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Seeking Access Point advice

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Richard H

Occasional Visitor
Hi,

I have an ASUS RT-N66U router in the middle of my house which I use to connect to a local wireless broadband provider. I live in the UK, in a bungalow with solid walls, and because it's been extended a few times there are a number of cavity walls inside the house. It's also quite a long, narrow shape, so I have trouble getting any wifi signal at either end of the house. I mostly get around this with a combination of cat5 cabling and powerline sockets. I can't use either of those for my Ring doorbell though which is frequently complaining of a poor WiFi signal, so I think it's time to add some access points. I already have a PoE switch in the loft, so I'd like APs that will connect using this if possible.

I'm rather overwhelmed with options to be honest! I'm thinking of getting a couple of APs with the possibility of adding a third if necessary. I was initially drawn to Ubiquiti UAP-AC-Lite's but I see that the TP-Link EAP225v3 seem to beat them in most regards, even though I don't find that "ridged" look very appealing.

Do people ever mount access points in lofts? I realise I shouldn't put them underneath insulation, but I was wondering about mounting them on the roof, directly above cavity walls, so the signal is relatively unimpeded either side of them.

Also, I have a number of old devices including Squeezebox music streaming clients that only work on 802.11b/g so will need 2.4 band. Are there APs better at coping with a mix of old and new clients?

Are any access points particularly good/bad at working with Ring doorbells?

Sorry for all the questions, but thanks in advance for any help.
 
Is the loft conditioned or unconditioned (similar to outside air) space ?
what temperature and humidity do you get in the loft ?

Here in the US Gulf coast we can approach 130 F and 95 % humidity in our unconditioned loft (we call them attics) space.

All of the devices except those for outside use are rated for indoor non-condensing conditions.
 
Thanks for your post. Many apologies for my delayed response I didn't see an email and forgot to check the forum for one!

It is unconditioned I guess, in that it has no heating / air conditioning in it, with moderate insulation on its floor. I don't know actual figures but I suspect it wouldn't go much above 100 F in summer, and I doubt it would hit freezing in winter. Not sure about the humidity, though I've never seen any condensation.

Do you think I'd need an outdoor rated AP? Or maybe I should just accept that they shouldn't be in the loft!
 
Don't put it in that loft if it gets that warm. It may shorten the life and it may cause flaky operation.
If you have to, then look for one rated for about 50 C or higher.
 
What about mounting them on the ceiling off to the side. You only need to make a small hole for the wire which can be sealed.
 

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