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Goggle Wifi Placement Question

Hificat101
Community Member

Just ordered a Google wifi 3 pack from Amazon last night. One of my goals in switching to this is to get wifi out to our new shed which is about 30ft from our brick house. We have a window on our kitchen that looks straight across our yard to the shed, and has power located directly below it. My plan is to use a wall/ceiling mount to mount it to the window frame. My concern is our microwave is also right next to the window. If this would be a potential source of interference only when the microwave is running, that wouldn't be a problem. I'm concerned that it might be a source of interference even when it isn't running. Any advice greatly appreciated.

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1 Recommended Answer

MichaelP
Diamond Product Expert
Diamond Product Expert

Hello @Hificat101

I have several thoughts on this. First, the microwave will be a source of interference when it is running, but only in the 2.4GHz band – not the 5GHz band that the mesh interconnect uses. So, I wouldn't worry too much about that proximity in general, but don't expect things like 2.4GHz-only devices (e.g., smart plugs, etc.) to be happy when the microwave is running if they are connecting to that node.

Second, it's important to understand that the mesh path selection prefers "fewest hops". So, if that kitchen unit isn't the primary (i.e., the primary being the one connected to your internet service), and if the unit you put in your shed can get a connection to the primary directly – even if that connection is weak/poor – then the shed unit may not use your carefully placed kitchen unit to connect, but will instead talk directly to the primary (and perform poorly as a result).

Third, as an extension of the conversation above, even if the shed unit can't get through to the primary directly, you may not be happy with the performance of going through two hops in the mesh when one at least one of them is going through multiple obstructions. It may work well, it work poorly, or it may work well intermittently. It's just really hard to know ahead of time.

Lastly, the best advice for getting coverage to outbuildings like this is to run an Ethernet cable. Google WiFi secondary units can be connected to the primary unit's LAN Ethernet port, and this skips the whole mesh interconnect issue entirely. This is a much more reliable way to get a secondary unit working in an outbuilding. When you do this, I do recommend putting a couple of inexpensive, unmanaged Ethernet switches in as well – one on each end of that cable – to provide some electrical isolation in case a lightning strike in the area happens. You want to be replacing one or two $25 switches instead of more expensive WiFi access points.

In short, the microwave isn't the biggest concern here. Good luck!

View Recommended Answer in original post

11 REPLIES 11

MichaelP
Diamond Product Expert
Diamond Product Expert

Hello @Hificat101

I have several thoughts on this. First, the microwave will be a source of interference when it is running, but only in the 2.4GHz band – not the 5GHz band that the mesh interconnect uses. So, I wouldn't worry too much about that proximity in general, but don't expect things like 2.4GHz-only devices (e.g., smart plugs, etc.) to be happy when the microwave is running if they are connecting to that node.

Second, it's important to understand that the mesh path selection prefers "fewest hops". So, if that kitchen unit isn't the primary (i.e., the primary being the one connected to your internet service), and if the unit you put in your shed can get a connection to the primary directly – even if that connection is weak/poor – then the shed unit may not use your carefully placed kitchen unit to connect, but will instead talk directly to the primary (and perform poorly as a result).

Third, as an extension of the conversation above, even if the shed unit can't get through to the primary directly, you may not be happy with the performance of going through two hops in the mesh when one at least one of them is going through multiple obstructions. It may work well, it work poorly, or it may work well intermittently. It's just really hard to know ahead of time.

Lastly, the best advice for getting coverage to outbuildings like this is to run an Ethernet cable. Google WiFi secondary units can be connected to the primary unit's LAN Ethernet port, and this skips the whole mesh interconnect issue entirely. This is a much more reliable way to get a secondary unit working in an outbuilding. When you do this, I do recommend putting a couple of inexpensive, unmanaged Ethernet switches in as well – one on each end of that cable – to provide some electrical isolation in case a lightning strike in the area happens. You want to be replacing one or two $25 switches instead of more expensive WiFi access points.

In short, the microwave isn't the biggest concern here. Good luck!

Hificat101
Community Member

Thanks for the reply Michael. My original plan was to put a node in the shed, but there will be no power there other than some lithium iron phosphate batteries that I only plan to turn on when working out there. The internet access is so my Xfinity phone will work out there, and also so I can stream YouTube videos to a small 32" smart TV I bought to mount over my workbench (for how to videos and such). Last night that window location occurred to me as it's not far and a direct line of sight to the shed. If need be I'll pick up a 4th node to put out there. The 3rd one is going upstairs in my wife's office. I'm not sure I'd have luck getting from the primary straight to the shed as it's likely going to be located where a plaster and lathe wall, and our brick chimney will be between it and the shed. Anyway, thanks for your thoughts on this. Very helpful.

AbigailF
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey folks,

Thanks for lending a hand, @MichaelP.
@Hificat101, I wanted to follow up and see if you are still in need of any help. Please let me know if you are still having any concerns or questions from here, as I would be happy to take a closer look and assist you further.

Thanks,
Abi

AbigailF
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi Hificat101,

Checking back in should you still have some questions here. Let us know by replying to this thread. 

Best, 
Abi

EmersonB
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi everyone,

 

@Hificat101 just one quick final check in here since activity has slowed down. We'll be locking the thread in the next 24 hours, but if you still need help, I would be happy to keep it open. If there's more we can do, just let me know.

 

I appreciate the help, Abi and MichaelP.

 

Regards,
Emerson

Hi Ebedia,

Just started my 1st day of a 10 day vacation today. I'll be doing the install in the next few days, so leaving this thread open for a week may be convenient. Thanks

 

Chris

EmersonB
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hey Hificat101,

 

We appreciate you taking your time giving us an update. I'll keep this thread open but please be advised that as Community Specialists, we occasionally do a bit of housekeeping to keep the conversations in our community fresh and relevant. This includes locking threads after a period of inactivity.

 

Thanks,
Emerson

AbigailF
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hello Hificat101,

Checking back in should you still have some questions here. Let us know by replying to this thread. 

Best, 
Abi

Mesh network installed and everything working great thanks.

Jeff
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Good to see you got everything working, Hificat101.

 

Before I mark this as resolved for you, is there anything else you might need? If so, just let us know.

 

Thanks,

Jeff

Jeff
Community Specialist
Community Specialist

Hi all,

As we got our resolution here, I'm going to mark this one as resolved in the next 24 hours. Thanks to all who helped and contributed. If anyone has any other needs, please feel free to let me know before the lock.

Thanks,
Jeff