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Ask HN: WiFi Access Point(s) for Home?

7 points by plg ↗ HN
Currently running an Apple Time machine in bridge mode from a ubiquity edgerouter lite. Would like better coverage (3 story house) and faster speeds. Big family lots of devices. Recommendations? Ethernet cabling on basement and main level but not upstairs.

9 comments

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marvel_boy
Have tried a simple Wifi repeater? It works quite good in most situations.
plg
have not tried it
thepapanoob
wifi repeaters are the worst you can do...
yellowait44
Ubiquiti AP are pretty great. Have 3 of them at home and great coverage on a 3 level home.
plg
Do you have to mount them upside down on a ceiling? Or can you do tabletop?
bradknowles
They are intended to be mounted on a ceiling or wall, and have antenna radiation patterns designed for that use. Putting them in any other orientation will likely make them less effective.
msh
Ubnt amplifi is the easy (and well working) solution.
dirktheman
I have 3 TP-Link EAP-245 access points, an Omada Cloud Controller and a simple 8-ports POE switch. The coverage and stability is up to par with the Unifi AP-AC-PRO and software is pretty good, also. I can highly recommend them: much lower price point and a lifelong warranty.

Having said that, without a cable you're not going to get a decent throughput on the upper floors. Don't bother with WiFi repeaters as they'll extend the range at the cost of bandwidth.