Wifi mesh systems

I live in a bungalow which is relatively long with current Vodafone router placed around middle of the house.

I'm keen to purchase a WIFI mesh device in order to extend wifi to back garden and improve signal across other rooms in the house. For years I've been using a Netgear extender which has been fairly decent.

Based on around 2000 sq feet surface area on one level and need to extend signal into back garden which would have a power supply, what would you recommend.

So far I'm leaning towards, Google nest, Linksys Velop, Netgear Orbi or TP Link Deco P9.
Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

GerardKeating wrote: »

I installed a set of the Q2 Pro's over the weekend, but I am using the built in "Gigabit PLC" to connect them together.

From reading your post, I am not sure if you are doing the same, or have you got ethernet cable around the house to connect them ?

I think from this other thread it works as daisy chain, what I was trying was a star formation (ie centre/common was the switch and spurred off on existing LAN cables at the end was the Q2 Pro's

Grumpypants wrote: »

Decided that before I sent the Nova back I'd give it one more shot. I think I might have tried to be too smart and created a loop in the network as I've 3 switches and 3 nodes all plugged into the network.

Reset everything stripped it right back.

Primary node is plugged directly in the router. Not connected to the switch at all. I've a separate cable going to each switch.

Second node connected via WiFi. No cable needed.

Third upstairs needed the lan cable to boost the signal upstairs as it is a distance.

Much better all round. My phone that never got over 45mb is hitting 120mb when I'm in the same room. And 10-20 when in the furthest away rooms upstairupstairs.

The rest will be how it maintains over a few days.

And woke up this morning and can't connect to Wi-Fi upstairs. The Node upstairs is "offline" in the App. But It shows connected with good coverage on the node itself. When I connect it connects for 2-3 seconds then drops again. Tried restarting it, tried restarting the switches and the router. But if it gets to the point that I have to do a restart every 2-3 days then it becomes pointless.

Even sitting in the office right beside the primary node I get less than 20mbps download.

It's going back to Amazon in the morning. Think I'll get something like the Eero. It seems to be good at distance. Not as fast as others but I just want stability.

I did some digging and found some info on a random forum that might have helped. This would be really useful in the instructions .

The Primary Node has to be the start point for the loop. I had two different cables coming from the from the router. One to the Primary node and one to the switch in the attic (the other two were plugged into this switch via LAN ports in the socket in the other rooms). While on the same network it was going back to the router not the Primary node.

The other thing is you have to use the second port on the satellite nodes. Not the Internet one, the <--> one.

So They have a stay of execution while give this new configuration a shot. :pac:

Now my set up is Eir Router directly to the Primary Node (into the first Port). Then the second <--> port is connected to the long cable running to the Switch in the attic. the other two nodes are then wired from the wall sockets that are connected to the attic switch. They use the second <--> port to create the backhaul.

Seems good right now, but we'll see in three or four days if it drops again.

GinSoaked wrote: »

Explain to me how thats a mesh and not just three AP's cabled back to a router?

Mesh can be done over wireless, cable, powerline or a mix of these. Doesn't matter. So as long as what he has there is mesh connected via the cables, then it's mesh.

The nodes should all have the same SSID and handover should be seamless where possible, if it's mesh.

/M

GinSoaked wrote: »

So if I cable 3 AP's that use the same SSID's back to a router I have a mesh?

Whats the difference?

No. They have specificly to be mesh capable and connected via mesh, but the mesh connection between the routers or nodes does not have to be over wireless. Just wiring 3 APs up and set them to the same SSID is not the same thing.

You won't get the seamless handover then.

Also, in a mesh, that master dictates the wireless settings of the mesh slaves.

/M

GinSoaked wrote: »

They do hand seamlessly over and automatically pick the wireless frequencies so the don't interfere with each other but they are sold as AP's.

Which brand/model APs are we talking about ?

/M

Gooey Looey wrote: »

When did mesh get such a broad definition? So you reckon my Mikrotik APs with Capsman controller running on the router in Capsman forwarding mode is now by definition a mesh network?

Also Mikrotik has specific mesh capabilities, but that has nothing to do with CAPsman.

CAPsman is not mesh. CAPsman is an AP management controller.

I've used neither CAPsman nor Mikrotik mesh, so I can't comment. I just wouldn't rate Mikrotik for an indoor wifi solution. They're brilliant for long distance application.

But mesh has always been about seamless handover and self-healing networks. Now, take dual-band APs/Routers. They also only communicate over either their 5 GHz or their 2.4GHz band for the mesh connection between the routers. Never on both. It would create a loop in the network, if they connected via both.

That's no different from just doing the inter-ap mesh connection via lan or powerline.

/M

Gooey Looey wrote: »

Truthfully I only went with Mikrotik as I've configured a few commercial Unifi setups, warehouse, guest house etc but never a Mikrotik, I already had the router and just wanted to play with it. Mikrotik Capsman does everything Ubiquiti Unifi can do without the bells and whistles.

Yes .. and I believe you can add mesh to it, as Mikrotik does have that functionality, but CAPsman does not do it by default to my knowledge.

Look at the likes of the german Freifunk (it's irish incarnation is freemesh.ie ). It incorporates mesh over any media whatsoever: 2.4GHz, 5GHz, ethernet or l2vpn and incorporates multiple exit points, which clients are send over based on a shortest path possible principle. If a node fails, it self-heals, even if it has to use a different media for that. That's as far as a true mesh can go.

Most commercially available domestic mesh solutions only have a subset of that functionality. But the mesh-interconnect via wifi is not a requirement for it to be considered a mesh.

/M

I have a house which has poor wifi connection in part of it where we want to install a Sky Q mini box in a bedroom and also in the attic install a NVR for some security cameras.

The ISP is BT. I've looked at their Whole Home and it is a chunky piece of kit with power leads and requiring a table to rest upon. it just doesn't suit our home layout.

So what I was wondering was; is there any powerline extenders which have ethernet and WiFi using the same SSID as the main router?
The main thing I require is to get reliable WiFi in the bedroom for the SkyQ mini and also an ethernet point in attic for NVR. People walking through the house seamlessly transferring from one node to another is not a major concern - people tend to walk from place to place and then sit down giving the new connection time to establish.

grogi wrote: »

Because it is designed to be simple to use, virtually any solution that mentions 'mesh' as its core feature will be serverly limited...

Yep. At the core, all of those consumer solutions implement, is the automatic handover, automatic transfer of settings across the mesh slaves and the self healing of the network, should one fail ... the latter not always properly either.

/M

Hi all, we are currently finishing a new build with our only option of Broadband being mobile. Currently using Three but thinking of switching to imagine as a neighbor is getting much faster speeds. The house is 2700 sq feet and narrow issh but long, From reading the thread seems the Huawei might be the way to go. On the box website there are 2 options, a 3 PACK, Which looks like 3 routers and then a router and 2 satellites. Which would be better for me of if i bought 2 boxs of the 2 option could they all be linked. I have a cat 6 cable at either end of the house and looks like id get the best connection via the attic

oppiuy wrote: »

Hi all, we are currently finishing a new build with our only option of Broadband being mobile. Currently using Three but thinking of switching to imagine as a neighbor is getting much faster speeds. The house is 2700 sq feet and narrow issh but long, From reading the thread seems the Huawei might be the way to go. On the box website there are 2 options, a 3 PACK, Which looks like 3 routers and then a router and 2 satellites. Which would be better for me of if i bought 2 boxs of the 2 option could they all be linked. I have a cat 6 cable at either end of the house and looks like id get the best connection via the attic

The number of AP's you need will depend on the layout of your house, for example, mine is a bungalow ,2,100 sq ft, and I have 2 unifi AP's covering it, so sounds like you would need 3 at least. A lot depends on if you have split level or not, APs do not perform well between floors, and if you have concrete floors, even worse.
I take it you are planning on a good wired infrastructure to your aps ?