Mesh WiFi, suggestions?

[RichLan564]

Can anybody suggest a decent mesh WiFi system that doesn't cost the earth, i have a mixture of the plug in ones with repeaters etc. but managing them all is a bit of a pain, its only a 3 bedroom terrace (with pretty thick walls) so i'm thinking one downstairs and one upstairs should be enough to cover everything?

 

[TonyCarter]

Some suggestions in here...

Was looking at a new mesh setup and discovered this!

So I was about to invest in an updated 3 x Mesh satellite kit, my go to is Ubiquiti who are more of a SME/Enterprise grade manufacturer. I was looking at their AP WiFi 6 Mesh which is a single satellite, but can cover up to 1500 square meters which is substantially larger than most home...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

 

[SpyderTracks]

Can anybody suggest a decent mesh WiFi system that doesn't cost the earth, i have a mixture of the plug in ones with repeaters etc. but managing them all is a bit of a pain, its only a 3 bedroom terrace (with pretty thick walls) so i'm thinking one downstairs and one upstairs should be enough to cover everything?

TPLink Deco are the best budget option I'd say, available on amazon and elsewhere, price basically goes up based on wifi speeds.

 

[RichLan564]

TPLink Deco are the best budget option I'd say, available on amazon and elsewhere, price basically goes up based on wifi speeds.

Cheers, went for the TP-Link Deco S7, will see what they are like, can't be any worse than the power line ones i have that have decided not to work for love nor money, which are also TP-Link but in fairness pretty ancient

 

[SpyderTracks]

Cheers, went for the TP-Link Deco S7, will see what they are like, can't be any worse than the power line ones i have that have decided not to work for love nor money, which are also TP-Link but in fairness pretty ancient

Mesh really is worlds better, even on the budget units. Leaps and bounds better than PowerLine adapters in my experience. The only Mesh setup I've used that hasn't been great is the "free" ones from BT which are pretty crummy and tend to fail after any powercut.

 

[TonyCarter]

I only use the pass-through powerline ones due to the minimal electric sockets available...and the warning not to use them on any extension lead. Also have some devices that, despite having wifi, never want to connect or stay connected - so have to be wired.

So any other system needs to be 'socket neutral' and 'ethernet-port-rich' if I'm going to switch over completely...and will have to put the VM Hub into modem mode again (used to do that with my old ex-works Draytek router)...although I have the wireless covered with a Unify Dream Router sitting in my Amazon basket.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Cheers, went for the TP-Link Deco S7, will see what they are like, can't be any worse than the power line ones i have that have decided not to work for love nor money, which are also TP-Link but in fairness pretty ancient

Just wondering how you’re getting on with the Deco kit?

 

[RichLan564]

Just wondering how you’re getting on with the Deco kit?

Yeah, its pretty good thanks, the app is very slick which made setup pretty easy, it's improved coverage for sure, it took a while to sort itself out though, the main station was showing red for a week or so but doing a few auto detects on the frequencies seemed to sort it, would recommend.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Yeah, its pretty good thanks, the app is very slick which made setup pretty easy, it's improved coverage for sure, it took a while to sort itself out though, the main station was showing red for a week or so but doing a few auto detects on the frequencies seemed to sort it, would recommend.

Awesome, how many pucks did you get? Just wondering as I've recommended the TPLinks to a couple of people, just hoping it's sound advice. I've used TPLink stuff for decades, they've always been pretty solid as a budget option, they do have their hiccups but generally once you work around a couple of bugs, they tend to be quite stable.

 

[RichLan564]

Awesome, how many pucks did you get? Just wondering as I've recommended the TPLinks to a couple of people, just hoping it's sound advice. I've used TPLink stuff for decades, they've always been pretty solid as a budget option, they do have their hiccups but generally once you work around a couple of bugs, they tend to be quite stable.

I just got two, we are in a stone terrace, built in 1880 so walls are pretty thick, base station is in living room at back of house and second is in bedroom at front. Signal from base to second is listed as medium so a third somewhere would probably be an idea.

 

[SpyderTracks]

I just got two, we are in a stone terrace, built in 1880 so walls are pretty thick, base station is in living room at back of house and second is in bedroom at front. Signal from base to second is listed as medium so a third somewhere would probably be an idea.

That's good to know that it does still get through the thick stone walls though, that's quite a challenge for a wifi signal.

Awesome, pleased they're working out for you. The great thing about mesh is if you decide you need further range, just add a single extra puck, or however many you need, so you can build on it over time. The downside is that as with any wifi, the progress they're making in wifi speeds is pretty insane, so it's always going to be out of date, and getting the latest versions is astronomically expensive.

 

[Bhuna50]

I got 3 M5's a while back - one is at front of house (as it helps the EV charger and the car connect to the wi-fi), one is in the middle of the house and one is in the back room of the house and helps cover the garden (when putting the Sonos outside ).

Not had a problem with those TPLink Decos for a few years now.

(big 3 double bedrooms Edwardian house with double thick brick walls throughout).

 

[SpyderTracks]

I got 3 M5's a while back - one is at front of house (as it helps the EV charger and the car connect to the wi-fi), one is in the middle of the house and one is in the back room of the house and helps cover the garden (when putting the Sonos outside ).

Not had a problem with those TPLink Decos for a few years now.

(big 3 double bedrooms Edwardian house with double thick brick walls throughout).

We're on the original google wifi pucks, 3 of them, similar layout, they're just about perfect to cover the whole house, the front drive and a little bit of the back patio where it's needed where the table is.

I wouldn't head back from mesh, may be expensive, but the peace of mind it offers over extenders or plug thingies is just absolutely superb.