Mesh wifi to get rid of blackspots

[Smudger]

Hi,

VM seem to have done something which now makes the WiFi stutter before accepting the connection, and range seems to have reduced drastically. I did have the router in modem only mode with an Asus ac87u providing WiFi, which was fine until it broke. I switched the vm router back into normal mode and it was fine up until about a month ago. So now I'm looking at a mesh system. The Nest wifi pro looked interesting when it was on discount, but I'm not sure one node would cover the house, so I've found a Deco set where you get 2 nodes for about the same price as one Google node. Anyone had any experience of either? Could suggest a better alternative?
The Deco I was looking at was the x60 pair, ax5400 and coverage is a normal-size 3 bed house

[neonplanet40]

I use an ASus setup. it's worth a look as you cna mix and match different units. mine has been rock solid for about 2 years now. I have 4 routers ( 2x RT-AX86U, ASUS RT-AX58U & ASUS TUF Gaming AX5400). This covers whole house, garden and log cabin bar.

[Smudger]

I use an ASus setup. it's worth a look as you cna mix and match different units. mine has been rock solid for about 2 years now. I have 4 routers ( 2x RT-AX86U, ASUS RT-AX58U & ASUS TUF Gaming AX5400). This covers whole house, garden and log cabin bar.

Thanks, now wondering if 1 decent asus router would negate the need for mesh, seeing as it was fine with the old Asus...

[Saracen999]

Like neon, Asus router here (RT-AX86U i THINK, wifi 6 thing but not 6e) and it's pretty good, range-wise. That said, I've added hard-wired ethernet to most of where I need connections in the house. There's still a few things running oon wifi, but mostly, they're isolated from my main LAN anyway. I don't use the Asus in Mesh mode, though the capability is there. That was my intent, but It migrated to a 2.5G wired LAN, and then to the same but with 10G backbone between the wired 2.5G switches.

[Smudger]

Like neon, Asus router here (RT-AX86U i THINK, wifi 6 thing but not 6e) and it's pretty good, range-wise. That said, I've added hard-wired ethernet to most of where I need connections in the house. There's still a few things running oon wifi, but mostly, they're isolated from my main LAN anyway. I don't use the Asus in Mesh mode, though the capability is there. That was my intent, but It migrated to a 2.5G wired LAN, and then to the same but with 10G backbone between the wired 2.5G switches.

Pretty much the same but with 1g switches and a powerline adaptor for the boy's ps5 that's in what was the garage. All the wired stuff works fine, it's just the WiFi that's patchy. I guess I could get an Asus from amazon and send it back within 30 days if it's not ip to scratch and go for the mesh then...

[b0redom]

I had a BT wholehome mesh for ages, but upgraded to a Netgear RBK753 Orbi mesh when I got FTTP. It's not cheap, but it is blisteringly fast and I (and a the mrs and 3 teen kids) never have any problems. 3 nodes covers 3 floors of the house and my garden office at the end of the garden. I use ethernet backhaul, but you can use a separate wifi channel to do that.

[badass]

Hi,

VM seem to have done something which now makes the WiFi stutter before accepting the connection, and range seems to have reduced drastically. I did have the router in modem only mode with an Asus ac87u providing WiFi, which was fine until it broke. I switched the vm router back into normal mode and it was fine up until about a month ago. So now I'm looking at a mesh system. The Nest wifi pro looked interesting when it was on discount, but I'm not sure one node would cover the house, so I've found a Deco set where you get 2 nodes for about the same price as one Google node. Anyone had any experience of either? Could suggest a better alternative?
The Deco I was looking at was the x60 pair, ax5400 and coverage is a normal-size 3 bed house

As said by others, if a single router worked before you probably don't need a mesh system.

However I have a Deco X20 system so much lower end with a wired backhaul and it's been really good. 0.5-0.8 Gbit real world wireless throughput any time I've tested it with a modern laptop.

[DanceswithUnix]

I have an odd shaped house built in the 1970's with pretty thick walls so WiFi has always been tricky here.

I have ended up with a pair of Deco X60 units, one as the main unit where the broadband router comes in and one where the wife works so she can plug cabled stuff into a switch there.
Upstairs, I'm on an X20 and there is another in a far corner of the house that covers a blackspot there.
In the garage I have an old Deco S4 on a powerline connection to the living room for 3d printer, solar power inverter etc.

It all works very well. I get about 350Mbps internet up here, despite bouncing off the wife's X60 so two wifi links and a couple of outside walls. If I put my X20 on a stand, it might get line of sight through two windows instead. Hmm, might try that later She gets the full 900Mbps Internet feed.

The supposedly seamless handoff from one node to another isn't always perfect, I've had a couple of glitches with my Samsung tablet, but it recovers pretty fast.

I used to run powerline around the house, but after upgrading to FTTP I realised that Deco was faster with just WiFi. If the units see an ethernet link between two of them, then they will automatically use that.

[jimborae]

Had BT Wholehome mesh wi-fi discs backhauled over ethernet to an ASUS RT-AC 68U and it was rock solid, preferred the BT discs as you could pick your own router. Have now upgraded to a Ubiquiti UniFi system, Dream Machine Pro with U6-Pro & U6+ access points and a whole host UniFi switches, very addictive, very pricey but very good.

If you think that one access point would cover your house but are not sure and the UniFi controller appeals then I'd suggest a UniFi Dream Router. If one access point isn't enough then you can easily add another and power it off the router's PoE or with the included PoE adapter. Be warned though once you start down the UniFi route it gets addcitive and you find yourself buying a load more gear.

[Saracen999]

The DM Pro is a route I looked long, and somewhat longingly, at.

I settled on the Asus route as something of a judgement call. Why? Well, it's not a solution aimed entirely at the non-tech user. I mean, the router controls can be pretty intimidating to an absolute novice. Getting it set up isn't a walk in thev park for the novice, but it's do-able.

The UniFi struck me as really something that really is for someone that needs, or wants (and can afford) a somewhat scaled back professional/commercial grade of system, both in the money they're prepared to invest, and in the time and learning curve they're up for .... unless they're already somewhat grounded in that area.

There's always a balance, IMHO, between how complicated a piece of kit is, with versatilty versus complexity. Either something like Asus (or Netgear, TP-Link etc) is rather more versatile but rather more intimidating as an 'enthusiast' router than a vanilla ISP-supplied box, but doesn't go as far as the UniFi end of things. I was willing to spend some time learning a bit about configuration but, only up to a point. Fiddling with the settings is, for me, very much a means to an end not an end in it's own right.

I also did it with an awareness of one often under-valued aspect of the limited scope ISsP units which is that the more control you have over firewall settings, port-forwarding, what services do or don't run, and so on, the more options you have for shooting yourself in the foot, security-wise. You pretty mcch set yourself up as a target if you're allowed to change some settings without understanding the risks. By adopting the ISPend of the range, you have a device set up by a company that [I]should[I] have the expertise to set pretty safe defaults. You just have to make an assumption or two about whether they actually DID set safe defaults?

And the more tempting the morsels behind the netword gatekeeper, the more you have to lose. I've ended up spending rather more time than I wanted setting up both the router and the NAS options. I used a pretty simple basic premise - turn it off and lock it down pretty hard UNLESS it's an option, service, port (etc) I either need, orr just really, really want. For example, do I need or really want to be able to remote-in to the NAS from outside my LAN? Well, no. I mean, it'd occasionally be convenient, but not enough that I want the security challenges it entails to be sure I'm not setting myself up for a clobbering. That's partly why I got the second NAS - I can have it powered off th bulk of the time, and if need be, with a remote switch that simply doesn't have any kind of network or bluetooth control capability, meaning the ONLY way it can be powered up is physical proximity. So, it's vulnerable to most external threats only for a very limited period. Stick it on a UPS and one more threat surface (corruption by power cut) receeds too. Both NAS's will be on that, of course.

All told, it's one never-ending balancing act get it set up to suit ME, but that's nowhere near saying it'll suit anybody else. Different needs and priorties will dictate a difference approach. I'm offcoally jealous of the UniFi gear, by the way. NIIIIIICE. (As long as remote configuration is off and you don't use their online services )

[Smudger]

I've gone with a single Asus RT-AX-5400, it arrives tomorrow so I'll see how it does. I've had experience of the Ubiquiti stuff a long while ago, them and Meraki were streets ahead of anything else at the time (5+ years ago), but yes, very expensive once you start adding the bits you don't really need (according to wife) but really, really want...

[jimborae]

... I've had experience of the Ubiquiti stuff ... but yes, very expensive once you start adding the bits you don't really need (according to wife) but really, really want...

haha that's so true, if my wife knew I'd spent over £300 on a 8 port switch she'd hit the roof! However to be fair some of their other kit I think is very reasonable value. The Dream Router (not the Pro or SE) I think is very good for the money & features it gives. Likewise the 10Gb 8 port aggregation switch is reasonable also and the 5 port switch mini's and 8 port 60W PoE switches are excellent value.

Back on track though I think the Asus router you've gone for will be great but do yourself a favour and get Merlin firmware on it if it supports that router, you wont regret it.

[jimborae]

The DM Pro is a route I looked long, and somewhat longingly, at.

I settled on the Asus route as something of a judgement call. Why? Well, it's not a solution aimed entirely at the non-tech user. I mean, the router controls can be pretty intimidating to an absolute novice. Getting it set up isn't a walk in thev park for the novice, but it's do-able.

The UniFi struck me as really something that really is for someone that needs, or wants (and can afford) a somewhat scaled back professional/commercial grade of system, both in the money they're prepared to invest, and in the time and learning curve they're up for .... unless they're already somewhat grounded in that area.

There's always a balance, IMHO, between how complicated a piece of kit is, with versatilty versus complexity. Either something like Asus (or Netgear, TP-Link etc) is rather more versatile but rather more intimidating as an 'enthusiast' router than a vanilla ISP-supplied box, but doesn't go as far as the UniFi end of things. I was willing to spend some time learning a bit about configuration but, only up to a point. Fiddling with the settings is, for me, very much a means to an end not an end in it's own right.


All told, it's one never-ending balancing act get it set up to suit ME, but that's nowhere near saying it'll suit anybody else. Different needs and priorties will dictate a difference approach. I'm offcoally jealous of the UniFi gear, by the way. NIIIIIICE. (As long as remote configuration is off and you don't use their online services )

Yeah I completely agree with the points you raise, however I would say that depending on when you last looked at the UniFi controller things may have changed significantly for the better in terms of simplicity. I'd say that it's no more complicated or harder to understand than an Asus router now.

You can still access the old interface as there are one or two features that are hidden in there that are not in the modern interface (or don't work in the modern interface ). But, jesus, I would not like to have to try and use the old interface on a daily basis as it's a confusing hot mess.

The other thing I appreciate are the support forums are very good and help from other users is usually very fast & responsive. Not that I've ever really had to use it in anger but it's a good to know it's there and that there's decent knowledge resource available.

[Smudger]

Back on track though I think the Asus router you've gone for will be great but do yourself a favour and get Merlin firmware on it if it supports that router, you wont regret it.

Looks like the Merlin guy is in development with the AX-5400, I'll give it a test once he's released to prod...

[Saracen999]

Yeah I completely agree with the points you raise, however I would say that depending on when you last looked at the UniFi controller things may have changed significantly for the better in terms of simplicity. I'd say that it's no more complicated or harder to understand than an Asus router now.

You can still access the old interface as there are one or two features that are hidden in there that are not in the modern interface (or don't work in the modern interface ). But, jesus, I would not like to have to try and use the old interface on a daily basis as it's a confusing hot mess.

The other thing I appreciate are the support forums are very good and help from other users is usually very fast & responsive. Not that I've ever really had to use it in anger but it's a good to know it's there and that there's decent knowledge resource available.

I've had the current Asus, dunno, two to three years. Not much more than that, and certainly under 4 years. I haven't looked at any alternative since buying the Asus so that perspecive is interesting. Still, while the products and spec of Unifi appeal, the overall price tag doesn't. The Asus does all i really need, and almost all I want, so ....

[Iota]

The supposedly seamless handoff from one node to another isn't always perfect, I've had a couple of glitches with my Samsung tablet, but it recovers pretty fast.

I've seen that happen on my Amplifi units, so not so sure if that's just a pitfall of mesh networking or if it may be down to the individual tech that is connecting to the mesh. I can do steering if needed to the router itself, but never really noticed it since upgrading from Amplifi HD to Amplifi Alien units (upgraded the home internet so needed something a little quicker to take advantage).

Have now upgraded to a Ubiquiti UniFi system, Dream Machine Pro with U6-Pro & U6+ access points and a whole host UniFi switches, very addictive, very pricey but very good.

I looked at that option, but really wanted something that is simple and requires little effort to setup, hence going with the consumer option of Amplifi. Based on that, I don't doubt that the Ubiquiti system is exceptionally good to use. I still prefer my lazy option though