Mesh or different router

ade555

ade555

ade555

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I need help trying to figure out the best solution for my problem, we have fiber broadband coming in house and is located in downstairs hallway, modem placed there then connects to ISP router which is there is well, recently had house electrics rewire so allowed me to run some network cables upstairs so main PC which is located upstairs is on LAN but in the same room my phone or any other devices hardly get any wifi signal, I can't move the router downstairs any more to get more signal in the top front rooms so looking for solution, I do have another router from same ISP could I use this as access point of some sort or somehow extend the signal? or should I be looking in to mesh? We only have problem with top front rooms so looking to place upstairs to help the signal

Main Router, nothing fancy from ISP

Zyxel XMG3927-B50A​


it does have something called MPro Mesh would this allow me to connect to another router or just some kind of mesh device
(Use this screen to enable or disable MPro Mesh for wireless devices. MPro Mesh allows you to create a Mesh network using wireless devices designed by different vendors.)
 
Mesh would be ideal. You can use the ethernet cable as the backhaul - so will be really quick. Replace your zyxel with one, and put another upstairs before your PC (plug the ethernet cable in one port, and your PC in the other).

From personal experience, I'd recommend a set of Deco M5s. Cheap and effective, plus you get all the parental controls, firewalls etc that you now have to pay as a subscription for with the newer TPLink products.

The 'downside' of M5s is they use the same wifi antenna to do backhaul that they do to communicate with each other. If you're using ethernet, that's irrelevant - they've got gigabit ports built in.
 
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Bug One said:
Mesh would be ideal. You can use the ethernet cable as the backhaul - so will be really quick. Replace your zyxel with one, and put another upstairs before your PC (plug the ethernet cable in one port, and your PC in the other).

From personal experience, I'd recommend a set of Deco M5s. Cheap and effective, plus you get all the parental controls, firewalls etc that you now have to pay as a subscription for with the newer TPLink products.

The 'downside' of M5s is they use the same wifi antenna to do backhaul that they do to communicate with each other. If you're using ethernet, that's irrelevant - they've got gigabit ports built in.
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Thanks Bug One, is there something that uses separate antennas?
I was actually looking at the TP link P9, P9 claiming using powerlines to connect if I'm reading correctly? if they do I do have a shed at the back of house that could benefit with wifi.
 
Stick a decent Access Point upstairs on the ceiling in a central part of the house. Unless you have a massive house, you'll have whole home coverage and no issues.
 
ChrisD. said:
Stick a decent Access Point upstairs on the ceiling in a central part of the house. Unless you have a massive house, you'll have whole home coverage and no issues.
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any recommendation for one? could you comment on if wifi devices will automatically switched to the stronger signal? problem with signal is we talking here 6-9 feet, walk out the room and is fine, go back and there is a problem, is not a huge house old semi detach with solid walls
 
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ade555 said:
any recommendation for one? could you comment of if wifi devices will automatically switched to the stronger signal? problem with signal is we talking here 6-9 feet, walk out the room and is fine, go back and there is a problem, is not a huge house old semi detach with solid walls
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What kind of devices do you have, ie, number of IOT and do you have many WiFi 6 clients? And your budget?

You'd disable WiFi on your main router, and just use the access point as a single device for coverage.
 
ChrisD. said:
What kind of devices do you have, ie, number of IOT and do you have many WiFi 6 clients? And your budget?

You'd disable WiFi on your main router, and just use the access point as a single device for coverage.
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So Downstairs, Oled TV and macbook m1 on Wifi, upstairs two Tv over wifi that stream 4k content, main PC on Lan another macbook M1 and 3x Iphone (11 and 12), not sure which would be wifi 6 clients if any

Budget could I get something for £150-£200?
 
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I mean WiFi 6 is great, but you can get well over 500 Mbps on 5.

Look at UniFi Access Points, perhaps the nanoHD as an example or they also have WiFi 6 devices. You'll need a PoE switch, or use the injector if it comes with one and the controller app on your phone.
 
Ok I see what you mean by wifi 6, been honest our usage wifi 5 is more then enough, nanoHD comes with injector included but question is will have FTTP modem the router with disabled wifi then what where will connect to?
 
What is the benefits of having the single access point like nanoHD vs mesh, if I was to get tp link P9 that would replace my router anyway, then network cable which is already in place from downstairs to upstairs and can be placed where the PC is? Surely this will offer enough wifi coverage, the devices will be connected to each other via network cable and not wifi so would this effect how effective they are? Sorry if I'm asking silly question but use to single device and never had a problem but had a smaller house.
 
With Mesh units, they're all identical devices - however you designate one (in the setup software) as acting as the master. All the others will work as 'slaves'. They will create a seamless network, so as far as your end device knows, it's just connected to 'MyWifi', and you can walk around the house seamlessly connecting from access point to the other without ever noticeably dropping connection. So, their main benefit over a more traditional access point is this seamless transitioning.

The P9's specifically have 3 potential ways of communicating with each other. Ethernet, Wifi and Powerline (hence the 'P'). If you plug in an ethernet cable, that will supersede the other methods and just use that. If it's not connected via ethernet, it can use a combination of powerline and wifi to maximise throughput.

Your primary two deco's (by the router and by your PC) - if they can be connected via ethernet would run as fast as an AC1300 wifi signal can deliver the data. If you want to also add another deco in the shed, then powerline 'may' work. However powerline can be a bit temperamental and over a long run like to a shed, you might have connection issues.

Personally, I have a mix of M5's and P7's, mostly because I much prefer the design of them - they're much smaller devices and I have them all mounted directly onto plug sockets. I use the P7's to get a signal into my garage. Data rate over powerline is a lot slower than ethernet. I get around 70mbs on the deco connected via powerline compared to 700mps at the master deco unit.
 
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Bug One said:
You're right. Mesh is a waste of time. I've no idea why all these companies spent so much time investing in it - when people could have just carried on using normal access points.
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Thanks for elaborating on your incorrect statement.
 
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ChrisD. said:
With 6E the range is much lower.
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Can I be really picky (because your statement is correct)?

The challenge with 6E is its ability to penetrate walls/floors/ceilings. In open space the coverage is neariy as good as WiFi5 5GHz and it’s only when it encounters a wall, floor or ceiling that it just stops dead pretty much. So in a domestic property WiFi6E gives poor coverage outside of the room it’s in and in an office or large open plan dwelling it’s almost as good as anything else for coverage.
 
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WJA96 said:
If that was me (and it probably was) then they’re big rooms in massive houses and I turn the transmit power right down.
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Wasn't a criticism mate. I go over the top and probably need reigning in, Otherwise I would have AP's in every room..
Probably already OTT with
U6-Mesh in the Lounge
AC pro in the kitchen/Diner
AC HD on the landing
AC Pro in the Garden

But with all that. My Ring doorbell still complains about lack of WIFI...
 
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