Ubiquiti UniFi or Google Wifi with powerline Ethernet?

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mgbridges

118 posts

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#242385 25-Oct-2018 16:18

Hi,

The wifi coverage in my house is pretty poor. The house is on 3 levels and the fibre comes in on the lowest level, which is where the wireless router is. I've put a wireless repeater on the middle level, but it struggles to maintain decent connectivity. I put in powerline adapters to feed the TVs and that has helped greatly with Netflix etc, but mobile devices are still struggling on the middle & upper levels.

I'm considering either Google Wifi or a Ubiquiti UniFi access point. Both come in at around $200 so it'll come down to performance. My plan is to put one of these i the middle of the house, fed by one of the powerline adapters.

Do you think this solution will work and, if so, which of the 2 options would you go for?

Thanks,

Martin

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meow
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#2113917 25-Oct-2018 16:32

This is not the best idea. Google WiFi is a mesh solution also so requires more than one unit.

Just buy an Ubiquiti AmpliFi kit (router with 2 extenders) and be done with it. Replace your existing router with the AmpliFi router and put the 2 mesh units in the spots best for you. You’ll for starters get good speeds out of this and most importantly good coverage.

When you’re done - bin the wireless extender. They just don’t work.

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
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allan

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#2113921 25-Oct-2018 16:41

I've had a Wi-Fi AP running off of a Powerline adapter in the upstairs part of our largish house. It's been a fairly disappointing experience frankly.

CYaBro

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#2113953 25-Oct-2018 16:44

You can get powerline adapters that have wifi built in, you could just use a couple of those.

We have a number of them out in the field and they've been great, with no issues.

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hashbrown

463 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2113995 25-Oct-2018 17:59

If your wireless extender has an Ethernet port, check the manual and see if it also has an "AP mode". If so you reconfigure it and plug it into your powerline network.

mgbridges

118 posts

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#2114169 26-Oct-2018 06:58

michaelmurfy:
Just buy an Ubiquiti AmpliFi kit (router with 2 extenders) and be done with it. Replace your existing router with the AmpliFi router and put the 2 mesh units in the spots best for you. You’ll for starters get good speeds out of this and most importantly good coverage.

At $600 this is the same price as the Google WiFi 3-pack, and I'm trying to avoid paying that much. If I do end up having to go down that route, what leads to your preference of Ubiquiti over Google?

Thanks,

Martin

mgbridges

118 posts

Master Geek

#2114172 26-Oct-2018 07:00

CYaBro:

You can get powerline adapters that have wifi built in, you could just use a couple of those.

I already have a couple of powerline adapters (without wifi points) so I'm trying to make the most of those rather than buying more. However, pricing might work out OK.

Thanks,

Martin

guyl

120 posts

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#2114184 26-Oct-2018 07:34

I have tried all 3 of these options in my place (Long 2 level house).....

First was Powerline Ethernet, with an access point on the far one.

Next up was Google Wifi.

Just this week I replaced the Google Wifi with Amplifi.

Powerline was unreliable, and not that fast.

Google was super reliable, and very easy to configure. At the time (With VDSL) it was quicker than the internet, so suited us well).

Last week got Fibre installed (GB), and suddenly Google Wifi was a bottleneck...

The Amplifi system is waaaaaay faster the Google, and the coverage area a lot better.

Well worth the money as far as I am concerned.

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michaelmurfy

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#2114257 26-Oct-2018 09:37

mgbridges:

At $600 this is the same price as the Google WiFi 3-pack, and I'm trying to avoid paying that much. If I do end up having to go down that route, what leads to your preference of Ubiquiti over Google?

Thanks,

Martin

The AmpliFi is far better than the Google WiFi, supports VLAN, can route Gigabit internet and has many features the Google WiFi doesn't have - also, is quite a bit faster. Personally, I think the Google WiFi is a flawed product and it has performed poorly in all my tests.

The other problem is people attempting to come up with a solution for less money - not only will any of these solutions actually perform poorly (Powerline extenders are quite rubbish especially if you've got any RCD's hanging around) but you're always best to go with the solution that works, and works well.

Honestly - I've seen your case many times. Just buy the AmpliFi and thank me later. Any other solution (apart from hard-wiring access points with Ethernet from the source) will perform badly and with the AmpliFi you get a single, seamless network that will work fast and perform well too. With more and more devices demanding faster WiFi it is just the right thing to do.

Yes, it is expensive. But the internet is what some would consider it an essential service and it is the solution for your case. It is not worth cheaping out as you'll only end up spending more later on.

nathan

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#2114285 26-Oct-2018 10:20

Powerline is useless. Personally I'd go Ubiquiti

gehenna

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#2114287 26-Oct-2018 10:22

I can vouch for Amplifi. Works a treat at my place which is split across three separate floors. Also works a treat at my in-laws apartment. They had coverage issues for a long time. It's single floor but cinder block walls. The Amplifi solved it for them.

gehenna

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#2114289 26-Oct-2018 10:23

nathan:

Powerline is useless. Personally I'd go Ubiquiti

It has its uses, but certainly not for what the OP is proposing. I've used ethernet over power a few times to get data to a device that's far out of the way or doesn't perform well with Wi-Fi. E.G. my bedroom smart TV was powerline for a while, and it was far more reliable than Wi-Fi was to the device. Also allowed for 4K streaming to the device which was definitely not happening over Wi-Fi at the time.... Now I'm using it to get data out to my garage and it's working brilliantly.

mgbridges

118 posts

Master Geek

#2114350 26-Oct-2018 11:14

gehenna:

nathan:

Powerline is useless. Personally I'd go Ubiquiti

It has its uses, but certainly not for what the OP is proposing. I've used ethernet over power a few times to get data to a device that's far out of the way or doesn't perform well with Wi-Fi. E.G. my bedroom smart TV was powerline for a while, and it was far more reliable than Wi-Fi was to the device. Also allowed for 4K streaming to the device which was definitely not happening over Wi-Fi at the time.... Now I'm using it to get data out to my garage and it's working brilliantly.

Yes, powerline is doing a great job for my 4K TVs and PS4. I was hoping it would do the same for a wireless AP.

Thanks for all the feedback. I don't have $600 to spend right now, so I'll have a think abouit what to do.

Cheers,

Martin

trig42

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#2114359 26-Oct-2018 11:47

Can you use the powerline adaptors to move your router to the second floor? would that make it better?

Going ONT -> Powerline downstairs -> Powerline 2nd FLoor -> Router _> TVs/WiFi from there?

I installed powerline at my parents place a couple of weeks ago because they had fibre installed, and they couldn't put the ONT where their DSL router had been, and they had wired devices there (in an office - printers etc). Working perfectly as far as I know - they still get line speed (100/20) in speedtests.

mgbridges

118 posts

Master Geek

#2114361 26-Oct-2018 11:50

trig42:

Can you use the powerline adaptors to move your router to the second floor? would that make it better?

That is a really good idea, I hadn't thought of that. Might be worth an experiment.

Thanks,

Martin

evilengineer

466 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2114367 26-Oct-2018 12:26

trig42:

Can you use the powerline adaptors to move your router to the second floor? would that make it better?

Going ONT -> Powerline downstairs -> Powerline 2nd FLoor -> Router _> TVs/WiFi from there?

How the house is wired could make a fair bit of difference.

I've not used powerline adaptors for years but when I did it was back in the UK where it's standard for the power sockets on each level of a house to be wired on a separate ring.

You used to get way better performance between adaptors on the same level than you did between those on different floors where the signal needed to work its way through the fuse board.

Not sure whether it's still an issue. The powerline standards have moved on a lot since then.

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