For anyone who can’t bury cable (rocky soil, rental property, etc.), point-to-point WiFi bridges are surprisingly effective these days.
I’ve been eyeing those Ubiquiti bridges for a while but always wondered—do they handle trees or bushes in the way, or does it really have to be totally clear line of sight? I’ve got a couple shrubs between the house and shed, nothing huge, but not sure if that’s a dealbreaker. Anyone had luck with less-than-perfect line of sight?
I’ve been eyeing those Ubiquiti bridges for a while but always wondered—do they handle trees or bushes in the way, or does it really have to be totally clear line of sight? I’ve got a couple shrubs between the house and shed, nothing huge, but not sure if that’s a dealbreaker.
I had the same question when I started looking into WiFi bridges for my place. The marketing always talks about “line of sight,” but it’s not always clear just how strict that is. From what I’ve read (and tried myself), even small obstructions like shrubs can impact performance more than you’d expect. I set up a NanoStation link between my garage and the main house, and at first, it ran straight through a couple of overgrown lilacs. The connection worked, but speeds dropped off noticeably—definitely not what was advertised.
It seems like the higher-frequency bridges (like 5 GHz) are especially sensitive to anything in the way. Leaves, branches, even rain can mess with the signal. I ended up trimming back the bushes as much as I could get away with, and that helped, but there’s still a bit of a dip compared to totally clear line of sight. If you’re just dealing with a few sparse shrubs, you might get lucky, but if you want full speed and reliability, it’s probably worth finding a path that’s as open as possible.
One thing I wish I’d known earlier: mounting height can make a surprising difference. Raising both ends just a couple feet higher got me over most of the greenery and improved things quite a bit. Not always an option if you’re limited by building heights or aesthetics, but worth considering.
If running cable isn’t possible and you can’t clear the path entirely, maybe try a temporary setup before committing to mounting everything permanently. That way you’ll know exactly what kind of speeds to expect with your specific obstacles. For me, it was a bit of trial and error, but I’m glad I didn’t just assume “close enough” would work perfectly.
Mounting height really does make a difference—funny how a couple feet can clear up so much interference. I’ve run into the same thing with outdoor projects; sometimes you just have to experiment a bit and see what works for your space. Even if you can’t get perfect line of sight, it’s impressive how much you can improve things with a little creativity. Don’t let a few shrubs hold you back from getting the setup you want. You’ll probably find a solution that works for your yard and still looks good too.
Has anyone actually measured the signal strength at different mounting heights, or is it mostly trial and error? I’ve found sometimes the structure itself (like metal siding) causes more issues than a few bushes. Curious if anyone’s had luck hiding access points in landscaping without killing performance.
