Mesh Wi-Fi

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We are moving into a 2-story, 2500 sq ft home.

Need to invest in a Wi-Fi setup that provides good coverage in all areas of the home. I do not have a set budget, but it has to make reasonable sense. Reliability is important.

Should I be looking at a "mesh" setup such as eero?

Thanks.
 
Amazon owns Eero now.

Amazon just released an Eero router for $99. It's not the same as the Eero Pro router. The Eero router is a dual band, and the Eero Pro is a tri-band. Personally, I think the Eero dual band is over priced, and the Eero Pro is not on sale right now.
 
Use your existing router and see how it goes. Some 2500SF can be well covered by a single one dependent on materials/construction of home.

I love my Google Wifi with 3 spots running 23 items on network. I did end up having to hardwire between mesh (not hard in my home) as they could not communicate well between one another due 1910 construction that is terrible for wifi and massive central chimney. I only have 170Mbps for internet speed which I do get in proximity to the hotspots on wifi.
 
A little depends on the configuration of the home. We have an older Netgear router which has no problems pushing 5G down three stories of our 2k sq ft townhome.
 
We picked up this Linksys set up. Love it. We get full bars of wifi in the front yard, side yard and back yard by the pool and all though out our 2,100sqft house. No deadspots at all. Works very well. Linksys
 
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Find a couple of google onhub. You can routinely find them for $55. Two of them would take take of your house easily (probably even one). Super simple to set up since they are part of the google wifi ecosystem.

I have three of the asus onhubs that I bought used for $120 total. I have one in the basement, one upstairs to the front of the house and one in the back of my detached garage. I have full wifi on my 1/3 acre lot and down the block.
 
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Just to add another data point: I have a 2 story, 2,000 sq. ft. House that was build in 1905. Nothing but plaster and stucco all over, not conducive to WiFi at all. I'm using an Asus RT66U that's located basically dead center of the house on the ground floor, and have no trouble getting 5g signal throughout the house. It gets a little weak at the edges of the house, but 2.4g picks up fine.

For 2,500 square feet, I would start out with just the router and see how that works. If it's not enough, buy a second inexpensive router that you can place on the 2nd level and use as an AP. That should give you all the coverage you need for a lot less than those mesh systems.
 
9/30/2019 could be considered a bad time to buy to buy a mesh system. Why? Because Wi-Fi 6 routers that support 802.11ax is the new standard. Few devices support it yet but that will change. The newest iPhones and a few Samsung phones support the new band. But it might be awhile before WiFi 6 802.11ax is widespread and affordable.
 
Critic,
What's your wiring situation? Do you have ethernet runs to most rooms, or at least coax? I think you're in Comcast territory (San Fran?) and best practice is to rent the Comcast gateway for the first month as if you get a bad install with your own equipment, people have had a hard time convince Comcast it was on their side.

Your options are:
- If you have ethernet drops, a mesh system that has wired backhaul capabilities.
- If you dont have ethernet but coax, you can use MOCA adaptors to deliver internet over the coax wires to the rooms you need
- If you have no ethernet or don't want to deal with MOCA, then you need a true mesh system.

Best bet is to buy from a place that has an easy return policy. My picks would be Netgear Orbi from costco or Ubiquity Amplify (maybe direct?).
 
Get the Google Wifi. A friend of mine who happens to be a senior DevOps engineer loves his - he lives in a rather tall 2 story house in SF and it works fine.

It's basically a router powered by Google's ChromeOS that can mesh network. And the newest version coming out supports the Google Assistant and can serve as a hub for Nest devices.
 
If you have Ethernet runs you could use Ubiquity AP's or even the HP OfficeConnect OC20's, which you can cluster up to 8 of. How much of a firewall do you want? I've recommended a few different SMB firewall solutions on here in the past that aren't difficult to operate or deploy. You can also get a great deal on some slightly older units on E-Bay and just subscribe to the services you think you need (which could be none).
 
+1 on the Ubiquiti system. You get enterprise functionality at a consumer price. They have a UTM (firewall+more) solution too, and it's all controlled from your smartphone. You will need to run an ethernet cable to each access point, they have a PoE hub which will provide power to them. Start with one near the center of your house, and see if that covers the house well enough(should be fine with drywall/wood frame construction). If not, get an extra access point or two
 
Originally Posted by NYSteve
Critic,
What's your wiring situation? Do you have ethernet runs to most rooms, or at least coax? I think you're in Comcast territory (San Fran?) and best practice is to rent the Comcast gateway for the first month as if you get a bad install with your own equipment, people have had a hard time convince Comcast it was on their side.

Your options are:
- If you have ethernet drops, a mesh system that has wired backhaul capabilities.
- If you dont have ethernet but coax, you can use MOCA adaptors to deliver internet over the coax wires to the rooms you need
- If you have no ethernet or don't want to deal with MOCA, then you need a true mesh system.

Best bet is to buy from a place that has an easy return policy. My picks would be Netgear Orbi from costco or Ubiquity Amplify (maybe direct?).

Hi Steve - as far as I know, the home does not have any ethernet drops. This is a 2500 sq ft, 2-story frame house with a somewhat open floor plan.

Originally Posted by OVERKILL
If you have Ethernet runs you could use Ubiquity AP's or even the HP OfficeConnect OC20's, which you can cluster up to 8 of. How much of a firewall do you want? I've recommended a few different SMB firewall solutions on here in the past that aren't difficult to operate or deploy. You can also get a great deal on some slightly older units on E-Bay and just subscribe to the services you think you need (which could be none).

The Firewall is a consideration but I honestly have not placed much thought into it. I would say that my needs are fairly average.
 
What kind of WAN speed are you looking at getting?

For a firewall that just "works", something like this:
Watchguard T-15 firewall appliance

Coupled with one or more of these AP's would work well:
HP OfficeConnect OC20

Now, the limitations of those AP's are that they are only capable of a single SSID (no VLAN's) for your main network and then a separate Guest SSID, if so desired. You can cluster up to 8 of them. They are essentially a dumbed-down Aruba IAP-207.

If you need more coverage, they are literally plug and play with an ethernet run to a PoE switch, like this little guy:
Netgear Gigabit PoE switch
 
Originally Posted by The Critic
We are moving into a 2-story, 2500 sq ft home.

Need to invest in a Wi-Fi setup that provides good coverage in all areas of the home. I do not have a set budget, but it has to make reasonable sense. Reliability is important.

Should I be looking at a "mesh" setup such as eero?

Thanks.


Honestly, it depends on the home and proper set up of the router, as well as where that router will be, I do understand builders and internet providers make the ideal impossible.
Im one of the lucky ones.
My feeling is, everyone on the planet is eager to recommend a mesh system but a mesh system in a 2500 sq ft home is almost borderline making up for a poorly set up system. I feel a properly set up system is more important and reliable then making something complex, again, if you dont have too.

Here is my deal;
3000 sq ft house, router and modem centrally located on the main level in the middle of the house. Actually all communication access in in the center closet, main level.
Never have an issue with wi-fi signal. 4 or 5 Roku players ( I lose track), 2 laptops, couple tablets, 2 desktops plus the cell phones when in the house and a couple other devices. Add to that, another router plugged into the back of the home router for my wife work set up as a VPN.

Our desktops (1-mac mini and 1-HP) are in an office are pretty much the furthest from the router on the second floor (which isn't that far being the router is centrally located on the first floor) and reliably we get 80 to 100 Mbps on the 5ghz band of our 100 Gbps service.
I use a TP Link Cable modem and separate TP Link AC 1750 Archer C7.

With the above said our house is easy, centrally located on the main level and also on that main level our ceilings go up 16 feet, so its open air to the second floor.
This is why I say, there is no one stop solution, but true, yes, mesh is good for those that need it but keep in mind sometimes simple is trouble free in the future.

OUR router is now getting a bit older, still good but if you dont care about price, I am sure if you step it up a bit over our model or in a Netgear model and depending on the location its placed (central or not) you should be good, if you end up with a weak spot, adding one extender would solve the problem.

Anyway, its early, still on my coffee, there is still one thing in your post, "reliability" so depending on where your router gets placed will determine how simple you can keep by simple purchasing a robust router.

For the heck of it, I just pulled this up in a matter of seconds and this is my thinking. I would, if I could, not over complicate things, I actually like this list, pick your price and I would not get hung up on "specs" such as speed, they will all exceed anything a standard homeowner wants. Some 1gb hardcore gamer might feel different but maybe not. :eek:)


Here you go - click

...
 
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
What kind of WAN speed are you looking at getting?

For a firewall that just "works", something like this:
Watchguard T-15 firewall appliance

Coupled with one or more of these AP's would work well:
HP OfficeConnect OC20

Now, the limitations of those AP's are that they are only capable of a single SSID (no VLAN's) for your main network and then a separate Guest SSID, if so desired. You can cluster up to 8 of them. They are essentially a dumbed-down Aruba IAP-207.

If you need more coverage, they are literally plug and play with an ethernet run to a PoE switch, like this little guy:
Netgear Gigabit PoE switch

Thanks. I think my WAN speed should be 175 mbp.

Originally Posted by alarmguy
Originally Posted by The Critic
We are moving into a 2-story, 2500 sq ft home.

Need to invest in a Wi-Fi setup that provides good coverage in all areas of the home. I do not have a set budget, but it has to make reasonable sense. Reliability is important.

Should I be looking at a "mesh" setup such as eero?

Thanks.


Honestly, it depends on the home and proper set up of the router, as well as where that router will be, I do understand builders and internet providers make the ideal impossible.
Im one of the lucky ones.
My feeling is, everyone on the planet is eager to recommend a mesh system but a mesh system in a 2500 sq ft home is almost borderline making up for a poorly set up system. I feel a properly set up system is more important and reliable then making something complex, again, if you dont have too.

Here is my deal;
3000 sq ft house, router and modem centrally located on the main level in the middle of the house. Actually all communication access in in the center closet, main level.
Never have an issue with wi-fi signal. 4 or 5 Roku players ( I lose track), 2 laptops, couple tablets, 2 desktops plus the cell phones when in the house and a couple other devices. Add to that, another router plugged into the back of the home router for my wife work set up as a VPN.

Our desktops (1-mac mini and 1-HP) are in an office are pretty much the furthest from the router on the second floor (which isn't that far being the router is centrally located on the first floor) and reliably we get 80 to 100 Mbps on the 5ghz band of our 100 Gbps service.
I use a TP Link Cable modem and separate TP Link AC 1750 Archer C7.

With the above said our house is easy, centrally located on the main level and also on that main level our ceilings go up 16 feet, so its open air to the second floor.
This is why I say, there is no one stop solution, but true, yes, mesh is good for those that need it but keep in mind sometimes simple is trouble free in the future.

OUR router is now getting a bit older, still good but if you dont care about price, I am sure if you step it up a bit over our model or in a Netgear model and depending on the location its placed (central or not) you should be good, if you end up with a weak spot, adding one extender would solve the problem.

Anyway, its early, still on my coffee, there is still one thing in your post, "reliability" so depending on where your router gets placed will determine how simple you can keep by simple purchasing a robust router.

For the heck of it, I just pulled this up in a matter of seconds and this is my thinking. I would, if I could, not over complicate things, I actually like this list, pick your price and I would not get hung up on "specs" such as speed, they will all exceed anything a standard homeowner wants. Some 1gb hardcore gamer might feel different but maybe not. :eek:)


Here you go - click

...

So, the floor plan is fairly open with tall ceilings. The router is currently placed behind the TV in these pictures and I think I will probably place mine (and the cable modem) in the same general area.

My main concern is that my office will be at the opposite end of the home towards the corner. I guess we will have to start with one unit and do some testing.

e806af677cbe10c199807edc616447d0-p_f.jpg


0b8106c7bb7b5c2284da52de159f1075-p_f.jpg
 
I'd say the first thing would be to get the router out in the open. Hidden behind the TV may look nice but it hampers performance and could possibly get too hot.
 
Originally Posted by RTexasF
I'd say the first thing would be to get the router out in the open. Hidden behind the TV may look nice but it hampers performance...


I agree, when setting up Wi-Fi devices in customers homes I would always pull the router out from behind the TV, more so when I had marginal signal for no good reason.
Some cases that helped, in other cases unsure.
But I do believe it's a common sense thing to do the best Wi-Fi.
So many routers are tucked away behind objects where they shouldn't be. My feeling is always up high and away from electronic devices as best as possible.
Also put ferrite noise filters on all the cords leading to the router and actually any electronic device I have. This is simple to do and cheap they clip right on the cords. If you do a search you will see what I mean
 
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Critic - Our house layout is very much like yours, geez, much of the only difference is the windows. I had to take a second look!
I assume to the right in the photo of your great room wall is where the stairs go up to the second floor, if so, I have my router located in the coat closet which is under the stairs, router is mounted high up right at the ceiling of the closet, with modem lower down on the coat rack. So it is pretty much central in the house, high up at the ceiling in the first floor closet.

If you do a google search for best router placement there is a ton of stuff. I was ALWAYS fixing up customers router placement as best I can.
Here is jsut one of many suggestions from Comcast - Click

Below is the ferrite noise filters I was speaking of, I came to realize they do work but on a different application. I was having a problem with 2 touch screen wireless alarm system keypads ( in my own house no less) not working reliably, signal was low, yet pretty darn close to the central unit, for the heck of it one day, I clipped these things on the power lines feeding the keypads, signal went up to all the max bars on the display. Never looked back, never an issue again.
I noticed TV makers put them on their power cords, I noticed camera makers DLSR have them on their data cables and I noticed some good quality HDMI cables have them as well. Figured there must be a reason and I found one reason in the alarm system, so now, every electronic device in my home has them, as well as every CAT 5 cable and anything to do with computers.
They are so cheap, most times just ordered off ebay or wherever, bought every size imaginable.

All I know, is my wifi network never goes down, never needs resetting, I also have them on my wifes work computer, that is using its own router with a VPN which is plugged into a powerline adapter which is plugged into the back of our router and goes to her office in another state, her office phone also runs off of it, been rock solid reliable. Im a bit extreme and I also pulled the outlet that the powerline adapter is plugged into and placed the noise filters on the 110 line that feeds the outlet. Always has a solid great signal light.

[Linked Image from images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com]
 
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I have no problem covering 4000 sq ft with just the modem router in my house. I have the router dead center in the house and an open floor plan. Move in first and try it out before spending big bucks on mesh.
 
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