Mesh Advice - Easy to use and best Bandwidth

[Britewood]

Hello, let me start by saying thank you for the great website, reviews and forums!

I recently upgraded my provider to their Gigabit offering. We are cord cutters and I work from home so I can use all the speed I can get. I am looking to upgrade my home wireless network to make the most of the new bandwidth available from the provider. In considering options I have several users that need things to be easy. They also have lots of friends who come over and want to get connected so guest Wifi is also a must.

I have been reading all of the great advice and information on this website and really need help to determine the best route to go despite all this great information available.

I am not sure if it would be better to go with the Orbi setup, and its dedicated backhaul for our wireless needs, or if it would be better to leverage my hard wired home and go with a ethernet backhual. I have been leaning to the Orbi because the backhaul has so much bandwidth. But if I can get the same performance with a wireless mesh and an ethernet backhaul I am game to go that route as well.

Here is what I have to work with:

• 2 story house plus finished basement totaling at almost 4k Sq\ft
• Fios 1GB Internet enters are NorthEast corner of home, but I do have Ethernet that is relatively centered on main floor.
• I probably will set up wireless as an AP. Wireless is already turned off on the provider's router, and currently using an R8000 with DD-WRT. Love it but don't have the coverage I would like in some of the rooms with Roku's and Smart TVs
• House wired with Cat5e and does connect at 1 Gb.
• 30+ wireless connections including smarthome devices

Am I solid in my thoughts that even with Ethernet backhaul I would have better performance on the Orbi? If not and leveraging an ethernet backhaul would be better, what mesh system would give me the best performance (bandwidth) and ease of use?

 

[thiggins]

Orbi does not support Ethernet backhaul.

If you have Ethernet where you need to put APs, a system using conventional APs may be cheaper. No mesh system can beat gigabit Ethernet backhaul.

 

[Britewood]

Thank you for the reply,

I know the Orbi doesn't support Ethernet Backhaul yet, and I won't hold my breath for it too... but it does have that dedicated 1.7Gbps wireless backhaul. That seems faster than Gigabit unless you count each ethernet connection to the APs so with three I could have a 3Gbps backhaul, as long as you're not sharing a primary run (switch in the middle)...

What ethernet based backhaul mesh system would you recommend?
I will have several devices on it that have the potential to stream 4k video.

 

[pete y testing]

That seems faster than Gigabit

its not , its wifi and as a result the max sync rate does not give a true indication of its throughput

so with three I could have a 3Gbps backhaul,

lol no you have completely the wrong idea

as long as you're not sharing a primary run (switch in the middle)...

which you do with orbi as its not mesh topology , the orbi is star topology and the router must be in the middle of any sats used

What ethernet based backhaul mesh system would you recommend?

i will repeat what tim said , if you have ethernet backhaul you dont need mesh / dw at all , a good router like a ubiquiti egde and a few ubiquiti unifi lite AP would do a far better job and prob cost you less and have far more features and flexibility

 

[sfx2000]

it does have that dedicated 1.7Gbps wireless backhaul. That seems faster than Gigabit unless you count each ethernet connection to the APs so with three I could have a 3Gbps backhaul, as long as you're not sharing a primary run (switch in the middle)...

Until one realizes that the Laws of Physics rule... that 1.7Gbps "backhaul" has a range to it... and the further the nodes are apart - well, the laws of the universe apply...

That backhaul is also half-duplex - it's WiFi after all... A 1Gbe Wire - it's full duplex - so that 2 gigabit across the wire, and the range there is a lot more than what one would find with a dedicated 5GHz 4*4:4 WiFi backhaul.

That being said - Orbi - their architecture - good enough for most folks... just be mindful of where to place the node - their UI and Apps help here...

 

[pege63]

Does Deco M5 support 1Gb Ethernet backhaul between the nodes?

 

[thiggins]

I would try Google Wi-Fi with Ethernet backhaul.

Yes, Deco supports Ethernet backhaul.

 

[ppilot]

I would echo what Tim recommended as Google Wifi is probably the best "mesh" platform right now for your needs. Orbi is kind of a mess for a lot of people right now so I would't recommend it until Netgear gets the platform more stable.

 

[sfx2000]

I would try Google Wi-Fi with Ethernet backhaul.

Always interested in how Chromebook's play into this - there's a lot of mesh inside them... and Google WiFi is basically ChromeOS...

 

[pege63]

I would try Google Wi-Fi with Ethernet backhaul.

Not selling in Sweden

 

[Britewood]

Thanks for all the great advice guys, it has of course generated a lot more research on my end for what would be best for my house and family.

I am focusing now on only devices that support ethernet backhaul. I may need to drop an additional unit where it would have to use wireless to connect.

What makes the Google Wi-Fi such a popular choice? It is only AC1200 2x2 where others like Portal (only supports 2 units though) is AC2200 with 4x4 Wave-2

Ubiquity's UAP-AC-PRO looks nice, is loaded with features and on the 5Ghz channel alone "could" get up to 1300 Mbps, but I hear to really use all the features it needs a server (dashboard)? I am sure I am reading the specification correctly, but it appears to not support AC Wave 2, is that correct? I know Wave-2 is new and not a lot of devices support it but as I add Roku's, New Smart TVs that support 4k I am sure it will start to pop up in more devices.

The Velop reports some nice speeds, allows the ethernet backhaul, and the Tri-band seems nice, although I am not clear but I think the third 5ghz band is dedicated to backhaul. It would be nice however it worked the way the website marketing indicated (band load balancing) especially as I add more 5Ghz network devices to the fold. I can get a 4pack from Costco for $499 too so this is not so bad at $125 per device. I does appear that I would lose some features with the ethernet backhaul that I may not loose with the Ubiquity & Google Wifi

The Asus Lyra Home WiFi looks nice as well. It support ethernet Backhaul and I have a question into support if the wireless backhaul (third band) moves to client side when it detects an ethernet backhaul. This is something I don't think the Velop does from my research but I do think would give a Tri-Band mesh network an edge over dual bands.

I have moved away from the Orbi all together after evaluating all my ethernet locations and node placements I would have all of them on ethernet backhaul unless I put one in the shed (lol)

Again my primary concerns are as follows:
1) Speed, lots of video and 4k streaming
2) ease of use for Users. I say users because I don't mind deep diving into features. I have run both DD-WRT and Tomato on my R8000 (Tomato is so much faster than DD-WRT btw)

 

[Britewood]

So I jumped and picked up the following.

1 of Ubiquiti Networks 8-Port UniFi Switch, Managed PoE+ Gigabit Switch with SFP, 150W (US-8-150W)
and
3 of Ubiquiti Networks Unifi 802.11ac Dual-Radio PRO Access Point (UAP-AC-PRO-US)

figured I would take advantage of doing POE to drive the APs

should be here in the next few days... I will post how it all goes..

 

[bobsilver]

Orbi will support ethernet backhaul in a later software release.

Bob Silver
Netgear Product Advisor

 

[sfx2000]

I would try Google Wi-Fi with Ethernet backhaul.

Yes, Deco supports Ethernet backhaul.

Throwing more HW isn't going to fix a physics problem...

Sometimes MESH isn't an answer - in many cases, surprisingly enough, it does work...

Until it does not..

 

[whsbuss]

I would echo what Tim recommended as Google Wifi is probably the best "mesh" platform right now for your needs. Orbi is kind of a mess for a lot of people right now so I would't recommend it until Netgear gets the platform more stable.

Gee, what about eero? Mine works perfectly in mesh mode w/ethernet backhaul.

 

[thiggins]

Gee, what about eero? Mine works perfectly in mesh mode w/ethernet backhaul.

More expensive.

 

[7stringjazz]

Gee, what about eero? Mine works perfectly in mesh mode w/ethernet backhaul.

More expensive.

Expensive. But does it work well?

 

[thiggins]

Yes. But so do other Wi-Fi Systems like Google Wi-Fi.

And with Ethernet backhaul, you are not really seeing how it really works for the case that most buyers will use, wireless backhaul. That's what truly differentiates Wi-Fi Systems.

 

[Britewood]

Ubiquiti hardware showed up and it is all setup and running.
I had some wiring issues I need to resolve initially (bad patch cable) but once that was resolved I have good coverage, and handoffs for newer wireless devices appear to be seamless between APs. My Samsung Galaxy Tab S disconnects noticeable for a few seconds but my phone doesn't seem to be phased (Galaxy S8+).

I have amazing coverage in the yard too with the placements of all three APs.

I am sure the Ubiquiti APs are not as easy to setup as some of the other consumer products, but I didn't find it that difficult once the controller software is setup and can see the APs. I found the contorer software easy to use and intuitive.

The mobile app working with the controller software was a bit more challenging to figure out, as it was not as intuitive on what to do. I actually setup the first AP with the mobile app standalone, then had to forget it and let the controller software grab it. Using the Controller software I think is a must as it gives you the ability have new devices auto configure, and to take advantage of all the features Ubiquiti AP AC Pro's have to offer.

The UniFi Switch 8-POE-150W was icing on the cake. I now have a nice clean installation with the APs mounted right over the Ethernet ports and no visible wires.

Thanks for all the responses!

 

[sm00thpapa]

I been reading and watching a lot of reviews on youtube and it seems that eero has the best range of all the mesh systems. Google Wi-Fi not so much.