Able to add 2nd Base Station for Arlo camera for better signal using extender?

[titicaca]

I  read somewhere that you can add a 2nd base station for my arlo HD 720 cameras. Therefore getting better signal. I already have Netgear Nighthawk AC2200 Plug-in WiFi Range Extender. Question is if I connect the additional base station to extender will that help my camera signal?  Also can the base station be set up WIFI? or just hard wired....

[StephenB]

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@titicaca wrote:

I  read somewhere that you can add a 2nd base station for my arlo HD 720 cameras. Therefore getting better signal. I already have Netgear Nighthawk AC2200 Plug-in WiFi Range Extender. Question is if I connect the additional base station to extender will that help my camera signal?  Also can the base station be set up WIFI? or just hard wired....

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Base stations only connect with ethernet.  The ethernet port on the extender can of course be used for that.  The base needs about 1 megabit of bandwidth per camera.  You likely will easily get that from the extender, though you can check it with speedtest.net using a device connected to the extender.  One challenge here is that extenders do sometimes disconnect from the main router - and when that happens the base will go off-line. 

Whether a second base is needed to improve signal depends on the details on where the current camera and base station are placed.  But if you are seeing evidence of poor signal, then a second base station that is closer to the camera can certainly help.  You can try shifting your current base to the extender temporarily, and see if that helps.

[titicaca]

Thank you Stephen. So I can also connect the "main" base station to the extender?. If that is so I will try that. unfortunately I have my cameras spread out thru my home. So I am trying to get the best signal I can get for all of the (4 cameras) Also I am getting conflicting signals. on the app in my tablet they all show 2 bars. in the Arlo web portal (PC) 3 show all bars (3 bars) and 1 shows 2 bars. Hopefully I am not getting off the subject too much but I get a lot of disconnects and also batteries are draining on a daily basis. which is not good.

[StephenB · Accepted solution]

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@titicaca wrote:

Thank you Stephen. So I can also connect the "main" base station to the extender?. 

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Yes.  As long as the base can reliably reach the internet, you are ok.  Powerline Networking is another option (which might turn out to be more stable than the extender).  But start with the extender, since you already have that.

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@titicaca wrote:

Also I am getting conflicting signals. on the app in my tablet they all show 2 bars. in the Arlo web portal (PC) 3 show all bars (3 bars) and 1 shows 2 bars. 

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That seems to be a recurring issue.  If you have an Android tablet you can find free apps that will give you the actual wifi signal strength (not converted into bars).  Unfortunately Apple's SDK doesn't expose that, so you can't get that info from an iPad.  FWIW, I think it'd be good if Arlo gave you a way to see the actual signal strength in dBm.

But I think in your case, the 2-bar camera, in fact has a somewhat weaker signal.  

But the disconnects are the real symptom - a somewhat weaker signal isn't a problem if the camera stays connected to the base.  WiFi interference is sometimes a cause - if the base is right next to the router, you might move it somewhat further away (as far as the cable will reach).  

[titicaca]

Thanks Stephen...