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Forum Discussion
WiFi Extension
Good morning, we currently have an Orbi RBS840 mesh system in our home. We have Starlink for our internet provider, our home is around 4k square feet and the coverage is good throughout the house. My MIL is moving into a 5th wheel next to our shop and we are trying to figure out some sort of WiFi solution for her. The Space for the 5th wheel iOS approximately 175’ away from the end of the house where I have 1 of 3 satellites in my office and the 5th wheel will be on the far side of a 3 bay shop.
Can I simply add a 4th satellite to my system or do I need a better mesh system to reach that far and ensure I have 4 satellites so that one is located in the shop? Or would you use some sort of WiFi extender? I read another post where the person used an “Outside Orbi” but have no clue what that is.
thank you
GoFisch
4 Replies
If you can run a CAT6A STP cable from the home out to were this RV will be, then you could put in a RBS840 or 850 or even a 750 series unit and ethernet connect it to the main Orbi system, would be all you'd need.
175' would be too far for Orbi WiFi connected RBS.
175 ft. is nearly certain to be too far for a regular satellite to establish a solid connection to a unit inside the house.
The 'A Answer' in terms of speed and reliability is to install an Ethernet cable between the house and the shop. Alas, this is impractical in most situations. (The cable cost is trivial. Installation could be thousands.)
The most common solution is to install a "wireless bridge" in the form of two units which appear on both ends to be Ethernet. Amazon search will turn up dozens of such units, with a pair costing from under $200 to considerably more. Read the user comments carefully to get a feel for how others have approached similar problems. These units are rated in terms of kilometers of distance, so it is often possible to mount one or both units inside (and save the effort of penetrating the building wall).
Thank you for the response and you are correct, running a cable out there would be a challenge due to having to dig under sidewalks and foundation. Is there a different more powerful mesh system that would work? I will also look at the wireless bridge option.
All consumer WiFi systems have the same Fcc power limits. Their omni directional antennas are the issue. Bridge systems use narrow beam, high gain antennas to focus the energy in a narrow beam.
