WTK/WTB: Wifi Router or Mesh

[slickrick777]

Good day, have an outdated Asus RT-AC5300 5ghz Gaming router where 2 of the 8 fins have been broken off and can't be screwed back in etc! So I was thinking it is time to upgrade, keep.in mind my service provider's router is on my top floor under my television and this asus router is connected via cat5 to this router and another cat5 was ran to my bottom floor where an old apple router is also connected giving a signal bottom floor which is not that graet either! Any recommebdations on a proper suitable uograde mesh wifi 6 etc would be gladly acknowldged and appreciated!

[nick639v2]

I have setup my mesh network recently using
RT-AX82u (main)
RT-AC68u

It’s basically a one click solution in the menu and your 2nd mesh node is added. I went with the AX82 because it does vpn per client and has game mode with nat forwarding. The 68 is used downstairs as a booster essentially and gives me lan ports to the security system.

Wi-Fi 6 is great but the usage is really taken advantage by the newer devices, not all Asus routers are compatible with mesh so double check yours are

[INDAVID WORKSHOP]

Mesh network is the best

[pugboy]

pricesmart nexxt vektor works good

[S_2NR]

Mesh with wired backhaul between nodes
Asus is the most reliable brand imo

[gastly369]

Asus ax6100

[slickrick777]

My current asus router has the imesh featuee so it can be used in a mesh system howevee as stated, 2 of the fins arw broken off and the router is a wifi 5 router not 6 and i was thinking to upgrade! So my intention was either a newer routee or mesh system?

[pugboy]

the nexxt vektor is mesh

[timothymcdavid]

Jeez man alot of this depends on your goals.

How the hell you mash off the antenna of your AC5300?

If you want full wifi 6 speeds and support for multiple devices at high speed it affords go for the mesh ... But carefully review the location of those devices are going to be used since wifi 6 doesnt provide much coverage at those high speeds. Do a full heat map and also look at other wifi networks nearby since it maybe interfering with your signal and wifi performance.

If it is coverage alone you can look at wifi extenders on your ISPs router instead of spending all that money for potential speed you wont be getting once it has to go through a concrete wall or two.

For my part i have a tp-link ac1200 with 2 N300 extenders ... yeah i need an upgrade but for a two people in a house just doing regular browsing and the odd youtube video that is more than enough.

[slickrick777]

The maids we have working here are very distructive, I assumed they may have unplugged it and moved it or pulled the arms and broke them etc..lol, never the less, the main service provider's router is situated top floor of my home, lower floor in the businesd there is an apple router which is very outdated which is the connection I havw to use in my room whuch is again another further walls away fron this router as well! So all in all I am assuming I may need to run a 3 piece mesh system and plug the 3rd inside my room?

[slickrick777]

also another point that was risen along my research, was that some of these mesh nodes etc have multiple ethernet connections, where reviewers were saying better to plug tv, etc direct into them, but my question is, if I run a third node in my roon which will obviosly be wireless accesspoint, would it be beneficial to plug my devices (tv) direct into this node or better connect via that wifi connection?

[S_2NR]

Avoid wifi extenders. Waste of time and creates more problems in the long run

[timothymcdavid]

Avoid wifi extenders. Waste of time and creates more problems in the long run

Really what problems have you had in your experience?

[computercentral]

Look into access point as an alternative.I running 3 ubiquiti ap pro and Linksys 1900ac just for routing and vpn , flow modem in bridge mode

[redmanjp]

Avoid wifi extenders. Waste of time and creates more problems in the long run

Really what problems have you had in your experience?

perhaps if it is used to take a wireless signal and boost it instead of running a lan cable from the extender to the main router.

the 2nd option (lan cable) is better as the first one cuts bandwidth in half, or less in my experience, as it uses the same wireless channel to send and receive.

a 3rd option exists if it has both 2.4Ghz and 5 Ghz u can have it connect to main router on 5Ghz (if the main has 5Ghz) and rebroadcast over 2.4Ghz so as to not have to use the same channel.

with the 2nd option i get my full 110mb, although i am using a brand new wifi 6 wireless router as an extender. the main router is the digicel router. i used the same cable digicel ran from their router to the digicel box downstairs- just plugged it into a switch and plugged both the box & the new wifi 6 router into it

the 3rd option gave me about 40-50mb when i tried it with a wireless extender.

[paid_influencer]

Mesh with wired backhaul between nodes

this is it.

also wired to device where possible

[maj. tom]

Use a mesh network made for that use rather than the old method of manual bridging and a set of tricks. They make mesh devices to create a seamless network with low ping for multiple floors, it's not like a few years ago when we didn't have these options and had to buy another router and configure it as a wireless bridge and needed a fair amount of computer networking knowledge to make it work. As said above, don't use wifi extenders because they just copy the main router signal and rebroadcast it as a separate network. This means that when you go into an area just out of range of the router of the wifi extender your device has to drop and reconnect to the network.

The downside is that mesh is still expensive. 3 hubs of a good brand name can run like $500 USD, but the performance is next gen. And buy WiFi 802.11ac/ax standards.

[redmanjp]

i think it's possible to configure the same ssid on both the router and the extender- u just have to use different channels for each but i don't know how seamless the connection would be moving from 1 device to another.

[pugboy]

that will be very iffy

i think it's possible to configure the same ssid on both the router and the extender- u just have to use different channels for each but i don't know how seamless the connection would be moving from 1 device to another.

[assassin]

Use a mesh network made for that use rather than the old method of manual bridging and a set of tricks. They make mesh devices to create a seamless network with low ping for multiple floors, it's not like a few years ago when we didn't have these options and had to buy another router and configure it as a wireless bridge and needed a fair amount of computer networking knowledge to make it work. As said above, don't use wifi extenders because they just copy the main router signal and rebroadcast it as a separate network. This means that when you go into an area just out of range of the router of the wifi extender your device has to drop and reconnect to the network.

The downside is that mesh is still expensive. 3 hubs of a good brand name can run like $500 USD, but the performance is next gen. And buy WiFi 802.11ac/ax standards.

Agreed. Just get a mesh. Forget about AP and extenders.

I have the one in the pic. Bought it due to wfh and virtual meetings. Works seamlessly I don't even use wired ethernet backchannel. Stream on 2 tvs

Newer Wifi6 version is 180US. I'm sure there are more robust ones

[carluva]

Ditto on mesh.

Upgraded my Asus router back in 2019 to a Netgear Orbi with one main hub and two satellites. Very pleased with the upgrade.

[slickrick777]

That orbi rated up high but too high for my budget...lol, the asus has a set and amazon etc, deciding along those lines!

[carluva]

Wow. Yes, the price on the latest Orbi is very high indeed.

Have a look at the RBK50 which is the model I have. It's much cheaper, works great but is an older model. You will have to dig up in the specs to see if it suits your needs and application. There is also the RBK752 which may be a good in between version.

Regardless of which brand of mesh you go with, you will see great improvements in connectivity and speeds. Mesh is the way to go for home and these systems are so effortless to install and setup.

[slickrick777]

yea was seeing they had some cheaper models in the orbi, but you know once you start to research them you will always end up choosing the highest model...lol, so I am looking at other brands morw budget friendly and bang for buck as well, tp link aint look that bad and asus always around as well, the google is rated up but none wifi 6 dont know why they havent released a version to atleast support this!

[sekhar_777]

With Digicel does a mesh perform better on bridge mode?

[Duane 3NE 2NR]

With Digicel does a mesh perform better on bridge mode?

Well you can't have a mesh without using bridge mode.
You can create your own mesh if you had multiple routers in bridge mode - that way yo have the same SSID on all routers and connect to the losest one as you moved around, extending your wifi range