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Posted: 1/5/2021 8:06:44 AM EDT
setup...i have hughesnet with a wireless router.   on the front porch of my house i can get 2-3 bars.

my wife has her she shed/bitch bar 30 yards to the north.  no signal (and no cell service either)

i want to be able to extend the wifi signal there if at all possible.

thinking i may need to get two.  one i could plug in on the outdoor outlet of my house or my garage and then one in the cabin.

any experience with this?
Link Posted: 1/5/2021 8:47:48 AM EDT
[#1]
Not busting on you, but we do have a thread or two about this every month. Probably need to just sticky a wifi extender thread.

Here's the synopsis:

An extender will get you a mediocre signal wherever you want it.

The more extenders you chain together, the mediocrer the signal becomes.

Eventually, the loss in speed and unreliability will not make it worth it.

Hardwired is best, or some kind of purpose built mesh wifi system thingy (not up on the terminology, others will explain). I have a wall-to-wall setup through my provider that uses my house's cable wiring and has a router on the top and bottom floor and it works great.

They do have their purposes, however. I have a single wifi extender that I put at the highest point in the house, set it to receive on 5ghz and broadcast on 2.4 ghz. It covers the backyard and more, and allows me to have internet access basically anywhere in the neighborhood, but only about 80% speed of the provider installed wifi.

No warranties expressed or implied, your mileage may vary.



Link Posted: 1/5/2021 8:51:55 AM EDT
[#2]
Yeah, I got one, highly rated, from ATT, but didn't really notice a difference, and it is wired directly to iMac.
Link Posted: 1/5/2021 11:53:33 AM EDT
[#3]
Sounds like you need a better router if you can't get signal 30 yds away.

You can also do a wireless point-to-point (P2P) bridge. But a bridge is overkill for that short distance.

Ubiquiti makes good bridge hardware. I used 2 NanoStation M2s to get wifi from my dad's house 1/4 mile down the road to his shop. A P2P bridge functions like a hardwire has been stretched between the two so all you have to do is add the access point in the she-shed then.
Link Posted: 1/5/2021 5:18:39 PM EDT
[#4]
What wireless router do you have? You can get long range outdoor wifi antennas. They need to hardwire to your router and mount it in the house facing the shed.
Link Posted: 1/5/2021 5:27:06 PM EDT
[#5]
Cheapest will be these.  Plug transmitter in to outlet next to existing router not a power strip.  Plug receiver into outlet on wall closest to shed, no power strip, as long as it isn't on a sub panel breaker panel.  The extender is hardwired to other side of the house using copper electrical wires.  Better than any wifi signal booster or repeater,  which is what is referred to above saying it diminishes signal.
Link Posted: 1/5/2021 6:07:19 PM EDT
[#6]
I use a Netgear Mesh extension. Can still get a signal and OK wifi strength almost 100 yards away in direct line from the Mesh unit. All around my immediate outside of the house (~40 yards), I dont notice any slow downs.

Mesh is better than the cheap wifi extenders, as long as it will work with your router.
The cheap extenders created a different wifi connection, which could lead to an issue with your phone/tablet/etc going back and forth disconnecting and connecting to your router and the extender...whichever is stronger.

A mesh extender uses the same connection to your router. The switch is almost instantly and doesn't slow you down having to wait for your device to connect to one or the other. It's seamless
Link Posted: 1/5/2021 6:43:41 PM EDT
[#7]
Make/Model of existing WiFi Router?
Distance from existing WiFi Router to she shed and what is in between (wall, composition)?
Link Posted: 1/5/2021 7:07:27 PM EDT
[#8]
Avoid those gimmicky "WiFi Extenders", "Range booster", "mesh", etc.  Might improve signal strength, but they don't do that much for throughput.  

Best would be trenching cable (fiber, direct-bury cat5e/cat6, MoCA if you've got coax between them) between the buildings.  Next best, if the two buildings are on the same breaker panel, is powerline.  Tied for 2nd I'd say a PtP bridge.  

Drop an AP in the other building, wired back to the modem.

You might be able to get away with an AP on the wall closest to the shed, may give oyu enough signal to be useful out tehre.

I usually recommend Ubiquiti equiment; decent quality and it's easy to set up.  Unifi lineup is quality wifi.
Link Posted: 1/14/2021 8:02:14 PM EDT
[#9]
I've had great luck with the Netgear Nighthawk extenders.  Used one to go through concrete walls in a school.  500MB line still pulling 200 at the extender. A few devices should run fine.
I also use powerline adapters at home. Work great. Run off the house electrical wiring. You can get WIFI ones.
Link Posted: 1/16/2021 6:02:12 AM EDT
[#10]
Currently using TP-Link Archer A20_V3 Router

works great and very strong signals. I use the power outlet for the roku in the basement.
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