Recently upgraded to 1Gb Fibre, what mesh system?

Gangster

Gangster

Gangster

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Hi all,

I've tried to look myself but have gotten myself a bit confused. The prices between some of these is massive and I don't know what to pick.

At the moment I have Linksys Velop AC2200 (2 nodes) - they are giving me WiFi but not at the good speeds I expect. I believe on my iPhone 14 I should be able to get speeds of at least 400Mb and I regularly get 90-150 instead (even if directly on top of the node, of which one is plugged into the ethernet). When I do a speed test on the linksys app it shows 950/950 - so the nodes are getting the speed... just not delivering it.

The actual router itself on the 5ghz band delivers 480/480 from the exact same position (the linksys I get 90-150). I can't seem to split the bands on the linksys nodes (within the app anyway).

I guess my question is, are these nodes capable in theoretical terms of providing me what I need? If not, what to I need? I'm seeing some systems at £1,200 - I haven't got the money/can justify such an amount to 'make sure' I get what I am paying for if that makes sense so I am trying to find a happy medium.

Could anyone shed some light on what the best thing to do might be? I'm trying to isolate what it could be, so I'm not talking range here just even ontop of it isn't able to get me the speeds.

I also have BT Wifi Discs that I stopped using because one of them died on me and gave me Arcadyan as the new wifi name and I've read that means its bricked (it just turned off one day). Even they aren't giving me good speeds (similiar to this). Its not the Premium ones, its the standard (bought them around 2019).

Thanks for any help you can give.
 
1. Yes, that system can theoretically move data at 433Mbps (867Mbps simplex link plus dedicated 867Mbps simplex backhaul). In reality you’re very unlikely to see that speed because of environmental conditions and interference from other systems. Even with wired backhaul you’re still limited by that 2x2 AC connection giving 867Mbps simplex or 433Mbps duplex which is probably 250-350 !bps real world maximum speed.

2. If you have wired backhaul then I would try a cabled access point, as high and central as you can get it. A UniFi U6-Mesh (don’t get confused by the confusing name) is under £200 and doesn’t need to be fixed to the ceiling. You can then add extra UniFi U6-Mesh access points in mesh mode to extend coverage as required.
 
And if you have multiple mesh systems running eg. The BT system is still switched on, switch that off as interference can be significant.
 
It also depends on what access point your phone is connected to (not that you need 400mbps on a phone mind).

If the phone connected to the mesh node and has reasonable strength, it probably will not jump to the main node. The speed it gets off the mesh node will be half that of the main node so 90-150mb is not abnormal.

To get good speeds off WiFi, your access points need to be hard wired back to the router or main node.

Most WiFi systems will give you the same results if they are set up in the same way, they are all working within the same framework and limitations. To get better results, the access points need more antennas/radios (E.g. a 4x4 access point over a 2x2 or a 3x3) to improve the interlink speed or a wired backhaul. Wired is best and the only way to get the full speed out of multiple access points.

As @WJA96 said, turn off the BT wifi if it’s still running. In fact you shouldn’t need it at all on FTTP and the Linksys can plug directly into the ONT if it isn’t already.

That brings me back to the first point, what are you doing on your phone where you are needing that kind of bandwidth? If you are stuck with WiFi and can’t hardwire anything in, ditch the 900mb internet and drop back to 500or less, waste of money IMO as you’ll never see it on a normal WiFi set up.
 
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For what it's worth those BT discs have a three-year warranty, you might be outside that period now though. If not then it's at least worth getting them fixed up and selling.
 
I wouldn’t get a mesh system with Gb broadband. Kinda defeats the point having Gb

The best I’ve had out of a mesh system is 500 Mb on the second node, 650 on the first.


I would really invest in 2x APs connected via Ethernet. Don’t know if there are any Ubiquiti 6E APs yet but that’ll be your best bet at reaching as close to 900 Mb as you’ll get.


In addition, I have always found mesh systems to interfere with any smart devices or wireless music systems.
 
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Plenty of Mesh that'll do 1Gb, just not cheap ones generally. I have cheapo ones with wired backhaul that do 900+
 
I messed around with mesh options, I had a BT Complete Wi-Fi disc as I used to be a triallist for their kit, and it did a decent job of repeating the signal from the Smart Hub if it was put in the right place. Increasing demands on the network as we entered the first COVID lockdown and the need to upgrade the old 1980s coaxial cable in the wall down to the living room TV saw me pull a Cat6 in alongside it, and I've not looked back since. I now have a relatively cheap TP Link Deco X20 system running in a Wi-Fi only mode but all are wired, and I wouldn't do anything else. There's so many random errors that pop up with trying to do wireless links, if you can run a cable then always run a cable.
 
sandys said:
Plenty of Mesh that'll do 1Gb, just not cheap ones generally. I have cheapo ones with wired backhaul that do 900+
Click to expand...

That’s not really a ‘mesh’ in the way a normal person would describe it. When someone refers to a mesh what they generally mean is WiFi connection between the nodes and no cables.

There aren’t really any consumer grade devices that have a second radio and antennas to do backhaul duties. Those that do cost £££.

Having all your access points wired up completely changes the game and all the pitfalls I and other describe with a ‘mesh’ system disappear.
 
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all comes down to what your goals are, mine aren't all wired, just where I want absolute wifi speed but I had read the post as the OP having wired his units, I may have got that wrong, having wired backhaul doesn't stop it being mesh, it still allows you to change any security or guest info on the main router and it propagates to all nodes etc as they are linked.

Yup wifi backhaul channel does mean you are typically looking at ~300 a node.

Tplink might buck the trend on price with the x95 and xe75 pro out next month it'd be worth seeing how they perform with a stronger second channel than the x90.
 
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If you want 1Gb (110MB/s ~) over wireless, you will be looking at WiFi 6E. However, the downside about 6E is that 6Ghz doesn't go through walls too well the other issue is it will need 2.5GbE backhauls.

Ive been replacing my U6 devices with the Enterprise units at the moment but they are not cheap as they are over £300 and they also seem to use quiet a bit more power than the U6-Mesh/Pro (6w~ vs 10-12w~)

If you want to go down the UniFi route you would be looking at the U6-Enterprise / U6-Enterprise-IW (In EA at the mo) and then a 2.5GbE switch (USW-Enterprise-8-PoE, USW-Enterprise-24-PoE or USW-Enterprise-48-PoE)
 
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I‘ve got a Linksys mesh system - all connected via Ethernet. I have 3 nodes. One in that attic, one in the garage with outdoor rated 6E for my lights outside and one above my bedroom.

At first it was a nightmare with all the homekit stuff but it seems to be stable now. I get 900/940 on the app and web interface for the routers and hardwired PC. My iphone 14 pro and iPad m1 generally get around 700mb all over the house and i have nothing on display it’s all going through the insulation and plasterboard/wood. I’m pretty pleased with that and can’t complain. That set up was just shy of £600. I would have went the 6E route but couldn’t justify the cost with the additional 2.5GbE switches. I’ve got the lot of them tracked on CCC So if they do come down to a reasonable price i may just bite the bullet and upgrade my entire set up. I’ve got a homepod hidden in the attic for HomeKit stuff But I’m not sure if i can still use all the stuff without having a Linksys home kit enabled router.

Otherwise I’d go down the route of Cisco 6 AP throughout.
 
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WJA96 said:
2. If you have wired backhaul then I would try a cabled access point, as high and central as you can get it. A UniFi U6-Mesh (don’t get confused by the confusing name) is under £200 and doesn’t need to be fixed to the ceiling. You can then add extra UniFi U6-Mesh access points in mesh mode to extend coverage as required.
Click to expand...

Would the U6-Mesh work in the corner of a house on the ground floor plugged directly into the router? The house is ~183sqm over 2 floors so I assume I'd need 2 of them, and there's zero chance of cabling the second one.
 
thewanted said:
Would the U6-Mesh work in the corner of a house on the ground floor plugged directly into the router? The house is ~183sqm over 2 floors so I assume I'd need 2 of them, and there's zero chance of cabling the second one.
Click to expand...
It’s very hard to tell. But if any other mesh system works I can’t see why not.
 
I use a lot of unifi at work, but for my home I tried the Amazon Eeros and they have been absolutely flawless for 2 years now.

I get 450 (only got the cheap ones) wireless speeds, anything that needs more than this is hard wired.

You can get them often on offer at the rainforest.
 
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