Extending Airport Extreme Signals to Pool / Patio

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Extending Airport Extreme Signals to Pool / Patio

We are currently running two airport extremes (802.11ac) in our new house. One currently residing in the middle of the basement and the other on the second floor. We have not had any issues with coverage in our home and support all devices even during family gatherings. However, as summer approaches and we need to open the pool, we realized our current design does not meet the outdoor entertainment requirements. Our pool and patio extend to a total length of 200ft from the house, around 225ft from either Airport Extreme. The basement airport extreme signal is weak outside of the concrete wall, but the 2nd floor airport signal makes it to around 25/50 ft, then the signal drops significantly.

I have found a few devices from EnGenius and Ubiquiti but they seem a bit overboard.

Primary use is iPads, laptops, and extending our Sonos network.

Thanks

Posted on Apr 23, 2014 8:14 AM

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Answer 1

Apr 23, 2014 8:53 AM in response to jwerley

It sounds like you are thinking of extending wirelessly, and in that case the proposed extender on the patio must connect to the "main" AirPort Extreme in the basement. That is the way that Apple's extend setup works.

Unless you are prepared to go for some of the professional solutions that you have mentioned, your only other realistic option might be to bury an Ethernet cable to the pool area and set up another AirPort there to connect back to the main AirPort Extreme.

This would be by far the best solution in terms of performance as well.

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