Wifi mesh systems

Redsoxfan

Redsoxfan wrote: »

With the 22% off and the positive reports I took the plunge and bought the Google Nest router plus point. Will set it up at the weekend.

Even with the Wizard firmware I found Asus mesh to be just ok. Hoping this is an improvement.

2 weeks later and very happy with Google Nest.

As others have said, it just works. Very easy to setup. Am getting 5x the speeds I was getting using the Asus in both router and mesh mode. So over 240mb on WiFi off main router and around 100mb on mesh (Virgin BB)

It's expensive for what it is no doubt but its performing very well. The functionality offered via Google Home is enough for me. Only downside so far seems to be the lack of different SSIDs for 2.4 and 5ghz, it's all the one and it seems that your device decides what to connect to. This does not appear to have caused any issues yet but has done in the past when I chose to forget it for most devices.

YMMV.

nigwerwig

I'm looking to improve the WiFi in my 2 story 3 bedroom 1980s house. The house was dry wall insulated a few years back. The WiFi is poor upstairs

there is cat5e ran to each room. The cat5 is ran to under the stairs

I have VM 250 the hub keeps dropping WiFi out.
I have a nest cam as a baby monitor and had to move it higher as the baby is standing now the signal is to low.
I have a few iot WiFi speaker. 2 nest hubs, lights etc

I have the VM box next to my TV in the middle of the house but that can be moved to under the stairs if need be .

I have read the hole thread and very new to networking.
Started to look at mesh WiFi( Google etc )
But after reading on here I have mixed feelings about what road to Go

If I turn the VM box into router can I use the ethernet ports on it. Like a switch

I may need a switch soon I don't at the moment
I have two TVs and my CCTV ran into the back of the VM hub 3

I'm putting up a office room in the garden have a cat5e ran to it, at some point is will need WiFi/ ethernet

1. get an unifi lite ap or equivalent ap and pop it in the upstairs landing.

2. same as above and get another ap for downstairs like the unifi flexhd I can pop beside the TV

3. a mesh WiFi set up with ethernet back haul

4. just pick up a better router and see if that helps

5. Get a cheap router pop it upstairs or under the stairs and see how it goes

then there is WiFi 6 coming soon my head is spinning thinking i should do something cheap, I don't even have anything WiFi 6 yet 😂😂

Hope this makes sense
Thanks for any help

Grumpypants

This is my set up. I have the eero 3 pack (it's rock solid).

Router to eero. Eero to wall socket. Wall socket to switch in the attic. Attic then runs cat5e to each room.

I plugged an eero in the bed room and sitting room. They both feed from the attic switch.

I'm on a 150mb Eir line and get 145mb WiFi all over the house. Even in the corner that is 75 feet and 4 block walls from the router. I can walk upstairs and stay connected.

Previously about half way up the stairs I'd lose signal as I have solid concrete floors. Baby monitor used to have to sit on the stairs to stay connected.

I've a seperate switch in the office from the router to serve the pc, consoles etc.

ireland456

Hi Great forum page has provided some good info

would appreciate some help here on my situation
house is 2800 2 story with hollow core block built
am with Imagine broadband router is upstairs in middle of house at the front getting speed of 75mb
currently have a tp link extender down stairs where am losing the will to live as it have to keep switching on and off with congestion
currently am WFH so is ok on my own however once kids come home or weekends its a disaster

Can some mesh guru recommend a system for me going from posts i am thinking
TP Link AC1200 Deco Whole Home Mesh Wi-Fi System Deco M4 (3 pack)
cannot run wires anywhere so any recommendation is welcome

nc6000

ireland456 wrote: »

Hi Great forum page has provided some good info

would appreciate some help here on my situation
house is 2800 2 story with hollow core block built
am with Imagine broadband router is upstairs in middle of house at the front getting speed of 75mb
currently have a tp link extender down stairs where am losing the will to live as it have to keep switching on and off with congestion
currently am WFH so is ok on my own however once kids come home or weekends its a disaster

Can some mesh guru recommend a system for me going from posts i am thinking
TP Link AC1200 Deco Whole Home Mesh Wi-Fi System Deco M4 (3 pack)
cannot run wires anywhere so any recommendation is welcome

I've a Deco M4 3-pack in my house and it's working great, can't complain at all. One Deco downstairs plugged into the Eir F2000 and one upstairs is more than enough - not sure I needed the third unit but I put it in the kitchen during the summer so we had WiFi in the back garden.

garo

Is 75MB the wired speed or wireless in the same room as the router? If you can connect a device by cable - and use Cat 5e or Cat6 and not Cat 5 - and check the speed then you know what the ISP (Imagine) is giving you. I assume the TP Link extender is a 30 euro job? That likely uses the same channel for connecting to the router as it uses to the devices that effectively means halving the bandwidth.

If you have a 75Mbps connection you may wish to investigate powerline adapters for your wired devices - if that's the only thing that is causing problems.
With the Deco4 as well the 5GHz channel will share both the backhaul and the device connections so your theoretical max would be 588Mbps. So that's not going to be an issue.

bobbyg

nc6000 wrote: »

I've a Deco M4 3-pack in my house and it's working great, can't complain at all. One Deco downstairs plugged into the Eir F2000 and one upstairs is more than enough - not sure I needed the third unit but I put it in the kitchen during the summer so we had WiFi in the back garden.

I have something similar, just curious did you put the EIR F2000 into bridge mode or did you turn off the WiFi on it? Mine was working perfect with Sky Q until Monday when the M4 updated and I had a lot of problems. Found a solution online and it seems to be working perfect again.

nc6000

bobbyg wrote: »

I have something similar, just curious did you put the EIR F2000 into bridge mode or did you turn off the WiFi on it? Mine was working perfect with Sky Q until Monday when the M4 updated and I had a lot of problems. Found a solution online and it seems to be working perfect again.

I turned off WiFi on the F2000 and have the Deco M4 set as an Access Point. I don't have Sky Q, just the Sky HD boxes which work fine. I'm on Deco firmware 1.4.2

ireland456

garo wrote: »

Is 75MB the wired speed or wireless in the same room as the router? If you can connect a device by cable - and use Cat 5e or Cat6 and not Cat 5 - and check the speed then you know what the ISP (Imagine) is giving you. I assume the TP Link extender is a 30 euro job? That likely uses the same channel for connecting to the router as it uses to the devices that effectively means halving the bandwidth.

If you have a 75Mbps connection you may wish to investigate powerline adapters for your wired devices - if that's the only thing that is causing problems.
With the Deco4 as well the 5GHz channel will share both the backhaul and the device connections so your theoretical max would be 588Mbps. So that's not going to be an issue.

75MB is the wired speed connected to imagine router.. yes the tp link extender is €30 job
new laptop now has no network and others in house are apple fans(ipad and ipod) so main aim is to get more wireless around the house and having red feedback on here powerline adapters are been phased out by mesh systems...so be nice to future proof now

at bottom of stairs i am getting 35mb download on phone but this drastically falls once i start moving into other rooms down stairs down to 2-3mb...

Aquos76

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I’ve been offered some of these google mesh devices. A friend of mine purchased a pallet load of them and asked me if I was interested in some. He has single, twin and triple packs. What sort of money are these and are they better than the TP link Dexo devices?

Bluefoam

If the price is right, go for it.

I have the newer Nest version and they are incredible... I have 250mb broadband and am getting 245+ through the router... That's pretty good... I also have a bunch of home automation stuff, and it doesn't show any signs of overloading.

My brother just put one of the Google routers (same one you have shown above) into a three story house and it works perfectly... I'm thinking of picking one up to put into the shed and extend the range in the garden.

whomitconcerns

Those are the older model. I just bought the nest router last month. I have 70mb bb and was getting 30ish with netgear power line adapters. Now I have 70-72 everywhere in apartment. Highly recommended!

Aquos76 wrote: »

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I’ve been offered some of these google mesh devices. A friend of mine purchased a pallet load of them and asked me if I was interested in some. He has single, twin and triple packs. What sort of money are these and are they better than the TP link Dexo devices?

garo

ireland456 wrote: »

75MB is the wired speed connected to imagine router.. yes the tp link extender is €30 job
new laptop now has no network and others in house are apple fans(ipad and ipod) so main aim is to get more wireless around the house and having red feedback on here powerline adapters are been phased out by mesh systems...so be nice to future proof now

at bottom of stairs i am getting 35mb download on phone but this drastically falls once i start moving into other rooms down stairs down to 2-3mb...

So your two choices are either a more powerful router or a mesh system. The mesh - Deco M4 - will most certainly work for you and give you 70-75 all around the house. The question is whether it is overkill and a router placed strategically would do the same job or not. What router have Imagine provided? Can you ask them for a better one and try to get an improvement for free?
Otherwise the TP-Link will be more than enough for you.

beauf

A mesh might overcome dead spots easier.

Bluefoam

I have Nest WiFi in the house, two points, and it's working great. But the insulation in the house is blocking the signal to the outside... The router is at the side wall, and there is a shed in the side passage less than 1.5m from the side wall... There is some signal, but not much... Could I add a point in the shed to extend the range?

garo

beauf wrote: »

A mesh might overcome dead spots easier.

For sure. But if they can get a better router from the ISP for free first it is worth a try.

Bluefoam

garo wrote: »

For sure. But if they can get a better router from the ISP for free first it is worth a try.

I gave up on provider supplied routers years ago... They are always a compromise.

We are all going to have more devices between phones, laptops, streaming and home automation... Mesh is the way to go.

funkey_monkey

Hi

I've got a house with Cat5e into every room. The router is tucked away in a cupboard in the main living area at one end of the house. That end of the house has good coverage.

However, the far end of the house where the bedrooms are has no coverage. I would like to improve this. Is a mesh system best for me as I have Cat5 points in each of the bedrooms?

I'm not a fan of having lots of trailing cables about, so I'm looking for a nice neat solution. The Cat5 points in the rooms are adjacent to a double socket.

The internet is provided via a BT Home Hub which is connected to a SMC EZ Switch SMCFS801 8 port 10//100 - which I do not believe has PoE capability.

garo

Bluefoam wrote: »

I gave up on provider supplied routers years ago... They are always a compromise.

We are all going to have more devices between phones, laptops, streaming and home automation... Mesh is the way to go.

True but depends on the ISP. The Digiweb supplied fritzboxes are very good.

funkey_monkey wrote: »

Hi

I've got a house with Cat5e into every room. The router is tucked away in a cupboard in the main living area at one end of the house. That end of the house has good coverage.

However, the far end of the house where the bedrooms are has no coverage. I would like to improve this. Is a mesh system best for me as I have Cat5 points in each of the bedrooms?

If you have Cat5 you don't need any further trailing cables. Other than from the Cat5 point to your mesh/AP. If you go mesh, make sure you get one that has an option for an ethernet backhaul. That will always be better and more reliable than one that relies on wireless for the backhaul. Or you can just buy a couple of wireless access points.

petejmk

Any help on this would be really appreciated. We're with Virgin at the moment and suffering from signal cuts on a pretty regular basis. We've contacted Virgin on the issue. They suggested we put use the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz signals and move any compatible devices onto the 5Ghz signal. We did that. No improvement. They insist there's no problem on the line and they've since suggested powerline adaptors - we already tried that.

I was going to order a mesh system but having read the comments re provider routers I'm now wondering if I'm better off replacing the Virgin Hub 3.0 provided instead. Thanks in advance.

funkey_monkey

garo wrote: »

If you have Cat5 you don't need any further trailing cables. Other than from the Cat5 point to your mesh/AP. If you go mesh, make sure you get one that has an option for an ethernet backhaul. That will always be better and more reliable than one that relies on wireless for the backhaul. Or you can just buy a couple of wireless access points.

Does the Mesh unit not require a source of power? Would the TV USB port be able to power it?
Can they also provide a through route (pass though port?) for hardwiring a second device into the ethernet point?

Bluefoam

petejmk wrote: »

Any help on this would be really appreciated. We're with Virgin at the moment and suffering from signal cuts on a pretty regular basis. We've contacted Virgin on the issue. They suggested we put use the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz signals and move any compatible devices onto the 5Ghz signal. We did that. No improvement. They insist there's no problem on the line and they've since suggested powerline adaptors - we already tried that.

I was going to order a mesh system but having read the comments re provider routers I'm now wondering if I'm better off replacing the Virgin Hub 3.0 provided instead. Thanks in advance.

The virgin router struggles with having multiple smart home or other devices connected... That's one of the reasons I went with the Nest mesh system.

Brian201888

Is there a particular mesh system that would be best if I can't run ethernet cables? Standard 3 bed new build but the Eir router is crap and I'm hoping I can get a 3 piece mesh and put one in sitting room with router, one upstairs and one in the kitchen to get the backgarden to have wifi.

Hoping to snag a black friday deal on something tomorrow and was looking at the Deco M4 at the moment?

thecivvie

Brian201888 wrote: »

Is there a particular mesh system that would be best if I can't run ethernet cables? Standard 3 bed new build but the Eir router is crap and I'm hoping I can get a 3 piece mesh and put one in sitting room with router, one upstairs and one in the kitchen to get the backgarden to have wifi.

Hoping to snag a black friday deal on something tomorrow and was looking at the Deco M4 at the moment?

I got a Deco S4 and it is the best thing I ever done. No issues at all with signals including 6 wifi Reolink cameras around the exterior. And they do get some distance

garo

funkey_monkey wrote: »

Does the Mesh unit not require a source of power? Would the TV USB port be able to power it?
Can they also provide a through route (pass though port?) for hardwiring a second device into the ethernet point?

Varies from system to system but yes, no and yes.

Gregor Samsa

Brian201888 wrote: »

Is there a particular mesh system that would be best if I can't run ethernet cables? Standard 3 bed new build but the Eir router is crap and I'm hoping I can get a 3 piece mesh and put one in sitting room with router, one upstairs and one in the kitchen to get the backgarden to have wifi.

Hoping to snag a black friday deal on something tomorrow and was looking at the Deco M4 at the moment?

To get the best speeds without an ethernet backhaul, you'll either need a mesh system that can do a power line backhaul (sends network communication through your electricity wiring between the base unit and the satellite ones), or a tri-band system that uses a dedicated wireless frequency to do it.

The M4 isn't tri-band, so it'll be using some of it's regular wi-fi bandwidth for communicating with itself, which cuts it's efficiency by 50%. The M9 Deco systems are tr-band, but more expensive.

A dual band system like the M4 will give you coverage, but you'll lose some speed when connecting to the satellites. This may not be an issue for you (depending on your base internet speed, your expectations and what you're using it for).

As you can see, there's a lot of people here very happy with the M4, so I wouldn't let the fact that it's not the "best" put you off. Just take your requirements into account when choosing.

Brian201888

Base speed is perfect, foolishly signed up for a GB package that I absolutely don't need so it's more extending it the right directions. Happy enough once I'm getting 100mb everywhere so sounds like the M4 should do the job

funkey_monkey

I've had a quick scout online - I only need a single mesh node. As the ethernet port and sockets are up high I was hoping to get a mains mesh node which has ethernet backhaul and a pass through port - that way I only need a very small ethernet cable and no bracket to hold the node.

Am I looking for something that doesn't exist?

garo

What you are looking for is a wireless access point I think and not a full mesh system.

funkey_monkey

Something like one of these?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Universal-Extender-Broadband-Ethernet-RE305/dp/B01N4I3YOB/ref=sr_1_3?crid=37GUZS777QYCO&dchild=1&keywords=ethernet+access+point+extender&qid=1604680832&sprefix=ethernet+access+point%2Caps%2C159&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.co.uk/WAVLINK-AC1200-Gigabit-Extender-Repeater/dp/B0836DCMW2/ref=pd_lpo_147_t_1/262-2833726-4920548?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0836DCMW2&pd_rd_r=d1aab66d-a097-434b-b4d2-cab8c4f6e887&pd_rd_w=FDrnE&pd_rd_wg=Z9TPo&pf_rd_p=7b8e3b03-1439-4489-abd4-4a138cf4eca6&pf_rd_r=3A2QN6NBKCTTVB9C34B3&psc=1&refRID=3A2QN6NBKCTTVB9C34B3

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B013SYHHI2/ref=emc_b_5_t