be related to coverage at all. I also think that having something in the office at the back of the house would give me better coverage in the back garden and garage.
I'm looking for something that is basically plug and play, with no knowledge (for i have none) to set up. For simplicity I will probably need to upgrade the switch to a POE switch at the same time, which is no big deal. I don't want to spend huge amounts of money on this, as the system is hardly stretched as it stands today. All i want is good coverage throughout the property with seamless shifting. It'll never be tested to anywhere near its limits, i'm sure. I will probably go for something used on ebay to get better functionality and better VFM. What features should i look for or brands would you recommend? I see ex-office Ubiquiti stuff on ebay in the £25-45 range that looks suitable.
If you need more info, read on.
My home office and all static devices are hardwired via cat5 leading to a very basic 8 port non-PoE switch. The only part that isn't are internal cameras that connect to our alarm system. When the alarm was installed, the installers said there was poor wifi coverage in the garage and have installed some kind of vupoint extender somewhere - i have no idea where! Perhaps it's concealed in the alarm box of gubbins somewhere. I think that this extender may also be what is causing me some of my relatively minor wifi issues. The primary issue is an Arlo baby monitor in the nursery which seems to hiccup and drop out more frequently than I think it should - i think it may be connected to 2.4ghz where the problems would be reduced with 5. I don't know how to prove that.. I was also hoping installing an AP would allow me to find and get rid of the vupoint extender which i think may be the root of some of the problems, with the ultimate goal of full house coverage, and at least most of the patio area closest to the house.
I saw someone else using this app, so took screenshots in case it means anything to you and to confirm i don't know what i'm doing
I'm looking for something that is basically plug and play, with no knowledge (for i have none) to set up. For simplicity I will probably need to upgrade the switch to a POE switch at the same time, which is no big deal. I don't want to spend huge amounts of money on this, as the system is hardly stretched as it stands today. All i want is good coverage throughout the property with seamless shifting. It'll never be tested to anywhere near its limits, i'm sure. I will probably go for something used on ebay to get better functionality and better VFM. What features should i look for or brands would you recommend? I see ex-office Ubiquiti stuff on ebay in the £25-45 range that looks suitable.
If you need more info, read on.
My home office and all static devices are hardwired via cat5 leading to a very basic 8 port non-PoE switch. The only part that isn't are internal cameras that connect to our alarm system. When the alarm was installed, the installers said there was poor wifi coverage in the garage and have installed some kind of vupoint extender somewhere - i have no idea where! Perhaps it's concealed in the alarm box of gubbins somewhere. I think that this extender may also be what is causing me some of my relatively minor wifi issues. The primary issue is an Arlo baby monitor in the nursery which seems to hiccup and drop out more frequently than I think it should - i think it may be connected to 2.4ghz where the problems would be reduced with 5. I don't know how to prove that.. I was also hoping installing an AP would allow me to find and get rid of the vupoint extender which i think may be the root of some of the problems, with the ultimate goal of full house coverage, and at least most of the patio area closest to the house.
I saw someone else using this app, so took screenshots in case it means anything to you and to confirm i don't know what i'm doing
Trustmeimadoctor said:
if you log into your router you may see what the devices are connecting over. Using that app you can see your connection strength in db make sure you mount the ap where the signal is decent or you may just provide a stronger s
t connection
Your lucky you dont live near anyone btw t connection
no congestion I've actually been thinking to bypass the switch, get a Poe injector, and run the connection straight to the router, leaving less clutter in the switch.
I also noticed the Ubiquiti UAP is 2.4ghz only. From my limited understanding, I thought I'd want dual band and "wireless N" as a basic minimum. Am I wrong?
I also noticed the Ubiquiti UAP is 2.4ghz only. From my limited understanding, I thought I'd want dual band and "wireless N" as a basic minimum. Am I wrong?
xtruss said:
If i remember correctly a lot of unifi stuff works on a non standard poe voltage, which i think is 24v wheres most poe switches output 48v. So if you do go the unifi route, check your poe switch will suit it.
Many Unifi AP's are passive POE.However, the AClite is poe+ and will work on any POE+ that has enough output power.
If that grapic is correct then the vupoint camera kit is set with a very wide bandwidth and will be killing any other wifi in channels 5-13, not very good! Id hate to be your neighbour.
You should set your current Wifi channel to 1 on the Virgin router (it is Virgin?), then it will be in clear air. Ideally use 5Ghz as these are less congested. They should be set as separate networks, then ignore 2.4GZ.
The £25 eBay Unifi APs will be the older 2.4Ghz units, still good but you really should be looking the AC units, the AC Lite is good value, but still £70.
AS others have said there are alternatives, the TP link APs are quite good.
You should set your current Wifi channel to 1 on the Virgin router (it is Virgin?), then it will be in clear air. Ideally use 5Ghz as these are less congested. They should be set as separate networks, then ignore 2.4GZ.
The £25 eBay Unifi APs will be the older 2.4Ghz units, still good but you really should be looking the AC units, the AC Lite is good value, but still £70.
AS others have said there are alternatives, the TP link APs are quite good.
Edited by megaphone on Wednesday 8th January 17:09
Thanks all. I'm hoping that if i add an AP then i can have the vupoint kit removed when it's next serviced, as i think it is probably behind some of the niggling wifi issues i have.
megaphone, i dont quite follow your recommendation, but will log in to the router when i get a chance. Are you saying disable 2.4ghz altogether and change 5ghz from auto channel to channel 1? surely i will need to keep 2.4ghz live?
megaphone, i dont quite follow your recommendation, but will log in to the router when i get a chance. Are you saying disable 2.4ghz altogether and change 5ghz from auto channel to channel 1? surely i will need to keep 2.4ghz live?
Edited by Chucklehead on Wednesday 8th January 17:25
Chucklehead said:
Thanks all. I'm hoping that if i add an AP then i can have the vupoint kit removed when it's next serviced, as i think it is probably behind some of the niggling wifi issues i have.
megaphone, i dont quite follow your recommendation, but will log in to the router when i get a chance. Are you saying disable 2.4ghz altogether and change 5ghz from auto channel to channel 1? surely i will need to keep 2.4ghz live?
Sorry was not clear. Log into the router and change the 2.4Ghz channel to 1, this will put it into clean air if you graphic is correct above. megaphone, i dont quite follow your recommendation, but will log in to the router when i get a chance. Are you saying disable 2.4ghz altogether and change 5ghz from auto channel to channel 1? surely i will need to keep 2.4ghz live?
Edited by Chucklehead on Wednesday 8th January 17:25
There should be two SSIDs (the names of the wifi networks) one for 2.4ghz and one for 5ghz, I think Virgin run them separately and give them different SSID, if not you should separate them and name the SSID say chuck2 and chuck5.
Use the 5Ghz for your phones etc, it should be a lot faster however 5ghz doesn't always go as far. Forget the 2.4ghz netwrok in the phone etc so they always link to the 5Ghz.
If you have a windows laptop then insidder is a good program and will give you an idea of the wifi networks and clear channels. https://www.metageek.com/products/inssider/
Edited by megaphone on Wednesday 8th January 17:52
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