Wifi mesh systems

Hiya,

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Yeah, Imagine point blank refused to do that for me.. felt like I was being fobbed off at the time.. and then when the mesh worked okay I just left it.

I'm out of contract with them and rather than hand them another €100 I'm going to stick it out..

The NBP eejits have revised my connection date to September now so I'll hold out and see... tho this is the 3rd connection date I got so far.. sigh..

Here's hopin that sub 10MBs speeds of a saturday night becomes a distant memory soon...

I'll try changin to AP mode tonight and see what gives.

Thanks again

TP-Link Deco should do that for you.

Given your existing gear though Ubiquiti gear might suit you better (you will need to host a controller as well as the AP's though). TP-Link Omada would probably do similar.

Just as a follow-up.

The Asus ZenWifi AX just doesn't work with the Blink camera. The Blink support just gave up in the end.

Setting it int AP mode with the Imagine router made no difference.

Lots of other devices, smart plugs , Echos, etc, are connecting to it no problem.. just the Blink cameras.

They are just access points, you still need a router. I have a full ubiquiti set up which might be overkill but if you want the full unifi effect id recommend that you get a dream machine (router and switch) and you can run the access points off that. You can plug the unifi router directly to the ont but there a few settings you need to set before itll work.

see settings below, basically if you are replacing the router you need one where you can set a vlan id.

yes you could do that just use the existing router and turn off the wifi and use the unifi aps, you are on the right track with wired access points.

if you decide you want to change things in the future you could go for the dream machine set up, its addictive kit....

the dream machine has an ap built in aswell by the way.

What do ye think of the new Google Nest Wifi Pro?

Im looking into it but they only come in sets of 1 or 3. 1 isn't enough and 3 is too much!!

Might go with Nest Wifi instead and see how that is. Have 1Gb with Sky

Ended up getting a Netgear Orbi and a Nest Wifi just to compare the 2. The Orbi was able to connect directly into the ONT with its VLAN tag support. It's wifi6 so i was getting around 800Mb which was fantastic. But for some reason the second satellite, though ethernet-backhauled was only able to pull about 300Mb down!

Set up the Nest wifi and it only gets about 500Mb down but near the full Gb on ethernet. I'd rather faster ethernet than wifi so im keeping the Nest, and still debating an upgrade to the Pro.

The beta of the Home app allows you to manually set the VLAN tag but I'm not in the beta yet so still using the Sky modem in between for now!

I have a 200sqm bungalow with and all walls are solid inside. When researching the NETGEAR Orbi and Linksys Velop were meant to be the best for signal through masonry. I went with the Orbi. One router and 2 satellites. Did the trick. However the previous owners had wired for a satellite at one end of the house so it obviously helped. I have no problem with signal inside and for much of the garden. It really would help if your brother could even get one Ethernet cable from the router connected to a satellite on the first floor and then other satellites could daisy chain.

I had a bit of difficulty understanding your post, but will say this... The major benefit is that it is a mesh system, if you're not getting good coverage with your current router, them a single module would only offer minor benefits... I'd recommend using two modules (at least) through a 3 bed house... That should be plenty and should help with whatever is happening in the attic. Put one downstairs and one upstairs on the opposite side of the house.

Folks. This may be a silly question but if I buy 2 of these (2 x 2 pack) will they all work together? It works out cheaper than but the 3 pack.

TP-Link Deco S7 AC1900 Whole Mesh Wi-Fi System, Dual-Band with Gigabit Ports, Coverage up to 3,900 ft2, Connect up to 150 devices, 1.2 GHz CPU, Work with Amazon Alexa, Parental Controls, Pack of 2 https://amzn.eu/d/1RnlCBH

I have the Nest wifi 2 pack and added a single module of the older Google wifi which is a router/satellite... Woks good...

The TP Links are great because they can replace your ISP's router if you have Siro, FTTH or FTTC.

The useful thing is they have PPPOE support and also VLAN tagging. Just saves on the extra clunkyness.

The Tenda Nova's don't allow VLAN tagging.

The Mercusys do have VLAN tagging. I think they're owned by TP Link.

This is a great bargain at 74.99. 3-pack; Gigabit ports, VLAN tagging / PPPOE etc.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mercusys-over-100-Devices-Halo-H50G-3-pack/dp/B09C7JDYJ1/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=mercusys+mesh+wifi&qid=1669327724&sprefix=mercuys%2Caps%2C50&sr=8-3

That's up to you. I've turned my router into a bridge modem... I can still plug Ethernet cables into it, but it doesn't emit a wifi signal...

You can remove the eir router completely and use one Deco as your main modem/router. Only thing is you lose the home-phone capability..

What kind of broadband do you have?

Speed or signal strength, they are different things. For a comparison of coverage measure signal strength not speed

You still need the sky router to act as modem. Ideally you to set your ISP modem/router into a bridge mode, base mesh unit is then connected to the ISP modem/router via cat 5/6 cable. Your satellite mesh units then are placed around the house creating your mesh network. The backhaul to those satellite units will dictate the download speeds. Default will be WiFi backhaul but some mesh systems use powerline backhaul. Best option is ethernet backhaul but probably not possibly unless your house is already wired up for it or you can route the cat 5/6 cable discreetly. Also I've read that sky router can't be put into bridge mode like the Virgin router can, if true your mesh network will still work but you'll have 2 wireless networks which is annoying and possibly uses more electricity but you can just ignore the sky WiFi network