Wifi mesh systems

bk · 08-05-2020 11:13am

SleetAndSnow wrote: »

Think I'm gonna do that then because their live chat was useless! Thank you!

I think they have different teams for social media versus chat/phone. With the social media team being far more experienced. At least that use to be the case when they had a Talk to Forum here on boards.

Thanx4dafeedbk · 08-05-2020 11:15am

I have a linksys setup in my gaf and its excellent. Works on third floor and up in attic room too its Exceptional.
i havent a clue how its setup as my driver did it for me.

Leroy42 · 08-05-2020 11:21am

skodacb wrote: »

Really surprised by that. I have the exact same Hub 3.0 and contacted them via a Twitter DM and they changed it from IPV6 to IPV4 within 30 minutes today so I could set up my Nest properly. The Hub is now just a modem.

Can I ask a question? What is the difference between linking the Deco M5, or I guess any mesh system, to the router (in this case VM 3.0) and getting it changed to a modem?

Apologies if I am butchering even the asking of the question

bk · 08-05-2020 1:09pm

Apologies, I know, a bit off topic, but earlier we were discussing how good the Nvidia Shield TV is and I just happen to come across a very good review video of the latest edition and thought some folks might be interested:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYfmxb1OqzE

degsie · 08-05-2020 1:13pm

Leroy42 wrote: »

Can I ask a question? What is the difference between linking the Deco M5, or I guess any mesh system, to the router (in this case VM 3.0) and getting it changed to a modem?

Apologies if I am butchering even the asking of the question

This is done to effectivly have one M5 act as your primary router. This is assuming that you have bridged your VM router so now it is just a modem. Doing this gives you all the routing features of the Tp-link system.

Shefwedfan · 08-05-2020 4:59pm

SO I went a bit crazy and decided to go on a bit of a limb. I cancelled my order for the TP-Link P9

Instead I bought 2 sets of the following: https://www.box.co.uk/Huawei-WiFi-Q2-Pro-Wi-Fi-System-(3-Pack)_2784181.html

Will be interesting to see how they work

bk · 08-05-2020 6:22pm

Shefwedfan wrote: »

SO I went a bit crazy and decided to go on a bit of a limb. I cancelled my order for the TP-Link P9

Instead I bought 2 sets of the following: https://www.box.co.uk/Huawei-WiFi-Q2-Pro-Wi-Fi-System-(3-Pack)_2784181.html

Will be interesting to see how they work

Well that is certainly a fantastic price. It is over a £100 more on Amazon for the same kit! I actually wonder if that is a misprice.

Looks good on paper anyway, but can't really find any reviews. Let us know how it goes.

Shefwedfan · 08-05-2020 8:23pm

bk wrote: »

Well that is certainly a fantastic price. It is over a £100 more on Amazon for the same kit! I actually wonder if that is a misprice.

Looks good on paper anyway, but can't really find any reviews. Let us know how it goes.

Honestly I think it might be a wrong price when you think the smaller system is more expensive: https://www.box.co.uk/Huawei-MEsh-WiFi-Q2-Pro-(Base-2-Satell_2784178.html

They did have one set at 120 quid but I missed and the price went "up" to 139.99

No idea how they are so cheap, paid a tenner for shipment of both sets but if they do what they say then it will be incredible setup.....

shaveAbullock · 08-05-2020 8:27pm

You can get the exact same package on Amazon for £154.99 so it's £10 cheaper, that may not be a mistake.

Shefwedfan · 08-05-2020 8:35pm

shaveAbullock wrote: »

You can get the exact same package on Amazon for £154.99 so it's £10 cheaper, that may not be a mistake.

This is what I bought
https://www.box.co.uk/Huawei-WiFi-Q2-Pro-Wi-Fi-System-(3-Pack)_2784181.html

Same kit on Amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/HUAWEI-Gigabit-Seamless-Roaming-Everywhere/dp/B07ZTPZCBT/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1QDK2908XISIJ&dchild=1&keywords=huawei+q2+pro+wifi&qid=1588966497&sprefix=huawei+q2%2Caps%2C185&sr=8-1

It has been on sale for 190 quid on Amazon before

shaveAbullock · 08-05-2020 8:37pm

Ah yes of course. Yes that has to be a mistake.

shaveAbullock · 08-05-2020 8:40pm

What usually happens is that if only a few are ordered they will honour the price but if too many people do the hit will be too large for them to take.

Shefwedfan · 08-05-2020 9:07pm

shaveAbullock wrote: »

What usually happens is that if only a few are ordered they will honour the price but if too many people do the hit will be too large for them to take.

Hence why I will stick it on bargain when it ships :-)

shaveAbullock · 08-05-2020 9:09pm

Shouldn't have posted about it. Enough people ordering from reading this thread could make them cancel all orders on the product.

coolbreeze01 · 11-05-2020 8:47am

Hi folks stumbled across this thread when I started looking into this myself.
Some great info here has gotten me looking into the tp link p series for the powerline.

I had been considering this
https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Amplifi-Router-802-11ac-Standard-WPA2-PSK/dp/B01L9O07FS/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=amplifi+hd&qid=1589183007&sprefix=Amplifi+&sr=8-3 as it has 4 full fat lan ports and seems to get good reviews, any one had any experience with that it's from ubiquity whom are supposed to be the leaders of mesh systems?

tobdom · 11-05-2020 9:50am

coolbreeze01 wrote: »

Hi folks stumbled across this thread when I started looking into this myself.
Some great info here has gotten me looking into the tp link p series for the powerline.

I had been considering this
https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Amplifi-Router-802-11ac-Standard-WPA2-PSK/dp/B01L9O07FS/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=amplifi+hd&qid=1589183007&sprefix=Amplifi+&sr=8-3 as it has 4 full fat lan ports and seems to get good reviews, any one had any experience with that it's from ubiquity whom are supposed to be the leaders of mesh systems?

Just to echo this. As a result of reading this thread I changed from having almost pulled the trigger on 2 sets of Powerline adapters, to ordering the TP-Link Deco P9 system on Amazon (3-pack, for £177, just before it went out of stock!).

Should have it late this week or early next week and hoping it will resolve the wireless woes which have plagued me over the past few weeks. It's really frustrating to have gotten fibre in and then to be reduced to really poor speeds operating off wireless.

Hope this will be relevatory for us!! Thanks again for all the input.

Biscuit80 · 11-05-2020 10:48am

Hi All, looking for a little bit of advice before pulling the trigger on buying a mesh system for my house so any advice would be really appreciated.

My understanding is that in order to avoid any double NAT issues, the existing router should be put into bridge mode and then connect the mesh system into it.

I'm currently with Sky (SR102 Router) and there is no option of putting this into bridge mode from what i can see. I have no issues with buying a new router which has this ability but i'm struggling to get PPPoE details from Sky - they say this is not something they support.

Would anyone know how i could set any potential replacement router with the correct PPPoE details? I have searched for this information but haven't found anything that might help me.

JohnK · 11-05-2020 1:31pm

coolbreeze01 wrote: »

I had been considering this
https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Amplifi-Router-802-11ac-Standard-WPA2-PSK/dp/B01L9O07FS/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=amplifi+hd&qid=1589183007&sprefix=Amplifi+&sr=8-3 as it has 4 full fat lan ports and seems to get good reviews, any one had any experience with that it's from ubiquity whom are supposed to be the leaders of mesh systems?

I'm torn between that and the Nest Wifi - the Nest seems to have the fastest and best coverage from a bunch of video reviews I've seen but it only has a single LAN port on the router itself whereas the Amplifi has 4. I've a few things next to the router that could operate over wifi but really should be wired in so its a tough one.

GinSoaked · 11-05-2020 3:00pm

JohnK wrote: »

I'm torn between that and the Nest Wifi - the Nest seems to have the fastest and best coverage from a bunch of video reviews I've seen but it only has a single LAN port on the router itself whereas the Amplifi has 4. I've a few things next to the router that could operate over wifi but really should be wired in so its a tough one.

A cheap 8 Port Gigabit switch can be got for less than €40 so why worry if your Mesh system includes extra ports? The only advantage to the switch being built in is there are less wires and one less power supply to plug in.

Clareman · 11-05-2020 3:05pm

I have the Nest Wifi and the lack of LAN port was a major concern for me but to be honest because coverage is so good it's not an issue. For stuff that has to have a physical cable like the Philips Hue hub or my Yale alarm I just have them plugged into the router I got from the ISP. I didn't think I'd use the speaker functionality but I have to say it's extremely handy for the doorbell.

coolbreeze01 · 11-05-2020 4:11pm

Would there be an issue with bandwidth on a switch from the 1 port from the tp link?

I will have a pc running kodi and a nas with 4k video so just worried about them or do they communicate through the switch so, if that makes sense

Clareman · 11-05-2020 4:34pm

I'm running 4k from my Plex over wifi with no problems whatsoever

Leroy42 · 11-05-2020 4:50pm

Just got my TP-Link M%, attached to my Virgin Media 3.0 Router. Did a speedtest prior and after

The main issue for me was not speed as much as lack of wifi in certain places and it certainly seems to have dealt with that issue so happy days.

One question though. The speed test gives about have the download speed as the wifi straight from the router. Instead of 100mbps I get roughly 50. Is that because I simply daisy chained it to the router rather than make a bridge or is that normal?

Grumpypants · 11-05-2020 9:04pm

How are these at getting through concrete floors? My WiFi, baby monitors, power line etc all fail miserably. I'm looking at the Tenda MW6. Trying to decide between a 2 or a 3 pack. House is 2600 sq foot with all block walls and concrete slab floors.

WiFi is in the front corner room and makes it about half way across the downstairs. I've been messing around with power lines upstairs and they are just too temperamental.

I've cables to some rooms so I could wire one in two room at opposite end one downstairs and one upstairs and prob get okay coverage.

The other question is do I get the mw6 and be future proofed a bit (£150), or get a 3 pack of the mw3 for £60.

It's really only for the Echo's, fire sticks and phones. All the PC, consoles and even TV are wired.

11-05-2020 10:09pm

Grumpypants wrote: »

How are these at getting through concrete floors? My WiFi, baby monitors, power line etc all fail miserably. I'm looking at the Tenda MW6. Trying to decide between a 2 or a 3 pack. House is 2600 sq foot with all block walls and concrete slab floors.

WiFi is in the front corner room and makes it about half way across the downstairs. I've been messing around with power lines upstairs and they are just too temperamental.

I've cables to some rooms so I could wire one in two room at opposite end one downstairs and one upstairs and prob get okay coverage.

The other question is do I get the mw6 and be future proofed a bit (£150), or get a 3 pack of the mw3 for £60.

It's really only for the Echo's, fire sticks and phones. All the PC, consoles and even TV are wired.

I have block walls and concrete floors throughout with no loss of signal on Netgear Orbi.

Shefwedfan · 11-05-2020 10:15pm

Dav010 wrote: »

I have block walls and concrete floors throughout with no loss of signal on Netgear Orbi.

Netgear Orbi are a serious step up from the Tenda

NSAman · 11-05-2020 10:21pm

Dav010 wrote: »

I have block walls and concrete floors throughout with no loss of signal on Netgear Orbi.

Agree

The Building is 150 years old, 5 floors and re-enforced concrete floors (old industrial building) triple brick walls throughout and Orbi does a fantastic job throughout the whole building. No loss of signal anywhere and SIMPLE to install and maintain.

We operate wireless terminals on floor one. Offices are on floor 3 and 5. Wired connection for some computers that require faster connectivity, but guest access and office internet are reliable and fast.

faceman · 12-05-2020 8:15am

Grumpypants wrote: »

How are these at getting through concrete floors? My WiFi, baby monitors, power line etc all fail miserably. I'm looking at the Tenda MW6. Trying to decide between a 2 or a 3 pack. House is 2600 sq foot with all block walls and concrete slab floors.

WiFi is in the front corner room and makes it about half way across the downstairs. I've been messing around with power lines upstairs and they are just too temperamental.

I've cables to some rooms so I could wire one in two room at opposite end one downstairs and one upstairs and prob get okay coverage.

The other question is do I get the mw6 and be future proofed a bit (£150), or get a 3 pack of the mw3 for £60.

It's really only for the Echo's, fire sticks and phones. All the PC, consoles and even TV are wired.

I have the MW6's, set of 3. I gave my views on them in an earlier postin this thread. They work great but I dont have concrete walls.

bk · 12-05-2020 9:29am

Grumpypants wrote: »

I've cables to some rooms so I could wire one in two room at opposite end one downstairs and one upstairs and prob get okay coverage.

If you have wired ethernet, then use that and buy devices to support that. Ethernet will give you by far the best results.

Remember, even if you have a TV or other device already using an ethernet point, a €20 ethernet switch can allow you to "split" it into multiple ports and connect both the TV and a Wireless Access Point at that location. Though some of these devices also have 4 ethernet points, allowing you to avoid the need for a separate switch.

Shefwedfan · 12-05-2020 9:37am

Ethernet is king, if you have it use it.

I use Mesh because I don't have ethernet. To try and get the benefits of ethernet I am use powerline to bump the performance past those pesky block walls

bk · 12-05-2020 9:51am

I think of it like this for wifi systems:

Ethernet > Powerline > Tri-band Wifi > Dual-band Wifi

Note Powerline and Tri-band systems can swap positions depending on your home. For instance, poor, old electrical cable can cause powerline to work worse then Tri-band.

This is why I always recommend buying from somewhere with an easy returns policy.

Ethernet is the gold standard, but obviously can be a pain if you aren't pre-wired for it.

Shefwedfan · 12-05-2020 9:53am

bk wrote: »

I think of it like this for wifi systems:

Ethernet > Powerline > Tri-band Wifi > Dual-band Wifi

Note Powerline and Tri-band systems can swap positions depending on your home. For instance, poor, old electrical cable can cause powerline to work worse then Tri-band.

This is why I always recommend buying from somewhere with an easy returns policy.

Ethernet is the gold standard, but obviously can be a pain if you aren't pre-wired for it.

Amazon are the best to be honest. Then I am a Prime member so I get shipping quick. But when you return, the postage is free and as soon as you put into An Post they returned the money into my account

iHungry · 12-05-2020 9:59am

Hi guys I set up the tp link deco E3. Before set up I did some speed tests. Small 3 bed semi house, my router is upstairs in front bedroom.

Using virgin media hub 3
240 beside router front bedroom
170 downstairs in living room at back of house
5 in back garden conservatory

Using Deco E3 setup I get
60 beside router front bedroom
40 downstairs in living room at back of house
25 in back garden conservatory

So quite a big drop in speeds in two areas but can browse no problem in previous problem areas.

I have turned off 2.4 & 5 GHz and I'm waiting on virgin media to allow me enable modem mode on router. Will test again after its enabled.

Leroy42 · 12-05-2020 10:08am

I had the exact saem, except with M5.

What do you mean you turned off 2.4 and 5.0. I did nothing at all to my set up, I still have my old wifi network available as it was and Deco is sitting on top of it. Should I be doing something else?

Shefwedfan · 12-05-2020 10:13am

Leroy42 wrote: »

I had the exact saem, except with M5.

What do you mean you turned off 2.4 and 5.0. I did nothing at all to my set up, I still have my old wifi network available as it was and Deco is sitting on top of it. Should I be doing something else?

The recommendation is turn off the old wifi as this can cause conflicts

sweetie · 12-05-2020 10:19am

Grumpypants wrote: »

How are these at getting through concrete floors? My WiFi, baby monitors, power line etc all fail miserably. I'm looking at the Tenda MW6. Trying to decide between a 2 or a 3 pack. House is 2600 sq foot with all block walls and concrete slab floors.

WiFi is in the front corner room and makes it about half way across the downstairs. I've been messing around with power lines upstairs and they are just too temperamental.

I've cables to some rooms so I could wire one in two room at opposite end one downstairs and one upstairs and prob get okay coverage.

The other question is do I get the mw6 and be future proofed a bit (£150), or get a 3 pack of the mw3 for £60.

It's really only for the Echo's, fire sticks and phones. All the PC, consoles and even TV are wired.

I have an edwardian three bed, pretty solidly built old house and had google wifi double set that wasn't working absolutely everywhere. Paid £99 last week for a four set BT whole home mini from amazon and its much better. Seen three packs go for as littles a £75 on HDUk recently.

Clareman · 12-05-2020 10:47am

I'd agree 100000% about ethernet being king, if you can get that then go for it, I've had powerlines for years, looking through my Amazon shopping history I bought a set from there in 2006 but I don't think that's my first set either.....

Using the Nest Wifi is the best alternative solution in my opinion, I've a standard 4 bedroom house which has an extension out the back so wifi was just about getting to the furthest point (SIRO is installed at the front of the house), sometimes I'd turn off wifi on my phone and just use 4G, coverage out the back lawn was never an option. With Nest Wifi I have full coverage everywhere, I picked up a base unit and 3 satellites, I didn't need the 3 satellites but I'm using them as smart speakers (terrible waste I know).

I stream 4K over Plex without any problems, I haven't had to do any troubleshooting of any issues and the whole system was a doodle to setup, as an IT professional it is scary how easy it was to setup. The family schedules are extremely handy as are the google site blocking options, I haven't gone too far into the rabbit hole of configuring it to be honest because it just works and the speed of connection on all devices are fine.

1 nice features if the guest wifi and having a QR code on the Hub Max, very handy for guests rather than having to give out the password, I know that can be done easily enough but it's a surprisingly handy setup (even if I've only used it twice).

iHungry · 12-05-2020 11:25am

Leroy42 wrote: »

I had the exact saem, except with M5.

What do you mean you turned off 2.4 and 5.0. I did nothing at all to my set up, I still have my old wifi network available as it was and Deco is sitting on top of it. Should I be doing something else?

Yes it was recommended to turn them off and enable modem mode. Are you happy with your decos so far?

budhabob · 12-05-2020 11:30am

I ordered Google Wifi 2 pack last week, expecting delivery today. Working from home made the various minor issues i was well aware of now unbaerable. Have a good few Google products (thermostate, Cameras, Speakers) and happy with the quality, and also the reviews look really good.

No doubt i will be back on here with some queries in the near future....

budhabob · 12-05-2020 11:43am

budhabob wrote: »

I ordered Google Wifi 2 pack last week, expecting delivery today. Working from home made the various minor issues i was well aware of now unbaerable. Have a good few Google products (thermostate, Cameras, Speakers) and happy with the quality, and also the reviews look really good.

No doubt i will be back on here with some queries in the near future....

While i think of it, and given i have a good few smart tech items already in the house, am i best of putting them on the guest network, and keep the main network for every day use?

bk · 12-05-2020 11:51am

iHungry wrote: »

Using virgin media hub 3
240 beside router front bedroom
170 downstairs in living room at back of house
5 in back garden conservatory

Using Deco E3 setup I get
60 beside router front bedroom
40 downstairs in living room at back of house
25 in back garden conservatory

So quite a big drop in speeds in two areas but can browse no problem in previous problem areas..

This is a great example of what I was saying earlier that wifi mesh systems can improve reliability, but can have poor overall performance.

A lot of people rave about them because they allow them to get a connection where they normally wouldn't, like in your garden. Previously not fast enough for HD video, but now it is.

However most people aren't techies and most likely don't do speed tests, so don't see how the overall performance is suffering.

Of course that might not matter to most people. As long as they can watch Netflix where previously they couldn't, they are happy.

But for some people it does matter (like backups to a NAS) and it is important to understand the limitation and how you could get better performance with different wifi systems.

Leroy42 · 12-05-2020 12:02pm

iHungry wrote: »

Yes it was recommended to turn them off and enable modem mode. Are you happy with your decos so far?

As BK mentioned, the speed took a massive hit, but it sorted out the deadzone issue I was having with the garage and so from that respect it solved my problem.

The speed is still fast enough (50mbps) so it doesn't really effect the overall. But at the moment, I have simply daisychained them to the router (VM) without doing anything thing like making it modem mode. I will dig into that the next few days.

I still have the VM wifi network, so if I'm looking at Netflix or casting to Chrome etc I use that as the speed is faster.

They are very easy to set up, are small and neat so don't look out of place.

I have tried extenders, old hubs etc, and with WFH it was really getting to be a big issue so overall just glad to have it sorted.

Grumpypants · 12-05-2020 5:24pm

Went with the Tenda Nova MW6. £145 for the 3 pack. Might be a little overkill as it covers up to 6000 sq foot. The issue I was worried about is my Router and Bedroom are on the left side of the house (one downstairs at the front the other upstairs at the back) So I kinda needed one for the right side of the building to cover the sitting room, sun room and two sitting rooms that might have been out of reach.

Will see how it plays out. Should be here at the end of the month.

iHungry · 12-05-2020 5:46pm

Leroy42 wrote: »

As BK mentioned, the speed took a massive hit, but it sorted out the deadzone issue I was having with the garage and so from that respect it solved my problem.

The speed is still fast enough (50mbps) so it doesn't really effect the overall. But at the moment, I have simply daisychained them to the router (VM) without doing anything thing like making it modem mode. I will dig into that the next few days.

I still have the VM wifi network, so if I'm looking at Netflix or casting to Chrome etc I use that as the speed is faster.

They are very easy to set up, are small and neat so don't look out of place.

I have tried extenders, old hubs etc, and with WFH it was really getting to be a big issue so overall just glad to have it sorted.

Yes like you it's sorted out a deadzone for me but...I'm going to see how this TP-link E3 setup performs. I was a bit alarmed at the loss of speeds. I'm thinking now should I be downgrading the broadband package as the speed is taking such a hit. If I try for a faster mesh can anyone recommend the fastest setup?

iHungry · 12-05-2020 5:51pm

budhabob wrote: »

I ordered Google Wifi 2 pack last week, expecting delivery today. Working from home made the various minor issues i was well aware of now unbaerable. Have a good few Google products (thermostate, Cameras, Speakers) and happy with the quality, and also the reviews look really good.

No doubt i will be back on here with some queries in the near future....

Hi, try a few speed tests before you set it up. I have read this new Google nest wifi is the best one.

Clareman · 12-05-2020 6:16pm

bk wrote: »

This is a great example of what I was saying earlier that wifi mesh systems can improve reliability, but can have poor overall performance.

A lot of people rave about them because they allow them to get a connection where they normally wouldn't, like in your garden. Previously not fast enough for HD video, but now it is.

However most people aren't techies and most likely don't do speed tests, so don't see how the overall performance is suffering.

Of course that might not matter to most people. As long as they can watch Netflix where previously they couldn't, they are happy.

But for some people it does matter (like backups to a NAS) and it is important to understand the limitation and how you could get better performance with different wifi systems.

That's a bit like motor companies building their cars for the fastest lap of the Nürburgring but in reality the cars will never go over the speed limit. I know people with HUGE houses that complain about the poor quality of the wifi when all they use is the free router from the isp, they are horrified at the thought of spending money on a new router

Shefwedfan · 12-05-2020 6:30pm

I went mesh for a few reasons. I have a old TP-Link system with multiple plugs which worked, but the performance was poor in terms of coverage. Also because you had multiple standalone wifi hot spots you ended up standing in one spot in the house on IP calls.

So the mesh does give a boost in performance because now I have support for 5Ghz but I have a stable performance over the majority of the house and now with the new system I should have full coverage, but the huge benefit is I can walk around the house on IP calls/zoom calls etc without losing connectivity.

Shefwedfan · 12-05-2020 6:34pm

One thing to note, if buying off Amazon check the warehouse, you will get perfect ones in the open box section

bk · 12-05-2020 6:57pm

iHungry wrote: »

Yes like you it's sorted out a deadzone for me but...I'm going to see how this TP-link E3 setup performs. I was a bit alarmed at the loss of speeds. I'm thinking now should I be downgrading the broadband package as the speed is taking such a hit. If I try for a faster mesh can anyone recommend the fastest setup?

Well that is the slowest speed Virgin Media deliver

I see this TP-link E3 system is a dual band system, which would be the slowest mesh system.

If you can run ethernet cables to each location and used a system that supported that, then that would give you best performance. You'd probably get 240Mb/s or close to it at each location.

Obviously not everyone can run ethernet, so next best would be either a powerline system or a tri-band mesh system. They should offer faster speeds.

Clareman · 12-05-2020 8:06pm

Do be honest if I could wait for a while I would hold out for a WiFi 6 solution to come more affordable and more commonplace

Wifi mesh systems

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