[JonathanB]

We upgraded from ADSL to FTTC a while ago and have been using the supplied PlusNet router (sadly the one that @stevelup kindly donated doesn't work with fibre). I have intermittent problems with wifi reception particularly at the front of the house (the router is at the back).

Has anyone got a Mesh Wifi router solution that they would recommend? I don't want to go down the extender and separate wifi networks route of old!

[KingJames]

Following this as have a similar challenge. Thick old walls.

I have been repeatedly looking at this - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07 ... 1OLE&psc=1

Some of the reviews are good, others are not so. The key limitation though appears that the wifi network and the wired networks are not truely the same (which I find odd) i.e. devices wired cannot see the devices on wireless and vice versa which limits the printers and computer being wired in the study and wireless devices round the house. If true it would be a fairly big miss for one of the requirements.

[rikur_]

Not quite answering the question, but at home I just have three identical cheap wireless access points (all ethernet), with identical settings, on channels 1, 6, and 11. I was warned that this wouldn't work and would have hand-off issues between access points, and this works perfectly (with MacOS, iOS, Android, Windows, IoT). I had the advantage of already having cat5e flood wiring to connect them to. I switched off 5G as we had too many 5G blackspots, and the hand-off between 2.4G and 5G wasn't seamless. But being rural, there isn't any 2.4G congestion to worry about.

[Flyin'Dutch']

What is Mesh Wifi?

[rikur_]

What is Mesh Wifi?

The terminology gets used 'flexibly'...
In the domestic context it usually means multiple wireless access points covering a house with the same SSID which also use wireless connectivity between them. Typically you plug one of them into an ethernet port of your router, and scatter the other one/two further away in the house - they connect wireless back to the master one, and collectively try to provide 'whole house' wifi coverage. Better ones use a dedicated channel for the backhaul, so don't contend bandwidth with end-user devices in the way that a traditional repeater would.

In the business context it is similar, but the backhaul is usually wired. I believe the better business grade ones create a mesh at the radio layer (e.g. each access point is acting as little more than a glorified aerial, with the wireless processing done centrally) - this eliminates problems with devices connecting to the 'wrong' access point, and make better use of available channels.

[Flyin'Dutch']

Ah, I think my TP kit should be able to do that but sadly my tech skills are below that required to execute the process successfully.

Is there any discernible benefit from such a set-up.

The current set-up means that the devices can 'hang-on' to a WAP which is in a more distant point of the house, resulting in a rubbish Wifi experience until swapping - manually - to a nearer and better point.

Irritating.

[rikur_]

Ah, I think my TP kit should be able to do that but sadly my tech skills are below that required to execute the process successfully.

Is there any discernible benefit from such a set-up.

The current set-up means that the devices can 'hang-on' to a WAP which is in a more distant point of the house, resulting in a rubbish Wifi experience until swapping - manually - to a nearer and better point.

Irritating.

Do your separate WAP's have different SSIDs, or set to the same name?
I have mine set to same SSID and identical settings (apart from channel) and I don't have any issues with devices sticking to distant WAPs - albeit this is relying on the logic in the phone/tablet/laptop to monitor for alternative access points and initiate the change.

I believe different mesh networks handle this differently. Some I believe are no better than simply having multiple WAPs; I believe others sense when a device isn't on the optimal WAP and drop the connection from the WAP end to nudge the device to connect to a nearer WAP. The Aruba stuff we've just put in the village school, I believe behaves like a single WAP with multiple antenna, thereby eliminating the problem

[Flyin'Dutch']

The Aruba stuff we've just put in the village school, I believe behaves like a single WAP with multiple antenna, thereby eliminating the problem

That would clearly be THE solution.

I have separate SSIDs.

Maybe I need to give it another whirl.

[Dave Phillips]

We have a BT whole home mesh network. Coverage is great although the ‘repeters’ sometime get a bit confused necessitating a reset.

Now all I need is broadband that is faster than 4mbs!

[rikur_]

That would clearly be THE solution.

....albeit I think there's a link back to the 'If I won the lottery thread' - not cheap.

[riverrock]

I use a power line based extender. Powerline hub connected via ethernet to the router, then a couple of powerline wifi adapters in the distant rooms.
All have been set to use the same SID and passcode. I don't notice any issues, but it is probably device dependant at how clever they are in moving between access points. I know that commercial level ones are a bit cleverer.

[Paul_Sengupta]

I have...

I have...

I just have...

We have...

I use...

I just have a small house with thin walls. Not only can I use my wifi all over my house, my neighbours can use it in their houses too!

[karlbown]

I recently installed a Zyxel Multy system. Very quick and easy to setup, and it works a treat. Highly recommended

[T67M]

I have separate SSIDs.

Maybe I need to give it another whirl.

Separate SSIDs guarantees the worst possible performance - another whirl would seem to be called for.

[stevelup]

We upgraded from ADSL to FTTC a while ago and have been using the supplied PlusNet router (sadly the one that @stevelup kindly donated doesn't work with fibre). I have intermittent problems with wifi reception particularly at the front of the house (the router is at the back).

Has anyone got a Mesh Wifi router solution that they would recommend? I don't want to go down the extender and separate wifi networks route of old!

Just to be clear, did you have problems prior to changing the router out? If not, then you don't need a mesh solution, you just need to install one decent access point adjacent to the existing router (or change that router out for something decent). The 'new' PlusNet hub is actually a BT Home Hub 3 which was launched about 8 years ago...

If not, and you can get cables to other parts of the property, my recommendation for a 'mesh' network would be to use a number of Ubiquiti access points. These are enterprise class bits of kit but are sub £100 each and work absolutely flawlessly.