

These two TP-Link kits-and many competing directional Wi-Fi bridges-run on the older 802.11n (Wi-Fi 4) protocol and use a single radio only. On the barn side, I just set the Client down on a utility shelf-and I deliberately aimed it a few degrees off-center from the unit in the house. Instead of mounting the house's Access Point device to the roofline, I zip-tied it to a "cat tree" in the living room and aimed it loosely at the barn through a picture window. I've deliberately kept things as sloppy and simple here as I could. But for shorter distances, you can get a whole lot sloppier. If you're trying to bridge a distance of several kilometers, this guidance is pretty reasonable.

Phrases like "professional installation only," "tower mount," and "completely clear line of sight" crop up frequently.
#Best low cost wifi signal extender professional
The marketing and documentation on these and other point-to-point kits is aimed squarely at professional installers, not homeowners. In fact, you can even enjoy more-than-acceptable results in the end. Instead, we're simply out to demonstrate that wirelessly connecting two buildings quickly, cheaply, and easily is possible for anyone. Our goal in this exercise is not to geek out as hard as possible by mounting and aiming everything with millimeter precision. And that made it an excellent test candidate for a little DIY networking experiment. Said tractor lives in a barn about 80 meters from the house, much of which is a moderately wooded grove. Their place is beautiful, but it's the kind of home where a riding lawn mower is optional-a tractor with a bush hog is a necessity. The good news is, with the right gear, you can connect your home to an outbuilding without either professional expertise or a ditch witch and a spool of burial-grade cable.Īlthough the Salter household (current generation) is planted firmly in suburbia, my parents stayed rural when they moved closer to their grandkids.

This is a job that shouldn't involve range extenders or rely on standard Wi-Fi mesh pieces. The secret lies mostly in knowing the right tools for the job. Extending your Wi-Fi properly from one building to another is, unfortunately, a bit of a secret art-but it doesn't need to be either difficult or expensive.
