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Forum Discussion
tanto20
Aug 03, 2015Aspirant
Getting internet in my Garden office
I am looking to build an insulated timber built garden office. It'll be about 100ft from the house, and the router is probably another 20 foot from the back door. I'm on Virgin and get about 30mb dow...
Shadowlore
Aug 03, 2015Guide
When you're looking to build, the biggest thing I recommend to people, is to check the type of wall they're going to be using, as well as the insulation (this includes various forms of vapor barriers).
The main thing you have to ask, is whether or not you're planning on using any foil lined medium for those applications. If you're using foil backed insulation, any signal would be greatly reduced at any range, but heavily so at 100ft.
The next question is, is it direct line of sight, including any overgrowth of foliage? They have very little impact on wifi signal, but there IS some impact.
When in doubt, you can always run a simple site survey, yourself, if you have access to an Android based device. (Phone or tablet generally work....Apple killed off the application I usually use for this, awhile ago, so I stopped recommending iOS devices for this)
There are many applications you can use to test the signal strength, but I prefer "Wifi Analyzer" in the Google Play Store, here:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.farproc.wifi.analyzer&hl=en
When you launch the application, you can swipe left and right through the various screens, but in all, you'll want to see if your current WiFi extends that far. As long as it doesn't dip down, below -70 or so, you SHOULD be able to have at least some connectivity out at the office.
At that point, you can look into a Wifi Range extender, which is a wireless device that sort of piggy backs onto your existing wireless device, to make the range larger. These extenders often operate as a 'Repeater' or a 'Bridge', and can be tied into other devices either wirelessly or hardwired.
The first thing, however, is to check that signal strength. You may not need to buy anything more than you already have. :)
tanto20
Aug 04, 2015Aspirant
Thanks for the reply :-)
Wifi drops out as soon as I go to the back door of my house which is probably about 10 metres from the router which is in another room so it has a wall in between. So there's no way it'll reach up my garden. I don't know how much distance the boosters cover though? I spoke with Solwise and they said to just try a booster, but I need to know it'll work before I build my garden office.
- netwrksAug 04, 2015Master
The best solution is to run CAT6 to your new building and install an unmaged switch, or, a router to that can be converted to an Access Point. You would have wifi in your new building and could also use the LAN ports on the AP to plug in other devices, llike perhaps a printer..
- tanto20Aug 04, 2015Aspirant
Thanks. Okay it's getting very techincal now for me! no idea how to do this although I am not bothered about a printer. I don't even need that amazing a connection,I just need a consistent one. Can't seem to find out how far the range is on the wifi extenders as i'm hoping I can go that route
- nhannAug 07, 2015NETGEAR Employee Retired
Hi tanto20,
If there is electrical wiring from the house to the garden office, it may be possible to use a Powerline: http://www.netgear.com/home/products/networking/powerline/
Regards,
NhanN