Anyone got Mesh Wifi at home?

[d000hg]

I asked about getting a better router a few months back to replace my HomeHub, and IIRC mesh wifi got scathing comments. Reading around today I'm seeing some really good reviews of products like Google Wifi and wondered if anyone has it and it relieves the nightmare of multiple access-points and devices that won't switch AP when they should?

I'm trying to work out if my existing router gets subsumed into the mesh (some/most don't seem to have modems built in) or ends up just being used as a modem. Any reviews or knowledge welcome.

I've read reviews of Google WiFi and the BT WholeHome so far. Niether apparently uses your router as a hotspot which seems a shame if you spent money on it.
I'm wondering if you can combine them with powerline to extend your mesh to garage/etc over ethernet which would be neat... I just have a separate WiFi which is fine but "just works Wifi" would be lovely.

Presumably these units are not compatible with other brands, or are they, since they follow some standard?

[Hobosapien]

I think Mesh is designed for providing coverage over several dead spots and is a bit pricey if you don't need that level of solution.

Rather than start from scratch I've added homeplugs to extend the wired network from the ISP supplied hub/router, and added a wifi extender so I can get wifi at the opposite side of the house than the router that is next to the telephone master socket. My place isn't massive or built with thick walls so this simple solutions works for me.

The wifi extender is a BT one that is pretty much plug and play, just give it the wifi access credentials and it repeats the signal. No separate wifi access point credentials to set up on the devices connecting to it. It has indicators for when the device is considered at optional placement (not too close to source or too far away, to ensure good signal being picked up). Cost about 30 notes if I remember right.

There are many similar products and alternatives with tech reviews to decide whether they fit your needs and price pain point.

[original PM]

I think Mesh is designed for providing coverage over several dead spots and is a bit pricey if you don't need that level of solution.

Rather than start from scratch I've added homeplugs to extend the wired network from the ISP supplied hub/router, and added a wifi extender so I can get wifi at the opposite side of the house than the router that is next to the telephone master socket. My place isn't massive or built with thick walls so this simple solutions works for me.

The wifi extender is a BT one that is pretty much plug and play, just give it the wifi access credentials and it repeats the signal. No separate wifi access point credentials to set up on the devices connecting to it. It has indicators for when the device is considered at optional placement (not too close to source or too far away, to ensure good signal being picked up). Cost about 30 notes if I remember right.

There are many similar products and alternatives with tech reviews to decide whether they fit your needs and price pain point.

I thought about doing it this way - but do you not just end up with 2 (or more) different networks with the same name and password?

The problem is that for whatever reason devices seem to want to cling to the network they were on even when it is nearly out of range and there is a much stronger one they can access.

So having all the networks the same confuses the wife n kids as they say they are 'connected to wifi' but it is not working

so I had to set up different ones and tell them which one to use based on where they were in the house...

[sal]

I think Mesh is designed for providing coverage over several dead spots and is a bit pricey if you don't need that level of solution.

It's much more than simply covering dead spots, you can do that with homeplugs and wifi extenders like you did.

Here is some explanation on what it actually does with pictures:

https://blog.amplifi.com/2016/09/15/...sh-technology/

It's not that pricey and if it can save you the headache of constantly having to reset home plugs and wifi extenders - well worth it.

Everything is wifi connected these days and it will only get more and more congested in the future. Investing in a strong and stable (see what I did there) WiFi infrastructure for your home is money well spent.

Edit:

Forgot to add to the main topic - I do have sorta mesh in terms that I only bought the AmplifiHD router reserving the option to add APs if and when needed. Turned out it can fully cover my flat (~1000ft2) on it's own and I never had to add APs to it

[b0redom]

I had the same issue as OP. I have a 3 storey house (loft conversion) and a garden office, and I was trying to get a Draytek router and 2 draytek access points to work, and the experience was just rubbish. I replaced it with a 3 discs BT Wholehome Wifi setup and have excellent coverage all over the house and office now.

The discs have a single LAN port, so you can use Ethernet to backhaul to your router if you want a bit more performance.

I definitely would recommend them. The best thing for me is that I can wander around the whole house now without it dropping my SSH/Slack/Google Hangout sessions - I just automagically migrate from disc to disc. The config app is pretty basic, but does everything you'd probably need it to.

Any questions fire away....

[TheFaQQer]

Linksys Velop here. Had some issues with setup but once it was all done it does the trick.

[d000hg]

Rather than start from scratch I've added homeplugs to extend the wired network from the ISP supplied hub/router, and added a wifi extender so I can get wifi at the opposite side of the house than the router that is next to the telephone master socket. My place isn't massive or built with thick walls so this simple solutions works for me.

I'm surprised you didn't get homeplugs with wireless AP built in - I have a couple of these (also have wired ports) and they're very useful for this way of doing things.

I thought about doing it this way - but do you not just end up with 2 (or more) different networks with the same name and password?

The problem is that for whatever reason devices seem to want to cling to the network they were on even when it is nearly out of range and there is a much stronger one they can access.

This is the one drawback. Devices do NOT want to pick the best WiFi and even if they do switch you get a short transition, which can be annoying. I've seen Android apps to auto-switch since Android doesn't (I saw a blog saying Android supported it but it was commented out!) but haven't tried.
My recommendation in this scenario is to NOT give every AP the same SSID, since you have to manually switch you might as well name them so people can figure the best one to pick.

It's much more than simply covering dead spots, you can do that with homeplugs and wifi extenders like you did.

It's not that pricey and if it can save you the headache of constantly having to reset home plugs and wifi extenders - well worth it.

It seems to me the ONLY thing you gain is seamless WiFi. And it IS that pricey. £100 minimum per hotspot for N hotspots plus a router/modem when a simple AP is £20-30 and you still get to use your router so you need N-1 extenders.
I'm not sure if the mesh tech is that much more complex or it's just pricey 'cos it's new.

I had the same issue as OP. I have a 3 storey house (loft conversion) and a garden office, and I was trying to get a Draytek router and 2 draytek access points to work, and the experience was just rubbish. I replaced it with a 3 discs BT Wholehome Wifi setup and have excellent coverage all over the house and office now.

The discs have a single LAN port, so you can use Ethernet to backhaul to your router if you want a bit more performance.

I definitely would recommend them. The best thing for me is that I can wander around the whole house now without it dropping my SSH/Slack/Google Hangout sessions - I just automagically migrate from disc to disc. The config app is pretty basic, but does everything you'd probably need it to.

Any questions fire away....

Yeah I love the idea but can't see if I can justify the cost just for saving me 5s if I want to play chess on the bog which is covered by the extender

I've seen at least one setup lets you chain devices with ethernet to cover bigger distances e.g. house<-->garden, I wonder if powerline/homeplug (are these the same?) can do this too.

You said you're got 3 discs and presumably turned WiFi off on your original router, is that one per floor or what? How big is your house and how far away is the garden office? I'm a bit dubious the range of a single disc compared to a regular router... a decent router will cover most but not all my house.

[Lance]

from what I can tell 'mesh' is purely a marketing term for multiple access points, with the same SSID and linked together.

In the old days you'd get multiple Cisco APs setup identically (except IP/hostname), all wired to the same VLAN and spread them round the building.
Later Cisco APs, with 2 radios, could be used with one radio linked to the nearest other AP as a bridge, and the 2nd radio doing SSID. This 'mesh' appears to be the same as that.
The device switching from one AP to another is not (or certainly wasn't) a function of the AP, rather it was the wireless NIC driver that determined.
So for those trying to build this manually without expensive 'mesh enabled' devices try putting the APs closer so that the overlap is greater that way it should switch to the other AP while the weaker AP is still strong enough. Expect maybe 150-200ms dropout and TCP connections will carry on without dropping.

[TheFaQQer]

My recommendation in this scenario is to NOT give every AP the same SSID, since you have to manually switch you might as well name them so people can figure the best one to pick.

If you have wireless devices like a printer you'll need to make sure you're on the same network before accessing it though, which can be an issue (particularly for children).

[northernladuk]

If you have wireless devices like a printer you'll need to make sure you're on the same network before accessing it though, which can be an issue (particularly for children).

This is true but some of them, particularly newer printers have wifi direct so can connect to just that device.