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Is there a way to have WIFI in a pool house that is near the main house that does have WIFI?

10,907 2,769 April 20, 2023 at 08:21 AM
The pool house is close to the main house but they were told that they'd need the pool house to have it's own WIFI, i.e. cable bill. The pool house is like a small cottage with bath, 1 bed, and small kitchen with small appliances.

They have tried to see if WIFI was in the pool house by trying to connect to the internet via their phone set on WIFI but no go. There really isn't that much distance between the home and the pool house.

The person that owns the home will have a friend from out of town come stay there here and there during the year so she doesn't even need WIFI in there but maybe 3 months out of the year.

She has a non-wifi timer in there now but I was telling her is she could get wifi, she could use a smart plug and control the lighting with an app.

Any suggestions to extend the wifi to pool house? I don't think she wants to mess with a mesh wifi system. I don't think she wants to put all that money into the place.Is there something simpler?
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Joined Aug 2005
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EyeBaller
04-20-2023 at 09:05 AM.
04-20-2023 at 09:05 AM.
How far are we talking? Direct line of sight? I mean without wanting to spend money I'm not sure what the solution is, other than move the current wifi router as close to the side of the pool house as possible. A mesh system would probably be the easiest way though if you can get it set up close. Powerline may work too depending on how the circuits are set up, but you'd need an AP anyway. The *best* way would be to bury an ethernet cable from the house to the pool house then put an AP in there..
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handyguy
04-20-2023 at 09:56 AM.
04-20-2023 at 09:56 AM.
Quote from just123me :
The pool house is close to the main house but they were told that they'd need the pool house to have it's own WIFI, i.e. cable bill. The pool house is like a small cottage with bath, 1 bed, and small kitchen with small appliances.

They have tried to see if WIFI was in the pool house by trying to connect to the internet via their phone set on WIFI but no go. There really isn't that much distance between the home and the pool house.

The person that owns the home will have a friend from out of town come stay there here and there during the year so she doesn't even need WIFI in there but maybe 3 months out of the year.

She has a non-wifi timer in there now but I was telling her is she could get wifi, she could use a smart plug and control the lighting with an app.

Any suggestions to extend the wifi to pool house? I don't think she wants to mess with a mesh wifi system. I don't think she wants to put all that money into the place.Is there something simpler?
Use a Hotspot.
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Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
> bubble2 8,448 Posts
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komondor
04-20-2023 at 12:12 PM.
04-20-2023 at 12:12 PM.
You may just need a better router, they did not say if they had wifi in the backyard and how far they could walk before the signal was gone.

Something like this outside could work 44 bucks
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> bubble2 7,278 Posts
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jkee
04-20-2023 at 12:57 PM.
04-20-2023 at 12:57 PM.
Something like this could also work https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Bl...08YFLJCL3/
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Original Poster
just123me
04-21-2023 at 07:35 AM.
04-21-2023 at 07:35 AM.
Quote from EyeBaller :
How far are we talking? Direct line of sight? I mean without wanting to spend money I'm not sure what the solution is, other than move the current wifi router as close to the side of the pool house as possible. A mesh system would probably be the easiest way though if you can get it set up close. Powerline may work too depending on how the circuits are set up, but you'd need an AP anyway. The *best* way would be to bury an ethernet cable from the house to the pool house then put an AP in there..
Thank you.

Yes, it is in the line of sight from the house for sure. It's pretty close...maybe take 15 steps from the house. The pool house in on the left of the house about 10 steps away at closest back door. The modem/routers are in the middle of the long house. This is an older well built brick house with probably thicker walls.

What is AP?
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Last edited by just123me April 21, 2023 at 08:06 AM.
Joined Feb 2009
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> bubble2 10,907 Posts
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just123me
04-21-2023 at 08:28 AM.
04-21-2023 at 08:28 AM.
Quote from komondor :
You may just need a better router, they did not say if they had wifi in the backyard and how far they could walk before the signal was gone.

Something like this outside could work 44 bucks
Interesting. I'll look those up on Amazon and read reviews after I install Fakespot. That might be a good option. Thanks so much. I didn't know something like that existed.
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Joined Feb 2009
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> bubble2 10,907 Posts
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Original Poster
just123me
04-21-2023 at 08:30 AM.
04-21-2023 at 08:30 AM.
Quote from jkee :
Something like this could also work https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Bl...08YFLJCL3/
Thanks.
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Joined Jun 2005
Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
> bubble2 8,448 Posts
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komondor
04-21-2023 at 12:02 PM.
04-21-2023 at 12:02 PM.
Quote from just123me :
Interesting. I'll look those up on Amazon and read reviews after I install Fakespot. That might be a good option. Thanks so much. I didn't know something like that existed.
Don't forget it could just be your current wifi router 2.4 GHZ goes the furthest.
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> bubble2 577 Posts
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maddog55
04-23-2023 at 04:57 PM.
04-23-2023 at 04:57 PM.
Quote from just123me :
The pool house is close to the main house but they were told that they'd need the pool house to have it's own WIFI, i.e. cable bill. The pool house is like a small cottage with bath, 1 bed, and small kitchen with small appliances.

They have tried to see if WIFI was in the pool house by trying to connect to the internet via their phone set on WIFI but no go. There really isn't that much distance between the home and the pool house.

The person that owns the home will have a friend from out of town come stay there here and there during the year so she doesn't even need WIFI in there but maybe 3 months out of the year.

She has a non-wifi timer in there now but I was telling her is she could get wifi, she could use a smart plug and control the lighting with an app.

Any suggestions to extend the wifi to pool house? I don't think she wants to mess with a mesh wifi system. I don't think she wants to put all that money into the place.Is there something simpler?
My son has a large home, swimming pool, and a small pool house which I presume resembles the setup in your post. His WiFi was poor and he tried an extender but that didn't work out. This is when he called for my help.

We put in an Orbi mesh with the main unit and two satellites. His WiFi performance and range were massively improved. My son is a radiologist and would work from home occasionally. This involves large images being sent. His old equipment simply wasn't up to the task.

We put the main unit in his basement, one satellite on the main floor, and one in his office. The main floor unit also provides coverage for the second story, nearby pool house, and actually through most of his three acre lot. There are many other providers beyond Orbi but I would suggest buying a mesh unit with a dedicated back channel and Ethernet. No need to run cables per se. The satellites are wireless but have Ethernet ports if you choose to use them.

Also recommend just buying an extender. It's been my experience that these cut the internet speed in half so even if you do achieve connectivity, it might not be fast enough for many users. As others pointed out, a new router can make a huge difference.

BTW, you might suggest establishing a guest network for the visitor to use.
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maddog55
04-23-2023 at 07:38 PM.
04-23-2023 at 07:38 PM.
Quote from maddog55 :
My son has a large home, swimming pool, and a small pool house which I presume resembles the setup in your post. His WiFi was poor and he tried an extender but that didn't work out. This is when he called for my help.

We put in an Orbi mesh with the main unit and two satellites. His WiFi performance and range were massively improved. My son is a radiologist and would work from home occasionally. This involves large images being sent. His old equipment simply wasn't up to the task.

We put the main unit in his basement, one satellite on the main floor, and one in his office. The main floor unit also provides coverage for the second story, nearby pool house, and actually through most of his three acre lot. There are many other providers beyond Orbi but I would suggest buying a mesh unit with a dedicated back channel and Ethernet. No need to run cables per se. The satellites are wireless but have Ethernet ports if you choose to use them.

Also recommend just buying an extender. It's been my experience that these cut the internet speed in half so even if you do achieve connectivity, it might not be fast enough for many users. As others pointed out, a new router can make a huge difference.

BTW, you might suggest establishing a guest network for the visitor to use.
Correction - my post inadvertently left out a critical word. I do NOT recommend an extender.
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Joined Jun 2005
Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
> bubble2 8,448 Posts
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komondor
04-23-2023 at 08:16 PM.
04-23-2023 at 08:16 PM.
AP is access point

An extender is Ok if it is a quality one

I have this one and it works really well



I also have an Orbi Mesh and it works really well my house is 3200 Sq Ft


I have 3 separate routers in my house with the Linksys Extender as well as a Powerline Adapter going to my garage.

You could invest in an Orbi and put one on the Satellites in a window and you should be fine.

Get a tri band the Orbi has been rock solid and is fairly old which is a plus. I was actually a Beta Tester for the Orbi, as well as the Linksys and Netgear Nighthawk Router I have. Wifi 6X is a definite plus too if you can afford it.

They have some good used deals on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-Wh...r=1-5&th=1

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