Do I need a wireless access point?

[brianb]

I'm looking to install a wireless point in our summerhouse located around 20m from our main property, getting a cat5/6 cable there is easy enough however i would like this to be plugged into a simple device that will simply extend the network and not create a separate address if that makes sense?

do i need a wireless access point for this or is there some form of range extender that you can wire up with cat5/6?

apologies in advance for the very basic questions!

[fat80b]

Yes, a second wireless access point can be made to work.

If you have an old one and are happy with the performance then it can be reasonably simple to configure it to have the same ssid / pw and operate as a switch and not a router. (Turn off dhcp etc)

If you haven’t got one then a simple range extender or access point would also work.

[595Heaven]

For our garden room, we had a Cat 5 cable run from the lounge to the garden room. Connects to a BT whole home Wi-Fi disc in the lounge and I bought a cheap router (TP Link Archer C50 I think) which sits in the garden room.

I was hoping to use another BT disc, but you can’t daisy chain them via Ethernet… this solution works fine though

[anonymous-user]

Yes, a wireless AP is what you want. We have almost the exact same set up, and use a router, with the internal settings adjusted to make it an AP, in the outbuilding.

Set the same SSID and the same wifi password up in the AP and your devices will hop onto the signal seamlessly.

[loudlashadjuster]

And don't go thinking you have to pay a fortune for one, £20-30 will get you all you probably need.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/NETGEAR-Wi-Fi-Range-Exten...

These little Netgears are a little strange to set up, but work well and are almost throwaway in terms of cost to some on the market.

Faster versions are available, but for normal browsing etc. you really don't need any more.

[595Heaven]

loudlashadjuster said:

And don't go thinking you have to pay a fortune for one, £20-30 will get you all you probably need.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/NETGEAR-Wi-Fi-Range-Exten...

These little Netgears are a little strange to set up, but work well and are almost throwaway in terms of cost to some on the market.

Faster versions are available, but for normal browsing etc. you really don't need any more.

I don’t think that is the right answer unless you are getting a good Wi-Fi signal in the room for it to boost…

You need a Wireless AP which uses the wired Ethernet connector to link back to the house router. Either a router in AP mode like I used or a dedicated AP like this TP-Link TL-WA901N https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B087MSF7BR/ref=cm_sw_r...

Edited by 595Heaven on Friday 15th October 14:36

[BigTZ4M]

595Heaven said:

You need a Wireless AP which uses the wired Ethernet connector to link back to the house router. Either a router in AP mode like I used or a dedicated AP like this TP-Link TL-WA901N https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B087MSF7BR/ref=cm_sw_r...

Agreed you want something acting as a pure access point and that TP-Link will do it as I’ve also used one successfully. Provided you’re not needing silly speeds this will do 100Mbps all day long and is cheap as chips.

[colin79666]

If you just need basic WiFi for web (not super fast speeds) and the summerhouse has electric from the same supply as the house you can probably just use power line adaptors and not have to bother with running network cables outside. Remember if putting network cables externally you need more expensive cable that can be buried or that can handle the UV rather than the cheap stuff for internal runs.

Something like this, which also gives a network port to plug into if so desired. https://www.amazon.co.uk/TL-WPA4220KIT-Powerline-B...

[loudlashadjuster]

595Heaven said:

loudlashadjuster said:

And don't go thinking you have to pay a fortune for one, £20-30 will get you all you probably need.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/NETGEAR-Wi-Fi-Range-Exten...

These little Netgears are a little strange to set up, but work well and are almost throwaway in terms of cost to some on the market.

Faster versions are available, but for normal browsing etc. you really don't need any more.

I don’t think that is the right answer unless you are getting a good Wi-Fi signal in the room for it to boost…

You need a Wireless AP which uses the wired Ethernet connector to link back to the house router. Either a router in AP mode like I used or a dedicated AP like this TP-Link TL-WA901N https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B087MSF7BR/ref=cm_sw_r...

Agreed, but those Netgears have an ethernet port and can be configured in AP mode.

Edited by loudlashadjuster on Saturday 16th October 11:26

[595Heaven]

loudlashadjuster said:

Agreed, but those Netgears have an ethernet port and can be configured in AP mode.

Not that one... From the User Guide:

Can I connect the extender to the router or access point with an Ethernet cable?
No. The extender is designed to use WiFi to connect to the router or access point.

[brianb]

Cheers for the reply’s, the summerhouse/cabin is to be used as a gym so no real heavy usage just general streaming from a TV and phone

Something wall mounted would be better due to the lack of surfaces, I was thinking the below should be fine?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-Wireless-Controll...

[xeny]

That is probably fine.

The AC1350 variant has an excellent reputation, but is twice the price.

It would be worth considering if you've got lots of other WiFi networks in the area and tend to suffer performance problems as a result.

[brianb]

Thanks for the heads up 👍 certainly don’t mind paying the extra as (from reading the reviews) I’m likely to receive a decent signal in most of the garden which is an added bonus

[loudlashadjuster]

595Heaven said:

loudlashadjuster said:

Agreed, but those Netgears have an ethernet port and can be configured in AP mode.

Not that one... From the User Guide:

Can I connect the extender to the router or access point with an Ethernet cable?
No. The extender is designed to use WiFi to connect to the router or access point.

That’s odd. I could swear mine is plugged into an Ethernet cable…

[Scooobydont]

loudlashadjuster said:

That’s odd. I could swear mine is plugged into an Ethernet cable…

It looks like you maybe creating loop back:

WIRED ETHERNET PORT: Simply plug in game consoles, streaming players, or other nearby wired devices using the one 10/100M port for maximum speed.

Might be worth unplugging the cable and see if it still works. I think the ethernet port is meant to be used like a switch, the wifi is connecting the extender and then you can plug a wired device into the extender.

[xeny]

595Heaven said:

Not that one... From the User Guide:

Can I connect the extender to the router or access point with an Ethernet cable?
No. The extender is designed to use WiFi to connect to the router or access point.

I've played around with a fair few of these, of various models. They have to behave as wireless to wired bridges - if they receive a WiFi packet they sent it out of the wired port and vice versa, otherwise the wired port is pointless.

This means you can use then as access points, with the caveat that all the setup process and documentation is based around it having an existing WiFi network to extend. I've set them up at one location with WiFi, and then used them as an AP at another which was otherwise without WiFi.

Looking at https://kb.netgear.com/000060286/How-do-I-install-... , I'm left thinking Netgear use official support of the feature as a bit of product range segmentation.

[loudlashadjuster]

Scooobydont said:

It looks like you maybe creating loop back:

Loopback?! It works perfectly. Here’s its status screen (this is ax EX6120 but the EX3700 is identical, just different radio).



~95mbps on Speedtest (fibre connection and rest of network is gigabit but the port is only fast Ethernet) with <5ms ping to my ISP.

There is otherwise no wifi at that location.

That’s why I needed an AP!

You can configure them in two modes; extender ( can only extend wifi), or AP (needs network connection via wired Ethernet). It’s literally the first thing you choose on the setup config.

[Condi]

If you want I can send you a brand new Plusnet router which you can easily reconfigure as a wireless access point, and you have the benefits of 4 ethernet ports. Put the same wireless access point name and password as whatever you have in the house and then your laptop will connect to both when you move between the 2 very easily.