This will depend on your building layout, wall material, installation location, etc. The best way to know roughly how many wireless hubs you need will require a floor plan and an on-site visit.

For example, Verkada HQ’s 3rd floor has a large area with nine wireless sensors marked by blue circles.

A minimal hub deployment, like the three shown above, will leave many areas with subpar coverage. For example, the middle hub serves sensors 3 and 4, which are 60–70 ft away and located inside a room. Their positioning can cause signal issues due to three walls blocking the hub’s signal, as shown in green in the screenshot below.

The hub on the right may also face connectivity issues. Sensor 9 must transmit through several walls, reducing signal strength, while Sensor 7 is on the secure side of the room, requiring the signal to pass through a door. Additionally, signal strength can only be accurately determined after installing the hub and sensors in their final positions, making it difficult to guarantee the effectiveness of this deployment.

To ensure proper coverage, always quote more hubs than initially estimated.

For example, consider sensors 1 and 2, circled in blue below. Sensor 1 has a hub positioned nearby, providing strong coverage. However, sensor 2 requires an additional hub due to the four walls (highlighted in green) obstructing the signal path.

To address this, we will place a hub next to sensor 2.

Next, consider sensors 3 and 4. Since they are inside a room, their wireless signal must pass through three walls to reach the middle hub. We will place an additional hub in that area to ensure proper coverage.

Moving to sensors 5 and 6, we’ll reposition the middle hub to a more optimal location. These sensors are slightly out of range of both nearby wireless hubs, so we’ll move the hub closer to improve connectivity.

Sensor 7 is inside a room, requiring signals to pass through the door for communication. To resolve this, we’ll reposition the rightmost hub inside the room for better connectivity.

Lastly, sensors 8 and 9 need a closer hub to maintain strong signal strength.

Example optimized deployment

In our revised floor plan, we doubled the number of wireless hubs to minimize potential signal issues with wireless sensors. Additionally, hubs are now placed on the secure side of rooms, eliminating the need for signals to pass through walls or doors.

Real-world range varies due to numerous unpredictable factors, including site environment. Variables such as floor plans, wall count, wall thickness, wall material, and floor height impact signal strength between the hub and sensor, making it hard to estimate an exact range.

Always spec more than the number of hubs you think you’ll need.

The sensor and hub have a wireless line-of-sight range of approximately 300 feet, measured in ideal conditions—an open field with no walls, obstacles, or interference. Since indoor environments do not meet this definition, relying on line-of-sight range for wireless deployments can lead to signal issues and an unreliable alarm experience.

We recommend the WH52 and WH32 wireless hubs for their uniform coverage, ensuring better wireless performance.

The repeater’s wireless range should be considered the same as any other wireless sensor. To extend coverage effectively, place the repeater midway between the hub it connects to and the wireless sensor gap area, ensuring a reliable connection.

For example, consider the 3rd-floor Verkada HQ floor plan, this time with only one wireless hub.

The bottom sensor may experience range issues due to distance and wall interference. If running PoE for an additional hub is too costly or impractical, you can use a WH32 repeater powered by a wall adapter.

Proper placement ensures reliable coverage between the sensor and hub, allowing for effective signal repetition.

In this example, the repeater is placed between the two devices to ensure optimal coverage and performance.