Internet Options for my Mom

[EddieWalker]

What is a Nest? How far does it go? I don't need anything fancy, Mom is just using a tablet for Facebook. All I need is reliable internet for her.

 

[part-time-Farmer-NC]

Cable's are the most dependable. Ethernet is allowed a 300' run between drops without attenuation. BUT... If you are susceptible to lighting it would be problematic as a lighting strike in/near the ground would fry both devices its plugged in to. Yes you can get a lighting arrestor but in reality its just as cheap to get two cheap switches for both ends of the run. Performance is as good as what you get. I did this for my granddaughter about 2 years ago. When a lightning storm comes up we both unplug it from our switches. Grandson in law ran the trench I provided the wire/pvc conduit and terminated the ends.

Another Idea is a fiber run between you. Lightning doesn't affect it. Performance is as good as what you'd get. Requires a dig or above ground installation, premade fiber and the repeaters on each end to convert back to Ethernet. I ran one of these for about 5 years to my brothers behind my house.

As mentioned earlier a point to point bridge. Has some weather restrictions or can be affected by EMI (electrical magnetic interference) and is best in line of site conditions. Performance is usually good.

A MIFI or a hotspot that operates on your cellular phone carriers network. Its a small box and puts out a wireless signal or if she has a smart phone its a check box to enable it, then connect her chrome book to that. performance is usually not bad depending on cell signal in her house. If the signal is good outside her house but not inside, you can get a signal extender. Basically an antenna designed for it and runs via a cable back inside.

There is also starlink, but overkill/pricy for what you want.

 

[grsthegreat]

Eddie, i use this to reach my shop 300’ from house router. If your house is on wireless wifi, it will work

Extend ANY WiFi System to Shop, garage, barn - Connect kit | RadioLabs

Powerful WiFi kit, Extends WiFi to any building, detached garage, barn, shop, where you need internet. Connects to all home routers, starlink or hotspots

www.radiolabs.com

 

[ponytug]

Is a Mesh a way to spread the internet around inside your house? Basically increasing the area that the router is giving you?

And is a Bridge a point to point signal from one building to another building?

I'm not seeing a lot of options on Amazon for Wifi Bridget Systems. Should I be using different words for my search?

Mesh is a device that amplifies the WiFi signals and rebroadcasts the signals, so it extends the WiFi coverage area. Like a point and shoot camera, they are very easy to set up, and the units can be moved around (they generally just plug into an outlet) to optimize the WiFi experience in your environment.

A bridge is another way of describing a point to point wireless system.

You might try "WiFi extender" or "wireless point to point". They are slightly different, as the former retransmitts your WiFi signal in a narrow direction, while the latter will typically use different radio frequencies that enable the point-to-point systems to not interfere with the household WiFi signals.

What is a Nest? How far does it go? I don't need anything fancy, Mom is just using a tablet for Facebook. All I need is reliable internet for her.

Nest is a brand of mesh system, Eero is another.

All the best,

Peter

 

[EddieWalker]

Mom's internet is back up today. It was only out for two days. The pressure is off to get her something, but then again, it could stop working again at any time, so I really need to make a decision on what to buy.

 

[EddieWalker]

Mesh is a device that amplifies the WiFi signals and rebroadcasts the signals, so it extends the WiFi coverage area. Like a point and shoot camera, they are very easy to set up, and the units can be moved around (they generally just plug into an outlet) to optimize the WiFi experience in your environment.

A bridge is another way of describing a point to point wireless system.

You might try "WiFi extender" or "wireless point to point". They are slightly different, as the former retransmitts your WiFi signal in a narrow direction, while the latter will typically use different radio frequencies that enable the point-to-point systems to not interfere with the household WiFi signals.

Nest is a brand of mesh system, Eero is another.

All the best,

Peter

Thank you, that helps a lot. We tried extenders with our previous system, and we have them hooked up right now, but they never really did anything that I could tell.

I'll look on Amazon for Wireless Point to Point!!

 

[ponytug]

Amazon can be pricey for some of the point to point hardware, E.g

airMAX NanoBeam 5AC - Ubiquiti Store

Compact, UISP-ready, 5 GHz WiFi bridge with enhanced surge protection and an optimized radio and antenna.

store.ui.com

Here a couple of setup videos;

All the best,

Peter

 

[MMC]

Mesh is a device that amplifies the WiFi signals and rebroadcasts the signals, so it extends the WiFi coverage area. Like a point and shoot camera, they are very easy to set up, and the units can be moved around (they generally just plug into an outlet) to optimize the WiFi experience in your environment.

A bridge is another way of describing a point to point wireless system.

You might try "WiFi extender" or "wireless point to point". They are slightly different, as the former retransmitts your WiFi signal in a narrow direction, while the latter will typically use different radio frequencies that enable the point-to-point systems to not interfere with the household WiFi signals.

Nest is a brand of mesh system, Eero is another.

All the best,

Peter

Ponytug gave you a lot of the basics. Anything I have learned comes from a lot of reading and trying to solve my own problems on the farm with internet access.

But, please don't misunderstand why I have Starlink. That's the only sort of high speed internet that many in rural areas have as a decent, if expensive, option. You have a great option with fiber optic cable. Greater speed and less cost. No way do you need a separate Starlink subscription for your mother.

Hardwired is always better, but I doubt you need that as a solution to your problem.

Also, mesh systems (Nest is just Google's name for their offering) do offer an excellent way to get signals back and forth within your own house seamlessly. But you may well not need a mesh system if you have a good enough signal close to your ISP modem/router from Spectrum. If the location of that Spectrum unit is close to a window that looks out at your mom's house, you might be able to just run an ethernet cable from that box to a point-to-point antenna in the window and receive it at another window/antenna at mom's place.

As an option, do you have a community college close by? A lot of these kids speak this stuff as a first language, LOL, and work cheap.

But I bet you could do this yourself...

 

[EarPlug]

Is a Mesh a way to spread the internet around inside your house? Basically increasing the area that the router is giving you?

And is a Bridge a point to point signal from one building to another building?

I'm not seeing a lot of options on Amazon for Wifi Bridget Systems. Should I be using different words for my search?

A "WiFi Bridge" is signal Mode/Protocall and not a Product. You need a Device that supports "Bridge Mode"

Here is the one I mentioned in Post #6 Amazon.com

MMC mentioned this in Post #17 Amazon.com

If you want to search Amazon use the terms - outdoor wifi extender - https://www.amazon.com/s?k=outdoor+wifi+extender&crid=137UC7652UBD1&sprefix=outdoor+wifi,aps,186&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_2_12

Here are the How To videos -

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=setting+up+wifi+bridge

 

[EddieWalker]

Thank you Peter for the link and the videos!!! I do a lot better watching a video then I do reading and trying to understand what I've read.

My house is in front, and Mom is right behind me. The fiber optic comes into my house closest to the front road, and the roughter is in the corner closest to the front road. Easily the farthest place from Mom's house. My house is 48 feet from wall to wall. 100 feet of compacted gravel between both houses. Then inside Mom's house, she sits pretty much dead center in the middle of her house.

I can run a cable from my router to the wall, or a window facing Mom's house. That wouldn't be hard. I'd want a 75 foot cable, if they come that long, if I had to. I could do the same at Mom's house, but would prefer to just mount it and hope that I can hook up our old modem to it and have that reach her tablet.