Request: Multi vendor Mesh WiFi test?

[bernard038]

Hi All,

Maybe i am the only one over here who is a bit overwhelmed by all the mesh WiFi products hitting the markets these days. But as i am considering to replace my current router with a mesh system, i am very interested in how these products stack up against each other, giving me an opportunity to compare them before buying (..which is currently not possible yet, as i live in Europe..) So a multi-vendor / product mesh wifi would be appreciated by me!

Thanks anyway and i am looking forward to your thoughts!

Cheers, b.

 

[thiggins]

Hi All,

Maybe i am the only one over here who is a bit overwhelmed by all the mesh WiFi products hitting the markets these days. But as i am considering to replace my current router with a mesh system, i am very interested in how these products stack up against each other, giving me an opportunity to compare them before buying (..which is currently not possible yet, as i live in Europe..) So a multi-vendor / product mesh wifi would be appreciated by me!

The Router Charts are intended to allow comparison between products. So we don't do many head-to-head reviews.

That said, we will be doing a comparison article comparing multiple products once we get our "mesh" test process running.

eero and Luma have very limited routing features and are intended for users that don't need or want to mess with settings. Ubiquti Amplifi has more routing features, though not as many as typical routers, because it has a router / extender architecture.

Why are you considering a "mesh" system, i.e. what problem(s) are you trying to solve?

 

[bernard038]

Hi Tim,

Thanks for your answer! Nice to hear you are developing a specific mesh test process!

I am living in an older, European, house (built around 1870) All walls are made of stone. internet lands in the living room, study is in the attic. Even though i have a decent router (linksys EA6900). Wifi reception in the study is bad. Currently i am using Powerline to connect to the PC's and printer in the attic, but i notice a major loss in bandwidth (due to the older electrical wiring in my house i guess...) Ideally i would like to lay UTP-cabling throughout my house, but the only way to get this done is to put the cabling in the walls and have the walls plastered again... Which is something my wife wouldn't like..... So currently i have all my hopes set on a decent mesh solution

 

[L&LD]

It doesn't seem that any wireless setup will work well in your situation.

Well enough, maybe. But certainly not worth the $300 to $500 price points for the sub par performance those stone walls will introduce to any, non-wired, network in your home.

 

[thiggins]

L&LD is correct. Stone walls kill Wi-Fi signals as you well know. Mesh systems rely on rebroadcasting signals. There's a point of diminishing returns because you need more closely-spaced mesh points to get through the walls. But each point or "hop", significantly reduces throughput available to devices.

In the end, there is no substitute for Ethernet (or good powerline or MoCA) for AP backhaul connections.