Quote:
Originally Posted by ah123
The main router (Shaw) is on the second floor bonus room. When we did the basement, network wiring was setup, but not connected to the router on the second floor.
I have an older Linksys mesh system, which has been flaky lately. I am looking to replace it with a newer system (Wifi 6E or 7). Mesh systems with 6GHz frequency for backhaul tend to have a shorter range, and the suggestion is to have a wired backhaul to take advantage of the capabilities of the mesh nodes. The basement is where I have my office, which is why speed and more stable connection in the basement is needed.
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Hmm... I see. I'd give a UniFi or AmpliFi mesh system a try if you can't find a straight forward option for pulling cable. Some of the older mesh units do kinda suck.
I wonder if it would be possible to just move the router to the basement and have a mesh node on the second floor. Something like this and have a node on the main floor and upper floor.
https://ca.store.ui.com/ca/en/produc...h-wi-fi-system
I used to run a pair of AmpliFi HD routers in a 2000 sq ft home in basement and upstairs before I went with a UDM system. Broadcasting from main floor worked well. It's when I tried putting unit in basement or upstairs than the interference/signal degradation got to be too much.
A single AmpliFi HD router broadcasting from the main floor of my parents home outperforms an older powerline mesh system with 3 nodes. I purchased it in 2015 vs the cheaper powerline mesh system purchased in early 2017 I was fed up with it by 2020. That's when I gave my parents my old AmpliFi router. The AmpliFi system cost me almost double than the other powerline mesh system ($200-250 per HD router at the time) but it outperformed it by quite a bit and also lasted more than 3 times longer. If I could go back, I wouldn't even waste money on a cheap mesh system and I'd go straight towards a quality one. Orbi and Google mesh I think are other pretty good quality mesh options.
AmpliFi and Unifi isn't enterprise grade stuff, but it's the good type of overkill you'd want in a residential application. IMO, it's been really nice not having to replace/upgrade my networking equipment every 2-5 years.
Just a thought on wifi6. I know it's the future, but honestly speaking, I don't have devices that can utilize it well, at least not yet. It's a nice to have for future proofing, but I wouldn't pay a crazy premium for it. In fact, I ran into issues trying to rely on wifi6 only in my current network for devices managed by the employer. The settings would cause havoc for those devices to disconnect and be unable to reconnect.