Revision [7819]
This is an old revision of WifiMeshRouting made by ZorrUno on 2022-02-21 21:33:22.
Mesh Routing for Wifi
Standard Wifi Routers
Standard, single router wifi is no-longer practical- Houses are too big
- people have too many wifi devices
- speeds for streaming media etc are a limiting factor
- signal dropouts are noticeable on connections like zoom calls
Wifi Repeaters
Wireless repeaters really can make matters worse. A typical repeater uses the wireless router's capacity in the same way as anything else that connects to the wireless network. It is not a standalone access point. The signal is not actually boosted or amplified, it is repeated (hence the name repeater).A repeater can help, but only if placed in a specific location with sufficient coverage, otherwise it can actively help make your entire Wi-Fi network worse.
Mesh Routers
With mesh routers - you get multiple, and place them around the house. The more the better, and when you move between them it is seamless. They are usually small and not too obtrusive. You can wire them together (better) but that involves cables in walls. Otherwise they just talk between themselves over wifi.Some have a separate channel (backbone) and this is a bonus for smooth communications between them (if you can't hardwire them). Not critical though.
If you want more, you probably need to know a product won't be discontinued in the future (although most TP Link models seem to work together - not sure about other brands)
Product options - Feb 2022
this set seems incredibly cheap (but don't know much about brand) - seems to be fine on specs. Get 2 packs for that price, or even 3 with a bigger house - i.e. 4 or 6 routers. $129 for a 2 packhttps://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/NETMES351302/Mercusys-Halo-H30G-AC1300-Whole-Home-Mesh-Wi-Fi-Sy
TP Links are pretty good (I have earlier versions of these) $179 for a 2 pack
https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/NETTPL9404/TP-Link-Deco-E4-Whole-Home-Mesh-Wi-Fi-System---2-P
- There is a more expensive M4 version, which is only better if you plan to hard wire them together as they have Gbit network ports on them