Most 'Apple-like' mesh network with good throughput?

[Varking]

I tried them but found them to be slower than my Comcast TG3482G and Asus RT-AX88U. I can get ~200 Mbps, ~500 Mbps and ~750 Mbps respectively (next to the router, up to ~650 Mbps at 30 feet upstairs) although very variable as normal for WiFi. I live in a compact area so I get by with just the single router.

The Asus might work in larger environments as I see that it supports AIMesh.

My house due to the space, the walls and all the devices definitely needs mesh or extenders and I find mesh to be more reliable. I don't need massive speed increases. Fiber around me is 1k up and down where Spectrums top plan is 100 download and 10 upload. There are times when we try to watch Plex and it buffers so much it makes it a hassle. These are tri-band compared to my dual-band, cover more area and produce higher speeds when we switch from Spectrum to ATT Fiber here shortly. If we can get 300+ down and 25+ upload it'll make our connected house run smoothly. And that is all I can ask for until Wifi 6 becomes mainstream.

 

[hobowankenobi]

Keep in mind that for mesh (wireless APs) to perform well, each AP needs a good, solid wifi connection to the base unit, so placement that provides a strong consistent signal can be tricky if you are working around solid walls or other challenges.

One option would be to use wired APs...either with a data cable, or, if data cabling is not available or not possible to easily add...you can use power line adapters.

 

[Varking]

Everything went well with the setup. Just saw an article a couple hours ago that said velop is getting HomeKit support over the next few days. Ill share my thoughts on it when I get the update.

 

[Moakesy]

Keep in mind that for mesh (wireless APs) to perform well, each AP needs a good, solid wifi connection to the base unit, so placement that provides a strong consistent signal can be tricky if you are working around solid walls or other challenges.

One option would be to use wired APs...either with a data cable, or, if data cabling is not available or not possible to easily add...you can use power line adapters.

certainly the AMPLIFI mesh uses radio rather than WiFi to connect APs, which is the reason I chose it.

My house has exactly those thick walls that made get good coverage problematic. Also, we had a new man cave shed in the back garden that is struggled to get WiFi in. Previously I’d used WiFi based range extenders, plus the power line adapters. Neither worked, but the amplifi system, whilst expensive, absoluty knocked it out the park and gives great coverage everywhere.

 

[Varking]

certainly the AMPLIFI mesh uses radio rather than WiFi to connect APs, which is the reason I chose it.

My house has exactly those thick walls that made get good coverage problematic. Also, we had a new man cave shed in the back garden that is struggled to get WiFi in. Previously I’d used WiFi based range extenders, plus the power line adapters. Neither worked, but the amplifi system, whilst expensive, absoluty knocked it out the park and gives great coverage everywhere.

Radio signals to connect like having a dedicated 5ghz backhaul just for the connection between points and then 2.4 and 5.0 signals for wifi? That is triple band tech, right? Learning all of this on the fly.

 

[Moakesy]

Radio signals to connect like having a dedicated 5ghz backhaul just for the connection between points and then 2.4 and 5.0 signals for wifi? That is triple band tech, right? Learning all of this on the fly.

Not exactly, but essentially yes. Dedicated signal between APs, with separate signal for WiFi.

This contrasts with repeaters, which effectively half your bandwidth by sharing the same signal, so 50% for inter-AP comms and 50% left for your devices to use. Therefore, such repeaters directly impact speeds, whereas a true mesh network (such as amplifi) does not.

see Here for more detaols

 

[indychris]

So does anyone know how the Alien will play with wireless connections that require a 2.4 ghz connection? I have video surveillance that will only connect to 2.4 networks.

 

[hobowankenobi]

From the site:

AmpliFi Alien comes with 2.4/5 GHz Wi-Fi 6 and 5 GHz Wi-Fi 5 radios. They deliver 7685 Mbps total capacity and 16 spatial streams from a single AmpliFi Alien unit.

The only issue I would expect (from any new dual-band router) if the ability to select a specific band (in this case 2.4GHz) for a device to prevent it from trying and failing at 5GHz.

 

[indychris]

The only issue I would expect (from any new dual-band router) if the ability to select a specific band (in this case 2.4GHz) for a device to prevent it from trying and failing at 5GHz.

That's my concern.

 

[satcomer]

That's my concern.

You need to use the newer Synology Rt2600ac Because it’s the only Wi-Fi router that has Time Server inside!

 

[TonyC28]

I just replaced 2 Airports and a FioS router with an EERO Pro and 2 beacons and it was unbelievably easy. Added an 8 port switch to it and it covers everything I used to run wired. It might still be the honeymoon phase but I'm REALLY liking it.

How are you liking the Eero? I’m trying to pick a new router and keep coming across ads for Eero. I’m looking for reliability and coverage for 25+ devices.

 

[Release]

How are you liking the Eero? I’m trying to pick a new router and keep coming across ads for Eero. I’m looking for reliability and coverage for 25+ devices.

I love it. Absolutely no issues with about the same amount of devices as you.

 

[TonyC28]

I love it. Absolutely no issues with about the same amount of devices as you.

Got mine setup today. That part was easy but I wish I had known how much of a headache it is to connect devices that require a 2.4ghz network.

 

[Release]

Got mine setup today. That part was easy but I wish I had known how much of a headache it is to connect devices that require a 2.4ghz network.

Give it time, it should sort itself out. I had the same issue and eventually it found the right channel. Hold on, maybe I had to disconnect the beacons? I don't remember. It's all sorted now and working brillianytly. Good luck!

 

[HDFan]

I wish I had known how much of a headache it is to connect devices that require a 2.4ghz network.

What is the headache?

 

[TonyC28]

What is the headache?

If you have a device that can only connect to 2.4ghz WiFi it’s a pain because the Eero creates a single SSID that won’t let you choose between 5 and 2.4. I’m no expert on this stuff. But basically you have to call eero tech support to have them temporarily hide the 5ghz network in order to connect certain devices, Wemo outlets and Nest Protect smoke alarm for example.

 

[hobowankenobi]

If you have a device that can only connect to 2.4ghz WiFi it’s a pain because the Eero creates a single SSID that won’t let you choose between 5 and 2.4. I’m no expert on this stuff. But basically you have to call eero tech support to have them temporarily hide the 5ghz network in order to connect certain devices, Wemo outlets and Nest Protect smoke alarm for example.

I was wondering about that. As a single, dual-band SSID is becoming the norm, it may be the only way to get 2.4-only devices to connect: disable the 5G band temporarily.

The part I don't know, and may vary by vendor: Once connected, will the frequency choice be remembered after 5G is available again? Sounds like it will...at least with Eero.

 

[iMi]

I went with a mesh network a while ago and found the Deco to work very well. It allows you to create a separate "guest" network, which in my case is a dedicated 2.4Ghz smart home, which is awesome. There are 65 devices connected across the two networks. Coverage is fantastic. Speeds are great. Love it. There are ton of options, but all laid out very logically and easy to access. Built-in antivirus, QoS options that allow you to prioritize traffic, reporting tools, and more.

The only downside, the model I have does not have USB connection. Newer version may have them, not sure. I have not tried other mesh networks but I'm sure they all offer similar benefits.
[automerge]1583510307[/automerge]

If you have a device that can only connect to 2.4ghz WiFi it’s a pain because the Eero creates a single SSID that won’t let you choose between 5 and 2.4. I’m no expert on this stuff. But basically you have to call eero tech support to have them temporarily hide the 5ghz network in order to connect certain devices, Wemo outlets and Nest Protect smoke alarm for example.

This is exactly why I chose Deco. It allows you to run two separate networks AND it gives you the option to turn on each channel frequency on or off, so you can have a main network that runs both and a dedicated network for 2.4Ghz only. It's absolutely brilliant.

 

[TonyC28]

I was wondering about that. As a single, dual-band SSID is becoming the norm, it may be the only way to get 2.4-only devices to connect: disable the 5G band temporarily.

The part I don't know, and may vary by vendor: Once connected, will the frequency choice be remembered after 5G is available again? Sounds like it will...at least with Eero.

After an hour on the phone with them and no success connecting my devices I am returning the eero. It’s fantastic if you have all 5 ghz devices but they are way too early to be acting like 2.4 doesn’t exist anymore.

 

[hobowankenobi]

That stinks. Too bad.

I need to do more looking and see what is possible on my UBNT APs.

 

[EdT]

Everything went well with the setup. Just saw an article a couple hours ago that said velop is getting HomeKit support over the next few days. Ill share my thoughts on it when I get the update.

I am looking at getting a Linksys Wifi 6, which is supposed to be the next network standard. I keep reading that Linksys is developing Homekit compatible routers but their HK routers are the older 802.11AC standard that is being called Wifi 5 by some manufacturers. If I'm going to spend a lot of money (around $400 for a single MX5 Velop) then I want Homekit compatibility as well. And I don't want Homekit by sacrificing the new faster standard. But I can't find any information on when or if this will be available (from anyone, I'm not locked into Linksys).

Are you happy with your system? Do you have dead zones and need extenders of some type? Which model do you have? I realize your system isn't the newer Wifi 6 but information on Homekit from anyone seems to be limited and beyond announcing that they 'plan' on supporting Homekit only a few of Linksys routers actually do, with no information on when or if others will be added.

Edit: I have chatted with Linksys about this. They will tell you that they have 3 models which currently support HK. And that they have no information about HK support for other models.

 

[TonyC28]

After an hour on the phone with them and no success connecting my devices I am returning the eero. It’s fantastic if you have all 5 ghz devices but they are way too early to be acting like 2.4 doesn’t exist anymore.

Hopefully an update to this...
I’ve seen in some reviews that Eero now includes an option in the app to temporarily hide the 5ghz network. Has anyone tried this? If it works well enough I’ll give them another try.

 

[SalisburySam]

Hopefully an update to this...
I’ve seen in some reviews that Eero now includes an option in the app to temporarily hide the 5ghz network. Has anyone tried this? If it works well enough I’ll give them another try.

Thinking out loud here: if you have to hide a network to connect something, you might just have the wrong router. Just sayin’

 

[TonyC28]

Thinking out loud here: if you have to hide a network to connect something, you might just have the wrong router. Just sayin’

Is that a vote against Eero then?

 

[SalisburySam]

Is that a vote against Eero then?

Maybe. It would be if (a) you really do need to turn off or hide the 5GHz networks (there are two of them on the eero's) AND (b) there was no other way to connect a 2.4GHz device. Not sure either is the case but if so, then yes, a vote against. Probably a question for Amazon eero tech support. That said, my mix of 38 2.4 and 5 devices appear to work pretty well. Just got a firmware update last night and the entire network of 8 of them updated each eeroPro in about 10 minutes.

Someone earlier mentioned connecting a USB printer to their router. That cannot be done with the eeroPro as there are no USB ports to do that. The one USB port these devices have is for other purposes, specifically troubleshooting. If the printer has an Ethernet port though, that would work.