Determining the number of wireless access points needed for your home depends on several factors, including the size and layout of your home, construction materials, bandwidth needs, and desired wireless coverage. While there is no one-size-fits-all recommendation, most homes can achieve full wireless coverage with 1-3 access points.
What is a Wireless Access Point?
A wireless access point (WAP) is a networking device that allows wifi devices to connect to a wired network using wifi. An access point broadcasts its own wifi network with a specific name (SSID) that devices can connect to in order to access the internet and other network resources.
Access points have a limited range, usually around 100-150 feet indoors. So to provide wifi throughout a large home, you’ll need multiple access points positioned in different areas, with some overlap between their ranges. Having this layered coverage ensures you’ll have strong wifi signal anywhere in the home.
Factors That Determine How Many Access Points You Need
Size of Your Home
The larger your home, the more access points you’ll need to get full wifi coverage. A small 1-bedroom apartment may only need one access point, while a 2-story, 5-bedroom home would need at least 3 access points.
As a baseline, you’ll want an access point on each floor of a multi-level home. Then additional access points in far corners or areas separated by thick walls.
Home Construction Materials
Thick walls, metal beams, concrete, and other dense materials block and weaken wifi signals. So homes with lots of concrete, brick, and metal framing will need more access points compared to a wooden framed home.
Newer homes also tend to have better wireless penetration due to thinner interior walls. Older homes may have lath and plaster walls that degrade wifi signals.
Bandwidth Needs
The more wifi devices and high-bandwidth activities occurring simultaneously, the more access points you’ll need. A few laptops checking emails requires less networking power than 4K/8K video streaming, gaming consoles, smart home devices, and tablets/phones.
More access points allow you to distribute devices across different networks to prevent congestion and bottlenecks.
Desired Wireless Coverage
To get strong wifi in seldom used areas like the garage, yard, or storage rooms, you’ll likely need to add more access points than the bare minimum needed for core living spaces.
Placing access points centrally in a home provides basic coverage, but installing them in more remote areas ensures you get usable wifi anywhere on the property.
Recommended Number of Access Points by Home Size
As a general guideline for most homes:
- Small apartment or 1-bedroom condo: 1 access point
- 2-3 bedroom apartment or condo: 1-2 access points
- Small 2 bedroom house: 2 access points
- Medium sized 2-3 bedroom house: 2-3 access points
- Large house (4+ bedrooms): 3-4 access points
- Very large house (5,000+ sq ft): 4-6 access points
Of course, actual needs depend on all the factors discussed above. But this gives you a reasonable starting point for most situations.
Optimizing Access Point Placement
Where you place access points has a big impact on your wifi coverage. Follow these placement tips:
Centrally Locate Each Access Point
Positioning access points centrally within a coverage area provides the widest, strongest signal to the entire space. Avoid placing them on the edge or corner of an area.
Stagger Access Points on Different Floors
Stacking access points directly above/below each other causes interference. Stagger them so access points on separate floors are offset from each other.
Elevate Access Points
Install access points high up, at least 5-7 feet off the ground. This lets the wifi signal propagate downwards throughout the room.
Avoid Interference
Keep access points away from large metal objects, motors, wiring, and other electronics that could interfere with the wifi signal.
Maintain Line of Sight
Choose locations with a clear line of sight to the coverage area. Walls and floors degrade wifi signals, so the fewer obstructions the better.
Overlap Coverage Areas
Make sure access points are close enough that their coverage areas overlap. This provides consistent signal strength as you move around the home.
Choosing the Right Access Points
Once you know where and how many access points you need, choose the right models for optimal performance:
Wireless Standards
Get access points with the latest Wifi standards (Wifi 5 or Wifi 6) for faster speeds and greater range. Don’t buy outdated Wifi 4 or earlier models.
Dual Band is Ideal
Dual band access points support both 2.4GHz and 5GHz and allow devices to connect on the band that works best. Go dual band if possible.
Mesh Capabilities
Mesh access points can pair together to create one large seamless network. This makes it easy to add more access points that sync and share settings.
Built for High Performance and Density
Enterprise or “prosumer” grade access points handle more devices and throughput than basic consumer models. Choose access points designed to deliver fast speeds to many devices concurrently.
Wired Backhaul Connections
Where possible, connect access points via Ethernet cable to your network switch/router. This “wired backhaul” offers faster and more reliable performance than wireless backhaul.
Run Ethernet cable through walls and ceilings to wired access point locations. Or use Powerline adapters where cabling is impractical.
For a cleaner look, install access points with integrated Ethernet ports to avoid requiring additional adapters.
Set Up Tips
Follow these tips when setting up your access points:
- Set the same network name and password on all access points for seamless roaming throughout the home.
- Enable auto channel selection so access points choose uncluttered channels.
- Adjust transmit power settings to the minimum needed for coverage. Lower power means less interference.
- Use different channels for each access point. Channels 1, 6, and 11 are commonly used since they don’t overlap.
- Enable encryption like WPA2 for better security.
- Configure a different IP subnet for each access point to avoid conflicts.
Conclusion
Most homes need 1-4 wireless access points to provide strong wifi coverage in all areas. Carefully consider your home size, construction, bandwidth needs, and desired wireless range when deciding how many to install. Place access points centrally in coverage zones while staggering and elevating them to avoid interference. Invest in good quality dual band or mesh access points for the best connectivity. With proper planning and setup, you can bathe your entire home in fast, reliable wifi to support all your devices.