What's the best, simple mesh system for non-wired, non-smart home?

[realkuny]

Basic question from a non-IT savvy person here. I live in an old, not smart, not wired 1400 sq ft home and we get 250mb cable internet which is fine as long as you're very close to the router. This is a New Orleans shotgun house (long and narrow) and the cable is only run to one point right by the front wall of the house which is part of a makeshift toddler bedroom. My wife and I both work from home a lot and the wifi gets very weak towards the back of the house where we have a small office area. It's so weak that Spotify frequently drops out not to mention Zoom calls.

My problem solving research led me to thinking a mesh system would be the solution. Again, the house is not wired and cannot be without spending $$$ and we really just need to be able to have reliable video calls. We don't have any extensive IOT stuff. We've got two laptops, two phones, a smart TV, and a Sonos speaker. Would something like the Eero Pro 6 do the trick? TP Link Deco? Bonus points for something that plugs in and works that I don't have to think about.

Thank you in advance for any advice.

 

[Tech9]

Amazon eero, Google Nest, TP-Link Deco are all Plug-and-Play home systems with easy phone App management. You perhaps need 2-pack, one main unit and one satellite. With your low requirements you can go cheaper with dual-band units with shared wireless backhaul.

 

[degrub]

Dont forget that the mesh will have the same issues connecting with its other node on wireless that you see now if there are too many walls between them. If the walls are sheetrock over studs, 2-3 walls maybe on 2.4 GHz band. If the walls are shiplap over studs with sheetrock, maybe 1 wall.

one thing to check - can you get the isp to move the demarc entry to the house back to where you need the best wireless signal for either free or a nominal fee ?

might cost the same as trying to set up a mesh network.

 

[realkuny]

Dont forget that the mesh will have the same issues connecting with its other node on wireless that you see now if there are too many walls between them. If the walls are sheetrock over studs, 2-3 walls maybe on 2.4 GHz band. If the walls are shiplap over studs with sheetrock, maybe 1 wall.

one thing to check - can you get the isp to move the demarc entry to the house back to where you need the best wireless signal for either free or a nominal fee ?

might cost the same as trying to set up a mesh network.

Thanks for the heads up. I'm pretty sure most of the walls are just sheetrock over studs as the house has been renovated over the years. Luckily one of those renovations was blowing out a wall in the living room so the router would see one wall then a bunch of open space. The doorway at the other end of that open living room is pretty centrally located and has power so I was thinking to put the other node right there and I'd be all set.

I did call the ISP (Cox....ugghh) about moving the cable. I identified what I thought was a pretty central spot, close to power but the tech said he wouldn't be able to access it. Pretty sure he just didn't want to have to get under the house and run the cable all that way. In retrospect, maybe I should have tried slipping him some cash to do it but didn't think of it at the time.
TL;DR the cable is not moving.

 

[Tech9]

Dont forget that the mesh will have the same issues

It will work better. The main router and the satellites have much higher Tx power than client devices. TP-Link in particular may open other possibilities with available Deco sets. Deco X50 for example is Wireless/Ethernet, Deco PX50 has built-in Powerline adapters, Deco X50-PoE is with PoE support, etc.

 

[Deleted member 84281]

I did call the ISP (Cox....ugghh) about moving the cable. I identified what I thought was a pretty central spot, close to power but the tech said he wouldn't be able to access it. Pretty sure he just didn't want to have to get under the house and run the cable all that way. In retrospect, maybe I should have tried slipping him some cash to do it but didn't think of it at the time.
TL;DR the cable is not moving.

Just buy some RG6 and extend the cable yourself it's not hard.