Outdoor WiFi Booster: Extending Your WiFi Range

So everything within the four walls of your home are doing great for WiFi. You got coverage there.

But what happens when you walk outside?

Dead zone. Spotty service. Zero bars. And you’re literally a few feet from the house.

That’s because building material (brick, metal, thick wall, etc.) is the leading cause of poor WiFi and cellular service. Hence why your outdoor WiFi cameras, lights, and doorbells seem to struggle with lag and reception.

Today we look at the best solutions for getting WiFi signal outside from your home. Depending on what you want, you can extend coverage to the backyard or even half a mile away.

BEST: Outdoor WiFi Extender aka The Godfather

The PiFi Outdoor WiFi Extender is a beast.

It’s an access point that works by attaching a CAT5e or CAT6 ethernet cable from your router to the PiFi outdoor WiFi extender.

The PiFi is installed outdoors and broadcasts WiFi signal (2.4 Ghz) up to ½ mile away depending on your outside antenna type.

The three antenna configurations:

1. Yagi antenna: Up to ½ mile of WiFi coverage. (Great for rural areas like farms.)
2. Omni antenna: Up to ¼ mile of WiFi coverage.
3. Whip antenna: Up to 100 yards. (Good for backyard coverage.)

It’s best to upgrade one level up, because outside interference such as trees, hills, and wooded areas will affect signal reach, unless you have a mighty chainsaw. 

Pros:

1. Best method to bring WiFi signal from inside to outside your home.
2. Long reach for rural areas, up to ½ mile.
3. Plug & play installation.

Cons:

1. Brings signal outside but doesn’t necessarily mean it pushes signal to a shed, garage, or another building. There’s another solution for building-to-building WiFi.

GOOD: Mesh WiFi Systems aka The Goodfella

Technically, mesh WiFi systems are used for expanding indoor coverage.

Essentially, they’re a group of devices that act as multiple WiFi points around your house. Instead of relying on the router for coverage, mesh systems act as middlemen wirelessly connected to each other and to the router. Thus expanding coverage inside.

So what does this have to do with outdoor WiFi?

Each mesh system comes a hub that connects to the router and two to three points or beacons that wirelessly connect to the hub. They plug into the power outlet for extended coverage at that location. 

If you have poor WiFi signal in the back of the yard, installing your beacon at a power outlet near the backyard could help with leaking signal outside. Same principle for the front yard.

Depending on the type of mesh network you purchase and the building quality of your home, you may get up to 5,000 sq ft of coverage.

Pros:

1. Great indoor WiFi coverage.
2. Should also leak coverage outdoors

Cons:

1. Limited outdoor range since it’s made for indoor coverage.

OK: Powerline Adapters aka The Mickey Blue Eyes

Powerline adapters use your home’s electrical wiring to deliver internet. Although technically supposed to be used indoors, in theory, it should be able to be used outdoors. 

However, there’s also the question of weatherproofing it. Even then performance won’t be as good or reliable as an outdoor WiFi extender for outdoors or mesh WiFi system for indoors.

Pros:

1. Something better than nothing.
2. Easy to install.

Cons:

1. Not weatherproof. So it’s DIY for a solution.
2. Not as reliable as the other options.

We Fix Poor WiFi & Cell Signal

If poor WiFi or cellular coverage is affecting your home or business, get in touch with the RF experts at Simple WiFi .

We solve weak signal & coverage 24/7, because we're field experts, meaning we've been rolling up our sleeves and doing this for homes and offices with precision for many years– compared to the guy with a truck and ladder and "theoretically" can do it.

You don't want theory, you want results. That's what we provide.

Free consultation with our Miami-based customer support (info@simplewifi.com) or call us at 305-798-8505.