Stacey on IoT | Internet of Things news and analysis

Internet of Things

  • Home
  • Analysis
  • Startups
  • How-To
  • News
  • Podcast
  • About
  • Speaking
    • Facebook
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

Does Google WiFi work without outdoor network extenders?

May 18, 2019 by Kevin C. Tofel 4 Comments

This week on the podcast our IoT Podcast Hotline received a voicemail from Jeff. He has a Google WiFi mesh network system in his home and wants to extend that network outdoors. Unfortunately, this can’t be done with Google WiFi products for two reasons.

First, Google WiFi products aren’t rated for outdoor usage and have no protection from rain and other elements. Second, while there are competing mesh networking products that do have outdoor network extenders, none of them use the relatively new EasyMesh standard. EasyMesh is a way for mesh networking products from different hardware makers to work together as a single mesh network.

We never feel good about recommending a total platform switch for those who are heavily invested in one, but we think the best solution on the consumer market is from Netgear. Its Orbi system, for example, does offer an outdoor mesh networking extender that the company says will cover up to 2,500 square feet outside the home. The problem is without EasyMesh support, this $350 extender doesn’t work with Google WiFi, so that means replacing Google’s router and access points with Netgear Orbi units. The router alone costs $250, so a full swap will cost around $600 at a minimum.

Diagram of a Netgear Orbi indoor/outdoor mesh networking system

 

There are some outdoor network extenders on the market that will work with any system, but they’re not actually a mesh networking solution. Instead, these will create a separate network for your devices to connect to, which essentially defeats the purpose of having a mesh network in the first place. My advice to Jeff and anyone else with a similar desire for outdoor networking is to place an access point nearest the outdoor area you want wireless coverage and see if that do the trick. It’s either that or be prepared to spend more money.

To hear Jeff’s question in full and our discussion about the options, tune in to the IoT Podcast below:

 

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Featured, How-To Tagged With: EasyMesh, Google WiFi, mesh networking, Netgear, Netgear Orbi, Orbi, podcast, WiFi

Sponsors



Become a sponsor

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to receive notifications of new posts by email.

Comments

  1. Micah Morgan says

    May 18, 2019 at 9:46 am

    I just got gigabit internet(up and down) and I’m looking at investing in a whole home wifi solution to take full advantage of the new speed. I may eventually want to add exterior wifi service. I plan to use ethernet(previously installed) cat6 cable for the backhaul. I see good reviews for the orbi system. Would I be best served by installing an orbi system, or going with a more traditional router+ap system like unifi?

    Reply
    • Stacey Higginbotham says

      May 20, 2019 at 9:45 pm

      Orbi is an excellent system, although it isn’t a true mesh. It’s basically an easier-to-set-up network extender that also has friendlier naming conventions. BUT, it’s a good system that will provide awesome coverage. Unifi has a lot of happy users but I haven’t tried it. There have been a few security flaws that have been exploited, but Unifi has worked to patch them. I would also say that for IoT devices, speed shouldn’t be your focus for most applications. Think about latency and coverage.

      Reply
  2. Dan Turner says

    May 18, 2019 at 11:25 am

    I have put a couple of Google nodes outside nia waterproof box. That seems to work well!

    Reply
    • Steven Ellis says

      October 20, 2019 at 12:17 pm

      Hi,

      Can you show me a picture of the waterproof box? Did you make it yourself?

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

IoT Podcast

Listen to the latest episode of the Internet of Things Podcast. Just press play!

Sponsors

Become a sponsor







Get Stacey’s free weekly Internet of Things newsletter

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Recent Comments

  • YYTT on So long, and thanks for all the insights
  • Stacey Higginbotham on Matter is now official!
  • Kevin Wirick on Matter is now official!
  • John on Episode 437: Goodbye and good luck

Stacey on Twitter

Tweets by gigastacey
Copyright © 2023 SKT Labs, LLC · Privacy Policy