And of course frustrating for those who want to help because info comes in dribs and drabs. Hence my thanks for your questions.
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Thanks for the thought RicePudding. I must say that was what I was wondering but I think the 4G at the cottage is not reliable enough - most of our guests seem to go on their phones via the wifi from our livebox.
I’m hoping that (if I have understood correctly) @hairbear 's suggestion of two nanostations might be the way to go for a temporary solution over the next few years before we sell our main house. Fingers crossed.
Download a speed test app rather rely on the bar signal strength. Turn off wifi on the phone to test the phone signal.
Basically yes - you can view the wi-fi link to the gîte as one long Ethernet cable.
However, that also means the gîte is on the same network as the house so I would actually advise getting a cheap router and setting up a VPN on it (there are free VPN providers, though I would advise paying) which will give the gîte its “own” network.
If the Livebox in the gite is still connected to the (very poor) internet via the gite’s telephone line then connecting the Livebox in the gite to the Livebox in your home would not be a good idea. You should get a separate cheap router to distribute the signal within the gite via Wifi.
Edit : Having seen billys reply, yes I would personally isolate the gites network from your own as well although it’s not essential. If you do use the nanostations you can also ditch the Orange phone line for the gite until you are ready to move in and then get fibre as you planned. If that’s a couple of years then that will save quite a bit of money.
Thanks @hairbear and @billybutcher - another stupid question (sorry). Is there an “in” and “out” socket on the router? In other words does the nanostation in the house use one of the ethernet connections on the back of the livebox in the house (ie nanostation receiving signal from livebox) and then a different type of socket is used in the new router in the cottage (ie cottage nanostation sending signal to router which then passes it on the home network in the cottage).
I’m just wondering whether ethernet connections can work in either direction?
No one is better off asking me for advice as I have a terrible habit of over complicating/engineering things 
Thinking of point-to-point wireless links, someone on the forum set one up with good results recently - but I can’t recall who it was.
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Sorry Billy, I’m being dim - are you saying don’t go the nanostation route because it means they will be using our network?
OK I get my cheap router? And then what? And why the VPN? How does that help?
I have given you the easiest way specially made for non geeks - I am one too - but you have not said if you can get a wire between the two houses.
No, I think the nanostation or other point-to-point WiFi link is fine.
But be aware that unless you take measures to avoid it, they will be on the same network as the house.
So I advise a second router with a VPN client installed - this will completely isolate the gîte from the house network.
I recently added a WiFi bridge to get WiFi to our gite which is 80m away. We now get speeds of 500mb at the gite and 1Gb at the house.
The cost of the WiFi bridge is about 150€ and easy to install with no further ongoing monthly costs.
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OK, we probably need to take a step back. Trying to do something like what @SuePJ needs is not trivial for a novice. I think that @SuePJ needs to find someone on the ground who can implement something like what we have discussed. For us, we may think it is simple to do but it isn’t if you don’t know how.
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Unfortunately not too much risk of being cut all the time - lawns, flower beds, swimming pool, banks that need strimming, etc, etc
We have moved into a world where there is a new kind of priesthood - a group of people who hold an esoteric knowledge denied to the rest of us. Once it was bibles and church services in Latin. Now it is YouTube videos and technical forums.
So I search for “simple” explanations so that I can use the technology that is (in theory) available to me and, within seconds I find I do not understand the Latin language that this new priesthood uses. So I have no option but to use a member of the priesthood and pay them for their time. So, of course, why would anyone make it simple for me so I can do it for myself?
What happened to “plug and play”?
I look forward to the day when this new priestly language is translated into a bible in the vernacular which anyone can understand and read for themselves.
You are right hairbear - I cannot do this for myself. (And no, I am not getting at you, I am grateful for the help you have given me.)
At the risk of sounding like a stuck record this is the reason that it makes sense to get the fibre in now.
Not only does it solve your immediate problem of a poor connection at the gîte it will save you from buying what will eventually become redundant equipment & paying for someone to install & commission it.
Yes, you anticipate some building works but in my experience the fibre installers are more than happy to leave their cabling overlong if you ask nicely, which might facilitate moving the fibre point inside the building either temporarily or permanently, or even creating some slack outside if required.
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Hello @SuePJ
There is a very simple solution that is just plug in and it’s done. However, it has 2 concerns.
A) It costs €40 / month -
B) Its owned by Elon Musk.
If you are ok with these two points then Starlink Internet will get you up to 150 Mbps download / upload speeds. There is nothing better.
When the box arrives, out the dish outside somewhere safe and plug into an electric socket. It does everything else.
Second alternative is to buy a 5G router with built in SIM card (then you get a €2 monthly pay as you go sim) and this will get you 10 Mbps levels depending on the area and signal strength. You can add an external aerial to boost this.
The 5G router just replaces your live box.
Good luck.
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The reason the guests use Wifi is because it was always perceived as being faster - with ADSL, that might no longer be the case. Additionally, if the guests are on non-French phone contracts, they may be concerned about eating up their data allocation whilst out of their home country.
You might find, if you ring Orange that you can get a 5G/4G Sim card router box (handheld, about the size of a large snuff box) for free, as a backup, in case the actual DSL router service ever goes down.
Even with my business superfast fibre coonection at work, Orange regularly suggests that they provide me with a gratis 5G Sim router in case the fibre network ever goes down.
If you can get one for free, you would be able to test it by turning off your gîte’s Livebox, and using the 4G/5G sim router instead, to experience first hand whether or not it would meet your needs. There would be no faffing with point-to-point multi-building wireless connexions or the added complexity of having to buy more equipment to route the signal and configure separate networks.
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Chatting this through with a friend at lunchtime who asked - does there need to be line of sight between the two ends of the bridge or the two nanostations?
It’s better if there is, but not totally essential.
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Good to know. Thanks.