Mesh Wifi

[02nz]

Can’t take advantage of WiFi 6e without devices that support it. The new iPhone SE is one, any others?

There are no Wi-Fi 6E devices available yet. Wi-Fi 6 aka 802.11ax is the latest available. 6E was just announced and builds on this by using the 6Ghz band (Wi-Fi 6 and earlier uses the 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz bands).

The iPhone 11 generation and new SE support Wi-Fi 6. Many of the newer laptops on the market do as well, and on most of the ones that don't, if the wi-fi chip is on a m.2 slot it can be swapped out with a $20 card that supports Wi-Fi 6.

If I could wait 9 months I'd get a 6E mesh router when they come out (estimated early 2021) and then I'd be ready as 6E capable devices come online.

A few points:

1. With this stuff there's always something thing newer coming.
2. The FCC has only just voted to allow the 6Ghz band to be used. There's a pretty long process before we start seeing actual products, and I'm skeptical there will be 6E mesh routers in early 2021. There aren't even many Wifi 6 mesh systems on the market now, and the few are very expensive. Eero and Google Wifi are still on Wifi 5 only.
3. 6E will allow more bandwidth, yes, but very few people have a fast enough internet connection to even max out wifi 5 (ac) or 6 (ax) even now. And yes the 6Ghz band will be less crowded, but that's much more of an issue with 2.4 Ghz than 5 Ghz band (the latter is used by ac and ax).
4. The point of mesh isn't so much highest possible speeds but a reliable and seamless connection. If you can benefit from that now, don't wait for 6E.

[ARoseByAnyOtherName]

Any Asus router with AImesh.

Wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole.

Great security updates

You’ve got to be kidding me. Asus is renown for abandoning even relatively recent router models as “end of life”, meaning no security updates. See for yourself, on their end of life product list:
https://www.asus.com/event/network/EOL-product/

For example look at the Asus 4G-AC55U. It’s end of life, no more security updates, yet as far as I can determine it was introduced in 2015.

“Great” is not the word I would use here.

Third party firmware.

This is something very few people will ever care about. And the folks that “need” the capabilities offered by third party firmware have many other well-supported hardware and software options to choose from.

Not locked into a specialized device

I don’t know what you mean by this. Can you be more specific?

Easy to expand or replace as needed

As are most all mesh WiFi offerings.... that’s the whole point.

No google spying

Instead you get Asus and Trend Micro spying:
https://www.computerworld.com/article/3 ... urity.html

[ballons]

Wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole.

You’ve got to be kidding me. Asus is renown for abandoning even relatively recent router models as “end of life”, meaning no security updates. See for yourself, on their end of life product list:
https://www.asus.com/event/network/EOL-product/

For example look at the Asus 4G-AC55U. It’s end of life, no more security updates, yet as far as I can determine it was introduced in 2015.

“Great” is not the word I would use here.

This is something very few people will ever care about. And the folks that “need” the capabilities offered by third party firmware have many other well-supported hardware and software options to choose from.
...
Instead you get Asus and Trend Micro spying:
https://www.computerworld.com/article/3 ... urity.html

The topic is mesh routers, not 4G routers.

You rant about EOL, then complain about third party firmware continuing support.

Don't turn on optional software.

[FinTruth]

I had an Orbi system. Most frustrating experience I have ever had with electronics. It was intermittently working with my google devices like chromecasts. It would work, then an Orbi firmware update would break it again.

I removed the Orbis and bought some Eero's. Have had zero problems, and my google devices including the Chromecast Audios (I have 6 of them) work amazingly well now, like never before. They would disappear constantly with the Orbi system.

Never buying Netgear again, their software updates seemed to always cause problems, and they would promise fixes that never show up. There were forums dedicated to all the complaints with hundreds of posts with similar experiences.

[TomatoTomahto]

Google and eero mesh nodes are cheap. 3 eeros for $199 is what I paid.

Our house is large, but the biggest problem was the 2 foot thick fieldstone walls throughout (we love the walls, but the only thing they insulate against is WiFi signals). If you can get Ethernet backhaul, the more nodes the better.

[ARoseByAnyOtherName]

Wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole.

You’ve got to be kidding me. Asus is renown for abandoning even relatively recent router models as “end of life”, meaning no security updates. See for yourself, on their end of life product list:
https://www.asus.com/event/network/EOL-product/

For example look at the Asus 4G-AC55U. It’s end of life, no more security updates, yet as far as I can determine it was introduced in 2015.

“Great” is not the word I would use here.

This is something very few people will ever care about. And the folks that “need” the capabilities offered by third party firmware have many other well-supported hardware and software options to choose from.
...
Instead you get Asus and Trend Micro spying:
https://www.computerworld.com/article/3 ... urity.html

The topic is mesh routers, not 4G routers.

No, the topic is Asus routers.

You rant about EOL, then complain about third party firmware continuing support.

I never complained about third party firmware support.

Don't turn on optional software.

Don’t buy Asus.

...[OT comment removed by admin LadyGeek]

[986racer]

I got Eero last year and only 2 complaints

1) Poor timing on my part. About 2 months after I bought it, Amazon had it 50% off on Prime Day
2) No DNS for local hostnames. I'd love to give local computers a personalized name

Other than, it's been great.

[psy1]

I get a new router every 5 years or so. One thing I have learned is that a well placed ethernet cable connected to an inexpensive switch is a smart way to go. I pay someone to run the cable.

[FrugalInvestor]

I get a new router every 5 years or so. One thing I have learned is that a well placed ethernet cable connected to an inexpensive switch is a smart way to go. I pay someone to run the cable.

Sorry I'm dense I guess but for what purpose? I use switches but why are you mentioning here?

[lazydavid]

If I could wait 9 months I'd get a 6E mesh router when they come out (estimated early 2021) and then I'd be ready as 6E capable devices come online.

Given what WiFi 6 mesh costs today ($600-$1000) and what that bodes for 1st-gen 6E mesh, it would be dramatically cheaper to buy a wifi 5 mesh now (Google Wifi, Eero, Orbi etc), and then replace it in 2-3 years, after 6E mesh comes down in price. That way you'd have a solution NOW (not in 9-12 months), AND would wind up with a better solution in the long run (no first-gen devices). And likely still before you buy your first 6E client.

Unless you already have a wifi solution that you're very happy with, waiting for 6E mesh is silly.

[Hoosier CPA]

Ended up buying a 3 pack of tp-link deco m9. Never heard of it before but it was the only mesh system my local costco had it stock. Seems to be working great so far. Easy to set up. High speeds. I like that it was ethernet ports on each unit. The only feature I think it should have is the ability to shut it off at night from the app. Would like to be able to easily turn off wifi overnight.

[TomatoTomahto]

Ended up buying a 3 pack of tp-link deco m9. Never heard of it before but it was the only mesh system my local costco had it stock. Seems to be working great so far. Easy to set up. High speeds. I like that it was ethernet ports on each unit. The only feature I think it should have is the ability to shut it off at night from the app. Would like to be able to easily turn off wifi overnight.

You might not now, but someday you probably will have “smart home” devices (security, HVAC, electric metering, computer backups, etc) that rely on WiFi being on mostly 24/7.

[jpelder]

Upgrading to a faster router doesn't do much for you unless your router is the choke point for your internet. Even cheap routers like the Archer A7 will have no problem at speeds well above the average speed delivered to U.S. households. Unless your internet speed is above 200 Mbps or you do significant internal networking between one computer and another at your house there is no reason to shell out big bucks for a high-end router to get more speed to your devices (assuming wifi coverage extends throughout your house).

I would argue for most people today with Internet faster than about 50Mbps, their home wifi IS the choke point. Most people don’t upgrade routers/access points that often, so they are generally at least a few years old and a single point access point falls off in speed rapidly over the normal distances one might reasonably use their devices around a normal home. The way to find out is to download a test app, something like Wifi SweetSpots, and wander around the house. We had a several year old router in a >2000sq ft home, centrally located, no construction issues with interference or nearby neighbors, etc. Through most of the house we got >50Mbs. Often far less - meaning single digits. And it gets much worse with wifi as soon as multiple devices begin competing for that limited bandwidth.

We upgraded to Nest Wifi earlier in the year - 2 pucks for The whole house, and we can now max out our 100Mbps internet service from anywhere in the house.

You're right on the money. Since WiFi isn't full duplex (each antenna can either send to or receive from one device at a time), it's limited by how many antennas the access point has vs how many devices are trying to connect.
I have 200 MBPS internet service, but was only getting 5-10 MBPS speeds on the WiFi with my old router, especially in my work-from-home zone, which is on the other end of the house from the modem. I realized that we had two laptops, two smartphones, an Amazon Fire Stick, and a few other odds and ends all on the network trying to share a single connection. I got the Google Nest WiFi (one router and one point), and I'm getting 100-150 MBPS all around the (1700 square foot single-story) house (and all through the yard, which is a plus). I mostly chose it because it was on sale for significantly less than the Eero option when I purchased it. I would likely get Eero if I was buying today based on current prices.

Many reviewers seem to prefer Eero, but almost all of the big brands get good reviews, and all will be a vast improvement over a single WiFi access point. Someone linked an Ars Technica article about the specifics. CNet, Tom's Guide, and Consumer Reports all have their thoughts.

[PaleoWorx]

I know that I am not the first to call your attention to it, but if you're buying google or amazon wifi mesh systems, you give them yet another way to monetize your data. This time it's your home internet traffic.

Just saying.

[Go Blue 99]

Anyone have any idea why the Google Wifi and Eero apps are rated so poorly (at least on iOS)? Eero app has a 3.1 rating and Google wifi has a 2.8. The hardware part seems to have terrific reviews everywhere, but I guess some people aren't happy with the iOS apps.

[jminv]

I recently bought the MeshForce M3S system but wouldn't recommend it. Although it works it's not great. Requires too many units to get a good mesh network (I ended up buying more). So if you see that on amazon, I'd avoid it. If you are going to buy it anyway, it's cheaper directly from MeshForce as there are some 10% off promo codes you can find easily.

[ballons]

I get a new router every 5 years or so. One thing I have learned is that a well placed ethernet cable connected to an inexpensive switch is a smart way to go. I pay someone to run the cable.

Sorry I'm dense I guess but for what purpose? I use switches but why are you mentioning here?

Running ethernet vs relying on wireless backhaul is my guess. To make that applicable to the OP, it is always a better idea to use an ethernet backhaul to AP/mesh node.

[pahkcah]

I get a new router every 5 years or so. One thing I have learned is that a well placed ethernet cable connected to an inexpensive switch is a smart way to go. I pay someone to run the cable.

Sorry I'm dense I guess but for what purpose? I use switches but why are you mentioning here?

Running ethernet vs relying on wireless backhaul is my guess. To make that applicable to the OP, it is always a better idea to use an ethernet backhaul to AP/mesh node.

Yup. I wanted to have ethernet connectivity to the locations where my Google WiFi mesh points were initially placed. An issue with these devices is that they only have two ethernet ports, so I connected one of the mesh devices to my Internet provider's router via one of the ethernet ports and used the other port to connect to a switch. I then ran ethernet connections from the switch to the locations where the other two WiFi devices were located. Love these Google mesh devices. I believe the newer Nest router also has two ethernet ports.

[DownToThis]

I just got the eero pro with two beacons from microcenter today. I couldn't quite figure out the installation because I have a wireless router/modem combo. I called the customer service and they were excellent.

[Cruise]

Based upon many positive comments on this thread, I went ahead and bought the Orbi, which I installed today (one router and two satellites).

With the help of their online videos and manual, setup was pretty easy, but complicated by their failure to provide a good Quick Setup Guide on paper. Another complication was that one device (my wife's ipad) refused to recognize the new router, despite or because it has the same SSID/password as the old one. A call to Apple Care quickly fixed that issue. Finally, I had to play around with the Orbi security settings because an older wireless printer refused to recognize the WPA2 setting, so I had to go to WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK.

The early results are in: The performance of the Orbi system far exceeds that of my older router. I am getting blazing fast speeds throughout my home and quite a bit of distance throughout my property.

Thanks for all of the contributors on this thread.

[Balefire]

I had an Orbi system. Most frustrating experience I have ever had with electronics. It was intermittently working with my google devices like chromecasts. It would work, then an Orbi firmware update would break it again.

I removed the Orbis and bought some Eero's. Have had zero problems, and my google devices including the Chromecast Audios (I have 6 of them) work amazingly well now, like never before. They would disappear constantly with the Orbi system.

Never buying Netgear again, their software updates seemed to always cause problems, and they would promise fixes that never show up. There were forums dedicated to all the complaints with hundreds of posts with similar experiences.

I was one of the early adopter mesh Netgear Orbi customers many years ago.
Agree that there were lots of early issues with firmware.
Frequent annoying reset, re-pair, etc.
However, I haven't had any issues in the past few years.
Latest updates super stable. Rock solid. Highly recommend.

Agree with other posters. Don't jump on the newer wifi6 Orbi. Save the money and get the old Orbi and wait for stable firmware and cheaper costs.

[palaheel]

Several recent video conferences exposed problems in my home network. I decided that I mostly needed more uniform coverage. Better QoS capabilities and speed were secondary issues. I didn't want to sink a lot of money into the project. I chose the least expensive Wi-Fi 6 mesh system I could find, the TP-Link Deco X20.

Installation was mostly easy. The problems I had were

• Converting my old router into a switch. Either I messed up turning off DHCP, or I had to do it twice. This was the most frustrating issue.

• I kept the old network SSID and password, but some devices still had to drop the network and reconnect.

• I had problems connecting the main router to my cable modem. I had already powered everything off, but I powered off everything again and disconnected the cable modem's cable. After reconnecting everything, things worked.

Coverage is much better. We have more speed that we'll need for some time. Twenty-four hours in, I'm satisfied.

The reason I didn't go with Google's or Amazon's systems is that I don't want unspecified private data collected and monitized. One of my hesitations about TP-Link is that their security, updates and QoS features are configured in TP-Link's cloud servers, and that requires me to register with them.

I confess to wanting my data to be under my control.

[tvubpwcisla]

Does anyone know if the Mesh WiFi works through spray foam insulation and how the connection would be to a Ring doorbell camera?

[hudson]

Does anyone know if the Mesh WiFi works through spray foam insulation and how the connection would be to a Ring doorbell camera?

My Google Wifi goes through brick walls....actually through several layers of brick...a fireplace. It works well with the Ring doorbell.
I think the new model for Google Wifi is Google Nest.

[jello_nailer]

Another vote for ORBI. Pretty darn good system performance.

[Dottie57]

My network died, so I ordered tp-link deco 3 “node” system. Was a bit frustrating. Turns out the xfinity cable was loose . Then set up initial network. Went to bed and next day could not figure out how to add to the network. Finally found the answer through a support video.

Now working well.

[bloom2708]

Woot has the 3 port 1st Gen Google Wifi system for $174.99 today.

https://www.woot.com/offers/google-wifi ... _dly_wobtn

Google Nest is the 2nd Gen, but I'm still using the 1st gen product.

[Joylush]

Does this replace your existing wireless router?

I currently have a modem and separate router. Does a mesh system add to the existing router or actually replace it?

[02nz]

Does this replace your existing wireless router?

I currently have a modem and separate router. Does a mesh system add to the existing router or actually replace it?

It replaces your wi-fi router.

[Cruise]

I've been having great success with my Orbi mesh system, but have a question for those with more technical expertise than what I possess. When I look at my Admin page, under Advanced/Shoe Statistics, I get the following:

Tx B/s. (The current transmission (outbound) bandwidth used on the WAN
and LAN ports.) = 5023 But under WLAN2 = 965
- Rx B/s. The current reception (inbound) bandwidth used on the WAN and
LAN ports. = 5023 Under WLAN2 = 98

What do these numbers mean?

Many thanks.

[fogalog]

Sorry.. what do you mean by IT? Forget about VPN, I want my normal router to be my IP gateway

My-computer ---- Google-Mesh-AP ------ My-Router ---- Internet

Same IP subnet between My-Computer and My-Router

I meant if your current router supports bridge mode. As I said in my previous post, you cannot do this the way you propose and retain the mesh functionality. I can only speak to Google's solution (not going to chase the documentation for the others), but I would be surprised if this would work with any of the consumer mesh solutions. You'd have to go to a much more expensive prosumer solution. Ubiquiti will do what you want, but you'll probably be well into 4 figures.

I know this is a little late to respond but FWIW, eero supports bridge mode - that's how I have it configured.

Good luck!