revtothelimit - motorbike forum

We've recently built a home office in the back garden for the missus to work from. She's struggling to get reliable WiFi signal despite using a repeater. We're with Plusnet and using a Plusnet router which I imagine is not the best. The router is in the hallway of the house with no immediately easy way of moving closer to garden office (not insurmountable, just needs longer cables and careful routing).

Appreciate there are likely many factors to consider but is it worth changing (a) the router and/or (b) its location? In my head all routers are the same but I'm guessing not?

You can buy cables, probably 20m to hard wire router to laptop.

I run a Turbo-nutter mesh system and even with that I can only throw the signal about 50ft down the garden. If I were you I'd be looking at cable or fibre, dependent on distance....

I also have hard-wired my office, similarly remote in distance (and through loads of walls) from the primary router. It's a pain but once it's in it's faultless - I can't be doing with poor connectivity, dropouts and fannying about with repeaters.

For convenience, I use a spare router asa slave to broadcast a wifi network at the end of the hardline.

I managed ok with a range extender* but with line of sight between it and the cabin. It was fine. In the end I got sick of the sight of the extender on the bedroom window ledge, ditched it and went off-grid in the cabin.

As said, hard-wiring is a) the answer b) a pain in the to do if you have to get from the router in the hall and out over/under the garden.

I know someone who has a garden office that picks up the neighbour's signal better than his own so he uses theirs. (He did ask ).

* I think it was a TP-Link job and had a couple of aerials sticking out of it.

Count Steer wrote: Tue May 07, 2024 1:46 pm * I think it was a TP-Link job and had a couple of aerials sticking out of it.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01N4EGN6H? ... ct_details

I had one of the above a few weeks back and it would have been fine if I could have mounted it outside on the back wall of my house
but I cant screw anything to it and the signal from it wasn't strong enough with it on the inside of the outside wall so I ran a 20m ethernet
cable out to my workshop instead which is plugged in to one of these.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07 ... UTF8&psc=1

You could try one of these, they work in some situations and when they do work they are great but I found it to be a bit hit and miss.
Just plugging something else in to the same ring main that the transmitter is plugged in to can upset it so it isn't received at the other end.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0B ... UTF8&psc=1

Have you looked at powerline access points? They are pretty cheap to try and as they send their signal down existing mains wires it may work well.

Mussels wrote: Tue May 07, 2024 3:05 pm Have you looked at powerline access points? They are pretty cheap to try and as they send their signal down existing mains wires it may work well.

We have a set of these, TP-link, which give adequate performance.

Mussels wrote: Tue May 07, 2024 3:05 pm Have you looked at powerline access points? They are pretty cheap to try and as they send their signal down existing mains wires it may work well.

Never even heard of them tbh.

Mussels wrote: Tue May 07, 2024 3:05 pm Have you looked at powerline access points? They are pretty cheap to try and as they send their signal down existing mains wires it may work well.

Don't think they'd work on my set-up. The outbuilding has a separate take-off from the consumer unit and a small consumer unit/ELCB's in the cabin. Don't the powerline thingummies need to be on the same ring given how they work?

(I assumed most home office type buildings would be like that)

I've used them a fair bit in the past and I'm pretty sure they were on different circuits as I don't have any rings. I had TP-Link but it's a generic name.

Mussels wrote: Tue May 07, 2024 5:30 pm I've used them a fair bit in the past and I'm pretty sure they were on different circuits as I don't have any rings. I had TP-Link but it's a generic name.

TP-link is a brand/manufacturer name.

Yes, i think they work best when on the same ring, but ours do seem to work over different rings, but on the same consumer unit.

IIRC our "source" unit is on the upstairs ring, and the 2 "supplied" units are on different rings downstairs.

I think that as long there isn't a consumer unit between the plug-in units then they can work.

Ah, OK. I guess the rings have a common earth so it's not like they're completely separate. I'd probably have to start sketching circuity things to work out how two rings on separate fuses/ECLBs can carry a signal between 'em if it's not using the earth as carrier. Home electrics aren't my strong suit.

(My cabin does have a small consumer unit but when the decorators removed the porch light - without cutting the power - the ECLBs tripped on both units...and switched half the house off. ).

Mussels wrote: Tue May 07, 2024 5:30 pm I've used them a fair bit in the past and I'm pretty sure they were on different circuits as I don't have any rings.

That's a bit unusual isn't it? Individual spurs for every socket and bulb? That's a bit olde worlde iirc.

Count Steer wrote: Tue May 07, 2024 6:54 pm

Mussels wrote: Tue May 07, 2024 5:30 pm I've used them a fair bit in the past and I'm pretty sure they were on different circuits as I don't have any rings.

That's a bit unusual isn't it? Individual spurs for every socket and bulb? That's a bit olde worlde iirc.

I gather rings are rather a UK thing to save metal, the sparky I had round to do the cooker connection was adamant this 50 year old place has radial mains.
It could be because it's a bungalow so running wires is pretty easy to do.

I've nothing to add that hasn't already been said - Cat5 is often the answer & you can always make your own if need be.

Powerline adapters are also ace for certain solutions & this thread has reminded me that I have a bunch in a drawer - well, had, as I've just stuck them in my bag for tomorrow as they'll be solving a problem I've been having for a little while - so, thanks

My sister had the same problem with her home office which was solved by my electrician apprentice nephew installing an armoured cat 6 cable and an Ubiqiti wireless access point. Don’t skimp on the access point (which ever one you use) and get the most up to date, fastest, most options version you can as they soon date in terms of functionality and make sure it is plugged directly into the router or a 1000Mbps switch.

A bit of shielded cat 6 cable will work better than any wireless solution, if that's not possible, tether off a 4G phone.

From an IT networking background here and I'd say go with the cable over that distance. It is just not worth messing about with Mesh systems as weather affects the signal etc. Get a good shielded outdoor cable and run that. They are cheap enough now. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ethernet-Shiel ... F0aWM&th=1

Ex-Telecoms tech here, CAT5/6 would be the way I'd go.