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Wi-Fi HaLow Explained! Long-Range Camera Test up to 300m
2026-08-24 | By Mirko Pavleski
License: General Public License
I recently needed to install a security camera at a relatively large distance from my home, more precisely at about 300m. Unfortunately, although there was power there, I could not physically install a network cable, and also the distance is too large for a Wi-Fi connection. LoRaWAN cannot be used due to its very low transfer speed, which is not sufficient for multimedia transmission. So, while searching for a solution, I came across information about Wi-Fi HaLow technology. Wi-Fi HaLow is a long-range, low-power version of Wi-Fi designed specifically for the Internet of Things (IoT).
Operating in the sub-1 GHz spectrum, it delivers connections up to 1 km away while passing through walls and obstacles much better than traditional 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi HaLow fills the gap between classic Wi-Fi and LoRaWAN – it offers significantly greater range and lower power consumption than Wi-Fi, but at the same time provides high enough speed for IP communication, audio, and video, something that LoRaWAN cannot provide. So I decided to purchase hardware (camera and router) that would best meet these needs.
Specifically, these are the ThinkNode G4 Wi-Fi HaLow Gateway and ESP32 Wi-Fi HaLow Module with 2MP Camera, products from Elecrow. The ThinkNode G4 Wi-Fi HaLow gateway is a long-range, high-speed wireless communication device designed for IoT applications. It is equipped with a high-performance MCU and advanced RF front-end, supporting dual-band design for both Wi-Fi HaLow and 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, and providing an Ethernet interface for flexible integration into existing network infrastructure. The product also contains two antennas, one for HaLow Wi-Fi and one for standard 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi. It is powered via a USB-C port. The ESP32 WiFi HaLow module consists of several parts.
The camera module PCB with ESP32-S3 MCU, a Wi-Fi halo module, a TF card slot, and a 2MP camera. On the top side of the PCB, there is a connector where a small antenna is connected, which is included in the kit along with the USB cable. There is also a Type-C interface, triple wireless connectivity (Wi-Fi + Bluetooth + Wi-Fi HaLow), and a small antenna. On the PCB, there is a connector for a lithium battery with a charging chip and an indicator LED, as well as many I/O ports for connecting various external devices and sensors.
Now I will focus on the main task from the beginning of this project, which is to find the simplest possible way to put this small camera module + gateway into operation, i.e., to set up wireless transmission of a video signal over a long distance of up to 1 km. Let's start by setting up the gateway. For this purpose, the PC Ethernet card should be set to Automatic (DHCP), i.e., in the TCP/IP properties, the "Obtain an IP address automatically" box should be checked. Now I connect the gateway to the power supply and to the PC with a LAN cable. I hold down the CFG button for 3 seconds and wait for the green LED to start blinking, which is a sign that the gateway is in configuration mode. I type the address 10.42.0.1 in a web browser. In this way, I enter the configuration web interface.
For presentation purposes, I will not enter passwords now, except where necessary. Otherwise, in real use, of course, you need to use strong passwords for protection. Now we are on the "select wizard" page, and here we need to select "Standard WiFi Halow".
Next, then again, password, and now we need to choose between access point and client. We select the access point and next.
Here is the name and password that should be used by a device that needs to connect to this gateway; in this case, it is the camera module.
Now, next, and on the upstream network display, you need to select "none".
In this mode, the Gateway will create its own HaLow network, and the ESP32 camera will connect to it. No home router or internet is required. This is ideal for initial testing. The next page is the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi access point (enable or disable); the default is disabled, and I have left it in case you don't need standard Wi-Fi. Next, here we press "Apply," and the green LED should go out, and here we have finished setting up the gateway. With these settings, the router gets a different static address that we can find out by typing IPCONFIG in the CMD window.
In my case, it is 192.168.12.1. Now we type that address into the web browser, then log in, and the status display appears.
There appears to be a longer text that shows that the camera is trying to connect to the Gateway with the name: "ThinkNode-G4_2a94" and password: "elecrow.com", and as we saw previously when setting up the Gateway, the name was different from this. So the simplest thing to do is to change the name of the gateway through the wizard and confirm the password "elecrow.com". After this change, the camera should automatically connect to the Gateway.
In the web browser, enter the address 192.168.12.1 and in the menu, go to "Wizards" and select "Standard WiFi Halow". There, we change the SSID to "ThinkNode-G4_2a94" and enter the password "elecrow.com". After pressing Next, select NONE again, then Next, Next, and Apply. Now I connect the camera module to power, and for a short time the blue "Link" LED on the gateway should light up.
This means that the camera is connected to the Gateway. Now we just need to open the serial monitor in the Arduino IDE, reset the camera module, and read what address the camera module is getting. In my specific case, the address of the camera is: 192.168.12.195. Now enter http://192.168.12.195/ in the web browser, and the camera image appears on the screen.
If we have an SD card installed on the module, by pressing "save image to SD Card" we save the current image. Now, on the Wi-Fi Halow module, I mounted a lithium battery that can be charged via the USB-C connector.
This is a charging LED, then a power LED, and in the middle is a blue DATA LED that signals when the camera is connected to the gateway. I also installed a wire as a support so that I can temporarily mount the module. Now I will take the camera outside at a distance of about twenty to thirty meters to test it. Next, I will mount the camera at a distance of 70m, with several obstacles between the camera and the Gateway, including a building, to test how the signal passes through multiple walls. Here is what the received signal looks like
And finally, I will mount the camera at a distance of 300m from the Gateway, with a note that I am mounting it in an urban environment with several buildings, vegetation, and other obstacles between the camera and the Gateway. After these tests, I conducted several experiments in different places with different configurations and obstacles. I can tell you that the range of the camera depends on several factors, including the distance, such as the number and type of obstacles, but also the placement of the gateway. It is best for the gateway to be placed in a high place without many obstacles around it. To achieve video transmission at maximum distances of up to 1km, the basic condition is that the camera and the gateway "see" each other, i.e., that there is no obstacle between them.
And finally, a short conclusion. Wi-Fi HaLow successfully bridges the gap between traditional Wi-Fi and LoRaWAN by combining long range, low power consumption, and enough bandwidth for real-time video streaming. It is a promising technology for the next generation of IoT and smart surveillance systems.
