Can Joey use my home's existing WiFi network?

[bgee]

I'm looking to do a new Dish install at a friend's farm, which has a remote barn connected by existing high speed wireless network bridging. The links would be too far for the Dish Hopper/Joey WiFi. Can the Hopper/Joey be configured to use the existing premises WiFi for streaming etc? I suspect the answer is no, but appreciate all knowledgeable replies on this. Also, anyone know if DirecTV could do this?

Another way to ask this: can I use my existing WiFi to connect a remote TV to my Hopper?

Thanks!

 

[TheKrell]

I am using a J3 connected solely via gigabit Ethernet. It works just as it did on MoCA. I have a DIsh-approved wireless adapter which I was thinking of plugging in to see how it worked...

How does your wireless bridge work? Does it have any Ethernet ports?

 

[bgee]

There's a WiFi 6 router on each end linked via a 5GHz 867Mbps point-to-point CPE dish cabled to the router on each end.

 

[bgee]

The reason I suspect this is not possible is because I found this on cepro.com: "Some integrators have raised the question of whether a Wireless Joey can leverage the home’s existing Wi-Fi system. Since the WAP generates a proprietary wireless signal to the Wireless Joey, integrating with the home’s wireless system is not an option."

 

[KaptainRandom]

There are threads on this site regarding joeys connected via home wifi.
You'll have to search for the threads.
It can be done rather easily.
It can be 'iffy' for connection quality for a miriad of reasons.
It is NOT supported by dish tech standards.

 

[bgee]

Is a FireStick running Dish Anywhere an option to make this work over existing WiFi? (although I've seen a slew of negative reviews of the app on FireStick).

 

[joegr]

Is a FireStick running Dish Anywhere an option to make this work over existing WiFi? (although I've seen a slew of negative reviews of the app on FireStick).

Yes, that will work. The user interface is not quite as nice or as fast, but it does work well enough.

 

[TheKrell]

There's a WiFi 6 router on each end linked via a 5GHz 867Mbps point-to-point CPE dish cabled to the router on each end.

The only issue I see are the routers at each end. A wired Joey will presumably think it's not on the same LAN as the Hopper and refuse to connect. You might get around this if you set up a VPN on those two routers such that the Joey does think it's on the same LAN. There could be a similar issue with a FireTV Stick (without such a VPN), resulting in the program stream going to your external router, before looping back to your LAN and thereafter to house side of that wireless bridge.

Can you clarify that configuration a bit? Why is it called a "bridge" if it's in fact two routers doing things like NAT?

 

[ChadT41]

The reason it is not supported is because it will not work consistently. It will have issues. The hardwired joeys can use WiFi to connect to the MOCA as long as it’s on the same network.

 

[TheKrell]

The reason it is not supported is because it will not work consistently.

I predict it won't work at all if it is not on the same LAN. The question in my mind is whether it can be made to work by tricking the Joey into thinking it is on the same LAN, e.g. with clever use of a VPN. Has anybody done this? The other question I have is whether this outdoor system is really a bridge (which might make it just work) or really a router with it's own wireless LAN in the barn.

 

[ChadT41]

I would recommend a series of mesh routers. I have been using the Google ones, and that should do the trick. I don’t have my joeys connected wirelessly on them, but they don’t have independent networks per unit and I have stretched the signal a 1/4 mile from my mothers Doctor office in one of the networks I had to create. That one impressed me, as that was not the result I was going for.

 

[DishSubLA]

I am not saying that what you want to do can't work (I seem to recall others have it working) but that it is not officially supported because the best case scenario of using WiFi for streaming from the Hopper to Wireless Joeys is that the Hopper system creates a its own secure wireless network with Dish's supplied Access Point which can then utilize the less crowded 5GHz band--even if your router does not support the 5GHz band--the Dish Wireless Access Point is key to making this work well in even the worst of home WiFi networks as only traffic from Dish Hopper and Joeys are on that created network.

The problem using most people's home WiFi ONLY as it exists in most homes is that it is often both under-powered and greatly over burdened with performance that can result in a less than satisfactory experience streaming content from a Hopper. Of course the people on this forum most likely have very robust modern routers that could handle the traffic well, but from my personal experience, it is my opinion the vast majority of consumers out there have poor WiFi performance on their home network.

Of course, experiment with what you have and see what you get. It may be satisfactory.