5GHz through the ceiling ?

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Mark

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#248581 1-Apr-2019 12:41

Hi there,

How well would a 5GHz access point work for devices if the AP is in the roof space ? Is a layer of plaster and wood going to degrade the signal much ?

I'm looking to do a mesh setup but hide the APs away in the roof space.

Thanks,.

tdgeek

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#2208593 1-Apr-2019 12:50

My router is downstairs, I am upstairs streaming 1080p. All bars. Upstairs and about 4+ metres along, so maybe 6+ m LOS plus the ceiling which will be 100x50 framing, batts, gib on ceiling, strandboard on floor, plus paint and carpet.

BlackHand

131 posts

Master Geek

#2208594 1-Apr-2019 12:54

I'm doing that (last 2 years+) running 5GHz (80 MHz), works fine, no noticeable performance or signal issues.
You should watch out for the heat in the roof space.

Gurezaemon

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#2208596 1-Apr-2019 12:56

10 minutes of chucking it up there with long ethernet cables on a temporary basis just to see if it works would give you a pretty good indication. Personal experience would suggest that you'd be fine though.

timmmay

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#2208606 1-Apr-2019 13:17

I have 2.4GHz and 5GHz from a Fritzbox in a cupboard. To get to my office four walls. Signal strength isn't ideal, but it works fine.

Mark

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#2208705 1-Apr-2019 15:16

Thanks!

RunningMan

8963 posts

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#2208784 1-Apr-2019 16:14

BlackHand:

I'm doing that (last 2 years+) running 5GHz (80 MHz), works fine, no noticeable performance or signal issues.
You should watch out for the heat in the roof space.

This. Heat kills electronics quickly.

Sounddude

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#2208788 1-Apr-2019 16:16

I run mine in the roof space. It doesn't seem to get hot enough to cause any issues and found it was better for my signal than sitting on my desk. (Being higher etc).

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Dunnersfella

4086 posts

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#2208960 1-Apr-2019 17:23

Remember - full bars on a phone doesn't mean much other than it's receiving 'some sort of signal'... and more than likely it has been tweaked so the manufacturer can claim 'great reception / improved reception / best reception in class' etc.

Phones will have to send their communications back to the router too... and they don't show a seperate handy bar at the top of their display to boast about how well they're achieving that... You'll need to dive into your router or get onto network mapping software to achieve that.

Also, one level of GIB and plaster shouldn't be overly tricky :-)

sbiddle

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#2208979 1-Apr-2019 18:20

It's also important to remember that you'll also get a lot better performance halving the channel size. You'll typically get far better performance using 40MHz channels than 80MHz unless you're in the same room. Unless you need higher throughput then running 5GHz in 20MHz is the best thing to do if you want better coverage in a house.

richms

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#2209001 1-Apr-2019 19:03

I see a reduction from 450-500 both ways when in the same room as the AP to about 300-350 thru a wall which is 2 layers of gib and toothpick sized studs inside it - no change to the number of bars of wifi.

Still perfectly acceptable speeds thru the 1 wall, but next room over and its just useless. So if you're putting an AP above each room it would probably be ok, but thru the cieling and then walls will probably be too little. Depends on what you call acceptable however. Some people are quite happy with the performance of 2.4GHz wifi extenders put in non-ideal places because their facebook will still update.

Richard rich.ms