WiFi to Pole Barn

[calebm1001]

Hey y’all!

Been out of the loop for the last 4-5 months with a new house purchase that didn’t allow me to utilize the sim. We needed extra storage and best solution was a 24x24 pole barn. We broke ground this week so now I need to get ready to fire the sim back up.

I’ve done some prelim research but figured I would come direct to people that may have experience here.

Have any of my “outdoor builds” utilized a WiFi extender of some sort to get to the building? My barn is only about 12’ from the house but more than 100’ from the router.

there looks to be a couple options but I really don’t know which route to go and I really don’t want to have to pay Comcast for additional, separate internet.

thanks!

[mthunt]

Best option is mesh wifi. I use deco and bought it on Amazon.

[calebm1001]

What modem do you use? I’m on the Comcast XB6 which is also the router. I presume I need to get a different modem that doesn’t already have a router?

[calebm1001]

Also, how far away is your building? The current modem/router placement means I have to go through the kitchen, laundry room, garage then into the barn which is only 10-15’ away. Lots of walls to get through.

My barn is also metal so a little worried about it all. Trying to research but internet lingo is over my head.

[mthunt]

One deco plugs into your current routers Ethernet. All routers have that. They you place units to extend the WiFi range. So one by the router, one upstairs and one in the sim. That will create a mesh to cover the whole area. Another option is to run an Ethernet from your modem to the barn underground.

[Laboroflove]

+1 for the Deco mesh solution.

[calebm1001]

I have the Comcast XB6 modem/router. All the research I’ve makes it sound like I need to get my own modem (without router) in order to use mesh.

Is that accurate?

Which deco is the best? I see a lot of options M’x’-M’z’.

[Wizard of Coz]

He lives!!!!!!!
congrats on the house purchase.
however if I purchase another house no sim area is a deal breaker. Ill be going straight to the basement with a tape measure! Lol

[mthunt]

I’ve actually done that and the agent said “why would you start with the basement?”

[calebm1001]

Haha yeah it was a tough choice but the house had everything else we wanted. I also knew immediately that we would need a barn so I’ve Just needed to be patient.

[Jason Penner]

I’d hardwire a couple cat6 lines. Clearly you will have to run power to the build, run cat 6 at the same time.

[calebm1001]

That what I’ve been thinking as of the last hour or two. Just had to dig a trench for the electrician so it makes sense.

I’m going to have to run about 175’ of cable. Do I lose any speed by running that much wire? I’ve also heard to use Fiber if I play to use the same trench or the run is near the electrical.

So many options and things to figure out.

[sturonek]

If you go that route, go with shield Cat6 and preferably in a separate conduit from the electrical. That can introduce interference. You can get up to 320ft running that (unless you go 10GB and that is half, but I HIGHLY doubt, nor do you need 10GB)

[SkeetShooter]

I agree... Hardwire the Cat6 in and then put a wifi router/extender in the pole barn... You will be much happier that you did. I did that in my garage and its been awesome.

[sjdroess]

I used the EZ bridge to connect internet from my house to my pole shed. It works great and I have no speed lose at all. Plus I hooked it all up myself and I am no expert by any means with this stuff... pretty much plug and The EZ-Bridge-Lite EZBR-0214+ High Power Outdoor Wireless Point to Point System https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002K683V0..._qpFRDb5JWXP5X

[Msmith6208]

I used Samsung Smarthings to reach my metal building about 50ft from my home. Have excellent signal strength - I located a unit in the closest window in home then another in the window of metal building.

[StanMI]

My build is in the barn. A little far from the router so I use my phone as a hot spot. I also need a VPN. Works great !

[HackerDave]

I'm also in Michigan and in a similar situation. The barn is across the street. Its a HUGE building but no internet as of today. Paved road so no way to run wire over there so I need to figure out some kind of extender.

[calebm1001]

Yours sounds like the point to point extender. I would have to dig a trench and pull the Ethernet outside anyways so I’m just gonna go full bore and take Ethernet out there the whole way.

[phoneman68]

Look into outdoor wifi antennas. Yagi antenas are a great solution for extending the network, usually with low latency (lag) As long as you have point to point vision, they should work for you . Look at something like this

https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-CPE210-300Mbps-dual-polarized-directional/dp/B00P4JKQGK?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_8

[DejaVu]

calebm1001 use one of these. Basically, you plug it in to your modem/router then into an electrical outlet nearby. Then, wherever you want wifi you plug it into an outlet there. Your internet now runs through the electric lines of your entire house. It's pretty amazing and I have used it 250' ft away from my router with zero lag. Also, you can connect via Ethernet cable if you choose not to use the WiFi from the extender.

https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-AV600-Powerline-WiFi-Extender/dp/B00HSQAIQU/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?keywords=tp+link+wifi+extender&qid=1573647810&sprefix=tplink+wifi&sr=8-6