Wifi mesh systems

iba

JimmyVik wrote: »

No. Ours is with Eir.
Its a very easy setup.
But there are smart light bulbs coming out next month that are also mesh network pints. I think thats a great idea. They look to be cheap too.

I think the bulbs are Tuya ones. Paul Hibbert did a YT vid on them about two weeks ago.

Shefwedfan

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Right so feedback on the TP-Link System. SO I got the 3 x P9 Deco and I also got the TP-Link E3(2pack) https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07QRCD2X7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

So setup again fairly simple, you do have to set up each unit at a time. Not like Huawei which you set up and then the rest set themselves up. Fairly easy to set up, plus I set up all the P9 and then a few days later the E3 set arrived. App is better, a small bit, to the Huawei, just a little easier to see but not close to Linksys at all. No option to reboot the entire network which I like to do to clean it out. You can reboot each unit at a time but that takes ages

Everything is running perfect apart from the M3W which seems to have awfull issues picking up the network. I had it sitting beside a box once and it had red light on, need to spend some time on it and if not then will have to return and juts buy two of the E4/M4/S4 units.

All in seems to be a failry robust system. Especially if you are replacing older powerline TP-600 which is what I was orignally doing when I started all this messing.

To be honest at this stage its a throw up between the Linksys Tri-Band and the TP-link with Powerline but if I really think about it the Linksys is the one I would go back to, the cost is the limiting factor for me as I would need close to 6 units

To update, I have moved the M3W further away from the other units, the distance whcih I would have thought would make it less stable has had the opposite affect and now no issues.

Aquos76

My current set-up, 360mb with Virgin Media, wifi set to 2.4 and 5ghz, cat6 cable running from read of hub 3.0 up to an 8way giagbit switch in attic, from there I have ethernet cables run to all 4 bedrooms, study and sunroom. One of the bedrooms has a f2000 modem set up as an AP and it works fine, however I am sick of the Virgin hub constantly dropping the WiFi. Wifi isnt great in half the house and non existent in the sunroom. I am looking at the TP Link Deco M4 3 pack so hardwiring all 3 wont be an issue, The first one will be wired from the hub and 2 and 3 will be wired from the switch in the attic.

Am I missing something or should they all work seamlessly due to the fact that they will all be hardwired from the switch, or do they have to be daisy chained for the ethernet backhaul to work correctly?

degsie

Aquos76 wrote: »

Am I missing something or should they all work seamlessly due to the fact that they will all be hardwired from the switch, or do they have to be daisy chained for the ethernet backhaul to work correctly?

https://www.tp-link.com/uk/support/faq/1794/

Aquos76

degsie wrote: »

https://www.tp-link.com/uk/support/faq/1794/

Excellent, thanks for that. I see someone mentioned the TP Link Deco S4 earlier in the thread, has anyone managed to find any differences between the S4 and the M4. Anything Im finding seems to indicate their specs are the very same, other than that the S4 are not at tall as the M4. The S4 are also cheaper than the M4's

nc6000

The S4 can use third party firmware.

https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/faq/2423/

tommycahir

garo wrote: »

I'd be happy to get some advice on this. I have wood floors and a fireplace in the middle of where the cable-run would be. How do I run the cable without destroying the aesthetics and pissing off the SO?

How about popping off the skirting board and running the cable in the space between the floor and board? Around fireplace there is usually a similar space but covered with 1/4 inch round edge beading which can also be popped off and retailed (or using no more nails)
Regards
Tommy

Tabby McTat

Looking for some advice here.

Currently have the Vodafone Gigabox router for their ADSL service. As is well documented here, the service is sh*te! Speeds are fine, regularly get 70-75mb on speed test but the connection with devices drops on a regular basis. Like multiple times every day.

I'm in a new build, 2 stories and an attic and have power line extenders to get WiFi around the house. All my devices connect via WiFi and it's the usual, a few phones and TV connected over internet.

I have been trying to improve things with VF technical support but as yet it's no better.

Would it be a good idea to get a Linksys Ac2200 router to replace what I have. The way I see it I could then upgrade this to include a few mesh units. Would this be the best one?

Would that be compatible with powerline extender. Thinking of moving to Virgin when the 12 month contract is up. But I presume the standard router with them is rubbish also.

GinSoaked

nc6000 wrote: »

The S4 can use third party firmware.

https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/faq/2423/

Which third party hardware?

degsie

GinSoaked wrote: »

Which third party hardware?

???

GinSoaked

degsie wrote: »

???

Sorry firmware.

degsie

GinSoaked wrote: »

Sorry firmware.

DD-WRT and OpenWRT in the works, apparently.

Aquos76

So, would the S4 be a better purchase than the M4 so?

garo

barrac wrote: »

Looking for some advice here.

Currently have the Vodafone Gigabox router for their ADSL service. As is well documented here, the service is sh*te! Speeds are fine, regularly get 70-75mb on speed test but the connection with devices drops on a regular basis. Like multiple times every day.

I'm in a new build, 2 stories and an attic and have power line extenders to get WiFi around the house. All my devices connect via WiFi and it's the usual, a few phones and TV connected over internet.

I have been trying to improve things with VF technical support but as yet it's no better.

Would it be a good idea to get a Linksys Ac2200 router to replace what I have. The way I see it I could then upgrade this to include a few mesh units. Would this be the best one?

Would that be compatible with powerline extender. Thinking of moving to Virgin when the 12 month contract is up. But I presume the standard router with them is rubbish also.

Do you really need a mesh system if the powerline extenders are doing the job? I have the Virgin hub and it is ok. It’s Wi-Fi reaches the attic on 2.4 GHz but the 5 GHz band has issues. In the same room as the router I get 480 Mbps over Wi-Fi. Switch to Virgin then see if powerline extenders do a good enough job and if not think of the LinkSys.

Tabby McTat

garo wrote: »

Do you really need a mesh system if the powerline extenders are doing the job? I have the Virgin hub and it is ok. It’s Wi-Fi reaches the attic on 2.4 GHz but the 5 GHz band has issues. In the same room as the router I get 480 Mbps over Wi-Fi. Switch to Virgin then see if powerline extenders do a good enough job and if not think of the LinkSys.

Thanks for coming back. The issue with my current Vodafone router is that the connection drops throughout the day. I have 5 months left until I'm out of contract so still a while to wait.

I'm wondering will a new router sort this do you think? Also I know mesh is probably overkill but I'd rather have something that was future proof. Especially if work from home is here to stay and all.

Clareman

barrac wrote: »

Thanks for coming back. The issue with my current Vodafone router is that the connection drops throughout the day. I have 5 months left until I'm out of contract so still a while to wait.

I'm wondering will a new router sort this do you think? Also I know mesh is probably overkill but I'd rather have something that was future proof. Especially if work from home is here to stay and all.

The free routers are worth the price you pay for them in my opinion, the own brand ones especially so.

I've a Google Mesh system that connects to my free router, I've WiFi through Google and everything wired through the ISP router, works a dream and if i change ISP I just have to plug out the old 1 and in the new 1.

In my opinion this is probably the worst time to be getting a future proof mesh system as WiFi 6 is just launching so WiFi 6 systems are expensive and WiFi 5 systems are going to be old soon. If you have to get something I'd say make sure it's Wi-Fi 6 and go from there, I'm actually very annoyed that I didn't wait

Clareman

Clareman wrote: »

The free routers are worth the price you pay for them in my opinion, the own brand ones especially so.

I've a Google Mesh system that connects to my free router, I've WiFi through Google and everything wired through the ISP router, works a dream and if i change ISP I just have to plug out the old 1 and in the new 1.

In my opinion this is probably the worst time to be getting a future proof mesh system as WiFi 6 is just launching so WiFi 6 systems are expensive and WiFi 5 systems are going to be old soon. If you have to get something I'd say make sure it's Wi-Fi 6 and go from there, I'm actually very annoyed that I didn't wait

I've a lot of opinions there, sorry

Tabby McTat

Clareman wrote: »

I've a lot of opinions there, sorry

Opinions are good!!

I don't know anything about WiFi 6 v WiFi 5?

Clareman

barrac wrote: »

Opinions are good!!

I don't know anything about WiFi 6 v WiFi 5?

At a high level its the same change as going from 2. 4ghz to 5GHz, could you imagine trying to use a 2.4 connection now?? Functionality wise its grand but once you use the faster connection you'll find it hard to use the old 1,chances are you don't have any WiFi 6 devices at the moment but in a year or so you'll have more and more. Personally I've a few Wi-Fi 6 devices which are 5g as well, I'm fine on 4g and 5GHz at the moment but I know the geek in me will be annoyed soon.

If your post didn't say future proof I wouldn't have mentioned it and would have recommended the Google Wifi but you did say it so it's worth considering

Tabby McTat

Clareman wrote: »

At a high level its the same change as going from 2. 4ghz to 5GHz, could you imagine trying to use a 2.4 connection now?? Functionality wise its grand but once you use the faster connection you'll find it hard to use the old 1,chances are you don't have any WiFi 6 devices at the moment but in a year or so you'll have more and more. Personally I've a few Wi-Fi 6 devices which are 5g as well, I'm fine on 4g and 5GHz at the moment but I know the geek in me will be annoyed soon.

If your post didn't say future proof I wouldn't have mentioned it and would have recommended the Google Wifi but you did say it so it's worth considering

That's exactly the type of knowledge that boards is great for!!

Are there particular routers to look out for them?

Clareman

barrac wrote: »

That's exactly the type of knowledge that boards is great for!!

Are there particular routers to look out for them?

I haven't looked into them too much myself to be honest, I came into a few bob earlier on in the year and went mad on a Google eco-system for the house, everything works very well together and easily at the moment so I don't need the extra speed, I've a 5G phone and have never connected it to a 5G network for example so speed isn't that much of an issue for me at the moment. BUT, I'll be getting the Note 20 and S7 Tablet next month so I'll probably invest in a wifi-6 router, connect that to the ISP router (or replace the ISP router with it) and setup a hidden SSID for that network and just connect my toys to it and leave everything else as it is.

I just checked my Google WiFi app and I've 42 devices connected to my home network at the moment, I'm sure a free own brand router could handle that many devices but I'd say it'd struggle.

Shefwedfan

Clareman wrote: »

At a high level its the same change as going from 2. 4ghz to 5GHz, could you imagine trying to use a 2.4 connection now?? Functionality wise its grand but once you use the faster connection you'll find it hard to use the old 1,chances are you don't have any WiFi 6 devices at the moment but in a year or so you'll have more and more. Personally I've a few Wi-Fi 6 devices which are 5g as well, I'm fine on 4g and 5GHz at the moment but I know the geek in me will be annoyed soon.

If your post didn't say future proof I wouldn't have mentioned it and would have recommended the Google Wifi but you did say it so it's worth considering

All my smart plugs etc still run on 2.4Ghz, I don’t see Wi-Fi 6 been really a requirement for another 2-3 years.

I have to-link devices up till 6 months ago and only swapped for a mesh, not really to give a massive jump in performance

Clareman

Shefwedfan wrote: »

All my smart plugs etc still run on 2.4Ghz, I don’t see Wi-Fi 6 been really a requirement for another 2-3 years.

I have to-link devices up till 6 months ago and only swapped for a mesh, not really to give a massive jump in performance

I don't think I've noticed an improvement in performance but I have noticed a massive improvement in coverage and constant connections for stuff like cameras, before the mesh things would just drop off. I also can't see 2.4ghz disappearing any time soon either, I have a few devices that still rely on it.

Aquos76

I'm swaying towards the S4 mesh system rather than the M4 now, mainly just incase 3rd party firmware is released. I have the M4 on the way from littlewoods, I got them for €130 with some discounts, and I see the S4 are available for £109 from amazon now. From any of the videos Ive watched online, it seems that with these tp link mesh systems, you cant actually broadcast 2.4 and 5ghz separately, this is a step backwards imho.

I did see one guy set up the guest network as the 2.4ghz ok and the main network as 5ghz only, the problem here will be not being able to access devices on both networks, ie, we've a wireless printer here thats only 2.4ghz and im assuming then that any of our 5ghz devices wont be able to communicate with the printer then

SchrodingersCat

I would highly recomment the Fritz! brand routers for setting up a mesh. Their ease of use and UI is worth their price alone. You can pick up some of the older models for very cheap on Amazon Warehouse.

Clareman

Some ISPs give FritzBox as their free router, very handy

beauf

Clareman wrote: »

Some ISPs give FritzBox as their free router, very handy

Who?

Clareman

beauf wrote: »

Who?

Airwire definitely do and I think Digiweb do

SchrodingersCat

Clareman wrote: »

Airwire definitely do and I think Digiweb do

Yep! You are right.
https://digiweb.ie/fritzbox/

Clareman

The model from Airwire is the 7560

GerardKeating

beauf wrote: »

Who?

Also Lighnet

Gooey Looey

beauf wrote: »

Who?

And Westnet

Jo Satan

I had a TPlink C7 for a couple of years , worked well but had issues in one bedroom.
The room was built as part of an extension above a garage.
The house is 160sqm 60's block build.

In the end with 3 laptops, 6 phones 2 tablets, and a load of smart plugs/lights I had constant dropouts, issues etc.
I spent a while researching, I found a guy writing reviews, articles etc on Home networks and I post a question on his site describing my issues and home layout.

He recommended the ASUS ZenWiFi AC Tri-Band Whole-Home Mesh WiFi System(CT8).

Its pricey but I work from home and needed reliability more than anything.
I have two units not hardwired, wireless backhaul for about a month now.
Its very stable and speeds are pretty much maxed out all around the house and the back garden.

garo

How would the Fritz compare to say a TP-Link C2300 which was highly rates by Tom's Hardware. I'm not looking for a mesh system but just something that will have a stronger wifi signal than the Virgin Hub.

Gooey Looey

garo wrote: »

How would the Fritz compare to say a TP-Link C2300 which was highly rates by Tom's Hardware. I'm not looking for a mesh system but just something that will have a stronger wifi signal than the Virgin Hub.

Which Fritz, there are numerous models with different specs and standards

garo

Gooey Looey wrote: »

Which Fritz, there are numerous models with different specs and standards

Sorry should have specified. The 4040 pictured above.

SchrodingersCat

There is no comparison really. The TP link is newer and much better specced but is 2x -3x the price of the fritzbox above. My own experience of TP link is that they are grand but don't provide many firmware updates and hit their EOL sooner. However, as the 4040 is three years old it's probably hitting its EOL now too.

If you are not looking for a mesh system you might be better off asking in other areas of the subforum.

garo

Thanks. Only considered the Fritz because of the ridiculously good Amazon warehouse offer. Will stick with the TP-Link as I had researched it previously.

degsie

garo wrote: »

Thanks. Only considered the Fritz because of the ridiculously good Amazon warehouse offer. Will stick with the TP-Link as I had researched it previously.

The TP-Link routers are fine, the downside is firmware support which ends quickly as they switch development efforts to newer routers.

digiman

Getting eir FTTH in tomorrow, would like to replace their router with my own so I can connect directly to the ONT.

Will have the 1Gbps package so want to get as much out of this as possible all around the house. I’ve got cat5e to every room so would plan to use that as the backhaul for my WiFi extenders.

My iPhone is WiFi 6 capable and my next laptop will most likely have it so would like to future proof with that if possible.

Would probably go with 3 WiFi extenders to cover the house.

I’ve had google WiFi in the past and it didn’t work well with sky Q so sold it. Also would like something that can record metrics such as total download/upload.

Suggestions please

garo

degsie wrote: »

The TP-Link routers are fine, the downside is firmware support which ends quickly as they switch development efforts to newer routers.

I have *ducks* never updated the firmware of a router. Never felt the need for it.
The Netgear X4S R7800 is the other option I am looking at.

Clareman

digiman wrote: »

Getting eir FTTH in tomorrow, would like to replace their router with my own so I can connect directly to the ONT.

Will have the 1Gbps package so want to get as much out of this as possible all around the house. I’ve got cat5e to every room so would plan to use that as the backhaul for my WiFi extenders.

My iPhone is WiFi 6 capable and my next laptop will most likely have it so would like to future proof with that if possible.

Would probably go with 3 WiFi extenders to cover the house.

I’ve had google WiFi in the past and it didn’t work well with sky Q so sold it. Also would like something that can record metrics such as total download/upload.

Suggestions please

I've SIRO and I just leave the ISP router in place for the wired connections and use the mesh to operate the WiFi around the house for me.

There is a difference between WiFi extenders and a Mesh system so I'm not sure if this is the best forum to be asking your questions, the folks over in the networking forums really know their stuff.

If you have cabling all over the house then it'd be fair to assume that you'll have gigabit speed through a cable in every room, I would guess that connecting a WiFi router like the FritzBox above, in a room where coverage is dropping and setting it into mesh mode would allow you to blanket cover the house. Personally, if I had cabling all over the house I'd be looking to use that as much as possible and keep WiFi usage to a minimum, cable will always trump WiFi.

babelfish1990

garo wrote: »

I have *ducks* never updated the firmware of a router. Never felt the need for it.
The Netgear X4S R7800 is the other option I am looking at.

Don't replace your router - just add a Mesh WiFi system, and turn off the WiFi in the eir router. Since you have wiring in place, you should consider going for a system that uses the wiring, to give you gigabit speeds at each access point. You might also consider going for access points that are powered over the Ethernet cabling (POE) - this will avoid the need for mains power at each node, and might allow you to position the nodes discretely, high on the walls or ceilings for better coverage. I can recommend the Ubiquiti UAP-AC-Lite.

Mesh systems give seamless WiFi coverage, with portable devices handing over smoothly as they move from one zone to the next. Very useful for services like WiFi Calling that require no breaks as you move between rooms.

I wouldn't recommend change your eir router, unless you have the IT Security knowledge and discipline to keep your replacement router patched with security patches to protect against new vulnerabilities that arise.

bk

I've actually got a Netgear X4S R7800 myself and overall very happy with it *

If it is doing the job for you and there are no blackspots in your home, then I wouldn't bother going for a wifi mesh system.

Wifi systems are a great addition to the world of networking, but I also feel they are being oversold. Most people in a standard home don't really need them IMO.

A good quality router like the R7800, well positioned in a home, should easily be able to cover most typical Irish homes.

Of course some people have unusual homes, extra large, materials that cause interference, extra big garden, etc. and they need wifi systems and great that this option exists.

But wifi mesh adds complexity, expense and potential issues with interference between AP's and roaming between AP's

I feel a lot of people have crappy wifi due to cheap ISP supplied routers and bad positioning and then they jump straight to wifi mesh systems, when something like a R7800 probably would have solved their problems.

Wifi systems are great, but most people don't actually need them.

* The R7800 has fantastic speed and range, I get like 500mb/s out of it, nice. Two downsides, it doesn't support Netgears/Disneys latest parental controls and it only supports 32 devices per channel, which might be an issue for those of us with lots of HA wifi devices. I haven't hit the limit myself yet, but possible others might.

bk

Wifi 5 versus Wifi 6 and no one mentioned Wifi 6E !!!

Wifi 6E will be massive, in particular for wifi systems. A whole new band to be used, 6GHz and more suited to wifi systems. Much faster speeds (more bandwidth) but only over shorter distances.

6GHz hasn't been approved yet in the EU, but likely only a matter of time now, given the US has approved it.

All the developments around Wifi 6 and 6E is part of the reason I'm happily sticking to my R7800 for now, wait for all this to mature and for devices that support them to launch, before upgrading and maybe considering wifi mesh (for 6GHz).

digiman

So far the Sagecom device from eir is performing well. I’m getting 600Mb/s beside the device and about 300Mb/a in other rooms around the house.

Won’t rush into any mesh setup yet, I think one of the best things about it is that it’s using channel 100 on 5ghz and there is no other neighbouring houses using that one. I was picking up 3 other devices on channel 36 which was probably causing lots of issues with the sky q mesh that I had been using.

Aquos76

For anyone interested in the TP Link Deco mesh system, the M4 triple pack is now available on Amazon for £99.99. I set up this kit in my house this week and I’d definitely recommend trying to hardwire at least 2 of the three if possible. I switched my VM hub into modem mode and The difference I’m getting now in my WiFi is unreal, getting 300-360Mbps everywhere in the house now whereas I used only get those speeds in the same room as my router, oh and not a single WiFi dropout on my iPhone or iPad since either.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07NH1J543/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_s9PgFbDQAXZTB

oneway2

I've just had a VM tech out to the house as i was only getting 275 speed i modem mode with a VM Hub 3.0 and a Netgear X8 AC router.
The tech replaced some cables and connected a new Hub 3.0 (same HW revision as the existing one). We were getting 500 speed on both wi-fi and Ethernet with the VM Hub 3.0 in router mode.
After the tech left, I put the Hub back into modem mode and now I'm back to the 275 (max 300) speed.
What's the top speed you can get in modem mode?
Is there any chance that modem mode has a lower max speed than router mode?

Gooey Looey

oneway2 wrote: »

I've just had a VM tech out to the house as i was only getting 275 speed i modem mode with a VM Hub 3.0 and a Netgear X8 AC router.
The tech replaced some cables and connected a new Hub 3.0 (same HW revision as the existing one). We were getting 500 speed on both wi-fi and Ethernet with the VM Hub 3.0 in router mode.
After the tech left, I put the Hub back into modem mode and now I'm back to the 275 (max 300) speed.
What's the top speed you can get in modem mode?
Is there any chance that modem mode has a lower max speed than router mode?

What router are you using with it?

Aquos76

oneway2 wrote: »

I've just had a VM tech out to the house as i was only getting 275 speed i modem mode with a VM Hub 3.0 and a Netgear X8 AC router.
The tech replaced some cables and connected a new Hub 3.0 (same HW revision as the existing one). We were getting 500 speed on both wi-fi and Ethernet with the VM Hub 3.0 in router mode.
After the tech left, I put the Hub back into modem mode and now I'm back to the 275 (max 300) speed.
What's the top speed you can get in modem mode?
Is there any chance that modem mode has a lower max speed than router mode?

Well I’m on the 360mb package and I’m getting close to that on wired and WiFi consistently now.