Question Need help with extending WiFi to back yard please.

[Imjustbrian]

This is what I am looking at

I need to extend my WiFi to the back yard, and it’s up a hill a bit from my house.

So I need something outdoor rated and reasonably easy to set up. I saw this then I read..

• 【Multiple PoE Options for Easy Installation】Supports both 802.3af/at PoE & Passive PoE power supply, making deployment effortless and flexible.”

Now I’m lost. Is this a set up your average computer user can set up? Does it need extra adapters? I have looked up what PoE is (power over Ethernet?) but wasn’t sure how it was working? I’d need to run Ethernet cables to this device to make it work?

I’m sorry if I sound simplistic and this is an obvious question, but I’m lost and just want WiFi in the back yard for a simple WiFi camera.

 

[BFG-9000]

POE just means it can be remotely powered so you don't need a power outlet near the AP--power is sent through the ethernet cable. If you don't have a POE switch then you need to power such a device through a power injector.

The TP-Link outdoor APs come with A POE power injector so you would just plug that in near your gateway or switch and wire the ethernet to the AP through it.

Yes, APs are connected with an ethernet cable. A wireless client with an AP in one box is commonly called Mesh and replaces the wire with a radio link. But then you'd need a power outlet next to the Mesh satellite

 

[Imjustbrian]

POE just means it can be remotely powered so you don't need a power outlet near the AP--power is sent through the ethernet cable. If you don't have a POE switch then you need to power such a device through a power injector.

The TP-Link outdoor APs come with A POE power injector so you would just plug that in near your gateway or switch and wire the ethernet to the AP through it

So I appreciate your fast reply but I’m still lost. When you say my gateway you mean my router? So this device can’t be powered by an AC outlet? Id need to run Ethernet to TP link?

 

[kanewolf]

So I appreciate your fast reply but I’m still lost. When you say my gateway you mean my router? So this device can’t be powered by an AC outlet? Id need to run Ethernet to TP link?

POE (power over ethernet) means that both power and network are provided by a single ethernet cable.
Outdoor rated WIFI devices need the power supplied from an indoor location. The POE adapter mentioned above plugs into an outlet and an input ethernet. It provides both to the access point.

 

[BFG-9000]

Yep, Gateway is the router that you put after the Modem to hand out DHCP addresses. If you didn't have one of those, then only one device could use the internet at a time (a "wireless router" is a router plus an Access Point in one box). If you have a spare router you can usually convert it into just an AP by turning off its DHCP server and changing its IP address so it doesn't conflict with your Gateway.

Ethernet is how an AP connects to your network including the internet from the Modem--if it were possible for a device to magically supply internet all by itself then nobody would bother to pay an ISP for service. This particular AP is powered through the injector which is plugged into the AC outlet and has in and out ethernet ports, so you only need to run one cable to it. That's what they mean by Easy Installation.

As I mentioned, if you have power where you want to put the device (like where the camera is plugged into) and don't want to run a cable, Mesh can do it wirelessly if your bandwidth needs are modest (sounds like it as it is just a camera) and there's not too much interference from neighbors, given it uses multiple radio bands. At least it should perform better than a repeater which uses only one radio band (it listens and broadcasts on the same one so halves performance and doubles latency), but your neighbors may hate you for broadcasting continuously (it's a camera) on multiple radio bands to ruin their wifi.

As you've probably figured by now, the best solution of all is probably to get a security camera that connects via ethernet directly and avoids all of this unreliable wireless radio stuff. Nothing worse than to set everything up only to find your neighbors have non-wifi devices like baby monitors that transmit on wifi bands to cause your picture to drop out.

 

[Blackink]

Are you on Comcast?
I know a friend of mine extended his WiFi to another building, several years ago, but they worked great, using something similar to these.

 

[Imjustbrian]

Yep, Gateway is the router that you put after the Modem to hand out DHCP addresses. If you didn't have one of those, then only one device could use the internet at a time (a "wireless router" is a router plus an Access Point in one box). If you have a spare router you can usually convert it into just an AP by turning off its DHCP server and changing its IP address so it doesn't conflict with your Gateway.

Ethernet is how an AP connects to your network including the internet from the Modem--if it were possible for a device to magically supply internet all by itself then nobody would bother to pay an ISP for service. This particular AP is powered through the injector which is plugged into the AC outlet and has in and out ethernet ports, so you only need to run one cable to it. That's what they mean by Easy Installation.

As I mentioned, if you have power where you want to put the device (like where the camera is plugged into) and don't want to run a cable, Mesh can do it wirelessly if your bandwidth needs are modest (sounds like it as it is just a camera) and there's not too much interference from neighbors, given it uses multiple radio bands. At least it should perform better than a repeater which uses only one radio band (it listens and broadcasts on the same one so halves performance and doubles latency), but your neighbors may hate you for broadcasting continuously (it's a camera) on multiple radio bands to ruin their wifi.

As you've probably figured by now, the best solution of all is probably to get a security camera that connects via ethernet directly and avoids all of this unreliable wireless radio stuff. Nothing worse than to set everything up only to find your neighbors have non-wifi devices like baby monitors that transmit on wifi bands to cause your picture to drop out.

Running Ethernet to my camera outside isn’t really an option, the distance is farther then I’d want to run a cable and it’s uphill so running a cable from the house up the hill (can’t bury it for a lot of reasons) just wouldn’t work well.

We do have AC power where we want the camera, our current WiFi does out roughly 75-100’ away from where we really want the camera and we suspect the uphill slope is causing part of the issue. We believe we can place this in the upstairs window facing that view and would end up getting the service we need, I was just trying to avoid running an Ethernet from my router (main floor far end of the house) to the necessary window (upstairs opposite end of the house).

 

[Imjustbrian]

Are you on Comcast?
I know a friend of mine extended his WiFi to another building, several years ago, but they worked great, using something similar to these.

I have Optimum (formerly Suddenlink) not sure if that matters.

 

[BFG-9000]

xFi pods are Mesh satellites that only work with Comcast's Mesh hub router. They aren't outdoor rated, but have two ethernet ports to directly connect clients or APs (you can't use them to connect to the Gateway as they can't run in AP mode).

As presumably the camera does not have sufficient signal near where it is now, the ideal location for an AP or repeater is halfway between the present Wifi and camera, which may be halfway up the hill and therefore rather difficult to run power or ethernet to. Putting a wireless Mesh or repeater device by the camera should not help at all as the signal to it would be just as weak as it is to the camera itself now. So the least bad all-wireless solution would be such a device mounted outside as high as possible on the side of the house facing the camera. But you'd have to run power to it.

Ethernet is specified to only run up to 100 meters or 328' without a repeater, but you can usually go a bit over this and still connect at gigabit. That may be enough to go completely around the house outside rather than through it, so you could still choose that POE TP-Link AP on the side of the house over less reliable Mesh or repeater solutions.

 

[Imjustbrian]

xFi pods are Mesh satellites that only work with Comcast's Mesh hub router. They aren't outdoor rated, but have two ethernet ports to directly connect clients or APs (you can't use them to connect to the Gateway as they can't run in AP mode).

As presumably the camera does not have sufficient signal near where it is now, the ideal location for an AP or repeater is halfway between the present Wifi and camera, which may be halfway up the hill and therefore rather difficult to run power or ethernet to. Putting a wireless Mesh or repeater device by the camera should not help at all as the signal to it would be just as weak as it is to the camera itself now. So the least bad all-wireless solution would be such a device mounted outside as high as possible on the side of the house facing the camera. But you'd have to run power to it.

Ethernet is specified to only run up to 100 meters or 328' without a repeater, but you can usually go a bit over this and still connect at gigabit. That may be enough to go completely around the house outside rather than through it, so you could still choose that POE TP-Link AP on the side of the house over less reliable Mesh or repeater solutions.

Hasn’t thought of going around the house outside. This is a realistic option given the router is next to an exterior wall with an old DTV cable we don’t use coming through the wall from outside. We could possibly pull that cord out pulling the Ethernet outside with it. Then running the cable up the house and around the corner and finding a good spot there to mount it. You might be onto something. Thank you.

As far as neighbors we don’t have any but a house is being built on the property “next door”, but they should not be close enough to really be an interference issue luckily.