The short answer
Under about 100 metres with somewhere to run it: a cable. Further, or across a road or a field you can't dig: a wireless link, a pair of small dishes that can see each other. Plug-in boosters and powerline adapters won't do it between separate buildings.
Option 1: a cable
The most reliable answer, and often the cheapest, if there's a way to get it there. A network cable runs up to 100 metres at full speed; outdoor-rated cable can go in a duct, along a wall or clipped to a wire across the yard. Beyond 100 metres, or where lightning is a worry between buildings, fibre does the same job over much longer runs and carries no electricity at all.
The cable can also carry power, so an access point or camera on the barn wall needs no socket. That's called Power over Ethernet, and it saves running mains out to a building.
Option 2: a wireless link
A pair of small dishes, one on the house and one on the barn, pointed at each other. They carry the connection across as a beam, at speeds a cable would be proud of, over distances from across the yard to several kilometres.
The catch is line of sight. The two dishes need to see each other with a little room to spare: a hill, a stand of trees or another building in the way will block it. Where the direct line is blocked, a relay on a third building, the grain store say, goes round the obstacle. The barn link planner shows whether yours can see each other.
Once the connection is in the barn, an access point inside makes the Wi-Fi, and a weatherproof one on the outside covers the yard.
Option 3: an outdoor access point
For a building close to the house, within a stone's throw with a clear view, a weatherproof access point on the outside of the house can sometimes reach it directly. It's the simplest option and the most limited: fine for a phone in the yard, rarely enough for cameras or a parlour PC inside a steel building.
What won't work
- Plug-in Wi-Fi boosters. They repeat a weak signal and halve the speed each time. Through stone walls and across a yard, they give up.
- Powerline adapters between buildings. They send the network over the mains wiring, which works within a house but not reliably between buildings on separate circuits or supplies.
- A bigger router. It won't reach through a steel barn wall either.
What it costs
A link to one outbuilding, fitted and set up, is a fixed price on the prices page, plus the kit, which usually costs a few hundred pounds depending on the distance. A cable run depends on the route; Daniel will tell you where to dig and how deep.
Questions people ask
How far can a wireless link go?
With a clear view, several kilometres, which covers almost any farm. What matters more than distance is whether the dishes can see each other.
Does weather affect a wireless link?
Heavy rain can slow the highest-frequency links slightly; the usual farm links shrug it off. Wind isn't a problem if the dishes are mounted properly.
Can one link feed several buildings?
Yes. A link to a central building, then cables or short links on from there, is often the neatest design.
Checked October 2026.