[SOLVED] Mesh Networks - Like Powerline?

Oasis Curator

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Apr 9, 2019
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I have a TP-Link powerline that runs from my router to the back of the house and outputs a hard line and wireless from there.

If I bought a Mesh network like the TP-Link Deco e4, will this give me the same thing? Or is it just purely for wireless?
 
Solution
Mesh mostly marketing name for repeater. They needed to act like there was something new so people who already had repeaters would buy more stuff. There are a very small number of mesh units that have a extra radio chip to communicate back to the router, the units you list do not so they are simple repeaters.

Even so what you have is massively better. The remote powerline device is connecting back to the router via the electrical wires in your house. Although not as good as ethernet it function very similar. On a repeater the signal back to the router is wifi. So you now have 2 wifi signals one to the router and a second to the end device competing for the wifi bandwidth. You also have 2 signals instead of 1 that can...
Mesh mostly marketing name for repeater. They needed to act like there was something new so people who already had repeaters would buy more stuff. There are a very small number of mesh units that have a extra radio chip to communicate back to the router, the units you list do not so they are simple repeaters.

Even so what you have is massively better. The remote powerline device is connecting back to the router via the electrical wires in your house. Although not as good as ethernet it function very similar. On a repeater the signal back to the router is wifi. So you now have 2 wifi signals one to the router and a second to the end device competing for the wifi bandwidth. You also have 2 signals instead of 1 that can get damaged by interference from your neighbors wifi. In addition the placement of the repeater is extremely important. You can not just place it in the remote room it will get the same crap signal from the main router as if you just connect your end device directly. It must go someplace that gets good signal from the main route but can still transmit the signal to the end device. In many houses this is in the middle of the wall or ceiling so there is no good placement. The marketing form the vendors act like you can just place these little boxes in all the rooms and it magically works

Powerline units will almost always be better than any form of mesh system. You will also notice that most mesh systems make a big issue out the physical appearance of the box....that is a huge warning that they are selling to uneducated consumers who are using them as decorator items.
 
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