[RndTbl] Wifi recommendations

[Adam Thompson]

Mesh != Extender.
More precisely, mesh deployments *can* use all-wireless extenders, but are more commonly deployed with a mixture of wired-where-possible and wireless-where-not.

Some mesh products exist that don't allow extra wired nodes - avoid these.

Otherwise, the "mesh"-ness means 100% seamless handover between the APs as you walk around the house with your phone.

-Adam

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________________________________
From: Roundtable <roundtable-bounces at muug.ca> on behalf of Trevor Cordes <trevor at tecnopolis.ca>
Sent: Tuesday, February 27, 2024 4:51:55 AM
To: Kevin McGregor <kevin.a.mcgregor at gmail.com>
Cc: Continuation of Round Table discussion <roundtable at muug.ca>
Subject: Re: [RndTbl] Wifi recommendations

On 2024-02-26 Kevin McGregor wrote:
> I have a Netgear Orbi mesh (1 base + 1 satellite) in my house. They're
> about 6 years old and don't support Wifi 6 (802.11ax?).
>
> I've noticed that in my basement it works pretty well, but upstairs
> the effective data rate drops off VERY quickly when I move away from
> the router (satellite). I figure this is because of the large number
> of wifi routers in my neighbourhood competing for the same bandwidth.
>
> Would upgrading to a Wifi 6-capable router help? Any other
> suggestions?

Your WAP / extender may have options to boost the signal (they may be
set low due to "apartment friendly" defaults).  You can also look for
options to change the channel, trying "weird" ones.  Or enable an
auto-scan-and-pick-least-used-channel mode.

If you're doing house wiring, ditch the extender and install a
standalone WAP in its place.  Extenders have the massive problem of
needing to have a clear channel for both extender-to-device *and*
extender-to-base.  Thus your difficulty in finding free(er) channels is
doubled!  A wired WAP solves this problem.  It won't be as "meshy" but
if you put both WAPs into your devices (phones) on auto-connect,
they'll just switch to whatever works if the other barfs out.  And you
can scale to even more WAPs if you want.

You can even do PoE to the WAPs with the right switch (expensive) or
standalone injectors (cheapish!) and supported WAP (or cheap
de-injectors!), if the desired location isn't close to power...

Ironically, I find that as the Wifi specs get better, their ability to
hold signal gets worse!  My best signal ever is still my G one I
relegate my visitors onto... maybe all the wifi progressions are just a
scam??!
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