Wifi mesh systems

Leftwaffe · 13-01-2021 07:41PM

degsie wrote: »

Did you configure the main M4 node as a router or as an access point (AP)?

I actually have no idea. I just followed the setup. I don’t recall it asking me to choose between an AP or a router although it could have. Could that be the issue??

Just from a bit of research there it looks to be in access point mode judging by the options available to me in the app.

Edit: I think I’ve figured out how to set my Eir modem/router to bridge mode. Would this help?

degsie · 13-01-2021 07:51PM

Redordeadqwwer wrote: »

I actually have no idea. I just followed the setup. I don’t recall it asking me to choose between an AP or a router although it could have. Could that be the issue??

Just from a bit of research there it looks to be in access point mode judging by the options available to me in the app.

Edit: I think I’ve figured out how to set my Eir modem/router to bridge mode. Would this help?

from the app, tap on the 'more' option (bottom right, 9 dots) then on 'advanced' and you should see operating mode

Leftwaffe · 13-01-2021 07:55PM

degsie wrote: »

from the app, tap on the 'more' option (bottom right, 9 dots) then on 'advanced' and you should see operating mode

I stand corrected. It’s in router mode. Here’s my settings. Thanks for the help btw.

degsie · 13-01-2021 07:58PM

You have a router hanging off another router therefore 'double NAT' may be your issue.

Two choices:
(1) Bridge the eir router
(b) Change the M4 mode to Access Point

Leftwaffe · 13-01-2021 08:01PM

degsie wrote: »

You have a router hanging off another router therefore 'double NAT' may be your issue.

Two choices:
(1) Bridge the eir router
(b) Change the M4 mode to Access Point

That’s great, I know how to do both of those!!! Which would you recommend?

degsie · 13-01-2021 08:07PM

Redordeadqwwer wrote: »

That’s great, I know how to do both of those!!! Which would you recommend?

You could try both I suppose and see which one you get best performance with.

Note that if you bridge the eir modem you would have to move your TV ethernet connection to the M4 side.

Personally I have my M4 set as an AP, happy enough with it.

Edit: If changing the M4 to AP, turn off WiFi on the eir router to avoid interference.

Leftwaffe · 13-01-2021 08:48PM

degsie wrote: »

You could try both I suppose and see which one you get best performance with.

Note that if you bridge the eir modem you would have to move your TV ethernet connection to the M4 side.

Personally I have my M4 set as an AP, happy enough with it.

Edit: If changing the M4 to AP, turn off WiFi on the eir router to avoid interference.

Does the mesh system work fine in AP mode?

I think I’m going to try AP mode as I need the extra Ethernet ports on the Eir router/modem for TV and a Raspberry Pi I’m setting up. The main M4 only has one extra Ethernet port.

I have the WiFi off on the Eir router already. Solely operating off the M4 at the moment.

Thanks again.

Shedite27 · 13-01-2021 09:34PM

How do people find the wifi speed on Virgin 3.0 Hub V Google Mesh. I did a before and after test....
with Virgin Setup - 244 MBPS download
with Google Mesh - 210 MBPS download

Is it right that I should be sacrificing a bit of speed for the benefits of the extra footprint that the Mesh gives me? Or should I be able to get same speed from the Mesh?

(both speeds taken 5m from router, same traffic load etc)

Confused11811 · 13-01-2021 09:45PM

RangeR wrote: »

Nice. Are the satellites wired or wireless back to the router?

The Satellite is wirelessly connected. I didn't think it was possible to get the performance I'm getting without a wired connection. I was expecting a good performance but nothing like what I'm getting currently. It's far exceeded anything I thought possible on a wireless network, basically it's wired network performance with zero installation hassle.

Leftwaffe · 14-01-2021 12:06AM

Sorted. No issues since with my setup. Thanks for the help degsie

RangeR · 14-01-2021 09:07AM

Shedite27 wrote: »

How do people find the wifi speed on Virgin 3.0 Hub V Google Mesh. I did a before and after test....
with Virgin Setup - 244 MBPS download
with Google Mesh - 210 MBPS download

Is it right that I should be sacrificing a bit of speed for the benefits of the extra footprint that the Mesh gives me? Or should I be able to get same speed from the Mesh?

(both speeds taken 5m from router, same traffic load etc)

I have the VM hub [500Mb] with Google Mesh. I get much better wifi speed that that.

Do a mesh test.
Maybe replace the network cable to the google router and don't have the cable too long.
Is the network cable running along powerlines?
Try keep your network and power lines at least a few inches apart.

DeadSkin · 14-01-2021 09:25AM

degsie wrote: »

You could try both I suppose and see which one you get best performance with.

Note that if you bridge the eir modem you would have to move your TV ethernet connection to the M4 side.

Personally I have my M4 set as an AP, happy enough with it.

Edit: If changing the M4 to AP, turn off WiFi on the eir router to avoid interference.

Just on the last point there, would you expect much performance/interference issues on the new AP network?

Gooey Looey · 14-01-2021 09:40AM

DeadSkin wrote: »

Just on the last point there, would you expect much performance/interference issues on the new AP network?

You can always have interference, less chance of interference from your neighbors with 5ghz as it doesn't penetrate through obstacles very well and there are lots more channels available compared to 2.4ghz. You always need to turn off WiFi on your existing modem/router as this is inside your home and will interfere!

Shedite27 · 14-01-2021 10:31AM

RangeR wrote: »

I have the VM hub [500Mb] with Google Mesh. I get much better wifi speed that that.

Do a mesh test.
Maybe replace the network cable to the google router and don't have the cable too long.
Is the network cable running along powerlines?
Try keep your network and power lines at least a few inches apart.

Thanks, I'll give them a go

DeadSkin · 14-01-2021 04:13PM

Gooey Looey wrote: »

You can always have interference, less chance of interference from your neighbors with 5ghz as it doesn't penetrate through obstacles very well and there are lots more channels available compared to 2.4ghz. You always need to turn off WiFi on your existing modem/router as this is inside your home and will interfere!

What kind of interference would you expect, dropped connections, speed etc.?

My ISP controls my router settings, I haven't yet asked them to turn of WiFi or set the router to bridge mode and use the Deco then in router mode. All seems to be working fine at the moment - just curious as to what interference you would expect to see.

Thanks.

Cyrus · 14-01-2021 04:24PM

DeadSkin wrote: »

What kind of interference would you expect, dropped connections, speed etc.?

My ISP controls my router settings, I haven't yet asked them to turn of WiFi or set the router to bridge mode and use the Deco then in router mode. All seems to be working fine at the moment - just curious as to what interference you would expect to see.

Thanks.

you will have two competing wifi signals, its sub optimal

you should be able to logon to the router yourself.

DeadSkin · 14-01-2021 04:33PM

Cyrus wrote: »

you will have two competing wifi signals, its sub optimal

you should be able to logon to the router yourself.

My ISP is Imagine, they don't provide username/password for the router.

Cyrus · 14-01-2021 04:43PM

DeadSkin wrote: »

My ISP is Imagine, they don't provide username/password for the router.

:eek:

Gooey Looey · 14-01-2021 04:45PM

DeadSkin wrote: »

My ISP is Imagine, they don't provide username/password for the router.

Ask them to disable wireless and set your mesh to AP mode.

Username here · 14-01-2021 04:47PM

DeadSkin wrote: »

My ISP is Imagine, they don't provide username/password for the router.

Cyrus wrote: »

:eek:

IMAGINE that!! :eek: :pac: :pac: :pac:

Cyrus · 14-01-2021 05:00PM

Username here wrote: »

IMAGINE that!! :eek: :pac: :pac: :pac:

i dont even use my ISPs router, so that wouldnt be for me :P

Hector Savage · 14-01-2021 05:50PM

kala85 wrote: »

Is it really that good? How do you know?

Would rather not have the microphones from Google around the home.

Exactly, every single point is a "smart speaker" I can't understand how people are comfortable with that ..

RangeR · 14-01-2021 06:32PM

Hector Savage wrote: »

Exactly, every single point is a "smart speaker" I can't understand how people are comfortable with that ..

My google Wifi is the old setup. No speakers involved. No chance would I have them with speakers. Crazy.

JohnK · 14-01-2021 09:38PM

You can turn the microphones off

Clareman · 14-01-2021 10:09PM

I've Google Wifi with the mics all turned off and rarely use the speaker functions

DrPhilG · 14-01-2021 10:14PM

Quick question...

I'm looking to tidy up and streamline a little. Aside from possibly moving my router, switches etc down from the attic into the study/office space, I want to do some combining.

I currently have the router and 2 x 8 port switches. So that's 17 available ports once you account for the ones used linking up. 11 of them are currently in use.

I also have 2 extension blocks, an 8 gang and a 5 gang. 8 are currently in use (the 8 gang I have is badly designed and can't fit them all due to the occasional weird shaped plug.

That's the tidied up version by the way, don't judge me...

So aside from as I say moving it downstairs, I have a few plans. I've ordered an extra long 8 gang extension lead that can accommodate all the plugs.

I also want to get a 16 or 24 port POE switch. Only need 3 of the ports to be POE so an 8/8 or similar would be fine.

That would let me get rid of the 2 separate switches, and also I could dispatch the 3 POE injectors which frees up 3 plugs and clears out some space which should then let it all fit in the alcove to the left here:

Any suggestions on a suitable switch?

Cyrus · 15-01-2021 10:19AM

er like you i started with a few APs, this is where i have got to.....

so my advice would be to lean in

, get a ubiquiti POE switch, which may lead to you getting a unifi router, cctv etc etc

54and56 · 15-01-2021 03:32PM

So I got and installed the 2 unit TaoTronics AC300 Tri-Band Mesh WiFi system yesterday.

As I was replacing an old dual band Asus router which had been set up on a static IP WAN connection type I set the base unit up identically i.e. connected to the Virgin modem via Ethernet with the same IP address, Subnet mask, DNS, etc as the old Asus.

It upgraded its firmware straight away which was good but I had a few teething problems setting up the 2nd unit but a couple of resets later it was up and running.

I now have 3 WiFi networks:-
- a 2.4Ghz network for IoT devices like WiFi plugs, Camera's etc
- a Guest Network for visitors to use.
- the main WiFi mesh network.

Whilst everything is working and speed has noticeably increased throughout the house there are a few odd issues which I'd appreciate some thoughts on:-

1. There seems to be an initial lag before things get going. On the old router things like switching channels on an IPTV app running on an NVIDA Shield would be lightening quick, now there is a 1-2 second delay with a little buffering before the selected channel plays and when it plays it's 100% fine. Another example is previously I'd get an alert from my Google Nest Hello doorbell as soon as anyone approached, now it's taking up to 10 seconds to get the alert. Might be co-incidence but it just feels like there is a some sort of handshake type lag going on.

2. Download and upload speeds seems to vary by device and app used for measuring. I can be beside a laptop and both on the main mesh wi-fi network and the laptop is getting 35mb down whereas the phone is getting 180mb down at the exact same time. Even stranger is the same PC getting 180mb down if measured on the Chrome Google Speed Test whilst the Ookla Speedtest app gives only 2mb down at the same time.

I feel there are some teething issues I need to tweak but I don't know what they are exactly!!

I have all the AI labelled optimisations on i.e.

- Automatic channel selection
- Automatic bandwidth selection
- Automatic power selection
- Quick roaming
- AP steering
- Band steering

I don't have QoS enabled.

I have SPI firewall enabled.

I have UPnP enabled but DMZ is not enabled. (These were the default settings)

5G Bandwidth is set to "Auto(40M/80M)" instead of either 40M or 80M.

DDNS is not enabled.

There's a total of 27 devices now connected (re-connecting all the WiFi plugs and IoT devices was fun) split:-

Base node - 16
2nd node - 11

2.4Ghz - 13
5.1Ghz - 14

Main SSID - 16
IoT SSID - 11
Guest SSID - 0

Any thoughts / suggestions?

Is it possible I've somehow ended up with a double NAT scenario or something similar which is creating a delay in traffic?

Cyrus · 15-01-2021 03:35PM

54and56 wrote: »

So I got and installed the 2 unit TaoTronics AC300 Tri-Band Mesh WiFi system yesterday.

As I was replacing an old dual band Asus router which had been set up on a static IP WAN connection type I set the base unit up identically i.e. connected to the Virgin modem via Ethernet with the same IP address, Subnet mask, DNS, etc as the old Asus.

It upgraded its firmware straight away which was good but I had a few teething problems setting up the 2nd unit but a couple of resets later it was up and running.

I now have 3 WiFi networks:-
- a 2.4Ghz network for IoT devices like WiFi plugs, Camera's etc
- a Guest Network for visitors to use.
- the main WiFi mesh network.

Whilst everything is working and speed has noticeably increased throughout the house there are a few odd issues which I'd appreciate some thoughts on:-

1. There seems to be an initial lag before things get going. On the old router things like switching channels on an IPTV app running on an NVIDA Shield would be lightening quick, now there is a 1-2 second delay with a little buffering before the selected channel plays and when it plays it's 100% fine. Another example is previously I'd get an alert from my Google Nest Hello doorbell as soon as anyone approached, now it's taking up to 10 seconds to get the alert. Might be co-incidence but it just feels like there is a some sort of handshake type lag going on.

2. Download and upload speeds seems to vary by device and app used for measuring. I can be beside a laptop and both on the main mesh wi-fi network and the laptop is getting 35mb down whereas the phone is getting 180mb down at the exact same time. Even stranger is the same PC getting 180mb down if measured on the Chrome Google Speed Test whilst the Ookla Speedtest app gives only 2mb down at the same time.

I feel there are some teething issues I need to tweak but I don't know what they are exactly!!

I have all the AI labelled optimisations on i.e.

- Automatic channel selection
- Automatic bandwidth selection
- Automatic power selection
- Quick roaming
- AP steering
- Band steering

I don't have QoS enabled.

I have SPI firewall enabled.

I have UPnP enabled but DMZ is not enabled. (These were the default settings)

5G Bandwidth is set to "Auto(40M/80M)" instead of either 40M or 80M.

DDNS is not enabled.

There's a total of 27 devices now connected (re-connecting all the WiFi plugs and IoT devices was fun) split:-

Base node - 16
2nd node - 11

2.4Ghz - 13
5.1Ghz - 14

Main SSID - 16
IoT SSID - 11
Guest SSID - 0

Any thoughts / suggestions?

Is it possible I've somehow ended up with a double NAT scenario or something similar which is creating a delay in traffic?

is the main wifi mesh network 2.4 + 5ghz? if so would you change that to 5ghz only see if that makes a difference?

RangeR · 15-01-2021 03:41PM

Also, don't do multiple speed tests at the same time. Do one speed test on one device only. Then move to the next device.

Two speed tests running on the same device [or on different devices] at the same time are competing for bandwidth.

Try speed.cloudflare.com. You will like it but it takes about 30 seconds to run as it runs a few tests at different configs.

Wifi mesh systems

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