Wireless direction relative to house

[phlojo]

Does it matter which way my router (AX88U) is pointing/turned relative to my house layout? If my house is more long than wide, do I want the router to be parallel to it or perpendicular?

It feels to me like when I have it perpendicular, the reception is better from end to end, but I could be imagining things.

My router is now in the office (ground level) on a top shelf. The office is central to the layout of the house. The router does not have enough clearance around it in all directions (it is about 1 ft away from a wall) but that's the only option I have at this moment.

 

[cooloutac]

Does it matter which way my router (AX88U) is pointing/turned relative to my house layout? If my house is more long than wide, do I want the router to be parallel to it or perpendicular?

It feels to me like when I have it perpendicular, the reception is better from end to end, but I could be imagining things.

My router is now in the office (ground level) on a top shelf. The office is central to the layout of the house. The router does not have enough clearance around it in all directions (it is about 1 ft away from a wall) but that's the only option I have at this moment.

depends on more how the antennaes are pointed. The go in a donut shape around it so you can use that to judge how you angle them. I usually try to use the top sides when aiming them. put each antennae at a different direction and angle to hit your furthest away or most important devices. for me I got my two outside anntennae pointed outwards and down at the first notch. I got the left center antennae pointed down just above flat and slightly left. and the center right antennae pointed straght down at only a slight angle in between notches (ax58u) like around 45 degree. I don't have any of my antennae pointed straight up since the router is close to ceiling in the basement. I got the router against the wall. This helped me get good range to my devices more then anything else.

 

[thiggins]

All the antennas are omnidirectional. If the antennas are all pointed straight up, it should not matter.

 

[cooloutac]

All the antennas are omnidirectional. If the antennas are all pointed straight up, it should not matter.

I totally disagree. your comment is shocking and disappointing to me. If true why would they even be adjustable? Time for you to do another test with a wifi analyzer lmao...

to answer the op's question perpendicular would be better if I'm understand the word correctly. I would still angle the two antennaes on the outside perpendicular and out a little like to first notch for more wider coverage. and if you need coverage to other floors make one of them parallel and flat or close to it depending where your device is. just keep one in the middle straight up.

 

[thiggins]

I totally disagree. your comment is shocking and disappointing to me. If true why would they even be adjustable? Time for you to do another test with a wifi analyzer lmao...

You can make your point without being condescending @cooloutac .

What are you disagreeing with? That the antennas are omnidirectional? I said if all antennas are pointed straight up it should not matter.
The OP was asking about the orientation of the router, not the antennas.

The adjustments you suggest change the polarization of the antennas. That can affect signal from floor to floor. It will also reduce signal available in a horizontal plane.

 

[Smokey613]

All my devices are on the same plane so I just leave the 3 external antennas pointed straight up.

 

[OzarkEdge]

Does it matter which way my router (AX88U) is pointing/turned relative to my house layout? If my house is more long than wide, do I want the router to be parallel to it or perpendicular?

It feels to me like when I have it perpendicular, the reception is better from end to end, but I could be imagining things.

My router is now in the office (ground level) on a top shelf. The office is central to the layout of the house. The router does not have enough clearance around it in all directions (it is about 1 ft away from a wall) but that's the only option I have at this moment.

The antenna pics in this post might shed a little light on the matter.... a little. Tilting the donut seems to help serve upper and lower levels. I trust there are more complicated EMF considerations I can't make. Like you, I tend to want to orient the router perpendicular to the long axis of the area to be served, but I don't think this matters to the omnidirectional antennas... not sure about the internal antennas.

OE

 

[lindros2]

I totally disagree. your comment is shocking and disappointing to me. If true why would they even be adjustable? Time for you to do another test with a wifi analyzer lmao...

Gee - maybe because people mount them differently? Like up against a wall instead of laying flat.
And btw - I’ve scientifically tested WiFi (back to 928Mhz DSSS Lucent devices in 1993), and now have a home brew mesh / extender configuration - AC5300 main, AX11000 office, and two AC68U for IoT and cameras.
Antenna orientation has has no bearing. Even when two antennas fell down (from being loose).

 

[cooloutac]

You can make your point without being condescending @cooloutac .

What are you disagreeing with? That the antennas are omnidirectional? I said if all antennas are pointed straight up it should not matter.
The OP was asking about the orientation of the router, not the antennas.

The adjustments you suggest change the polarization of the antennas. That can affect signal from floor to floor. It will also reduce signal available in a horizontal plane.

sorry it was sincere and I didn't mean to be. my apologies.

The antenna pics in this post might shed a little light on the matter.... a little. Tilting the donut seems to help serve upper and lower levels. I trust there are more complicated EMF considerations I can't make. Like you, I tend to want to orient the router perpendicular to the long axis of the area to be served, but I don't think this matters to the omnidirectional antennas... not sure about the internal antennas.

OE

Very informative post, very detailed explanation on how antennae work . I would put my antennae just like yours if I was the op. But since he has ax88 with 4 antennae I would put one of the middle antennas more flat and parallel to room at just a slight angle for the donut towards his devices and better coverage on top and bottom floors. and leave the other 3 just like your pic \ | / with the router perpendicular to the room. Which is exactly how i ahve mine in the basement except the one straight up i have notched slightly forward to hit up the camera on my shed better. Or even better might be to leave the 3 on left or right just like your pic, and the put one of the end ones flat and pependicular to room. would have to test to see which is best for the devices on the other floors depending on where router is positioned.

 

[cooloutac]

Gee - maybe because people mount them differently? Like up against a wall instead of laying flat.
And btw - I’ve scientifically tested WiFi (back to 928Mhz DSSS Lucent devices in 1993), and now have a home brew mesh / extender configuration - AC5300 main, AX11000 office, and two AC68U for IoT and cameras.
Antenna orientation has has no bearing. Even when two antennas fell down (from being loose).

you tested wrong lol. and you must test with your device at max distance which is when it is more noticeable and why it people resort to moving them. you got 4 routers in your home, bet I could cover them with one lol.


mine is up against a wall. no matter where you put it I would adjust antennae for best coverage. Mine is parallell to my house floor plan, but I have mine up against the back wall. Played around with atennae for best coverage to 3 corners of my house mainly my front doorbell. you can easily check the ring doorbell rssi without having to move anywhere. (just do a live view and check it) If I had router in the middle of the house on a table this would not be ideal for example and would be better for me to put the router perpendicular. another problem is that you can't put the antennae all the way forward so would be hard to get antennae the same way as Ozark pic for example or how i have mine in my basement with the two middle ones pushed forward. so I like the routers that stand up or are wall mountable best. The ax88 is one of those even if you just lean it against a wall. Those spider looking routers are obvious a different story and dont' have the issue of not getting full potential no matter how you position the router, but they do limit potential room position.

I got my ax58u towards ceiling in basement going 150 feet to a blink cam on my shed in backyard (why the router is on backwall). another cam in my car port and a front door bell which was the hardest to go to through with all the floors and walls. Love the router, much better 2.4ghz range then an ac86u. The 5ghz on the ac86u i think is same or maybe better range then the ax58u. But I really think the extra external antennae on ax58u makes a difference.

 

[phlojo]

Thank you all for the passionate responses. You never disappoint. Very informative.

The only question I can't answers is this... Are the antennas on st AX88U omnidirectional indeed, and if yes, does the donat coverage apply. I struggle to reconcile the 'omni' with the 'donut'.

F

 

[L&LD]

Donut is Omni. Depending on how 'fat' or 'flat' you make it, it may seem different, but it's not.

There is no way to make infinitely small antennae to make the 'hole' disappear. At least not for consumer routers in 2020.

 

[OzarkEdge]

Thank you all for the passionate responses. You never disappoint. Very informative.

The only question I can't answers is this... Are the antennas on st AX88U omnidirectional indeed, and if yes, does the donat coverage apply. I struggle to reconcile the 'omni' with the 'donut'.

F

Yes. Yes. But it's far more complicated than pastries. Here's one dated discussion of WLAN dipole antennas used on APs. At the time, there was only 802.11b 2.4 GHz. But the RF stuff has not changed. I'm sure you can find more such information on the Internet.

BYTE Articles - Dr Trevor Marshall

OE

 

[lindros2]

you tested wrong lol. and you must test with your device at max distance which is when it is more noticeable and why it people resort to moving them. you got 4 routers in your home, bet I could cover them with one lol.


mine is up against a wall. no matter where you put it I would adjust antennae for best coverage. Mine is parallell to my house floor plan, but I have mine up against the back wall. Played around with atennae for best coverage to 3 corners of my house mainly my front doorbell. you can easily check the ring doorbell rssi without having to move anywhere. (just do a live view and check it) If I had router in the middle of the house on a table this would not be ideal for example and would be better for me to put the router perpendicular. another problem is that you can't put the antennae all the way forward so would be hard to get antennae the same way as Ozark pic for example or how i have mine in my basement with the two middle ones pushed forward. so I like the routers that stand up or are wall mountable best. The ax88 is one of those even if you just lean it against a wall. Those spider looking routers are obvious a different story and dont' have the issue of not getting full potential no matter how you position the router, but they do limit potential room position.

I got my ax58u towards ceiling in basement going 150 feet to a blink cam on my shed in backyard (why the router is on backwall). another cam in my car port and a front door bell which was the hardest to go to through with all the floors and walls. Love the router, much better 2.4ghz range then an ac86u. The 5ghz on the ac86u i think is same or maybe better range then the ax58u. But I really think the extra external antennae on ax58u makes a difference.

I performed scientific testing at two major universities and corporate campuses (+ empirical in homes). The early articles are currently down (CMP Publications acquired), but continue to move antennas on my AC5300 and AX11000 and re-test signal strength, interference, and performance (in-home and round trip to-the-internet).

I've even pulled antennas off the AC5300 and AX11000 and seen minimal degradation in a fairly large home (not my testbed).

 

[dlandiss]

Yes. Yes. But it's far more complicated than pastries. Here's one dated discussion of WLAN dipole antennas used on APs. At the time, there was only 802.11b 2.4 GHz. But the RF stuff has not changed. I'm sure you can find more such information on the Internet.

BYTE Articles - Dr Trevor Marshall

OE

Dr. Marshall's analysis is consistent with generally accepted principles of dipole antennas (the most common OEM screw-on type). The description "omnidirectional" applies only in azimuth (perpendicular to the physical axis of the dipole) but not in elevation (other than perpendicular) -- hence the common donut depiction. That explains the frequent advice to "tilt the donut" if clients above or below the router suffer from weak signals. The orientation of the router box itself matters little if external antennas are in play.

 

[lindros2]

Dr. Marshall's analysis is consistent with generally accepted principles of dipole antennas (the most common OEM screw-on type). The description "omnidirectional" applies only in azimuth (perpendicular to the physical axis of the dipole) but not in elevation (other than perpendicular) -- hence the common donut depiction. That explains the frequent advice to "tilt the donut" if clients above or below the router suffer from weak signals. The orientation of the router box itself matters little if external antennas are in play.

View attachment 28696

Theoretical is great.
Look at how well Covid turned out.
I wrote a masters thesis on the impact of a pandemic to GDP.

 

[cooloutac]

Thank you all for the passionate responses. You never disappoint. Very informative.

The only question I can't answers is this... Are the antennas on st AX88U omnidirectional indeed, and if yes, does the donut coverage apply. I struggle to reconcile the 'omni' with the 'donut'.

F

its omni in the sense the signal will go everywhere. but you still consider the donut shape for where the signal will be strongest. Ozark and dlandiss gave the proper clarification.

 

[L&LD]

And while all this theoretical information is handy to understand at some fundamental level, the orientation of the router does make a difference in specific real-world environments I've seen.

Our homes, businesses, and surrounding AP's don't follow ideals. They follow reality.

 

[ATLga]

And while all this theoretical information is handy to understand at some fundamental level, the orientation of the router does make a difference in specific real-world environments I've seen.

Our homes, businesses, and surrounding AP's don't follow ideals. They follow reality.

Agree about orientation. Maybe due to internal antennas needing to be oriented too

 

[thiggins]

Agree about orientation. Maybe due to internal antennas needing to be oriented too

The RT-AX88U has no internal antennas.