Extend Wireless Coverage
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My setup is a PFSense router 2.4.1 which is connected to an Asus RT N66U which was flashed with DDWRT firmware and setup to be used as an access point. It was my original router till I started playing with pfsense. Most of my equipment is hard wired so I new to the wifi area.
Goal: I want to steam 1080p video to an amazon fire stick but the signal isn't strong enough in that part of my house. The fire stick doesn't come with an Ethernet port.
Should I purchase a router to use as an access point, or purchase a separate AP? Would like to keep the price as low as reasonable to accomplish my goal as it's just for home use. Not sure if I would get better wifi for the price with a router converted to an AP or an actual AP. Any recommendations on minimum wifi speed and product recommendations.
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So you can run a wire to near where your fire stick is? Then sure any soho wifi router could be used.. Something as cheap as say $20 could be used as AP.. fire stick wifi
I show the fire stick gen 2, supporting
Dual-band, dual-antenna Wi-Fi supports 2x2 MIMO 802.11a/b/g/n/acSo you prob want something that can do 2 Channel AC..
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I have wires close enough that I could plug in a router/AP to. Also have old Actiontec router 10/100 used to get ethernet to the remote locations of my home. Not sure if that would work to plug a new router/AP into. I know the wifi on the actiontec won't work (to slow).
Would I do better with an Ubiquityhttps://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833664026 mounted in the ceiling in a central part of the house
or an Asus rt-ac66u https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-RT-AC66U-802-11ac-AiProtection-Optimization/dp/B008ABOJKS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1511914139&sr=8-2&keywords=asus+rt-ac66u as an AP
Or a brand I never heard of like Tenda https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833555073 but only $29Do all router have the option to be an AP?
Not sure what the minimum speed I should search for and if I should stick with brands like Netgear, TPLink, Asus, Linksys…
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Location is key to Wi-Fi, so if you move your AP to a central location that is always a good idea. Ubiquiti is a very good product so you won't go wrong going down that path, also you can run the controller software which makes management of the AP centralized in the event you want to add more down the line. later on if you want to run the server software on dedicated hardware you can get the cloud key from Amazon for about $75.
In terms of performance gains not sure how much you will see with the Ubiquiti in a centralized location vs moving your existing AP to a more centralized location.
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Location is key to Wi-Fi, so if you move your AP to a central location that is always a good idea. Ubiquiti is a very good product so you won't go wrong going down that path, also you can run the controller software which makes management of the AP centralized in the event you want to add more down the line. later on if you want to run the server software on dedicated hardware you can get the cloud key from Amazon for about $75.
In terms of performance gains not sure how much you will see with the Ubiquiti in a centralized location vs moving your existing AP to a more centralized location.
I think I will try the current AP in different locations before adding another AP to my setup. What is the best way to determine signal strength at various locations? Is there an iphone app or laptop program?
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I'm sure there is, I'm a Samsung guy so I can't really speak on that. I would just walk around with your phone and see how the signal is in various spots.
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"Do all router have the option to be an AP?"
Yes… Since they are actually an AP with a switch and router function.. Any wifi router as AP is as simple as connect it to your network via one of the lan ports, turn off its dhcpd - there you go AP.. You will prob want to set its lan IP to be on your network your connecting it to so its easier to configure ;)
