Getting Better Wi-Fi with your airCube
Introduction: Most of our members currently use an airCube router, which became our recommended router standard about four years ago; it’s likely that you do too. They’ve been working great for us. But you may not know that a simple change to the way you plug-in that router might offer you a significant benefit in Wi-Fi coverage.
Why LCWA Uses the airCube
First some background (skip to next section, below, if you know all this already). For years now, all new LCWA member installs have been made using the airCube router, and over half our members currently use it.
We use it for several reasons. First, it’s an economical and very powerful router. Next, it has no 5Ghz channel to interfere with our rooftop radios. It’s also a very simple router with no confusing controls. We also can upgrade firmware remotely with this router, which can be important. And we can do things like reset the Wi-Fi password remotely when a member needs to make a change or forgets their password.
But most importantly, an airCube allows us to do remote diagnostics. Remote diagnostics are extremely useful when we are contacted by a member saying that they are having internet problems. If the member has an airCube router, we can often remotely diagnose and solve internet issues quickly with just a few suggestions.
So, I hope you see the airCube router offers a ton of advantages. If you like, read more about the airCube router at this link. If you want one of these for your home, a volunteer will configure one free for your account; you just pay the $33 cost of the router on your next LCWA invoice. Contact tech.support@lcwireless.net to arrange that.
Standard Wiring for the airCube
Getting back to the main point of this article, though, note that 90 percent of our members have their airCube router plugged in using our standard method, which is shown below. In that standard wiring, the airCube router is wired to share the POE power supply with the LCWA rooftop radio. That sharing offers some cost savings on new installations, and it provides some other advantages as well. Here is how that wiring looks.
But using that standard wiring shown above occasionally offers a few disadvantages. The main disadvantage is that it decreases the ability to move the router to different places in the house. That’s because, when wired that way, the airCube router usually must be located adjacent to where the wire from the rooftop radio enters the house—which may not be the router’s ideal location. For example, it might force the router into a corner of the house, thus leading to poor Wi-Fi reception at the other end of the house. Or it may locate the airCube away from your home office or TV.
Alternate Wiring for the airCube
But by adding a $9 power adapter and an inexpensive Ethernet wire, you can move the airCube to other locations, perhaps to the middle of the house for better Wi-Fi delivery. You do that by delinking the airCube from the radio wire location. Using this power supply allows you to hook up the router differently so you can move it to whereever you want. This new wiring is easy to arrange and takes about 5 minutes to do. The wiring is as shown in the figure below.
If you want to do that, read on. Or, to see other solutions, scroll down in this article to the section Other Approaches You Might Use Instead.
This Is a Self-Help Article Only
Please note this: all of this information is offered as self-help information only. Unfortunately, LCWA volunteers cannot coach you through these steps, either on the phone or at your site. Nor can we help you if you have problems. If you want someone to do this for you, contact tech.support@lcwireless.net and ask us to refer you to paid technicians who can come to your home to make these changes, and more. We’ll send you contact information for technicians who understand LCWA well.
Buying Some Parts
The first step is to buy some parts. The power adapter you will need is a 5V, 2A, micro-USB adapter. It’s the same adapter used by older Android phones and by lots of other devices, so you might have one sitting in a drawer of your house. Here is a link to one on Amazon: airCube Power Supply. Below is picture of what this should look like, so you can see if you have one already.
You’ll also need a moderately long indoor Ethernet wire, to reach from your POE power supply to the new location you are going to put the airCube router. They are inexpensive, costing about $12. Here is a link to one on Amazon at various lengths.
Rewiring the airCube
Once you have all those in hand, you are next going to change how Ethernet wires are plugged into the airCube, and into the POE power supply, as shown below.
Remember that long Ethernet wire I told you to buy? That wire will be used between the LAN port on the POE Power Supply (see diagram below), and the blue WAN port on the back of the airCube (see diagram below). This enables you to locate the airCube quite a ways away from where the outdoor radio wire comes into the house.
And finally, you’ll plug the new power supply into the unused micro-usb power port on the lower-right corner on the back of the airCube, as shown below.
Below is how the new wiring looks; and by the way, about 10 percent of you will already have this wiring. For example, if you are a host for one of our access point radios, your airCube will already be wired this way.
And that’s it! Just moving a few wires around will enable you to better locate your airCube router in your home.
Other Approaches You Might Use Instead
Before re-wiring and moving your airCube router, however, your might want to take a different approach to improving Wi-Fi connectivity in your home. Here are two other choices.
One is to leave the airCube set up as it is, and add another airCube or Wi-Fi access point across the house using a long strand of Ethernet. However you’ll end up with two different network names and possible handoff issues as you move mobile devices about the house. For more information, go to this link and scroll down to the section labeled: Adding a Wired Second Wi-Fi Access Point.
The other and better approach is to leave the main airCube set up as it is, and consider adding an inexpensive Mesh system for your home, to spread the Wi-Fi signal around. That way you have one network name throughout the house and smooth handoffs with mobile devices. You simply plug that into one of the Ethernet ports on the back of the airCube.
The problem is, most popular mesh systems like Orbi, Eero, and Google Nest mesh have strong 5Ghz radios that interfere with our rooftop radios. There are other methods, like using a tuned Ubiquiti UniFi system, but they require you hiring a technician to install and fine-tune it.
The good news is, we do have one mesh system we recommend, the TP-Link Deco M5. It is reasonably priced, it can be set to not interfere with our rooftop radios, and you can install it yourself. Go to this link to learn more.