No More Dead Zones: How I Got Wifi In My Backyard Shed
Funny you mention the insulation—ran into the same thing with my workshop. I used rigid foam panels and suddenly my WiFi signal tanked. Ended up grabbing a cheap outdoor-rated access point and mounted it right on the outside wall facing the house. Not as pretty, but it punches through way better than the repeater I tried first. I did debate trenching for ethernet too, but honestly, digging in clay soil is just not worth the backache. Sometimes you gotta pick your battles...
Yeah, insulation is a sneaky WiFi killer. I swear, I spent a whole weekend troubleshooting before realizing those foil-faced foam boards were basically turning my garage into a Faraday cage. Tried a WiFi repeater first—total waste, just added lag and didn’t help with the dead spots at all. Ended up going with one of those cheap PoE outdoor access points too, zip-tied it under the eaves where it stays dry. Not exactly what you’d call “aesthetic,” but it gets the job done.
I thought about running ethernet as well, but digging a trench through my backyard (roots everywhere, plus rocks) just sounded like a nightmare. If you’re on a budget, honestly, outdoor APs are way less hassle and you can always upgrade later if you want something fancier. Just make sure your AP can handle the cold if you’re somewhere that gets real winters—mine froze up once and needed a reboot. Technology’s great until mother nature gets involved...
