[JimJohnson]

The new home we just bought has a WIFI hookup above the kitchen cabinet. What’s that about.
Can someone tell me:
Where does the signal come from to get up their?
Is the kitchen a good spot for WiFi?
We have Dish Networks for TV so we do not need a line in rooms for Internet, but do need the router someplace.

[sdeikenberry]

If your router is high off the floor you get better coverage around your home/property than if it sits on a desk or low shelf. I've got my router mounted on the wall near the ceiling. As for above the kitchen cabinets, that may be a high and central spot in your home? Or sometime contractors don't think things through very well before installing...like the dining light that's never in the right spot of the room so it hangs centered over the table.

[Debfrommaine]

Good question. My new construction home builder installed same gadget high up in living RM. Comcast guy didn't know what it was for when he came out. New home paperwork stated Galaxy, maybe home systems, could come out.... likely they will know. May have to call as wireless router not working well, TV keeps going black, unplug and try again. Comcast no real help, many calls. Second home, same issue, tried different wireless boxes.

[Pinball wizard]

Originally Posted by JimJohnson

The new home we just bought has a WIFI hookup above the kitchen cabinet. What’s that about.
Can someone tell me:
Where does the signal come from to get up their?
Is the kitchen a good spot for WiFi?
We have Dish Networks for TV so we do not need a line in rooms for Internet, but do need the router someplace.

I would be cautious about putting a router/modem above the kitchen cabinets. It is a good place for a wifi router, being high up BUT there are occasions when you may need to power it off and then on again. If the power outlet above the cabinets are switched then that solves that issue. Also, if you go that route, take a photo of all of the tech data on the router/modem (username/password/address) in case you need it. You want to avoid having to clime up.

[JimJohnson]

Great replies, thank you all. I will continue using the hookup in a spare bedroom.

[HiHoSteveO]

Originally Posted by JimJohnson

The new home we just bought has a WIFI hookup above the kitchen cabinet. What’s that about.
Can someone tell me:
Where does the signal come from to get up their?
Is the kitchen a good spot for WiFi?
We have Dish Networks for TV so we do not need a line in rooms for Internet, but do need the router someplace.

That's also where it's located for me. Comcast "internet only" provider.

The signal in my case comes from the white Leviton box in garage,
then coax cable to CATV type wall outlet in kitchen at counter level,
then coax cable from that outlet up to top of cabinets and into cable modem,
then cable modem to WIFI router also at top of cabinets.
(there is already switched AC power up there)

Question 2, the best location for a WIFI router is up high in a central area of the home.
(many new style routers overcome that need.)

Not the central area in my case, but works good and keeps all of the wiring up high and out of sight. Especially if you also have other WIFI devices that need to plug into the router. Otherwise it can become a rats nest of wires and cables.

As previous poster said, having it up high can be dangerous if you need to climb up to stand on the counter from time to time.

It was later determined that a direct CAT5 cable was needed from router to computer to a bandwidth intensive computer in another room. Another story, but found a way to use existing house wiring to accomplish that.

[polaris]

The outlet above the cabinets only has cat 5 or 6 wire running to it. You can’t put the modem/router up there without running an additional cable wire from the garage. There is also an additional outlet cover on the ceiling (ours is in the living room/dining room area) and that is for an access point installation. These items were prewired for upgrades after the home purchase.

If you look on the panel in the garage there should be a sticker referring to Galaxy Home Solutions (352-748-4868). You can call them for a free smart home orientation which they will do over the phone due to COVID. They offer a way to make the smart home complete with smart locks, Ring video equipment, dimmers, light control, and irrigation and garage door all accessed via WiFi.

We found their prices on the high side but we are technologically adept and can physically do this work ourselves. It may be well worth it for others though who want a smart home and can’t DIY.

[petsetc]

I've had my modem & router on top of the kitchen cabinets since 2015, works great. I do not have a drop there but I fished an extension cord, the coaxial cable and a cat-5 cable from the drop on the countertop wall, up between the cabinets (which was easy). I push the ethernet cable up so it is out of sight but available if I need to hard wire connect to router. If I need to recycle equipment, I just unplug, wait and plug in.

Like I said, works great for me.

[Debfrommaine]

Originally Posted by deweydash

The outlet above the cabinets only has cat 5 or 6 wire running to it. You can’t put the modem/router up there without running an additional cable wire from the garage. There is also an additional outlet cover on the ceiling (ours is in the living room/dining room area) and that is for an access point installation. These items were prewired for upgrades after the home purchase.

If you look on the panel in the garage there should be a sticker referring to Galaxy Home Solutions (352-748-4868). You can call them for a free smart home orientation which they will do over the phone due to COVID. They offer a way to make the smart home complete with smart locks, Ring video equipment, dimmers, light control, and irrigation and garage door all accessed via WiFi.

We found their prices on the high side but we are technologically adept and can physically do this work ourselves. It may be well worth it for others though who want a smart home and can’t DIY.

Galaxy quote was $1400

[polaris]

Correct. It was $1400 for the starter package of router, access point, Echo Dot, 2 dimmers, ethernet switch, and a hub. The ala carte items were additional in the area of $3000 if you went with everything else (garage door, irrigation, additional dimmers, lights, Ring device, door locks, etc.). Separate prices apply for the ala carte items if you don’t want it all.

[jimbo2012]

Call Tom advertises on here, he'll get U setup for less and the right way
352.388.1677

Also a resident

[Rickl]

Depending on how your house is wired you will have some fun trying to figure out what happened on the inside. Most builders will provide "as built" drawings showing locations for everything in the house.

Cable tv sourced internet from spectrum or comcast will require a cable modem. They have at least one port to plug in a network cable.

Telephone company internet (dsl) requires a dsl modem and it to will have network ports.

A lot of manufacturers build in wifi at either 2.4 or 5g connection. Wifi works better at elevation. If frequent or low signal is an issue addition of extenders may be needed.

Each type of system has commonalities. Higher the better, power and input for your system. After working on an older house issues like adding cable splitters becomes a significant problem. A 2 dollar splitter may work for your TV but may not have the characteristics to allow transmission of a signal. Cable companies may just say we see your modem, therefore you have service.

Safety first, grounding of your wiring and boxes. ( you will lose them if a lightening strike is close or hits wires you may not even notice)

The most direct connection with.the least signal degradation from your provider. (Preferably none or one splitter)
Height ( which doesnt trump your safety)
Reduction interference caused by your devices or others. Most household wireless devices run.at the 2.4 frequency. There are ways to minimize.
Your computer. Just because you order the highest speed doesnt mean speed check is going to show it.

Computers, networks and associated issues are not uncommon and require care and feeding as your house ages. If it didnt you wouldnt have networking engineer out there.

Cheers!

[Rickl]

Galaxy was probably the subcontractor that wired the house. Unfortunate.

[biker1]

Galaxy wired my house built in 2014. I would give them a B- grade. They did provide coax home runs from the low-voltage panel to each bedroom (actually to 2 locations in one of the bedrooms), the kitchen, and the great room (2 locations). They also provided cat5e home runs from the low-voltage panel to each bedroom (actually to 2 locations in one of the bedrooms), the kitchen but not the great room. They did not provide a cat5e home run to every location where they ran coax. Some of the cat5e runs in the bedrooms are to traditional spots you might put a phone - I think that is outdated thinking. Wi-Fi notwithstanding, it would have made more sense, IMO, to provide 2 cat5e home runs to each location where they had a coax home run. This provides complete flexibility for anyone wanting to use ethernet connections to TVs instead of Wi-Fi. The cable is cheap.

Originally Posted by Rickl

Galaxy was probably the subcontractor that wired the house. Unfortunate.

[Villages Kahuna]

If what you mean by “hookup” is an outlet on the wall, that’s a good thing. To get wi-fi you’ll need a modem and router to connect to the internet. In most cases that’s a single device. If your house is wired with more than one of those outlets like in your kitchen, you’ll be able to connect a small extender to your modem using that Ethernet connection. That way there is no signal loss as typically occurs when using a wireless wi-fi repeater or extender.