Mesh network

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Mesh network

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Anyone in here any decent experiences of mesh networks? As you may recall I was looking to change internet providers and in the end decided to stick with British Telecom (BT). I did buy a Velp mesh system but that proved unreliable and has gone back to Amazon. So..........

What I'm looking to achieve is to put a mesh network in the house (3 bedroom semi-detached UK). At the moment we use a BT Home Hub 6 router/modem but as that does not support being dumbed down to acting only as a modem then a new plain modem is needed which will work with the BT Telecoms Fibre 1 service (vDSL using DSL PPPOE connection). The plan is to buy a DrayTek Vigor 130 VDSL2/ADSL Fibre (FTTP/BT Infinity) Ethernet Modem which will replace the HH6.

The modem and prime mesh node would be in the dining room and the secondary node would be in the home office upstairs diametrically opposite. This secondary node would be used for WiFi and also LAN port connectivity for a workstation / tablets. It would also need to be connected to the primary node via WiFi, running a LAN cable between the two is not feasible.

Another requirement is that the WiFi SSIDs (2.4Ghz & 5Ghz) to be splittable so that I can maintain the main network on the 2.4Ghz band as a some Homekit devices I have are only 2.4Ghz compatible.

So far:

- Velop no goos due to constant disconnections of the nodes and poor WiFi throughput.
- Eero is out as it does not support PPPOE.
- BT Whole home is out as you can't split the SSID's or I believe turn off the 5Ghz Band.
- Ubiquti are out as it looks like their wireless AP's are WiFI only with no LAN port.
- Orbi are nearly there even though separate SSIDs have to be put in place via a telnet hack.

The fave solution so far is using a Asus ZenWiFi AX with the DrayTek Vigor 130 modem. Looks to have all the specs I need and good reviews.

Any thoughts or recommendations are appreciated guys.
 
Are you still with BT?

I'm with them and I use their "Complete WIFI" package. 3 black disks along with their Smart hub 2. I got a good deal on it when I renegotiated my package recently.

I have a long, thin, house. So not huge but it is made of granite, so is a usually a black-hole for wifi. I have the hub at one end a disk in the middle and one at the far end. I have to say this is the best wifi we've ever had here. Both of these disks are connected to the hub by Gbit hard wires though. I think this is essential for good performance.
The other, 3rd disk is sited 40" away from the house and serves a remote office. It has a hard wire leading from it to a switch, servicing several devices. This disk connects by 5g to the hub and the speeds are very good.
 
Yep still with BT but as I posted above the BT Whole Home system is no good as you can't split the SSID's or I believe turn off the 5Ghz Band....... Verified in discussions with a friend who is a BT chap and uses their system. Plus cabling is not an option at all.
 
You can turn off either band in the settings. They do share the same SSID though. I think you need to hard wire the back haul on any of these cheaper mesh systems for good performance.

You're probably best looking at some Ubiquity kit or something.
 
Yeah no go then :) and Ubiquti are out as it looks like their wireless AP's are WiFI only with no LAN port. The ASUS kit i the one IM think.
I use a Synology mesh setup. 0 problems. Devices can be split regarding 2.4 and 5Ghz and have LAN ports.
 
I didn't think the Synology mesh systems supported a UK vDSL using a DSL PPPOE connection?
Tbh I can't say, but if they do support my 3rd world country then I see no reason that it won't support yours. Also if you go down the line of using their router in router mode, you can configure it via DMZ option and it will work just fine (no need to bridge).

But all in all, from a mesh stand point, it works just fine.

You could ask Syno support this question about UK ppoe support. UK Syno support is fast, I'm sure you will get an answer.
 
Cheers I'll consider it. I've now discovered this Devolo product, which I know is a lot less technical but will work without buying a new modem and has the advantages of using the mains power system for a wired backhaul. A friend on Facebook bought one and it has solved all his problems for a much cheaper price (£315 cheaper).
 
powerline may or may not work, It can be great or horrible depending on the quality of your and your neighbours electrical net. It is worth a try, nice if you can arrange to return it in case of problems.
 
Indeed we have an older powerline device in place now which works very well, so I've bitten the bullet and ordered the Devolo Magic 2 system, it arrives on Saturday so I'm crossing fingers!
 
Last edited:
Hi.
I am currently having similar issue. I have Virgin media fibre broadband with hub 3.0 in modem mode and Netgear Nighthawk D7000 router connected to it. With kids now learning online my WiFi upstairs on my stationery PC is a bit slow and I was thinking between Devolo Magic 1 or 2 (either LAN or WiFi) or TP Link Deco M4 mesh system (only £99) so a bit cheaper than Devolo. To be honest I am turning towards Deco M4 but still unsure as I am considering connecting my PC and extender with the ethernet cable to have better signal. Unless Deco M4 wireless signal can cure the isse... Any thoughts on this one please? Cheers
 

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