Residential Wifi Help
Want a professional to help? By the time you leave this page you’ll know exactly what you need to fix your home Wifi permanently.
Step 1 - Router
Step 2 - Switch
Step 3 - Access Points
We work exclusively with Ubiquiti routers. Every network starts with the router. Most internet service providers will sell you a router with built in WiFi that isn’t strong enough to cover your house.
This is an option piece of equipment based on how many rooms in your house have active ethernet ports that you would want a device hard wired into. If your router doesn’t have enough jacks you add switches to add more.
These are the WiFi discs that broadcast WiFi to all your devices. These are wired directly to your network without any mesh technology involved which is very important.
Routers
On to Step 1. Choosing the right router with all the variables available can be a bit tricky. Most homes in Kansas City have Gig speed internet so we’ll start with the most basic router Ubiquiti sells and work up. The reason you want a Ubiquiti router is so the router can seamlessly manage your network equipment and keep them updated over time eliminating downtime. Updates can be done manually yourself or with our periodic support. If you choose to use the router from your ISP you can, but you then have to have a dedicated/permanent computer become the brain for the access points which in the end causes several annoying problems. Best to just use a Ubiquiti router.
Cloud Gateway Ultra – $129
Compact Cloud Gateway with 30+ UniFi devices / 300+ clients support, 1 Gbps IPS routing, and multi-WAN load balancing.
This device’s connection speed caps out at 1 gig which works great on google fiber and any other gig speed capped connection. This router can be upgraded at any time in order to increase your homes bandwidth should you need it. If you click the video you’ll see it has 5 jacks on the back. One will be for the internet connection the other 4 will be for either activating WiFi discs or direct connections for devices. If you have more physical jacks than what the router provides we add in a networking switch that we’ll discuss later.
Cloud Gateway Max – $199
Compact 2.5G Cloud Gateway with 30+ UniFi device / 300+ client support, 1.5 Gbps IPS routing, and selectable NVR storage.
This router’s max connection speed is 2.5 gigs for the homes that have that bandwidth available from their internet service provider. It also opens up the possibility to add network based security cameras with an internal ssd harddrive to store data on. For the $199 you do not get a ssd, that’s an additional purchase that ranges based on the size of the ssd. If you click the video you’ll see it has 5 jacks on the back. One will be for the internet connection the other 4 will be for either activating WiFi discs or direct connections for devices. If you have more physical jacks than what the router provides we add in a networking switch that we’ll discuss later.
There are several router options beyond these entry level options, however they most likely won’t be in the scope of a residential setup.
Switches
In step 2 we determine how many different ethernet jacks we have to plug into our network. Generally, if possible we would want as many high profile devices (tv’s, gaming systems, gaming PCs) plugged in physically to the network in order to get the best connection speeds. For the devices we can’t plug in to our network we at least want a close by Wifi Access point to give the devices a strong signal which we’ll talk about later.
Lite 8 PoE – $109
USW-Lite-8-POE (52W)
An 8-port, Layer 2 PoE switch supporting silent fanless cooling.
This switch will expand into 7 additional ports to plug in devices that require power. For example, if the place you are going to put your wifi disc doesn’t have a power source to plug your disc into the wall you can use this type of switch being that it’s P.O.E. (power over ethernet) to power each disc.
This switch only supports up to 1 gig speed. If your network connection has 2 gigs you’d want to step up to the next switch.
Pro 8 PoE – $349
USW-Pro-8-PoE (120W)
An 8-port, Layer 3 switch with PoE+ and PoE++ output.
This switch gives you the upgrade potential to get into enterprise level routers with a 10gig sfp connector option running from the switch to the router giving you tremendous throughput for all of the devices connecting to your discs. In extreme data use situations with 4 or 5 WiFi discs setup to cover a large home and with lots of devices connecting to every WiFi disc you have the potential to overload the cable connecting from your switch to your router. Additionally, if your home has a 2.5gb connection that you want to fully utilize this router allows for that speed.
AC Pro – 5 Pack $699
UAP-AC-PRO-5
Ceiling-mounted WiFi 5 AP with 6 spatial streams designed for large offices.
These access points cap at 1 gig speed. All devices connected to this disc via WiFi will run at speeds below 1gig. The distance the device is from the disc determines the speed it’s capable of. These discs will be strategically placed to give maximum coverage to your home.
U7 Pro Max – $279 / Disc
Ceiling-mounted WiFi 7 AP with 8 spatial streams, 6 GHz support, and a dedicated spectral scanning engine for interference-free WiFi in demanding, large-scale environments.
The major add to these devices are the 2.5 gig speed rating. Additionally, they 8 spatial streams 2 more than the AC Pro’s that give a stronger broadcast signal.
As you can see a lot goes into determining what the right equipment is for your situation. If you think you can tackle the project yourself give it a try. If you’d rather have us help you determine the most cost effective way to cover your home in WiFi give us a call.