WiFi Access Point Thingymabobs

[GG.]

The recent other thread on IT related matters reminded me that the forum hivemind may be able to help me with an issue I have...

As you know we've recently moved in to the new place and Virgin media fibre broadband is all hooked up... in the study. This doesn't really reach all that far - not bad on the ground floor but the kitchen is L/G with absolutely no reception and upstairs barely much better.

Happily the previous owner installed a switch and ethernet routing to unifi access points on the walls in various rooms. I have plugged in the Ethernet cable to the switch which should in theory distribute the feed to the access points but despite downloading the Unifi app I haven't had any success in getting them to show as visible / connect to them.

Any ideas or do I have to get "a man" to come and help?

[jamcg]

I have zero knowledge of technical shit but I’d assume like a smart bulb they’re probably still attached to the previous persons app, so probably need resetting and setting up as new, is there any instructions to delete previous settings without an app, like a button to hold or a reset thing you push with a pen?

[GG.]

Yes there did seem to be a reset button on the back of the access points (they look like these https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/products ... IoQAvD_BwE) - I pressed the one in the living room but it still didn't seem to materialise on the app.

[Jimexpl]

The recent other thread on IT related matters reminded me that the forum hivemind may be able to help me with an issue I have...

As you know we've recently moved in to the new place and Virgin media fibre broadband is all hooked up... in the study. This doesn't really reach all that far - not bad on the ground floor but the kitchen is L/G with absolutely no reception and upstairs barely much better.

Happily the previous owner installed a switch and ethernet routing to unifi access points on the walls in various rooms. I have plugged in the Ethernet cable to the switch which should in theory distribute the feed to the access points but despite downloading the Unifi app I haven't had any success in getting them to show as visible / connect to them.

Any ideas or do I have to get "a man" to come and help?

You need a unifi access point manager / cloud key when there's more than one unifi point - is there one?

I can do an OV9 special rate to send "a man" round, but we need to know if an additional bit of kit needs buying.

[Simon]

Any lights on the APs? They're PoE right? Are they getting power?

[unzippy]

10 secs press?

https://help.ui.com/hc/en-us/articles/2 ... %20process.

[GG.]

The recent other thread on IT related matters reminded me that the forum hivemind may be able to help me with an issue I have...

As you know we've recently moved in to the new place and Virgin media fibre broadband is all hooked up... in the study. This doesn't really reach all that far - not bad on the ground floor but the kitchen is L/G with absolutely no reception and upstairs barely much better.

Happily the previous owner installed a switch and ethernet routing to unifi access points on the walls in various rooms. I have plugged in the Ethernet cable to the switch which should in theory distribute the feed to the access points but despite downloading the Unifi app I haven't had any success in getting them to show as visible / connect to them.

Any ideas or do I have to get "a man" to come and help?

You need a unifi access point manager / cloud key when there's more than one unifi point - is there one?

I can do an OV9 special rate to send "a man" round, but we need to know if an additional bit of kit needs buying.

Hmmm I'm not sure about that - I've put a picture of the switch living in the cupboard in the lounge below. Could it be incorporated as part of this or something separate?

The seller said he used "broadband buyer to manage the system" and that I may want to download the unifi app but that was it!

[GG.]

Any lights on the APs? They're PoE right? Are they getting power?

there seems to be a very dim blue glow so I think they're getting power but presume I need to set up the thing to manage it (as Jim has noted). It looks tentatively like the switch I posted is "managed" so perhaps that coordinates things but I would need to have it set up for me.

[jamcg]

Have you tried hitting it with a hammer

[Mito Man]

I think I’d just bin the lot and start over.

[Rich B]

i got a new router the other day, i tried for bloody hours to pair my old extender thing to it and failed. i spoke to the provider and they confirmed the old one wouldn’t work with the new router (and nicely sent me out a new one!)

But the moral is, some new kit just won’t work with old kit.

[GG.]

I think I’d just bin the lot and start over.

I've contacted broadband buyer and they've said if I do a factory reset they can start from scratch as a new customer. I don't know what level of support they are going to provide to set it up however so I could still be back to getting someone in.

[Jobbo]

If I were setting up from scratch I'd go for something like Unifi with ethernet cabling, but since I wasn't I got a set of Netgear Orbis (main plus 3 satellites) which I'd say is not as good as I expected based on the reviews and pricing.

Thing is, if you've inherited a system then you're always going to be uncertain about it; it might be that it's not too expensive to replace the access points and main router because the cabling is already in place. So I'd consider that as an option; if you set it up then you're always going to be better placed to fix something later on.

[Mito Man]

What Jobbo says, the hardest bit has been done, which is routing all the cabling. The WiFi prosumer stuff is good but if you’re not into your tech it can become frustrating when you’re at the mercy of a third party each time something throws an error.
ISP router - new router - switch if required - off to various mesh hubs.
Simple.

[GG.]

If I were setting up from scratch I'd go for something like Unifi with ethernet cabling, but since I wasn't I got a set of Netgear Orbis (main plus 3 satellites) which I'd say is not as good as I expected based on the reviews and pricing.

Thing is, if you've inherited a system then you're always going to be uncertain about it; it might be that it's not too expensive to replace the access points and main router because the cabling is already in place. So I'd consider that as an option; if you set it up then you're always going to be better placed to fix something later on.

I haven't fully counted up the access points but there may be c. 6/7 and with the cost of the switch I think it would end up being a >£1,000 bill so keen to try and retain the existing kit if I can. Hopefully it can all be fully reset and repurposed even if that involves me getting an engineer out to look at it.

My second issue is that I can't easily get a dish installed for Sky TV... owing to local restrictions I can't mount on the front of the house and the rear aspects are all blocked by trees so the only option is all the way up on the flat roof of a dormer and I may still be asked to (re)move it if it is visible from the road and someone complains... I've been quoted another grand to install that so its not really a gamble I want to take.

On that basis I'm looking at cable / streaming TV options from Sky and Virgin but they're all crap these days and don't offer any recording function so for things like F1 they seem hopeless and you're just reliant on the streams being available (which according to threads online, they often aren't)...

[scotta]

i got a new router the other day, i tried for bloody hours to pair my old extender thing to it and failed. i spoke to the provider and they confirmed the old one wouldn’t work with the new router (and nicely sent me out a new one!)

But the moral is, some new kit just won’t work with old kit.

I had exactly that when SKY sent out a new router. Their WiFi extender wouldn't work with it. However they sent a replacement and better one with an ethernet port that I can connect to the switch in my office which is infinitely faster as it has a direct connection to the router (I ran Cat 6)

@GG. Have you tried a factory reset on the access points then reconfiguring them from scratch. The Switch should be fine.

[scotta]

If I were setting up from scratch I'd go for something like Unifi with ethernet cabling, but since I wasn't I got a set of Netgear Orbis (main plus 3 satellites) which I'd say is not as good as I expected based on the reviews and pricing.

Thing is, if you've inherited a system then you're always going to be uncertain about it; it might be that it's not too expensive to replace the access points and main router because the cabling is already in place. So I'd consider that as an option; if you set it up then you're always going to be better placed to fix something later on.

I haven't fully counted up the access points but there may be c. 6/7 and with the cost of the switch I think it would end up being a >£1,000 bill so keen to try and retain the existing kit if I can. Hopefully it can all be fully reset and repurposed even if that involves me getting an engineer out to look at it.

My second issue is that I can't easily get a dish installed for Sky TV... owing to local restrictions I can't mount on the front of the house and the rear aspects are all blocked by trees so the only option is all the way up on the flat roof of a dormer and I may still be asked to (re)move it if it is visible from the road and someone complains... I've been quoted another grand to install that so its not really a gamble I want to take.

On that basis I'm looking at cable / streaming TV options from Sky and Virgin but they're all crap these days and don't offer any recording function so for things like F1 they seem hopeless and you're just reliant on the streams being available (which according to threads online, they often aren't)...

Sky now do sky stream that uses your internet and doesn't need a dish. The downside is that it wont record live telly.

ETA - Have you contracted with Virgin for the Internet - is SKY Fibre available in your area?

[Rich B]

What Jobbo says, the hardest bit has been done, which is routing all the cabling.

I had an absolute result with mine - i suddenly had a memory flash in my mind of running a cat 5 cable under the old floors when we did our big refurb. i took a leap of faith and drilled a big core hole into the inside side of a cabinet i’d built into an alcove and boom - there it was, coiled up 6 years after i put it in “just in case”.

[KiwiDave]

[On that basis I'm looking at cable / streaming TV options from Sky and Virgin but they're all crap these days and don't offer any recording function so for things like F1 they seem hopeless and you're just reliant on the streams being available (which according to threads online, they often aren't)...

I realise, comparatively, we live in a third world country, however, our house had similar issues when we moved in. Switched to an Apple TV strapped to the telly wherever it was needed and haven't wanted terrestrial/Sky ever since. The exception being Le Mans each year but I've found a Dutchman who livestreams Sky coverage on YT each year to get around that. This to say, you sure you'd even miss Sky/terrestrial?

[Jobbo]

I haven't fully counted up the access points but there may be c. 6/7 and with the cost of the switch I think it would end up being a >£1,000 bill so keen to try and retain the existing kit if I can. Hopefully it can all be fully reset and repurposed even if that involves me getting an engineer out to look at it.

That’s fair enough - though don’t go for Orbis and I bet you’d halve your cost. Do you need 6/7 access points? I’d have thought 4 would cover you.