Vertical coverage problems

[Ninovan]

Our SoHo business is in a small cottage type house, barely 1,800 sq.ft. Problem is it is 3 floors. (Basement, main floor and attic space)  Our coverage for the third floor (attic) is slowly getting worse. 
Our neiborhood is very congested WiFi wise...

Our base unit is in the basement, all the way to one side...

the Attic station is as far to the other side of the house as we can put it.

verticle distance is about 30', Horizontal distance is about 60'.

we have routine drop outs, and then it will clock in at 150Meg...

My partner is begging me to run a hardline.

I need some help, ideas, suggestions, something....

The  diagnostics available on the Orbi are nonexistent, and Netgear is useless for support.  I am very close to tossing it out and trying something new that has support, or at least some diagnostics...

[FURRYe38]

Get the Orbi RBR base out from the basement and on to the the main floor. Basements are not good places for wifi routers. Concrete and steel will inhibit good signal travel. 

What is the Mfr and model# of the Internet Service Providers modem/ONT the NG router is connected too?

What channels are you using? Auto? Try setting manual channel 1, 6 or 11 on 2.4Ghz and any unused channel on 5Ghz.

Also try turning down the power output of the RBRs wifi radios from 100% to 75-50% and see if this changes anything if you are in a wifi congested area. Under Advanced Tab/Advanced Settings/Wireless Settings

[Ninovan]

We are on on Comcast with a Arris Surfboard SB6190 and 300/12Mbps

I switched to channel 11 and 44

my "Backhaul" on the flakey satalite is "Poor" and is toggling between 2.4 and 5G

The basement is where all the servers are and we have access...

we have limited paths between floors as no closets line up, the stairway is not straight, and the perimeter was foamed so trying to snake something would be difficult. May have to go outside to run a hard line.

right now we have the base in the basement, a satalite at the other end of the basement because that workstation has no wifi option. The other satalite is in the attic, and that is the one with poor backhaul.

can I put a repeater on the 1st floor to help the backhaul?

as I said, the attic goes between no connection and 180M...  

[FURRYe38]

Basements are not recommended locations for any wifi routers. Concrete and steel will cause problems for wifi singles. Main floor or 2nd level are recommended locations for main wifi routers. 

[michaelkenward]

If you don't want to move everything, you can use Powerline Ethernet to use your mains circuit to extend the Ethernet network.

You could use Powerline to connect a modem in the basement to the Orbi router in a more central location.

I have an Orbi router (in AP mode) feeding from an Netgear router. The Orbi then feeds an array of satellites to deliver wifi around the place.

You could also use Powerline to connect things like PCs and TVs that you don't move around the place and that could work with a permanent LAN connection.

[DarkNet]

I’ll echo what michaelkenward says about using powerline ethernet. It’s a good choice in some instances where wifi or cabling restrictions provide limits on coverage. I’ve used it to provide ethernet to TVs, Roku’s, and other equipment in a couple of rooms where wifi and standard ethernet cabling are not options. The performance is more than adequate. The suggestion to use powerline ethernet to properly locate your RBR base out of the basement and on to the main floor is a good one. I’ve used Extollo LanSockets but there are several great choices on Amazon or the supplier of your choice. Based on the info you provided, I think that might solve your wifi coverage problems.

[Ninovan]

We re-didthe configuration.  Changed channels, moved the satellite and base, and more over the weekend.

Where would be ideal in the middle of the house is just is not an option for a number of reasons...

We looked at Powerline type BackHauls... vs running a hard line from the basement to the attic.

The Hardline is the BEST solution, especially for reliability and support.

We looked at repeaters, Powerline things, and another bridge type solutions.

Support when things go wonky was a big issue

Throughput was another in that the attic node supports a power user

lastly was cost.  Cable, even outdoor Cat6, is cheep.  Add a couple of jacks and it is still less than $50 and will be as reliable as a stone.

Cost should not be a driving issue, but it is, especially when business is what it is right now...

So, I will be running a Hardline from the Basement to the Attic, OUTSIDE.  It will be a pain, and probably eat a morning, but it overall is the best solution.

[michaelkenward]

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@Ninovan wrote:

So, I will be running a Hardline from the Basement to the Attic, OUTSIDE.  It will be a pain, and probably eat a morning, but it overall is the best solution.

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Hardwired is always the preferred option. But to the attic?

If the wifi starts there it may not reach down far enough.

[Ninovan]

I am running the hard line for the Backhaul.  We will still have the base in the basement where is serves the basement and the first floor without any problems.  The Attic unit provides coverage for the attic and overlap on the first floor.

[FURRYe38]

I would not place the RBS unit in the attic as that space can get hot during summer months. Heat will degrade the hardware over time and cause the unit to fail prematurely. 

[Ninovan]

The "Attic" is not the typical HOT attic, but the converted attic living space where my partner has her workarea.  We are in a small cottage home with 3-levels, the basement, the first floor, and a converted attic.  All of the network stuff is in the basement, server, NAS, cable box, VPN box, viop box, and more.  So that's where we put the Orbi Base.  Gave us great coverage in the basement and the First floor.  To cover the "Attic" and overlap the first floor a bit, we put the satellite in the attic work area.  Coverage is great.  Our problem is that the BACKHAUL channel connection waffles between 2.4/5Ghz, and good/poor connection status and is getting worse as more neighbor's Wifis are coming online.

The Common suggestion was to move the Base station to the middle floor... but that won't work for us for a variety of reasons.  We tried putting another satellite in the middle hoping it would "Daisy chain" the wireless backhaul like it says it can... but no effect...

So... the final solution, which will take time and getting sweaty, is to run a HARD CABLE (cat6) between the basement base and the attic satellite up the outside of the house. 

[CrimpOn]

For a short distance, Cat5e cable is a lot easier to work with than Cat6.  That plastic "+" that Cat6 uses to separate the four pairs of wire makes the Cat6 a lot stiffer and restricts the bend radius.  I'm sure you are aware of little details such as a "drop loop" at the bottom and waterproofing the heck out of the wall penetrations.

[Ninovan]

We figure that with all the up's and downs and routes have to take it will be about 75'. The link between the base and satalites is supposed to be "Gigabit" so my first choice was cat6.  I can get both Cat5e and Cat6 as outdoor rated cable at reasonable prices.

[FURRYe38]

I recommend CAT6A from basement to Attic area. Then you'll be good. 

[tomschmidt]

I agree that your best solution would to have a wired CAT6 backhaul for your situation.  The antennas of routers and satellites are oriented to provide a stronger signal horizontally rather than vertically.  None send out a WiFi signal in a perfectly spherical shape.  I know that you have your router in the basement, but it would cover better in your setup if it was 1 floor up from there, thus covering the basement (downward), ground floor and next floor up.  You could relocate it from the basement by pulling two CAT6 cables to where you want it on the ground floor, one from your modem and the other to go back to the basement for the NAS and other devices there.

[Ninovan]

Yup, I agree. Everyone is in violent agreement that I should move the base to the first floor.

Lets just say that isn't going to work due to Finished ceilings, nothing lines up that can be used as a chase, and lots and lots of insulation.

Having spent the last two plus hours moving a #$%@^#$ light switch in the basement, let's just say that old houses are built rock hard and had no thought of the future and someone hated electricians. (ate two masonry bits trying to drill one hole for a mounting bracket.)

So, we put in a hard line and move on.   100' of cat 5e-6 outdoor is $27. a couple of $5 jacks and wire ties and I am done and it is reliable as a piece of wire can be.