Talk to me about some simple Mesh stuff and WiFi coverage

LePhuronn

LePhuronn

LePhuronn

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Joined
26 Sep 2010
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Location
Stoke-on-Trent
Greeting to all

Moving into a new house very soon and wanted some advice and pointers to getting some decent coverage for WiFi. House is a standard mid 70s 2-floor terraced affair and plenty spacious downstairs after some remodelling, so don't have crazy thick walls or weird materials going on. Will be staying with Lilaconnect for 1gig fibre and the supplied Zyxel router (EX3301-T0) is surprisingly solid, just the WiFi range is poor. The majority of the networking will be wired with the router placed as central to the house as I can. So really it's just about getting decent coverage for the phones and tablets.

I don't really need the latest and greatest stuff; the Zyxel router and all the phones and such are only 2.4Ghz and 5GHz capable right now, but of course not accounting for future purchases with WiFi 6, 7 and onwards is short-sighted. I think the Zyxel is WiFi 6 capable.

So what would be looking at here? I think the Zyxel can be used as a mesh controller so would I just need a couple of satellites and the Zyxel does the job? Or would I need to get a full kit?

Pointers and suggestions appreciated, no idea of budget but would rather not spend silly money on something overkill just so the other half's tablet doesn't bomb out mid video like we have right now :P

Cheers!
 
Last edited:
Right OK

I'll probably only need 2 APs, does it make a difference if I connect them to the network switch or to the router? Or mix and match?
 
Cheers both. I didn't think it would make a difference where the APs would plug in, especially given the Zyxel router seems solid in what it's built to do, but it's always worth a check. My overall computing knowledge has taken a real hit this past decade for some reason, so gotta ask the questions!

I'll go have a hunt around for some non-expensive APs and get a feel. Any specific recommendations beyond those Orcvader has already given?
 
Yeah, the WiFi is for the phones, tablets, and my laptop that flitters about the place. Don't necessarily want to cheap out now and have to significantly upgrade later, but don't need to go bananas for kit I'll never benefit from.

Cheers all, at least the topology of everything is clearer in my head now.
 
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