Router Advice Needed

[tmcolville]

Hello,



The issue:

I live in a large 4 bedroom house and have always struggle for good WiFi coverage around the house. I currently have a Netgear D6200 but that struggles to cover the kitchen and 2 bedrooms, the rooms it does an OK job of reaching the speed isn't ideal. It is also starting to struggle with the number of devices connected to it (can be upwards of 15 devices and is likely to get bigger). House is roughly 66m2 (710sqft) ground floor and the same on the first floor.

I am very limited to where the router can go, combination of where my PC is, the wife and telephone line access points. The office is movable but the router will always end up a far corner of the house. Trailing cables is a no go due to lack of wife approval and the toddler.



What it needs to do:

1. Have a very long range (whether this is achieved through mesh or just a single powerful router)

2. Something that will last me years (WiFi 6?)

3. I plan to be wirelessly streaming games from my PC to the Quest 2

4. Can handle 20+ devices



Budget? This I don't really have, the cheaper the better (obviously). I understand that some solutions can cost a few hundred pounds and am prepared for that, sort of.



Grateful for any help and look forward to getting this sorted ASAP.

 

[ChrisD.]

The issue with routers connected where the ISP line terminates is that they are seldom in a central location. If you bought an Access Point (AP) and wired it to the centre of the house preferably on the top floor this would alleviate most wireless issues you might be facing depending where the current router (which provides wifi) is located. Without knowing your exact layout it's difficult to judge but you may find a single well placed AP would be a good start.

Wifi devices are governed by standards and largely perform the same due to these limitations so there is no 'powerful all in one' solution I'm afraid.

 

[Orcvader]

I don't think a router will be the correct fix for your situation. As above, if you can lay down some cables, adding access points in the right areas will help with coverage, but since that doesn't seem to be an option either I would highly consider checking out mesh options. I moved to a TP-Link deco setup couple months back, one slave using ethernet backhaul and another using the wifi backhaul, and my home now has full seemless coverage. The Deco X60 however had some issues as a router so I set the entire mesh system in access point mode and continued using my AC86U as a router.

 

[Ergates]

1. Have a very long range (whether this is achieved through mesh or just a single powerful router)

There are legal maximum power outputs for a single device, so increasing coverage is going to be a matter of adding devices (mesh, repeaters, wired APs etc).

 

[tmcolville]

Update: Bought a single Asus ZenWiFi AX (XT8) with the idea of adding an addition one pending how a single one does. The single one might just cut it, Did some testing and getting very good connect speeds where previously I was struggling to get a connection.

Now for the "living with it" test. 24h in I did notice a random drop out walking between two rooms (where previously connection were difficult), I have been unable to replicate this since. I have noticed the single does take a massive dip when stood in front of the whiskey cabinet (router the other side of the house). Guess I need to make a significant dent into the collection to improve the signal........