how does the signal strength of this unit fare with cement floors on three stories? Best to mount on highest floor or mid level?
1107977
We have concrete floors and opted to put two on each level. They're cheap enough that this made sense. Even though these are not "mesh" units, their tech support provided me with instructions to "fake" a mesh setup, so people are able to roam through the building unaware that they have moved from one access point to another.
1107978
I mounted it on the ceiling and it penetrated to the second floor with good signal. I love mine. The middle floor would be the best because it would penetrate upper and lower. BTW remember you need a POE Injector unless you have a POE Switch.
802423
depends where your client devices are in relation to your router. If everything is on one floor you will certainly have best performance | | |, if you have things on floors above and below you may be better with | | __ or similar. Just try different combos.
1833275
Yes...we have a 3-story house, and the transmitters relay very well between floors.
878277
The antenna will work "receive signals" any place, IMHO the higher its mounted the better, in attic, 2nd floor ok depends on distance from station and signal strength.If you have metal roof or siding then it probably won't work as well, RF does not penetrate metal.
2155987
I attached this particular AP to an indoor wireless cart as it has an omni type antenna. I also did a building to building installation with the ENS500 which is a point to point installation. That particular installation was approximately 300 feet and there is a tree (trimmed and can see through it) in the pathway. I still connected up at -59 dBm and was able to pass traffic at 32 Mbps. I also have another site that is in the 600-700 foot range with two of the older Engenius products (8610 I think) that have been working flawlessly for many years. The actual range of the ENS500 is supposed to about 10 km but I have not tested it that far. On a final note, Engenius has gone cheap with their Mounting Kit. Older products included a metal adjustable mount that could be tilted and secured with a metal clamp. The newer products I just purchased have the mount molded into the plastic AP and they include 2 thin zip ties to secure it. I bet the zip ties would not last a year on a roof with the sun beating down on it. Do a search for "Dundas Jafine MC4ZW Metal Clamps" and buy some if you plan to mount it outside.
687139
I don't think that one can be answered because each situation is different, and it would depend on interference that might reside in that space. I can tell you that it had been just fine for our trilevel home, and that our signal is more reliable with this unit than with our old. Signal range can be effected by so many things that without seeing your space I would not hazard a guess.
593372
I have used it at over a total of 50' and partly outside the building. DECT is a fairly good standard and I used is years ago for a local telephone network in Poland, so it is robust for a low powered unit. Of course it depends on metal enclosures etc. Screens can cause blockage as can metal doors.
305036
The system itself needs and comes with an antenna that is mounted on your roof at the highest point. We live in a tri-level house so it is mounted on the chimney and then pointed to the direction of the nearest cell tower. The unit you are asking about is located in a window away from the solid brick wall outside and the two big trees in our backyard. We used to have the same problem and once I acquired more cable than what came with the unit moving it closer to the main floor made a huge difference. I get 4-5 bars at any given time; in addition, my calls come through and don't go straight to voicemail as happened in the past. We live in a "micro" climate whereby we are below a lot of multi level brick homes and a lot of tall trees. Though not rural still difficult to get a signal. This unit helped a lot. Good luck. I would suggest that you call your carrier and ask where the nearest cell tower is located and start from that point.
581345
As close as possible to get the strongest signal. You can move it to various locations once you have it up & running to test the strength.
2061383
I have mine in a home office, up high on top of a bookshelf (about 6 ft). I get plenty of signal through 2 or 3 walls all the way at the other end of the house, and also outside in the driveway and the backyard. Easily 100 feet away in the house, more than that outside - once again through multiple walls. Important to note that these are wooden / wallboard walls with no metal studs.
1169479
My WiFi range works on the third floor with the modem in the basement. That is a distance of at least 75 feet.
648901
I love this unit after having purchase 4 of them, but I can't say it help with a better signal.
536749
I have three units in the house and all three work very well. Try stepping through the 7 channels while watching the display to see which one has the best signal strength.
2140792
I agree with the other replies. You will need something much stronger for a good signal..
65442
I placed mine 2 floors below my wireless router in my finished basement, and it works fine--my signal strength there was 80%; the distance depends upon the strength of the signal coming from your router; you want to be sure, according to the instructions, that the signal strength at the range extender is at least 70% (it shows you this on the dashboard when you connect to the device). And once you have gone through setup and connected to the extended network, you can unplug the device and try it in different places without having to reconnect. The extender remembers your original settings. Really a freaking nice device, at least for me. Took less than 10 minutes to set up at a leisurely pace. I placed mine 2 floors below my wireless router in my finished basement, and it works fine--my signal strength there was 80%; the distance depends upon the strength of the signal coming from your router; you want to be sure, according to the instructions, that the signal strength at the range extender is at least 70% (it shows you this on the dashboard when you connect to the device). And once you have gone through setup and connected to the extended network, you can unplug the device and try it in different places without having to reconnect. The extender remembers your original settings.... » Read More I placed mine 2 floors below my wireless router in my finished basement, and it works fine--my signal strength there was 80%; the distance depends upon the strength of the signal coming from your router; you want to be sure, according to the instructions, that the signal strength at the range extender is at least 70% (it shows you this on the dashboard when you connect to the device). And once you have gone through setup and connected to the extended network, you can unplug the device and try it in different places without having to reconnect. The extender remembers your original settings. Really a freaking nice device, at least for me. Took less than 10 minutes to set up at a leisurely pace. « Show Less
919902
As others have suggested, there is no absolute answer to this question. I replaced a Cisco WRT400N with this N66U, and signal strength, represented as a percentage by my computer, is consistently about 10% (absolute, not relative) higher than with the Cisco in the same locations. Positioning of the three antennas has a significant effect on signal strength, and you may need to experiment to get best results.
788665
If your home is predominately constructed of wood, there should be little interference. If the bottom level is below ground level, you may encounter some signal loss from steel beams, rebar in concrete or other metallic items. Electrical wiring can also be a signal dampener, but not to the extent that you can not be able to communicate. My family uses these radios to keep up with me as I'm a combat disabled veteran so it's sort of important that these two-ways work. Hope this helps you.