We have a detached shop and purchased a wireless camera system. Only the camera by the window gets a signal to the NVR in the House. We purchased a new NETGEAR Nighthawk to try and boost the signal. Still only the one camera works. Would a power line adapter actually boost the signal in the garage? The cameras are all wireless and I think the metal siding and door are causing the interference. I can run a cat6 to the garage but I don’t think this will help since the cameras are trying to connect to the NVR in the house. I would move the NVR to the shop but then I don’t think the outdoor cameras will connect. Any suggestions? Thank you.
A powerline adapter extends ethernet over your house wiring. It's basically equivalent to running a cat6 cable to the garage, though the speed wouldn't be as fast.
Some powerline adapter kits include a wifi module - that would create a new wifi signal in the shop that the cameras could potentially connect to. Similarly, you could connect up an extender or router to the cat6 cable and create a wifi signal that way.
Can you tell us the manufacturer/model number of the NVR? It'd be helpful to sort out whether cameras are connecting to your main wifi network, or if the NVR is includes it's own wifi network.
Also, what is the distance from the house to the shop? Does the shop have it's own power main, or does the power come from the house?
The NVR is a Wisenet SNR-73201W. The shop is approximately 35 ft from where the NVR is in our home. The power runs from the house to the breaker box in the shop. I have tried just a Wi-Fi extender and have the same problem that it won’t connect with the router in the house. We tried to run an Ethernet to the extender to see if that would work but the extender only has an out port so no luck. I’m not really that knowledgeable with this stuff and live in a small town where we have a computer store but they are not very knowledgeable with security systems.
I guess it isn't possible to move the NVR to a window adjacent to the garage?
When you look for an access point on your mobile phone, do you see the NVR network in the list? How do you pair a camera with it - do you need to specify a network name and password? If you see the NVR network and have control over the name/password used then you may be able to use an extender to assist here, otherwise the camera will be connecting using a proprietary method which you unlikely to duplicate using an extender.
Last resort for me would be to unscrew one of the aeriels on the back of the NVR (if they can be unscrewed easily) and take it down to an electronics shop - ask whether they have a high/very high gain aeriel with the same screw connector - or alternatively ask if they have an extension lead that you could run from the aeriel connector on your NVR into your garage, and connect the aeriel to it there. This link shows the type of thing I'm talking about, however it would need to have the correct connectors to match your NVR aeriel socket. https://www.reichelt.com/gb/en/wifi-aerial-cable-n-plug-n-coupler-10-m-lan-wl-ak-nsnk10-p47244.html
I found a manual but I didn't see what I needed to know. With some of these systems, the cameras connect to your normal wifi network, and reach the NVR via your router. Others (like Arlo) use a dedicated radio network.
If your cameras are using your normal wifi, than we can find a way to extend the network so that all the cameras can reach it. But if they use a closed radio system, we can't.
We tried to run an Ethernet to the extender to see if that would work but the extender only has an out port
Netgear extenders all have an AP mode. In that mode the extender port is an input port (connecting the extender to the router). What extender model are you talking about?
The NVR is a Wisenet SNR-73201W. The shop is approximately 35 ft from where the NVR is in our home. The power runs from the house to the breaker box in the shop.
Powerline looks possible then, but if it's easy to run cat6 that would perform better.
I actually can’t move the NVR, unfortunately the only widow adjacent to the garage is off the stairway to the basement. When I set up the NVR, we put up the cameras, plugged in the NVR and connected it to the Wi-Fi, the cameras then automatically pair with NVR. Both cameras will connect if both garage doors are open. When you close either door we lose the one camera. There is a network that comes up on my phone that could be the NVR, but I’m not sure. I could check on the aerial but probably not here in town. We only have one computer town in store and I doubt they carry them but it would be worth checking. I was hoping a power line adapter would be my answer.
I changed to AP and ran the CAT6. I am getting full signal on the extender but they show as 2 separate networks so the camera is still not working because the NVR is connected to the main network. I checked to see if I can connect the NVR to the extender but I don’t get signal to the extender from the house.
The NVR is connected with an Ethernet to the router. The extender is the same password but the network is the same name with ext in front of the name. They come up separately when you go into available networks.
I did take the ext off of the name last night, no luck. I’m not sure how to reconfigure the camera, it automatically links to the NVR when you plug it in.
@Shannon1653 wrote: I did take the ext off of the name last night, no luck. I’m not sure how to reconfigure the camera, it automatically links to the NVR when you plug it in.
Well, one possibility is that the cameras are directly connecting to the NVR's radio. If that's the case, then extenders and powerline adapters won't accomplish anything. The vendor might offer a solution here (some form of base station or that you'd need to purchase). If they don't have a product like that, then you'll need to put the NVR in a place that all the cameras can reach.
The other possibility is the cameras are connecting to your home WiFi network (set up in the initial installation somehow).
You could try matching the network name again, and then power cycling the nearby cameras, and see if that works.
If not, you probably need to use the vendor's support. If you have manuals for the system, it might help to read through them.
