I have two houses on 12 acres. The houses are 500 feet apart with a well house in the center at 250 feet from each house. I use a mobile hotspot router Netgear Nighthawk M6 Pro for internet. I am having issues setting up my mesh network.This is my current setup which only gets me 250ft of range. I don’t know if steel tanks in the well house are affecting my signals or the range capability of the EX7500.In dining room I have M6 Mobile Router—— RBR50(Ethernet-0ft)—-RBS50(satellite ~20 ft away in garage)—-EX7500(~20 ft from router in garage)—-EX7700(in well house ~ 250 from router)I’m thinking of changing setup to the following:In House 1 dining room I have M6 Mobile Router—— RBR50(Ethernet-0ft)—--EX7700(0ft) —-EX7500 (in well house ~ 250 from router)—--RBS50(satellite ~500 ft away from router in House 2 living room)I know a satellite should be close to router, but I’m thinking the extenders will repeat the router signal from house 1 to house 2 so the satellite should connect. Will this work?All components will be indoors so mostly protected.Please share your knowledge as this is all new to me. Thanks.

Update:So this was definitely a challenge, but I now have internet in both houses with strong 2.4Ghz and 5GHz signals. Thank you for the feedback. Here is my final setup.House 1:Modem(Nighthawk M6 Pro)———Router RBR50(0 ft)———satellite RBS50v2 (30 ft)House 2:Modem(Nighthawk M6 Pro))———Wavlink AC1200 Outdoor Wifi Extender(20ft)———Nighthawk X4S(250ft)———Nighthawk X6(500ft)

Mesh network with extenders for acreage homes

5 Replies

michaelkenward
Guru - Experienced User
Apr 27, 2023
i73garcia wrote:
I have two houses on 12 acres. The houses are 500 feet apart with a well house in the center at 250 feet from each house.

250 feet is well beyond the reach of most domestic wifi devices.
- i73garcia
  Aspirant
  Apr 27, 2023
  So does that mean I need to go to a commercial type product? I'm disappointed that the manufacturer's specifications only state square footage as opposed to line of sight distance. The fact that the property is mostly cleared between the houses does assist when it comes to signal range.
  
  The EX7700 claims to be for residential and commercial use.
  
  I thought about buying and Wavlink AC1200 outdoor long range wifi extender but I wasn't sure about compatibility with the Netgear Orbi Mesh Network.
  
  I also found some wifi extenders for over 9000 sqft use and thought they might have a greater range.
  
  My question is more along the lines of effective use of repeater and satellite devices. My understanding of mesh systems is limited but I think satellite is faster than repeater. So if I go from a router to an extender my speed rate will be reduced, but will my satellite pick up the signal 500ft away? Is using the satellite at house 2 going to hold that speed rate? Or is it better to leave my satellite at house 1 where speed rates would be optimal and then use extender only at house 2. At this point I would be happy with slower internet on house 2 as long as I have internet.
  - michaelkenward
    Guru - Experienced User
    Apr 27, 2023
    i73garcia wrote:
    
    So does that mean I need to go to a commercial type product? I'm disappointed that the manufacturer's specifications only state square footage as opposed to line of sight distance. The fact that the property is mostly cleared between the houses does assist when it comes to signal range.
    
    There are "line of sight" WiFi repeaters. But I am not familiar with those.
    
    I'd look for something that promises to bridge that gap, rather than try messing around with domestic routers, Mesh or otherwise.
    
    Look for something like "outdoor repeater":
    
    Our 10 Best Wifi Extender Outdoor Repeater in the UK - April 2023 | BestProductsReviews.co.uk
    
    That Netgear does things in "area covered" is certainly frustrating.

Forum Discussion

Mesh network with extenders for acreage homes