Home network

[Northwoods]

Starlink is finally available here and I’ll be buying the system soon.  Simultaneously my MIL is going to be moving in due to dementia and related effects causing her to (wrongly) believe she isn’t safe with her husband.  We’re going to make the office I use for work into her bedroom, and will probably move my office setup to the attached garage/man cave.  Most routers, and I’ve been told the Starlink one is not different, are really limited on effective range.  Plus the Starlink router I guess isn’t very good from what I’ve heard.

Can you guys that are much more into these things school me on what to get?  What router (if indeed the one that comes with Starlink needs replacing) should I be getting, and what should I be considering for a booster/repeater so I can use the Wi-Fi throughout the house?  Bonus points if it’ll reach the detached garage.

[AZRedhawk44]

I have a Synology RT2600ac that has been a good home router so far, had it a little over a year.  Wifi range works into my backyard and the detached workshop, and also way out into the cul-de-sac 75 yards out.  Signal disappears once I turn left or right and put houses and cinder block walls between me and the router, as well as about 100 yards of distance.

Big thing to keep in mind with Starlink is that it is a CGNAT (carrier grade NAT) network.  You cannot port forward from your router to internal devices.  You've got basically two layers of NAT between you and the internet.  Getting around that requires some external assistance from someone that will allow you to establish a reverse SSH tunnel, or something like ngrok or tailscale or LocalXpose.

I'm currently playing with LocalXpose as a solution to my Plex.

[Ben]

Lots of options, but I'll throw out Orbi as that has worked for me. Router and two satellites are fairly plug and play. Router is in my office. One satellite is in the living room, and one is in the upstairs bonus room on a window sill that faces my shop.

I have full coverage in a 3000sq ft house, 1/2 acre backyard, and into my shop ~100' from the closest satellite. When my shop rollup door is closed it does drop the connection intermittently. Though my pond is over 300' from the closest satellite and I get good coverage there. Orbi sells an outdoor satellite that I might get and plug into an outdoor outlet I put next to the security light at the roofline of my shop. They're a little pricey though.

If you have a Costco card, they (at least used to) have good deals on an Orbi router + two satellite package.

[Brad Johnson]

I have a couple of ASUS routers set up with the integrated AI Mesh (thanks to you heathens!) Dirt simple set up and has been dead reliable. If you already have a network drop close to the new location, you can use it for backhaul.

Also, how difficult would it be to run a network drop to that location? Is that an option? A discrete drop and a couple of switches would give you a lot of flexibility.

Brad

[Northwoods]

I have a couple of ASUS routers set up with the integrated AI Mesh (thanks to you heathens!) Dirt simple set up and has been dead reliable. If you already have a network drop close to the new location, you can use it for backhaul.

Also, how difficult would it be to run a network drop to that location? Is that an option? A discrete drop and a couple of switches would give you a lot of flexibility.

Brad

I could run some cables through the attic and drop it down a wall reasonably easily.

[Brad Johnson]

I could run some cables through the attic and drop it down a wall reasonably easily.

If that's the case, I'd be tempted to run the drop for its added flexibility.

Looks like Starlink has third-party router capability, though the unpdated receiver requires an additional module. That, plus a couple of routers setup on whatever internal integration they offer, would give tons of seamless coverage. Additiinal cabled ports at each router location would be simple as adding a switch (another handy tidbit gleaned from the Hive Mind).

Brad

[HeroHog]

Be sure to cable for gigabit!

[Brad Johnson]

Be sure to cable for gigabit!

Definitely CAT6 at a minimum. Likely not necessary for single devices, but that capability for switch-to-modem links is a plus. Only a few cents difference per foot, so why not?

Brad

[HeroHog]

I got a 10/100/1gb switch and a pack of 6' Gigabit certified cables and am LOVING IT! It's Cable modem to switch, switch to NAS device, and switch to whatever else I happen to need. My backbone is MUCH faster now and my carrier increased our internet speed as well so PLUS.
231 Mbps Down/23 up.