Mesh Net or centrally located Access Point?

[TRG]

I have a single story house (~2000 sq. ft.) that is rectangular in shape. My modem/router/WiFi is on one end of the house. On the far end of the house my WiFi signal is terrible. Compounding my issue is that the radio in my router combo is only capable of 2.4Ghz. That band is extremely congested in my neighborhood. So goal #1 is to disable the internal WiFi and go dual band. Most of my important WiFi devices have 5Ghz capability. My question is, which do you think would be more stable overall. A mesh net system or an Access Point installed in the center of my house? From an installation perspective the mesh setup would be easier and quicker. The Access point would require some drilling and fishing Cat5 or Cat6 wire through my attic. A task that I’m willing to perform if the solution is better than the mesh setup.

Thoughts? Comments? Ideas?

Amazon product ASIN B015PRO512
Amazon product ASIN B07WMLPSRL

 

[klang]

If I were going to do mesh I would want to use a wired connection between the nodes. I'm not up on current models but not all support that.

 

[KaptainRandom]

I have a similar situation to the OP.

I tried wifi extender/repeater,
Not work so well with handoff.

I got the ORBI mesh router.
Works great.
Base at modem,
Satelite at midpoint of house,
Now even the backyard gets great wifi.
The orbi mesh units use a single wifi id for both units, so no handoff issues.

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[navychop]

I have the Ubiquiti and am quite happy with it- when I’m close to it. 5GHz.

You might be ahead to have a WAP at each end and in the middle, or split the house into thirds with a couple of WAPs. I think the performance would be way better than a wireless mesh system.

 

[TheKrell]

I second KR's comments. I have one Orbi router and one satellite with a wired backhaul. I have my Orbi router in the basement with the modem, and the satellite in a bedroom on floor 2. Our main floor can get a signal from either just fine, and with a mesh, handoff is seamless.

 

[TRG]

Well I just ordered the Orbi RBK50 system. I also ordered an 8 port unmanaged switch GS308 for the wired connections in my home office. I'm going to try the Orbi with the dedicated wireless backhaul first. If I need to I'll pull a wire and hardwire the satellite later. Kinda hoping I don't have to go that route. The main Orbi and the satellite will only be about 35 feet away and two walls separating them. I guess well see how it goes.

 

[StanDarsh]

I have an RBK50 that I'll be receiving next week...I hear there is going to be some new parental control stuff for the mesh systems like RBK50...but who knows....
Currently I'm using Fiber modem --->netgear R9000 ----> Ubiquiti Edgeswitch 8XP....then from that switch, I have an NSM2 for guest wifi during this pandemic because I live near a large parking lot area that people can pull in and grab some internet if they want...(and the POE works great so I don't have a power injector on the NSM2..)
Also, out of it to my Arlo camera system...and out of it to my desktop...

Then, I have a NG Prosafe JGS516PE with a line to my bedroom...where I put a small 8port unmanaged TPLink for my TV, PS4, AirTV and HWS...
also on the NG Prosafe is my Sprint Airave femtocell..my Advanced Tomato router that I tinker with..my son's PS4..and probably missing something..
I have already turned off wifi on quite a few devices since I added the Prosafe to the mix. I was actually considering taking the Ubiquit Edgeswitch out and using one of the first 8 POE ports on the prosafe for the NSM2 Guest network.

Next I need to get VLANs down..so I can add a couple of VLANs to the mix.

 

[KaptainRandom]

The RBK50 has parental controls,
No childden in my house,
I did not activate parental controls.

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[StanDarsh]

The RBK50 has parental controls,
No childden in my house,
I did not activate parental controls.

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This is something else --- from what I hear, of course. Not the current parental controls that is built-in.

 

[StanDarsh]

I mean...supposedly it's going to be something integrated into the Nighthawk app, not a separate app for parental controls. Not sure tho.

 

[TRG]

I got the Orbi RBK50 mesh network hooked up and working. I wish I did this a long time ago! Before I had a really crummy signal on my patio since that was the farthest point from my router. There were times when I couldn't stream music from my tablet to my bluetooth speaker while manning the grill (and drinking beer ). Now I have all the signal bars illuminated and the full download speeds that I pay my ISP for. No more dead spots in my house or outside either. Couldn't be happier. I just hope it continues to work well over time. Oh, and I dont need to run a line for a backhaul. The dedicated wireless backhaul works great for my application.

 

[StanDarsh]

I have my RBK50, but I haven't hooked it up yet. I would LOVE to be able to do a backup on my R9000 router that I'm using now...since all of my IP rules and such...that way I don't have to save all my MACs and reassign the IPs all over again.

 

[Foxbat]

My Apple Time Capsule appears to have seen better days. The WiFi has been erratic in the past couple of weeks. I’m going semi-old school with a non-mesh WiFi unit (well, technically there is a mesh MR2200ac Access Point add-on available but I’m not getting it at this time,) getting the Synology RT2600ac.

I’ll be attaching some EHD storage to replace the Time Capsule functionality, plus Synology has a number of extensions that can be installed, but not at first. I’ll need to keep the Time Capsule around until I can move all the Time Capsule backups over to the new EHD. I’ll just shut off the radios on the old TC to prevent interference.

 

[TRG]

Before I bought my Orbi RBK50 I tried a couple of different routers, WiFi extenders, Wireless bridges etc. Nothing worked to my satisfaction and it seemed like I was always messing with it to make it perform better. Then I bought the Orbi, set up the router and satellite and now everything works seemlessly even outside in my yard. I don't even think about my WiFi anymore. I'm not saying it will work for everyone but it was perfect for my application. I wish I bought it a long time ago.

 

[StanDarsh]

Before I bought my Orbi RBK50 I tried a couple of different routers, WiFi extenders, Wireless bridges etc. Nothing worked to my satisfaction and it seemed like I was always messing with it to make it perform better. Then I bought the Orbi, set up the router and satellite and now everything works seemlessly even outside in my yard. I don't even think about my WiFi anymore. I'm not saying it will work for everyone but it was perfect for my application. I wish I bought it a long time ago.

The Orbi's are great, but before I got those, I used an EX8000. If you're going to use a range extender, you need one that has a 5.8ghz link for backhaul to the main router, and 5.8ghz broadcast for clients to connect (and 2.4 obviously). Otherwise, it's hard for a range extender to do it all and keep up with the data. The EX8000 has a 5.8 link for backhaul and does great.

 

[TheKrell]

Before I bought my Orbi RBK50 I tried a couple of different routers, WiFi extenders, Wireless bridges etc. Nothing worked to my satisfaction and it seemed like I was always messing with it to make it perform better. Then I bought the Orbi, set up the router and satellite and now everything works seemlessly even outside in my yard. I don't even think about my WiFi anymore. I'm not saying it will work for everyone but it was perfect for my application. I wish I bought it a long time ago.

Same here. Problems such as encountering dead spots have been eliminated, and I can now use the 5GHz band throughout the house. I don't remember how you set yours up, but I use a GigE backhaul for the satellite. I also don't remember if it was you who recommended these routers to me. If so, thank you!

 

[HipKat]

I have 3 Mesh nodes (Linksys Velop AC2200's) all connected via Cat 5 off of a switch at the modem. Performance was great til I hard wired each velop. Now it's exceptional

 

[Bongu]

I use three Asus rt-ac68 routers in my current mesh setup. I am mostly happy with the performance. My house is a large ranch style place probably 2700 square foot on the main level with a 1000 square foot part above the garage. I preferred the Asus routers due to the hard wired backhaul for the mesh setup. The wired backhaul is 1 GB versus using up wireless bandwidth. I am pleased, but know there are better solutions out there. I like the extra ethernet ports on the mesh nodes, but I could easily place a switch between the devices plugged in to the mesh routers. The Asus solution is easy for me to manage and I have set reboots for three times a week at unused times. Good management capabilities. The Eero and the Nest Mesh systems have caught me eye, but what I have works for me now. I have full coverage over 1.5 acres with my three Asus routers in a mesh setup. Mesh is the future, I just wish there was a true standard for interoperability.


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