Mesh network with WiFi disabled on the router

[deepskydiver]

Hi,

I have an ASUS RT-AX88U running the latest Merlin firmware with an ethernet connection to an ASUS AC2600 (Blue Cave) as an AIMESH node at the other end of the house.

My partner has health concerns and the main router is sitting right near her head. All of the necessary ethernet cabling also originates there so relocating the main router is impractical. I have stepped down the TX power for it, but she is still uncomfortable.

My preferred option is to disable wifi on the main router and put another AIMESH node in a nearby room - but this doesn't appear possible. It seems I can disable WiFi on all or none in the AIMESH network. I guess an alternative is that I can use another mesh network type and buy two nodes running off ethernet.

So I guess I'd like advice on whether I can disable WiFi on the router only and if not point me to a good alternative mesh system please that I can add a couple of nodes onto the ASUS router.

Thanks!

 

[drinkingbird]

Hi,

I have an ASUS RT-AX88U running the latest Merlin firmware with an ethernet connection to an ASUS AC2600 (Blue Cave) as an AIMESH node at the other end of the house.

My partner has health concerns and the main router is sitting right near her head. All of the necessary ethernet cabling also originates there so relocating the main router is impractical. I have stepped down the TX power for it, but she is still uncomfortable.

My preferred option is to disable wifi on the main router and put another AIMESH node in a nearby room - but this doesn't appear possible. It seems I can disable WiFi on all or none in the AIMESH network. I guess an alternative is that I can use another mesh network type and buy two nodes running off ethernet.

So I guess I'd like advice on whether I can disable WiFi on the router only and if not point me to a good alternative mesh system please that I can add a couple of nodes onto the ASUS router.

Thanks!

I don't have an aimesh to test with but what happens if you use the physical button on the main router to disable it? Does the node also disable? Thinking that may have a different behavior from the GUI.

In reality, in that case Aimesh is really not buying you anything so it may make sense to just run the second as an AP and get rid of Aimesh. Then you can control everything independently. The only thing you will lose is the ability to have a guest network on the node without intranet access, not sure if that is an issue in your situation or not. If it is, you can actually run the "node" as a router and use firewall rules to block access to the LAN off the main router.

 

[Sgamat]

You can try the following, should work.

Disable wifi on the main router, connect lan cable from main router to 1st node, on the 1st node, set it up as aimesh in ap mode. After setup, search for the second node, ignore the main router in search results. When searching for 2nd node, use lan cable to connect to 2nd node, or enable wps if use wireless backhaul.

 

[deepskydiver]

Thanks both, I've gone with abandoning mesh wifi and will use a couple of low power access points. One thing I found is that I could step down the power to a tenth of maximum and still have good coverage inside. I'm guessing it can't be a bad thing.

 

[drinkingbird]

Thanks both, I've gone with abandoning mesh wifi and will use a couple of low power access points. One thing I found is that I could step down the power to a tenth of maximum and still have good coverage inside. I'm guessing it can't be a bad thing.

The least amount of power to cover the area you need at the speed you need is the right amount. Of course it isn't an exact science so you may find yourself bumping it up one level as some days there may be more interference etc.