[SOLVED] Recommended Mesh setup with tight budget

[lirancoh85]

Hey Guys,

I'm looking for a mesh system for a big flat with some issues (in terms of WIFI Coverage) as one of the rooms has a reinforced concrete walls, and the flat also have a big balcony.

So, a very good range router wouldn't do the job (I tried it with my friend's Asus ac86u)

If money wasn't an issue I would prob will go for the Asus XT8 Or Netgear RBK854, but unfortunately it is and my budget is up to 200-250 euros.

I did find a very good deal for the Ubiquiti Amplifi HD mesh for 180 euros (220 usd), I saw some very good reviews about that product but it worries me its only ac1750, should I worry ?

My internet connection is a fiber 1000mb download and 100mb upload, would love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks
Leo

 

[bill001g]

Not sure why you would be concerned with "only" 1750. 1/2 the connection is the end device. Most devices only support 2x2 mimo which would be the same as a 1200 router. 1750 is 3x3 mimo which would support devices with 3 antenna. Anything with a higher number is either using a non standard data encoding or is 4x4. It is very rare to find a device that has 4 antenna and even harder to find ones that support the data encoding that are not part of the official 802.11 standard.

In general I recommend to use mesh only when you have ruled out every other option. In addition there are 2 forms of mesh. One has a extra dedicated radio chip to talk to main router which increases the cost. Many other so called mesh units are just simple repeaters that suffer from using the same radio to talk to end devices and the main router.

In your case it is going to be even harder if you have concrete walls. There is no magic that can solve the problem of the wall absorbing the signal. To work well mesh/repeaters must get very good signal levels to the main router and then be able to send a good signal level to the end device.

You best option to extend wifi is ethernet with AP in the remote rooms. If you do not have ethernet you then use MoCA instead if you have tv coax in both rooms. Then if neither of those is a option you look at powerline units. You can get powerline units AP/radios in the remote unit rather than use a seperate AP. All three of these options solve the problem of concreate by running a wire though it. I guess you could chop a big hole in the wall to allow wifi though

Not sure I have never looked at ubiquiti mesh only their AP. If these units have dedicated backhaul radios then they would be a good option if you can not get any other method to work. This is one of those things that your house makes far more difference than the equipment you buy. Concrete walls just kill wifi.