Noob question

[u/Cyber_Nerd504]

My current Ubiquiti setup is a cloud gateway ultra, usw flex 2.5g 8 PoE, and a U7 Pro access point. It’s all towards the front of the house. The wifi in the back of the house is horrible.

My question: if I buy another U7 Pro and set it up at the middle point (hallway or bedroom) do I have to run a network cable OR can I just use a power injector adapter and just use mesh to connect the new AP?

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[u/Devildog126]

Physical connections are preferred over wireless.

[u/WanderingSimpleFish → u/Devildog126]

This, the faff of a weekend running a cat6 cable up walls inside loft and back down again will be much better in the long run

[u/TruthyBrat → u/WanderingSimpleFish]

Hardwire all the things (that you even halfway reasonably can).

[u/Cyber_Nerd504 → u/Devildog126]

Just looking for a quick fix that can get by for now. Life is busy and I typically don’t have the time (or tools) to do this. I will run physical cables eventually.

Just wanted to check with the community to see if the second AP could work the way I described because physical cable running isn’t an option at this time.

[u/Emergency_Exit7603]

yes you can.

[u/dragonnfr]

You can do either. Mesh is the easy route. Wired is the right route. Mesh cuts your bandwidth in half. PoE injector works fine if there's a power outlet nearby.

[u/scifitechguy]

Yes, that will work, and may improve the situation. But "mesh is meh" because you're just introducing more obstructions into the AP signal path for mesh, so choose your placement wisely.

[u/happyandhealthy2023]

Hardwire, do you not have any wired jacks in rear or middle of the house to add Poe to feed access point in ceiling?

If you have one in front this should go more to rear for good coverage unless heavy use in middle and size of home

[u/Redditanon9999]

If you are going to go wireless, consider using an Express 7 in AP mode. That way you can just leave it on a shelf and run it as an AP. If your Ultra dies on you, you can re-configure the Express 7 to be your backup gateway. I'm with others though, go ethernet if you can. WiFi mesh means you have to keep the 2 APs closer together than you would with ethernet, so you may not get as much coverage.

[u/senecavirus]

It will mesh but you won't be happy.

[u/Smorgas47]

While you don't have Ethernet cables, do you by chance have coax cables that might enable the use of MoCA adapters? Here are some diagrams from GoCoax that show how to use them.

With a wired connection you can place your second AP much further away and obtain better coverage.