Wireless recommendations for a 5 level split floorplan?

[digitalfreak]

I have a 5 level split house. Right now my WNDR3700 v1 is in the upstairs loft, and I get a pretty bad signal almost everywhere in the house. I've attached the floorplan (finished basement is not shown), so could someone make suggestions as to where the best place (or places) to put an AP would be? I have Ethernet outlets throughout the house, and I don't have a problem using more than one AP if required. I'm also using a separate router, so I don't have to keep the APs near the cable modem.

Any feedback is much appreciated.

 

[L&LD]

I'd be tempted to put it as high as possible in the Garage and as central as possible too re: the rest of the house.

 

[mlg321]

Where do your ethernet cables terminate? Are they organized in a patch panel? Is your modem close by?

 

[Trip]

Seems like a perfect candidate for a wireless mesh such as Ubiquiti UniFi. Even more inviting if you have ethernet drops throughout the house. Otherwise, you could try powerline AV2 in 2 or more spots and broadcast your APs from there. Best of luck!

 

[digitalfreak]

Where do your ethernet cables terminate? Are they organized in a patch panel? Is your modem close by?

Cables all terminate to a patch panel in the utility room in the basement. Cable modem is there too, though I have a separate dedicated router for that.

 

[digitalfreak]

Seems like a perfect candidate for a wireless mesh such as Ubiquiti UniFi. Even more inviting if you have ethernet drops throughout the house. Otherwise, you could try powerline AV2 in 2 or more spots and broadcast your APs from there. Best of luck!

I thought about the UniFi. My router is an Edgemax Lite, also made by Ubiquiti. I just don't want to add too many APs and cause other issues.

I pick up probably 7 or 8 SSIDs from the neighborhood in the 2.4 range, but 5 is pretty clear.

 

[Trip]

I'm glad you mentioned the ERL. You must be pretty tech-savvy, then. If you still want to do 2.4Ghz unmanaged and with as few APs as possible, you might want to look at a MikroTik RB2011UiAS-2HnD-IN or the newer CRS109-8G-1S-2HnD-IN. Both have very powerful 1mW 2.4Ghz wifi (much more powerful than any of the consumer stuff), which could help to blast a signal through all that overlap you're getting from the neighbors. Just a thought there. And if you're lacking central ethernet drops and don't want to wire, then perhaps you could do powerline adapters as a way to get the AP to a central broadcast location.