[Misc] Best wifi mesh network equipment?

[JonnyCLately]

I have gone for a set of 3 Deco P9s just waiting for them to arrive.

Do you use yours as a router or to better transmit your wifi signal?

I have watched a short youtube vid and it mentins 2 ways to connect.

Also, are you using the powerline option too? If so, does this mean you need to use your existing router and does a P9 need to be attached by ethernet cable?


Thanks and apologies for all the questions.

No, plugged into my Virgin Superb - then set the wifi up from there, subsequently set each P9 up to join the original P9 Network and once done, turned my VS into a Modem and removed the wireless bit!

 

[lost in london]

Amazon Eero here, got three for £149. Works fantastically with a virgin router in modem mode.

 

[Stumpy Tim]

I bought some Amazon eero's, and then it was announced Virgin Media (my supplier) are going to be offering pods for creating a mesh network for their customers. I rang them and apparently this will be rolled out next month. I've duly cancelled my eero purchases

 

[clapham_gull]

My advice would be the first opportunity you get, just run the cabling.

I can't get a wifi signal from one end of the property to the other, so years ago I ran a "backbone" from one end to the other under three floors.

I've just had Virgin installed so took the opportunity to replace the cable with new ones but using the old one to pull the new ones through.

In the back I have "wifi", but there an internet access point connected directly to the router.

Both TVs directly cabled in.

Don't need to do that in the lower ground, wifi goes nicely through floors just not always walls.

 

[DanR]

Ethernet cable is best (as mentioned), however I'm running and can recommend these for a mesh set up:

Ubiquiti AmpliFi HD

 

[PoG]

Tenda nova mw3 for me, quick install and works a charm.

 

[swd40]

VirginMedia are offering their WiFi Meshing options now. Dual Band pods, with superior tri-band ones to follow.

 

[blue'n'white]

Run the Virgin router in modem only mode and add a seperate mesh router system. I use Virgin with the Netgear Orbi system. The router and one extender in the hall covers the whole house plus a seperate extender in my office (in the garden) thats wired via CAT5 from the house to cover my office

Thanks for your reply - quite surprised me as this was months ago.
I have bought a mesh system (Linksys velop) which seems to work well but I don't understand you saying "Run the router in modem only mode" - how do I do that please ?

 

[Papak]

Thanks for your reply - quite surprised me as this was months ago.
I have bought a mesh system (Linksys velop) which seems to work well but I don't understand you saying "Run the router in modem only mode" - how do I do that please ?

I think it means disable the wifi on the router:

https://support.plume.com/hc/en-gb/...Wi-Fi,Service Provider or router manufacturer.

 

[jeremy fisher]

BT Whole Home. It's a 3 disc mesh set up available for £169 on Amazon. I bought it to go on our sky router as we had issues with coverage and signal strength in the house and it was brilliant. We get great speeds throughout the house, and even 100ft down the end of the garden!

Also worked very well in my house which has very thick 1m internal walls - solved years of poor coverage.

 

[CheeseRolls]

I have Asus ZenWifi Ax nodes upstairs and downstairs connected to a VM Router running at 350Mbs. I am itching to make some changes, but need a couple of things to happen.

1 Can we get back to watching football pretty please I long to ditch paying for Sky. Why does there need to be so many adverts for a subscription service? Why do they think anyone wants to see a close up of a manager on the touchline, when the ball is in play?

2 I would happily swap some network speed for improved reliability. Once I have a viable 5G signal covering my home, I intend to downgrade my Internet connection, get rid of all the Virgin TV Services. I want a 60Mbs+ broadband service connected downstairs, with a 5G router upstairs such that if either service is unavailable the mesh will reroute the traffic automatically. This should be cheaper than my current set up.

 

[nicko31]

My advice would be the first opportunity you get, just run the cabling.

I can't get a wifi signal from one end of the property to the other, so years ago I ran a "backbone" from one end to the other under three floors.

I've just had Virgin installed so took the opportunity to replace the cable with new ones but using the old one to pull the new ones through.

In the back I have "wifi", but there an internet access point connected directly to the router.

Both TVs directly cabled in.

Don't need to do that in the lower ground, wifi goes nicely through floors just not always walls.

Renovated my house a few years ago and just run CAT5 everywhere, too many solid walls are a nightmare

 

[Shropshire Seagull]

No one has yet mentioned that WiFi is now in two flavours - 5GHz and 2.4GHz and all recent / new routers provide both.

5GHz is way faster but is much weaker in terms of being able to penetrate though walls, floors & ceilings.
2.4GHz is slower but has a much wider [further] range [distance] capability.

First thing to do is to go into your router admin WiFi settings and create two separate SSIDs, 1 for 5GHz and 1 for 2.4GHz - just give them different names but ok to have the same password
Remember, streaming only requires a couple of MBPS to run smooth - easy for 2.4GHz - so use the 5GHz where necessary

The other important aspect of multiple WiFi [mesh or another WAP-wireless access point] devices is to to make sure they are broadcasting on different channels so they don't conflict each other.

Go to the App Store and download "NetSpot" - free app that tells you what all the WiFi SSIDs are in range, how strong each signal is, and on what frequency and channel they are working - really helps you understand what is going on in your property.

As others have mentioned - ethernet wired is better [fastest and most reliable] - when I moved into my house 20 years ago I CAT5'd every room [in cavity walls and under floorboards] - of course, this was before WiFi had come on the scene too

 

[Papak]

No one has yet mentioned that WiFi is now in two flavours - 5GHz and 2.4GHz and all recent / new routers provide both.

5GHz is way faster but is much weaker in terms of being able to penetrate though walls, floors & ceilings.
2.4GHz is slower but has a much wider [further] range [distance] capability.

First thing to do is to go into your router admin WiFi settings and create two separate SSIDs, 1 for 5GHz and 1 for 2.4GHz - just give them different names but ok to have the same password
Remember, streaming only requires a couple of MBPS to run smooth - easy for 2.4GHz - so use the 5GHz where necessary

The other important aspect of multiple WiFi [mesh or another WAP-wireless access point] devices is to to make sure they are broadcasting on different channels so they don't conflict each other.

Go to the App Store and download "NetSpot" - free app that tells you what all the WiFi SSIDs are in range, how strong each signal is, and on what frequency and channel they are working - really helps you understand what is going on in your property.

As others have mentioned - ethernet wired is better [fastest and most reliable] - when I moved into my house 20 years ago I CAT5'd every room [in cavity walls and under floorboards] - of course, this was before WiFi had come on the scene too

Netspot has only horrendous reviews on the Apple AppStore - all 1 Star saying you need extra equipment to use it so not sure if it has changed maybe?

 

[Birdie Boy]

Netspot has only horrendous reviews on the Apple AppStore - all 1 Star saying you need extra equipment to use it so not sure if it has changed maybe?

I use WiFi analyzer and geeky itools.
If you set up a 2.4 & 5ghz networks, use different ssid'so you know which is which.

 

[Birdie Boy]

Thanks for your reply - quite surprised me as this was months ago.
I have bought a mesh system (Linksys velop) which seems to work well but I don't understand you saying "Run the router in modem only mode" - how do I do that please ?

A router has a built in modem, the modem connects to the phone line or Virgin. The router then connects to the modem. If you run the Virgin router in modem mode, you can connect a different, better router to it.

 

[Shropshire Seagull]

Netspot has only horrendous reviews on the Apple AppStore - all 1 Star saying you need extra equipment to use it so not sure if it has changed maybe?

I use it on Nokia Android - does the job for me.