The Simple WiFi Repeater is the best selling WiFi repeater solution of 2017. Thanks to it's high reception capabilities and custom software that makes it easy to configure, the repeater kit is quickly becoming a favorite among those seeking to use WiFi hot spots from far away.
Choosing the right WiFi antenna for your WiFi repeater application is simple. We offer directional WiFi antennas and omni-directional but we strongly prefer the directional option since in this scenario, you already know where the signal is coming from.
Choosing a directional antenna allows you to focus the reception power towards the hot spot source resulting in a better connection and higher speeds. However for those in an RV or camper, you might prefer using an omni-directional antenna since this does not require aiming.
REMEMBER: Line of sight is critical to your success. Without a clear LOS between the antenna and your hot spot source, your signal will degrade and become less usable. To overcome trees you can use a stronger antenna type.
Use this handy guide to decide what is the right antenna for you:
| Antenna / Type | Gain (Strength) | Range | Mounting |
| Yagi / Directional | 14 dBi | 0.5 Mile | Indoors |
| Panel / Directional | 14 dBi | 1 Mile | Outdoor |
| Parabolic Grid / Directional | 24 dBi | 1.5 Miles | Outdoor |
We've been getting so much great feedback about our Simple WiFi Repeater Kit, thanks to everyone for coming back after the installation to share your experience during installation and setup. We are taking in all your comments and making our version 2 even better!
In this post, I'd like to explore in a case study format how Simple WiFi was able to help Chris get internet from his home to a shop about 230ft away.
Here was Chris' first ticket submitted to our help desk:
Let's tackle this first by dissecting what the scenario is and why Chris can't get a signal inside his shop.
1. The router placement at the hotspot (his house). The router/gateway provided by his ISP, Comcast is placed on the opposite side of the house from where he needs signal. He is getting a reading of -80dBm while standing on his porch from the router on the other side of the house. Essentially the house is blocking signal from reaching the shop and even the signal on the other side of the house is barely making it.
2. The distance. While 230ft is not very far for our long range antennas, it is far enough to degrade any usable signal inside the metal shop (more on this in the next point) and it's made worse by the router's placement.
3. The metal building. We already know that walls, trees and other solid objects block and degrade signal strength and quality. The worst of all is a metal building since this essentially acts like a faraday cage and reflects all radio signals from making it inside effectively.
4. Wireless internet for multiple devices. Chris stated he was looking at an external antenna and USB adapter but this only provides internet for one computer at a time via the USB port. Using a WiFi repeater kit we can repeat the signal wirelessly and provide internet for multiple devices at once.
In summary Chris needs to setup a long range WiFi repeater outside his metal shop which will connect to a router inside via Ethernet cable. The antenna outside with the repeater will perform the wireless bridge to connect to the router from the house and bypass the metal walls of the shop via the Ethernet cable into the router. The router inside the metal shop is now broadcasting the signal directly from the outdoor antenna and repeater.
For this we suggested The Panel hot spot Repeater Kit which includes everything he needs to get this working without messing with the home router. The antenna is a 14 dBi directional panel which can be mounted on a pole. This is powered by the repeater bullet which screws directly onto the back of the panel. The kit also includes 50ft of Ethernet cable which plugs directly into the bottom of the bullet and into the router inside the shop. Once powered up and configured the router is then repeating the signal from the house.
Needless to say Chris was able to get the Panel Repeater Kit installed and working with a signal improvement up to -72dBm compared to no signal at all. While still not an excellent signal, this is good enough to perform web browsing, email, social media and some streaming on at least one device. However this is very impressive since he is now getting a stronger signal 230ft away from where he was originally getting readings on his back porch.
Should Chris want to get a better signal he would need to place an external antenna on the house where the signal is coming from in order to bypass the walls as the signal makes it's way to the shed.
Here are some pictures Chris sent and the message attached after the installation:
