[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by carboy

My problem is that this one particular laptop doesn't connect from the other room. My other laptop & the phone connects just fine even without the extender?

Maybe then replace WiFi card in laptop or use a WiFi dongle via USB. That would be cheaper (up to 2k).

[whencut86]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

i have been using these excellent TP Link Mesh Network cylinders for a year and a half now.
Paired to ACT Cable Internet.
Currently have 3 TP link cylinders - 1 placed upstairs and 2 downstairs and am going to add another 2 more in the house for even better and seamless performance.
Am also using one standard small TP Link repeater /booster which exclusively provides internet feeds to my home security cameras.
I am a total convert to the mesh network advantages.

Looking to get a mesh system. Have ACT Fibernet and network is good in most parts of the house except for the study where the signals are weak. I have given provision for ethernet cable from router to my study room but I have setup two different Wi-Fi routers and I have to switch to different network when I move across the house. How do I setup a Mesh system in my case? I need to use one as the router and one inside the study connected to the ethernet cable?

Also, the TP Link cylinder system has options in Deco M4, Deco E4 and Deco M5. Which one of these would be a best fit for my needs considering that I would need 2 cylinders at max?

[vijai]

Originally Posted by amavin

You should probably consider WiFi6 products from Ubiquiti (https://store-ui.in). Their devices 'mesh' by default and work fabulously especially if you use their UniFi domes. Given you are building a new house, you can get the Cat6e cabling at strategic points in the roof to mount these domes (you can buy with aesthetic skins to meld with the interior decor as needed).

Where did you get those? I have to cover about 6k sq.ft house spread over 3 floors and have recently terminated some cat 6 at required places from server room. I was looking for mesh and seems like ubiquity has good performing wifi 6 routers (~10k inr) but no stock anywhere. Plan to run it through a poe switch that's connected to a pfsense box. Would also like decent poe switch recommendation (do not require fancy layer 2 management stuffs)

[amavin]

Originally Posted by vijai

Where did you get those? I have to cover about 6k sq.ft house spread over 3 floors and have recently terminated some cat 6 at required places from server room. I was looking for mesh and seems like ubiquity has good performing wifi 6 routers (~10k inr) but no stock anywhere. Plan to run it through a poe switch that's connected to a pfsense box. Would also like decent poe switch recommendation (do not require fancy layer 2 management stuffs)

Their devices are sold out quite fast. https://store-ui.in/ has an option "Notify me when available" for items currently sold-out. They send an email when the device is in stock and you'll have to order within the day or two. If there is someone you know traveling back from the US, getting them to carry a part or two isn't a bad idea.
I only use their standalone PoE injectors (2 of them). Haven't yet had the need for a PoE switch. May bite the bullet if/when my entry level EdgeRouter-X gives up, or may pick up something on the next US trip.

[mjumrani]

Moved into new house this April, went full on with TP-Link Omada setup for WiFi and the entire house is wired with CAT6A cables. I ended up using about 900 meters of CAT6A and 1200 meters of CAT5 Cable for access points and CCTV.

I have used WiFi 5 roof mounted access points as WiFi 6 access points are ridiculously expensive in India and look ugly when mounted on roof.

Device List
1) Router : ER605
2) Controller : OC200
3) Indoor Access Points : EAP245 X 9
4) Outdoor Access Points : EAP225 X 2
5) Switch : TL-SG2428P x 3 ( 1 for wired connections, 1 for access points PoE and 1 for CCTV PoE)


I have 2 ISP's for load balancing ( Airtel and ACT ). I am super happy with the setup and speeds are about 350-400Mbps everywhere in the house

[whitewing]

Originally Posted by whencut86

Looking to get a mesh system. Have ACT Fibernet and network is good in most parts of the house except for the study where the signals are weak. I have given provision for ethernet cable from router to my study room but I have setup two different Wi-Fi routers and I have to switch to different network when I move across the house....

I think a mesh system is an overkill in money terms, given that you already have 2 routers AND you have the provision to draw an ethernet cable.

Try drawing an ethernet cable to the study room and and connect it to the router. Setup the routere in the study in access point mode (with the identical SSID & credentials as your primary network). You will have a seamless experience.

basic settings in the router configured as AP
-> set the router to AP mode (will vary depending on vendor)
-> turnoff DHCP server in the AP.
-> assign a local IP (say 192.168.1.10)
-> specify the primary router's IP (say 192.168.1.1) as default gateway

Basic settings in the router configured as AP
-> Assign a fixed IP for the AP in DHCP settings

and you are done, now, all devices would be on the same network.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by mjumrani

Moved into new house this April, went full on ... ... ...

Wow, that certainly is full on!

It looks better than the cabinets at my work used to! Although, of course, unless nothing moves or is added, these things never stay looking like new.

Anyway, that looks wonderful, and is just what I would like for a new house, should I ever have that pleasure.

[sdp1975]

I live in a 2bhk apartment and I have a Airtel 200mbps connection in the hall. The problem is that the signal strength is very poor in my master bedroom. There are 3 concrete walls in between the hall and the room and I think that's causing the problem. I've tried using a 2.4G extender but the performance has been very poor. I don't want any cabling and I'm thinking of attaching a powerful router with a long range to the airtel modem+router. This is what I'm thinking of buying : https://www.amazon.in/dp/B08DVG2S7G?tag=gavnit-21&th=1. It's got 6 X 5dbi antennas which I think will do the job. Any suggestions or thoughts ?

I need a decent stable connection in the bedroom - not necessarily a high speed one.

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

This is what I'm thinking of buying : https://www.amazon.in/dp/B08DVG2S7G?tag=gavnit-21&th=1. It's got 6 X 5dbi antennas which I think will do the job. Any suggestions or thoughts ?

I need a decent stable connection in the bedroom - not necessarily a high speed one.

A better router is unlikely to help. Reason : WiFi requires two-way communication. Even if router has very strong radio, this wont change radio in your TV / Phone / Laptop. Traffic from Client to router will still face problem and hence connection will be unstable.

You do need a repeater or mesh.

1. Which repeater did you try
2. What was a location of repeater ? (A rough diagram of apartment that shows placement of Router, repeater and client will help)

[carboy]

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

A better router is unlikely to help. Reason : WiFi requires two-way communication. Even if router has very strong radio, this wont change radio in your TV / Phone / Laptop. Traffic from Client to router will still face problem and hence connection will be unstable.

If the router has stronger radio, then won't it send the signal further away - i.e. it will reach the other room strongly, so even if the laptop has a weak radio it would be able to better pick up the signal than it did earlier with the weaker router.

[shipnil]

Originally Posted by carboy

If the router has stronger radio, then won't it send the signal further away - i.e. it will reach the other room strongly, so even if the laptop has a weak radio it would be able to better pick up the signal than it did earlier with the weaker router.

Would the weak signal from computer radio be picked up from router receiver? Unlikely.

Besides all our homes are made of brick walls which further deteriorates the signal.

[sdp1975]

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

1. Which repeater did you try
2. What was a location of repeater ? (A rough diagram of apartment that shows placement of Router, repeater and client will help)

I've attached a diagram of my apartment. The router is placed at R. Can't move it any further away. The client is at the master bedroom ( MBR). There are 3 concrete walls in between ( kitchen+toliet) and wooden wardrobes etc causing the problem. The extender is at E. The signal strength of the extender is good but the problem is reliability. Sometimes the connection to the extender just doesn't work - the signal strength is full but there's no internet connection. I then restart the extender or wait for a few minutes for it to work again.

I've used a TP link 855RE and now a Mi router as an extender. Both have been problematic but the Mi is a little better. I don't think there's an issue with my 2.4G router band as my TV chromecast in the hall connects to it and it works fine. I just need a reliable connection in my master bedroom ( even 10mbps will do ) for casual browsing. A connection that stops working at times is frustrating to use.

I thought of using a 5G extender but my router doesn't allow channel selection. Most extenders work on specified channels ( Eg TP links won't work on band 4 as per this post )

[bejoy]

Originally Posted by shipnil

Would the weak signal from computer radio be picked up from router receiver? Unlikely.

Higher gain antennae at router will work for both transmit and receive. So a weak signal from the PC or other devices will be picked up by the router. If one goes by the specs of the router (the Mercusys), it may improve the connection.

Originally Posted by sdp1975

I've attached a diagram of my apartment. The router is placed at R. Can't move it any further away.

It looks like more of congestion in the 2.4GHz band. This could be the reason for disconnection as the signals go weaker. I use an app called WIFIAnalyzer (Android) to view the channel spread of the APs and their relative strengths. It gives a channel rating for a given environment. Does the Airtel modem/router has 5GHz support? Just check how is the 2.4GHz and 5GHz utilization inside various rooms of the apartment. 5GHz suffers more from the blockages, but if the congestion of 2.4GHz is more, the higher band may work better.

[shipnil]

Originally Posted by bejoy

Higher gain antennae at router will work for both transmit and receive.

It looks like more of congestion in the 2.4GHz band. This could be the reason for disconnection as the signals go weaker. I use an app called WIFIAnalyzer (Android) .

I have played around with multiple routers with low strength and high db antenna. Also, I have used the wifi analyser apps too. In my tests, the problem still persisted, irrespective of low gain or high gain. The best solution I could find was to install multiple routers across apartment with ethernet backbone.

[bejoy]

Originally Posted by shipnil

I have played around with multiple routers with low strength and high db antenna. Also, I have used the wifi analyser apps too. In my tests, the problem still persisted, irrespective of low gain or high gain. The best solution I could find was to install multiple routers across apartment with ethernet backbone.

IMO, the best solution is to install the router at 10ft height at a central location. I planned this way when my builder gave option for the telephone points during construction of the apartment. The copper is gone now, and I could manage to get the fiber routed to the same point. The choice of router comes next. My 10 year old Asus router (spent a small fortune back then) has seen many types of broadband connections, but same stellar connection to all my appliances.