Best Router and Mesh System?

[Vandle]

Hi all,

Currently in the process of getting fibre installed and really want to beef up the wifi signal everywhere at home. House is 15m x 7m but over three floors. Middle of the house and the stairs is sort of an open atrium so signal wont be boxed in as such. Modem point is in the living room at the front of the ground floor. Down there is a smart Tv used occasionally and an xbox that gathers dust. Middle floor is my office (I run a business from home) plus the bedrooms but no TV. Top floor has my main smart tv with the streaming apps plus my PS5 and Xbox and this is where we spend most of the time at weekends and evenings. I game online quite a bit. Current set up has modem in the middle floor and a set of three of the old style orbi mesh system. One plugged directly into the modem, one downstairs in the living room and one up top in the main room. All devices apart from a single sonos speaker are connected via wifi.
There is a noticeable drop in bandwidth when the PS or Xbox are downloading. I have gampass plus the existing games seem to need an update all the time so this is quite often the case.

Due to how the place is wired I cant utilise existing for the fibre - hence why new modem is going on the ground floor, new cables going in from the street. We had the entire place renovated two years ago and I naively didn't think about wiring in some data cables. Doing that now is an absolute non starter.

I want to get a new modem / router and a new mesh or networking system as the orbi is a few years old now and I'm not convinced on it's strength anyway. Feels a bit flakey at times. Due to how our tax rules work the new networking gear is a legit business expense so I can pay for it with income I haven't yet paid tax on and get the VAT back. Bonus. Therefore cost isn't really issue but I don't want to spend thousands needlessly. The orbi is also a bit confusing as it broadcasts 2.4 and 5. The router supplied by my provider (who I am happy with) does the same. So home network looks like this. Sometimes devices connect to either the guest or 5893 account which in itself isn't much of a problem but I run a Sonos system through the house some sometimes won't connect unless it's on the Orbi 99 so would also like to eliminate that and just have a single system.



I've been looking at the Nighthawk routers because they look so cool but are they worth the money? Offering ping improvements of up to 93%..
However one review of one of the cheaper ones reads:
"Great modem, but would be nice if netgear actually put a DSL port on this so customers with a FTTN connection could plug in without having to use another modem to piggy back off"
I'd like to avoid that.

Dlink Smart Mesh AX5400 is reviewing very well on my local retailers website. Has voice and Alexa control plus strong parental controls but I don't need any of that.
Two of us in the house, no kids. Usual phones, laptops and ipads connected. Mesh system will be on view so ideally needs to look good too and not be too difficult to get going as this is not one of my strong skills!

Any pointers or advice appreciated. Thanks!

 

[GregI]

Some stuff isn't that clear but I've tried to cover the main points:

1: When you say fibre are we talking actual fibre or the half baked? I know you mentioned FTTN (half baked) but I want to make sure you aren't getting pure fibre as it changes a lot. If you are getting full fibre then the point about an included modem is mute since the thing they install will be the modem.

2: If the orbi system isn't cutting it then no other mesh will, it's generally regarded as the best implementation of mesh (and that's reflected in the price). Judging by what you said and I might be interpreting it wrong but you have both wifi on the orbi and your modem/router active. That's always going to make wifi struggle and congested. Turn the wifi on your modem/router off so only the Orbi is active and that should fix all your problems. Won't have to buy anything. If it's still somehow bad then play around with positioning of the units.

3: The 2.4 and 5 separation might feel like a curse but it's the best possible thing. These "smart" implementations of having a single SSID depending on device can be weird where they try to push the device onto the other band. If that device only supports 2.4 Ghz it can lead to connectivity problems. Separate SSID is always better.

 

[WJA96]

Some stuff isn't that clear but I've tried to cover the main points:

1: When you say fibre are we talking actual fibre or the half baked? I know you mentioned FTTN (half baked) but I want to make sure you aren't getting pure fibre as it changes a lot. If you are getting full fibre then the point about an included modem is mute since the thing they install will be the modem.

2: If the orbi system isn't cutting it then no other mesh will, it's generally regarded as the best implementation of mesh (and that's reflected in the price). Judging by what you said and I might be interpreting it wrong but you have both wifi on the orbi and your modem/router active. That's always going to make wifi struggle and congested. Turn the wifi on your modem/router off so only the Orbi is active and that should fix all your problems. Won't have to buy anything. If it's still somehow bad then play around with positioning of the units.

3: The 2.4 and 5 separation might feel like a curse but it's the best possible thing. These "smart" implementations of having a single SSID depending on device can be weird where they try to push the device onto the other band. If that device only supports 2.4 Ghz it can lead to connectivity problems. Separate SSID is always better.

Pretty much bang on the money. Orbi is about as good as it gets in mesh. If you want PROPER network performance then run cables, install access points (not meshed) and then you’ll always have the best possible line speeds and coverage.

 

[Vandle]

Thanks for the reply
It's fiber to the curb they call it. https://www.nbnco.com.au/learn/netw...ned-fttc#accordion-362eee0293-item-13e04cd0a2
There's a pit right outside my house they connect it to. They have already put the box on the wall on the front of the house ready to connect. My existing phone lines aren't ducted, they must have just laid them between the bricks of the adjoining house hence if they were to be pulled out there is no way to replace them. Got a new conduit installed today though ready to go.

My current router / modem is the one they gave me when I signed up. We have what they call the NBN here - national broadband network (government run ). Im going for the 1000/50 plan here https://assets.aussiebroadband.com.au/web/assets/legal/cis/abb-resi-higher-nbn-cis.pdf

I have turned down this they offered me as I think there is likely better for not much more money.


Current set up is like this, white box "belongs" to the house and not me. Every household has one. Cable comes from the phone point to the white box then I connect the modem to it with an ethernet cable. Another ethernet cable connects to the Orbi master which in turn feeds the two satellites wirelessly. Everything else in the house connects to the Orbi network - mostly. Iphone and ipad often drop to the signal the modem is putting out.


Does that make more sense?

I don't know why I can't just connect the Orbi directly to the NBN box.

 

[GregI]

Ok I could be completely wrong here and you will know more than me for your situation and ISP but I think you are putting more steps than you need. The box on the right is owned by the house as you say but this is also the actual modem. From that link you posted:

Unless I missed something Aussie Broadband is DHCP so you should just be able to plug the nbn box into the orbi's wan port. Also stated here around 40 seconds that the nbn box acts as a modem for fttc: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsyF2WyH7Qs

Just make sure you put the orbi into router mode. The netcommwireless box in your photo would not be a part of your system and switched off.

 

[Vandle]

Ok I could be completely wrong here and you will know more than me for your situation and ISP but I think you are putting more steps than you need. The box on the right is owned by the house as you say but this is also the actual modem. From that link you posted:



Unless I missed something Aussie Broadband is DHCP so you should just be able to plug the nbn box into the orbi's wan port. Also stated here around 40 seconds that the nbn box acts as a modem for fttc: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsyF2WyH7Qs

Just make sure you put the orbi into router mode. The netcommwireless box in your photo would not be a part of your system and switched off.

I didn't realise I could do this! Will give it a go. I have never actually accessed the Orbi system other than just plugging it in. Didn't even realise you could. Will give it a go tonight.

How do I configure my Orbi router to act as an access point?

Configuring your Orbi router as an access point allows you to use your Orbi router’s WiFi instead of the WiFi on your existing router.

kb.netgear.com

Thanks so much. Appreciate the help

In my crude diagram below where the dashed line is wireless, the left is how we are currently set up. I believe my master Orbi broadcasts the signal to the two satellites up and down and they then re-create a network for the devices. Is that how it works?
On the right side is the new set up once they come and put the new cables in. Can the system work like that? Like a chain? Or will the signal still come from the main downstairs? If that's the case then the one on the top wont be any stronger than the one in the middle therefore redundant. Or am I completely way off the mark?

 

[GregI]

That Netgear link for access point mode would be if you were setting it up connected to another router (e.g. your old setup). With what I proposed you would not do this since you need something to act as the router and give out IP addreses via DHCP etc. The Orbi should be in router mode (which what I think would basically be default mode).

You're not miles off with how it would work and each mesh system handles that differently. Honestly if I was you I would first try this:

Now I know that might look counter productive but it completely eliminates the guess work and if the orbi does indeed do node 3 > node 2 > node 1 for data transmission that's going to half your speed again (speeds will half when going through each additional node due to the half duplex nature of wifi).

Since the orbi will be solely projecting wireless now it should be free from congestion and stretch its legs fully. In my limited experience I also have a 3 storey house and fortunate that the internet comes in on the middle floor. One good centrally located router can do wonders. That's why I think the 2 node orbi could be bang on the money. Less is more as they say.

Ideally you would want to get the internet again installed on middle floor for this reason but I realise this is not always possible.

 

[Vandle]

Yep. Got it.

Will give it a go and see the results.

Cant go back to wired on the mid floor. Wish I had have thought about all this when we renovated. Oh well.

Thanks again for the help.