Question Want to add a mesh wifi to gigabit ethernet LAN

[heliskier59]

I have Verizon FIOS gigabit service with their router in the basement. Have extensive cat5 cabling with gigabit switches all over house but would like to improve wifi experience with a mesh. What hardware would best suited for this kind of situation and provide the highest speeds?

 

[USAFRet]

"router in the basement "
I really really wish they wouldn't do that, and users not allow them to do that.

The basement is the absolute worst place to propagate the WiFi signal.

Which specific router do you have from Verizon?
I gave the G1100, and it is actually pretty good.


You don't need some sort of mesh thing, but an access point upstairs somewhere would probably do the trick.
Or, move the Verizon router to OUT OF THE BASEMENT.

 

[heliskier59]

Wasn't planning on propagating wifi signal from basement. Just want some kind of hardware solution to plug into the ethernet jacks all over the house so that I have a robust wifi experience ( and with ONE ssid)

 

[AllanGH]

So, distribute APs all over the house, and set them to infrastructure mode, all using the same SSID and same connection creds.

 

[heliskier59]

Any AP in particular that works well in this regard?

 

[AllanGH]

I have NetGear R6220's doing that kind of duty around our house.

So far, it's been set them and forget them.

I never use WiFi, but everybody seems to be happy with the job they've been doing for the past few years.

 

[AllanGH]

Linky: https://www.amazon.com/product/dp/B00QGOQ2BA

 

[USAFRet]

Wasn't planning on propagating wifi signal from basement. Just want some kind of hardware solution to plug into the ethernet jacks all over the house so that I have a robust wifi experience ( and with ONE ssid)

What I'm saying is...a reasonable router, in a central location, would provide WiFi all over an average size house all by itself.
Being in the basement, the WiFI is crippled. Leading to needing an access point or similar.

 

[AllanGH]

...a reasonable router, in a central location, would provide WiFi all over an average size house all by itself.

Until you fire-up the microwave oven, that is.

To handle the ravaging hordes, I had to put APs at each corner of the house, and use aluminum reflectors to direct the signal "inward". At least, now, the Echos, Google Homes, thermostat, various laptops, and WiFi cams don't bite it when somebody is defrosting something big, frozen, and meaty, for a half-hour.

 

[nigelivey]

Until you fire-up the microwave oven, that is.

To handle the ravaging hordes, I had to put APs at each corner of the house, and use aluminum reflectors to direct the signal "inward". At least, now, the Echos, Google Homes, thermostat, various laptops, and WiFi cams don't bite it when somebody is defrosting something big, frozen, and meaty, for a half-hour.

Personally would have bought Sector APs instead of using reflectors but each to there own...Very little to be gained from taking an Omni AP and using reflectors!!! Also without a controller on the network setting all SSIDs the same creates more problems than it solves, moving from one AP to another is a client side operation, the clients will hang on to the AP it first connects to until the connection is dropped. A controller will monitor the connection and within a threshold drop you off 1 AP and associate with another with the optimal signal. Just saying

 

[AllanGH]

Very little to be gained from taking an Omni AP and using reflectors!!!

The primary gain (no pun intended) is a drastic drop-off in signal level behind the reflectors, which puts the majority of the decent signal level inside the residence, and on the back patio, out by the pool.

...the clients will hang on to the AP it first connects to until the connection is dropped.

This is as intended. It's not a 2 million square foot warehouse or manufacturing floor--it's a residence. Nobody is running track and field from one end of the house to the other, with their laptops in their arms.
The most demanding data streams that go out over WiFi would be something like NetFlix, and the normal use pattern for that is "sit and veg-out".

The hordes have been happy for years, so I'm content with not managing the WiFi as if it were being supplied to a hospital campus.

 

[nigelivey]

The primary gain (no pun intended) is a drastic drop-off in signal level behind the reflectors, which puts the majority of the decent signal level inside the residence, and on the back patio, out by the pool.


This is as intended. It's not a 2 million square foot warehouse or manufacturing floor--it's a residence. Nobody is running track and field from one end of the house to the other, with their laptops in their arms.
The most demanding data streams that go out over WiFi would be something like NetFlix, and the normal use pattern for that is "sit and veg-out".

The hordes have been happy for years, so I'm content with not managing the WiFi as if it were being supplied to a hospital campus.

That is fair enough!

 

[jsmithepa]

Router in the basement... am guessing because that's where the service most often come through.

Have extensive CAT5... well then, you don't have a problem, simply deploy as many AP throughout the house for full coverage. No need to go gimmicky Mesh$$.

 

[AllanGH]

That is fair enough!

Of course, if you give me a medical center or university campus, and a decent budget, I'll go crazy buying cool toys.

 

[cpike84]

What is everyone's problem with mesh networking? My Google Wi-Fi 3 pack is literally the only thing that has worked stably and with the best speeds out of any other configuration I have tried. The issue is you will NOT get anywhere near gig speeds on wireless, not even close. I don't think there is any wireless solution that will get you close to that, and if there is then please let me know. Even the recommended higher end/more expensive mesh packages I've seen still say speeds up to 150mbps on the back of the boxes, so there was no point investing in those. I typically get ~130mbps in the majority of my home, which is still considerably less than the speed I pay for. That said, the signal is strong everywhere in the house, whereas I previously had a couple dead spots with other configurations. Unfortunately for me, Ethernet is not an option, so mesh was the only thing to work well, and it's frustration free. Google Wi-Fi mesh is the easiest wireless system to set up as well.

If I had a finished basement I would go back to having my router down there as well, simply because everything I use most would be down there and hard-wired for best speeds. Mesh routing would take care of any coverage in the remainder of the house. I've been using mesh for almost a year now and it's been a godsend. Zero issue's with any of the 14+ devices we've used on it, including 4K streaming.

 

[faalin]

I have these in my house stationed about a 1/3 way in on both ends and it covers the house, moving from one end to the other will switch between the two.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DRM6MLI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

along side it i also have their 16 port POE switch and security gateway.

 

[AllanGH]

What is everyone's problem with mesh networking?

It's a gimmicky, inefficient solution, that is oversold to people who don't know any better; usually at ridiculous prices as compared to the performance that they deliver.

I don't think there is any wireless solution that will get you close to that, and if there is then please let me know.

A Netgear Nighthawk X10 router will get you Gb/S+ speeds.
Either the TP-Link AP500 AC1900, or the Netgear AC1200 APs will deliver Gb/S+ speeds.
And, just off the top of my head, Intel 9260 equipped adapters deliver solid Gb/S+ speeds.

Consumers are hung-up on the buzzword "mesh" and think that this is a professional solution to wireless networking; not realizing that wired networking is the de-facto proper way to accomplish the task, and wireless is a compromise for those specific situations where wired installations are impossible.

 

[cpike84]

AllanGH - The problem I have with my home is if I go with something like the Netgear Nighthawk X10 there will be dead spots that won't work right or at all, because a single router just can't get into some of the areas in my home. I tried the Netgear NightHawk X6, which is another tri-band with 6 antenna's, and it was actually worse than my cheaper router with internal antenna's. Mesh is the only way I can get a strong signal everywhere in my home, but I give up the speed to do so. I would love go to Ethernet but it's not possible in my house. I'm sure the Nighthawk X10 is an amazing wireless router (better be for that price!), but it will not work for me. Also, the only way you'll get fast speeds out of it is if you are basically in the same room as it and have the right hardware to support it, and at that point why not stick to Ethernet? Here's a real world test taken from a PC World article:

"The R9000 turned in very impressive scores in our throughput performance tests. Its score of 558Mbps in our 5GHz close-proximity (same-room) test beat the D-Link AC5300 Ultra Wi-Fi Router (DIR-895L/R)$261.99 at Amazon (515Mbps) and the TP-Link Talon (440Mbps), both also top picks, and was just a tad slower than the Linksys WRT3200ACM (569Mbps). At a distance of 30 feet, the R9000's score of 392Mbps was the highest we've seen from any router, beating out the D-Link DIR-895L/R (324Mbps), the TP-Link Talon (237Mbps), and the Linksys WRT3200ACM (238Mbps). "

Link to full article here: https://www.pcmag.com/review/352017/netgear-nighthawk-x10-ad7200-smart-wifi-router-r9000

I'm sorry, but everything I use in the house is 30+ feet away from where my main router is plugged in at, so the speeds would suffer, especially given all the walls and appliances the signal must travel through to get to the area's we use for our PC office, gaming room, and entertainment room. Yes, you showed me that a router is capable (on paper) of obtaining gig speeds on wireless, but in the real world it's not going to perform that way.