Why extenders fail in an apartment
Prewar walls, brick and steel lath block the signal, and neighbors' networks sit on the same channels. An extender repeats an already weak signal, so the speed drops and the connection drops between rooms.
What we do instead
We take the extenders out and put in in-wall or ceiling access points on cable we find or run. Your internet provider’s router stays as the modem. Your Wi-Fi name and password stay the same, so nothing needs to be reconnected. We test every room before we leave.
Two apartments we have done
In a Chelsea apartment, seven old phone jacks became Ethernet jacks, with three wired access points.
In a Park Slope house, the studio office got 40 to 50 Mbps on a gigabit plan. In-wall access points on the existing cable replaced the extenders.
Pricing
Mesh starts at $2,500 for three UniFi Express 7 nodes. Extra nodes are $450 each. Wired starts at $8,000, and most homes land between $8,000 and $13,000. Extra access points are $950 each. Hardware is included, and so is 90 days of support. Internet service is extra.
How it works
A 30-minute call
Free, on Google Meet. Tell us what is going wrong and what the apartment is made of.
A price
Usually on the call. If we need to see the apartment first, the visit is $500 and comes off the project.
Install
We lead every job directly, with insured partners on larger installs. We test every room before we leave.
90 days of support
Text us if anything acts up. After 90 days, help is per visit.
Common questions
Does this work in a rental apartment?
Mesh units sit on shelves and nothing gets drilled, so that install does not open walls. A wired install can mean a few small openings, which we show you before we start. Home Wi-Fi is a one-time UniFi project, with no monthly home plan.
Do you need to drill?
For mesh, nothing gets drilled. For wired access points, usually a few small openings, plus access through the basement or attic. We photograph every opening, and patching and painting is left to your painter.
Can you use the wiring that is already there?
Many NYC apartments already have wiring in the walls, often old phone lines. We check what is there before quoting. In one apartment, seven old phone jacks became Ethernet jacks, with three wired access points.
How long does it take?
The first call is a free 30 minutes on Google Meet. Mesh time on site is 2 to 3 hours, and a wired install is one to two days on site. Mesh installs happen within the week, and wired installs usually within two to three weeks.