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When it comes to building a home mesh Wi-Fi system, you can pick an advanced approach using one of the five DIY options, or you can get a purpose-built (a.k.a. canned) system. This post includes the five most popular brands of the latter, ranking from the list recommended to the best.
Keep in mind, though, that all of the systems mentioned here will take care of getting you connected. What differentiates one from another is their hardware options (performance), ease of use, features, cost, and privacy.
By the end of this post, among other things, you will be able to determine which brand is the best to bring home, if at all.
Dong’s note: I first published this post on March 24, 2021, and last updated it on December 17, 2024, with the latest information.
Top Five Most Popular Home Mesh: The list
If you’re new to the Wi-Fi system, I detailed that in this post on what a mesh is.
But the gist is that you use multiple Wi-Fi broadcasters together to form a single network. Use one as the primary unit (the router), and the rest works as satellite units that extend the router’s network either via network cables (wired backhauling) or Wi-Fi (wireless backhauling).
Fronthaul vs. Backhaul
When you use multiple Wi-Fi broadcasters—in a mesh Wi-Fi system or a combo of a router and an extender—there are two types of connections: fronthaul and backhaul.
Fronthaul is the Wi-Fi signals broadcast outward for clients or the local area network (LAN) ports for wired devices. It’s what we generally expect from a Wi-Fi broadcaster.
Backhaul (a.k.a backbone), on the other hand, is the link between one satellite Wi-Fi broadcaster and another, which can be the network’s primary router, a switch, or another satellite unit.
This link works behind the scenes to keep the hardware units together as a system. It also determines the ceiling bandwidth (and speed) of all devices connected to the particular satellite Wi-Fi broadcaster.
At the satellite/extender unit, the connection used for the backhaul—a Wi-Fi link or a network port—is often called the uplink. Generally, a Wi-Fi broadcaster might use one of its bands (2.4GHz, 5GHz, or 6GHz) or a network port for the uplink.
When a Wi-Fi band handles backhaul and fronthaul simultaneously, only half its bandwidth is available to either end. When a Wi-Fi band functions solely for backhauling, often available traditional Tri-band hardware, it’s called the dedicated backhaul.
Generally, for the best performance and reliability, network cables are recommended for backhauling—wired backhauling, which is an advantage of mesh Wi-Fi hardware with network ports. In this case, a satellite broadcaster can use its entire Wi-Fi bandwidth for front-hauling.
That’s the case with all of the canned ecosystems mentioned here. By the way, I’ll add a brief history of each, including the time when their first hardware was released. This list is sorted in the recommendation order, with the numbers being the ranking.
Top 5 most popular purpose-built mesh Wi-Fi brands
 |  |  |  |  | |
| Name | Asus AiMesh’s Rating | Linksys Velop Smart Wi-Fi’s Rating | TP-Link Deco’s Rating | Netgear Orbi’s Rating | Amazon eero’s Rating |
| Price | – | – | – | – | – |
| Rating | |||||
| Description | |||||
| Statistics | |||||
| Buy this product |
5. The eero (Feb 2016): Ease-of-use trumps all, including consumers’ privacy
It’s appropriate that we talk about the eero—all lowercase—first, for two reasons.
The first reason is that it’s the pioneer in canned home mesh systems. In February 2016, eero, then a boutique networking startup in San Francisco, introduced a 3-pack Wi-Fi 5 namesake mesh of identical routers and started what I called the home mesh movement. Soon after the eero’s debut, almost all other networking vendors joined the mesh race, and the rest is history.
The second reason, unfortunately, is not as positive: over the years, the eero has grown to be the worst in my book by today’s standard for a few reasons.
The eero’s idea was quite revolutionary when first launched. It was the first app-operated networking hardware as a service and has remained that way. In return, it forces the users’ network to be connected to eero at all times—and all that implies. In fact, when you pay for the hardware, you don’t own it. You only buy the privilege of using it. It’s always the vendor who decides how it functions. As a result, advanced users will likely feel they are being held hostage when using an eero router.
Additionally, eero collects a lot of user information, so much so that, in my opinion, Amazon bought it in 2019, likely to take advantage of the user data for marketing purposes.
Here’s eero’s lengthy Privacy Policy.
The worst thing about the eero, however, is the fact its hardware tends to be relatively low in specs and high in cost while having close to nothing in terms of free/basic features and network/Wi-Fi settings. The eero app constantly nags users to opt for the eero Plus paid subscription. And even with the paid features factored in, the eero hardware is generally behind what many other brands offer for free.
Amazon eero's Rating
Pros
Easy to set up and use
Generally reliable with scalable Wi-Fi coverage
Eye-catching design
Cons
Heavy on user data collection, no local management, vendor login account to work useful features require eero Plus subscription
Lacking standard features and settings
Often middling-specced and overpriced
4. Netgear Orbi (Oct 2016): Dedicated wireless backhaul meet high costs
In October 2016, Netgear launched its first Orbi set, the RBK50, as the answer to the eero. It has one novelty: the dedicated backhaul band.
Specifically, the hardware generally has an additional 5GHz band that works solely as the wireless backhauling. For this reason, Orbi typically uses tri-band or quad-band hardware with the 5GHz split in two.
This approach was a great success with Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6 for homes that can’t have network cables (for wired backhauling.) Free from having to be compatible with clients, this dedicated backhaul band, often the upper portion of the 5GHz frequency, can be engineered to have great range and fast speed.
However, the always-backhaul-dedicated band has its issue: even when you use wired backhauling, this 5GHz band is still not available to clients, making the hardware more expensive than necessary. And Netgear’s Orbis are known to be pricey, sometimes even outrageously so.
In 2024, the Orbi 770 series is the first tri-band hardware that no longer uses the dedicated backhaul band thanks to the use of Wi-Fi 7’s MLO feature. This approach will likely continue with future hardware.
Netgear and your privacy
Associating the hardware with a login account with the vendor generally translates into privacy risks.
Here’s Netgear’s Privacy Policy.
Managing your home network via a third party is generally not a good idea, but privacy is a matter of degree. Data collection and handling vary vendor by vendor.
In terms of ease of use and features, all Orbi hardware comes with a web user interface that allows for local management. However, if you want convenience and remote access, you need to opt for the Orbi mobile app, which requires a login account with Netgear. The app is also needed for the add-on premium that allows for online protection, parental controls, and other valuable features.
Netgear Orbi's Rating
Pros
Fast, reliable Wi-Fi with extensive coverage
Full web interface with all standard settings and features
Useful, well-designed mobile app
Wi-Fi 6 versions support WAN Link Aggregation and often have Multi-Gig support
Cons
High cost
No 160MHz channel support on the 5GHz band in Wi-Fi 6/6E hardware, limited Wi-Fi customization
No cross-Wi-Fi standard hardware compatibility
Bulky design
Mobile app and security/Parental Controls features require a login account
3. TP-Link Deco (April 2017): More bang (and options) for your buck
TP-Link introduced its first Deco set, the Deco M5, in April 2017 as a better alternative to the eero. While also app-operated via the Deco app with a login account, hence the privacy concerns, TP-Link is a networking company and not a big data one like the case of Amazon.
TP-Link and your privacy
Signing in with a vendor-linked online account generally means your hardware connects to the vendor at all times, which translates into inherent privacy risks.
On this matter, the China-origin company, among other things, insists that it’s a “global multinational group” and offers this assurance:
“TP-Link takes privacy seriously and complies with U.S. policies to protect consumers.”
TP-Link’s Privacy Policy page.
Managing your home network via a third party is never a good idea. Privacy is a matter of degree. Data collection and handling vary vendor by vendor and region by region.
Additionally, over the years, the Deco app has grown to offer close to everything a standard router (such as TP-Link’s Archer lineup) has to offer.
The Deco brand also has a premium add-on called HomeShield Pro that has advanced online protection and in-depth parental controls (among other things). However, in most cases, consumers get everything they need from a typical network without paying for a subscription.
Finally, the Deco brand has lots of hardware options, often with variants explicitly made for specific retailers or regions, that will meet everyone’s needs in terms of performance grades. But the vast number of hardware variants can be a headache to know which is which when you want to pick the right equipment.
TP-Link Deco's Rating
Pros
Affordable with lots of hardware options
Easy-to-use mobile app
Reliable Wi-Fi coverage
Good-looking
Cons
Spartan Wi-Fi customization, network settings, and features
Limited port-related features
App and login account required, no real web user interface
Confusing HomeShield/HomeCare online protection and Parental Control features
2. Linksys Velop Intelligent Mesh (Jan 2017): The all-new “Pain-free” approach
Linksys’s first canned mesh was the Velop (model WHW0303), which was released in January 2017 to answer the Orbi and the eero. From then until early 2024, Linksys’s Velop was very similar to Netgear’s Orbi, with one exception: it has no dedicated backhaul band.
And then, during this time, Linksys (at times owned by Belkin and then Foxconn) did the same thing in terms of app coercion. There’s a local web interface, but users are encouraged to use the Linksys Velop app.
However, in early 2024, with the release of the Micro 6, Linksys Velop has taken a new “pain-free” direction, which aims to give consumers all that they want from the hardware for free. Specifically, users can start using a (new) Linksys Velop system without using an app or the web user interface. But if they want to use either or both, you can, too, and in that case, you can either work locally or have the option to link with a Linksys account. The company says it has no intention or interest in collecting user information. Finally, there’s no add-on premium to worry about.
Linksys’s simple and clear Privacy Pledge.
Still, in terms of features and settings, the Velop band is similar to the Deco or Orbi above, and it’s far inferior to what Asus’s AiMesh (below) has to offer.
Linksys Velop Smart Wi-Fi's Rating
Pros
Generally reliable Wi-Fi with good coverage; pain-free, no-nonsense approach (starting early 2024)
Helpful mobile app, full web interface, optional vendor-assisted management
Flexible wired/wireless backhaul
Cons
Modest hardware specs, lack of innovation in features and performance, expensive
No Dual-WAN, Link Aggregation, or VPN; no setting backup/restore; no pre-synced hardware
1. Asus’s AiMesh/ZenWiFi/ExpertWifi (Feb 2018): The most robust (and potentially daunting) home mesh option
Asus introduced the AiMesh option as an add-on feature via firmware update in February 2018, together with the release of the RT-AC86U.
Since then, this has been one of the most significant home mesh developments, thanks to its versatility: almost any AiMesh-enabled Asus router can work as the primary mesh unit or a satellite. As a result, over the years, there have been countless possible mesh combos.
As though that weren’t enough, in early 2020, Asus introduced the ZenWiFi family, which is a purpose-built mesh that’s based on AiMesh. And then, in late 2023, it unveiled the ExpertWiFi business lineup that’s also based on the same AiMesh feature.
All this makes AiMesh the most comprehensive mesh approach hardware-wise: technically, you can use all of the hardware mentioned above together to build a mesh system. It’s also the only approach that bridges home mesh and business mesh.
In terms of features and settings, all AiMesh-based systems have the same benefits as Asus’s standalone router, meaning you’ll get everything you’d want from a home/SMB router and likely even more. Asus doesn’t have any add-on premium like the case of Amazon eero, Netgear Orbi, or TP-Link Deco—all of its features are available for free for the life of the hardware.
AiMesh isn’t perfect. It can be daunting to deal with, considering the vast possibilities in hardware combos and the number of features and settings. Still, ZenWiFi and ExpertWiFi are the best home mesh and excellent SMB mesh options, respectively, for savvy users who want to build their network to the max without needing an IT professional.
Asus AiMesh's Rating
Pros
The most flexible way to build a robust, scalable home Wi-Fi mesh system
Excellent performance, top-notch feature set
Built-in online protection
No vendor login is required, nor are there other privacy risks
Comparatively affordable
Cons
Certain router combos can be buggy or have issues with new major firmware releases.
Mixing hardware of different Wi-Fi tiers, standards, or numbers of bands could be problematic
The takeaway
Those mentioned here are all popular purpose-built home mesh systems in the market. There are others, but chances are they are not as significant, despite the fact some are actually quite famous, like Google’s Nest Pro.
You’ll note that none of the brands above will give you everything. Ultimately, you must choose between ease of use, performance, features, and privacy. Find a combo you can tolerate and go with it.
I’ve had an ongoing issue with many mesh systems I’ve tried – from Eero, Google, Netgear ORBI (even the supposed top-of-line RBKE963).
Basically, I am told I may have “too many” IoT devices (wall switches, plugs, cameras, etc.) on my network.
I have over 200 2.4GHz devices (most are low-bandwidth, like plugs), ~50 5GHz, and the rest are LAN.
As you review systems like this, especially the Mesh ones, it’d be helpful to note their anticipated limits (which are becoming more commonly published), as well as what you might do to test them.
Same for what features (besides accounts) they require. For example, I just returned a new Eero 6E system because I use my own DHCP server and the Eero required using theirs (except in Bridge mode, which sorta defeats the point). Same with the TP-Link XE200.
Even with the ORBI RBKE963, they can’t get it to work with my network. This, after eight months of technical conversations – beyond their Level 2, 3, 4, to a Wifi engineer who was supposedly liaising with Qualcomm (chip maker) to try to figure out my issues.
(I think most of my issues are due to their “beamforming” and similar technologies that can’t be turned off in newer ORBI models – didn’t have problems with the old RBR50.)
I’m now waiting to try the Asus XT12, Tenda EX12 or MX12, ARRIS SURFboard mAX Pro W133, Linksys Atlas Max 6E, Motorola Q14 Wi-Fi 6E Mesh System, trying the Ubiquiti soon, and some others, to see which allow me using my own DHCP server and support my ~300 MAC addresses.
By way of perspective, house first floor is 58’x32′, second floor is smaller. So we’re not talking a huge place. The problem is I need the main router by one corner, so I often end up thinking I need two satellites (one middle second floor, one further away in garage to cover front-of-house cameras).
Any thoughts on which can handle my quantity of devices?
Your problem will NEVER be solved by how you currently see things, Bruce. You make too many assumptions based on false information and marketing hype and then keep looking for stuff that doesn’t exist. Check out this post, read it *carefully*, and you’ll find the solution.
Note that the number of devices you have is also very high and the default IP pool of your router might have already run out. You might need to use a double NAT to increase it.
The Synology routers allow you to offer larger than the standard 255 client addresses per pool if you use the correctly subnetted addresses.
Late reply, you probably have looked into something like a separate WiFi channel for IoT, so the security settings and IP range is separated for things like bulbs and plugs, sensors and devices.
Then an additional 2.4ghz and 5/6ghz channel to separate older devices from newer ones that can access 40/80/160mhz channels.
The problem comes from having a single wifi channel for 100+ devices – very few devices need to discover or broadcast to each other, so the isolation / filtering of channels (IoT/Guest/2.4/5ghz) tends to help add more devices to the network. And separates IP or set up security access or filtering.
Plus, you can tweak the radio output strength of each mesh to keep clients from hogging the network.
This is far more advanced, but the unifi series can handles most of this configuration. It’s more complicated on the other mesh where you can’t adjust the channels without AI/roaming algorithms switching bandwidth, etc.
Hi Dong,
I did disable the Motorola MG8702 combo unit and using it as a straight up modem, it’s working fine like that. I purchased two Asus RT-AX92U (in a two-pack configuration) and I’m using them as a whole house mesh system and the coverage is great. No complaints and a huge THANK YOU to you Dong for steering me in the correct direction.
Barry
Excellent, Barry! Thanks for sharing. And you’re welcome.
Hi anh Dong,
Em có một vài câu hỏi liên quan đến setup router/wifi cho nhà của em. Hi vọng anh có thể hỗ trợ em được phần nào đó. Nhà hiện tại setup như sau:
1. Nhà em khoảng 130m2/tầng x 3 tầng xây bằng tường gạch, bao gồm 5 phòng (cả phòng khách/bếp/ngủ), nhà em có khoảng 4 TVs, 8 điện thoại, khoảng 7-8 thiết bị thông minh.
2. Hiện tại em đang setup các router nhà em như sau:
– Modem ISP: chế độ router, tắt wifi broadcast, hiện tại có 4 ports em đang dùng làm switch để kết nối đến 2 routers: 1. asus rt-ac3200u và 2. netgear nighthawk R7000
– Nighthawk R7000: hiện tại em đang để tầng 1 chế độ router cắm dây LAN từ modem isp vào cổng WAN của router này và broadcast wifi network tên như modem (tầng 1 em dùng khá ổn định, ít sảy ra vấn đề)
– Asus RT-3200U: hiện tại em để ở tầng 2, cũng setup như Nighthawk R7000 như trên, dây LAN từ modem isp cắm trực tiếp vào công WAN, tên wifi như tên modem (tên wifi thứ 2)
– Nighthawk EX7000: hiện tại em đặt tầng 3 để extend wifi network từ Asus router, hiện tại em đang gặp rất nhiều vấn đề với mạng tại tầng 3, cái repeater này thi thoảng treo không vào được, restart thì work được khoảng vài ngày lại treo, internet chậm và có thể k vào được.
Em đang tìm cách để nâng cấp hệ thống mạng nhà em, em đang suy nghĩ nâng lên mesh wifi để dùng cho ổn định, hoặc quy hoạch lại hệ thống mạng hiện tại. Nếu anh có thời gian anh tư vấn giúp em nên làm như nào.
Em cảm ơn anh.
Chào Thanh! Mình không thấy câu hỏi (?) nào trong phần bạn viết. Và nói chung, mình không tư vấn cụ thể cho bất kỳ trường hợp nào. Thanh nên xem bài viết này và bắt đầu từ đó. Chúc thành công!
Hi anh,
Câu hỏi của em chỉ đơn giản là modem nào em nên để ở chế độ AP hoặc router? Nếu setup như thế này có ổn k ạ: Modem ISP (Gateway)—> 1. R7000 (Router); 2. ASUS (AP) và kết nối repeater từ ASUS.
Hi Dong,
What is the difference between having 3 identical access points with a wired back bone and a mesh network with a wired back bone?
I used to have multiple access points and I used to try and keep the channels apart, but I have noticed that with my new ASUS XT8s with a wired backbone all the nodes are using the same channel! I don’t get it!
I explained that in this post on mesh systems, Jez.
Thanks dong, but I couldn’t see in your article why it is using the same channel, is it better? worse? Or better for roaming and worse for performance? Why would my XT8’s decide to use the same channel when it could use different channels – especially as all nodes know which channels all the other nodes are on and could sense there relative position to each other. Or is it just anti social using up all the channels?
Check out this post on Wi-Fi as a whole, Jez. Don’t make assumptions. https://dongknows.com/home-wi-fi-explained/
Hi anh Đông. Em không biết là anh có thể nói tiếng Việt được nhiều hoặc có thể đọc hiểu tiếng Việt được không?
Em có thể hỏi anh 1 chút về loại Deco X60 được không? Vì hiện tại nhà em đang dùng Giga plan và Deco M9 (3 packs).
Sơ đồ hiện tại của em là Modem Frontier ==> Switch 5 port ==> Deco M9 (wired). Em có đi dây ra cho main router và 1 dây cho cục extend của M9.
Giờ thì em muốn upgrade lên Deco X60 cho wifi 6, theo anh thì nó có đáng để upgrade không? Hoặc là em nên mua mesh của Orbi.
Hiện tại thì em đang dùng M9 cho công việc, gaming, và nhà em thì tầm 20 thiết bị khi cao điểm.
Cảm ơn anh.
Theo sơ đồ thì cách cài đặt hiện thời là không ổn, Bao. Đúng thì là: Modem -> Deco router -> Switch -> Deco vệ tinh / cách thiết bị khác . (Xem thêm ở đây.) Nếu nhà mình đã có dây cáp mạng (và switch) rồi, thì nên dùng bộ Asus XD4 hoặc một bộ dual-band tương tự. Deco X60 cũng ổn nhưng rất thiếu các tùy chọn hoặc các đặc tính khác. Không nên dùng tri-band. 🙂
Cảm ơn anh đã trả lời thắc mắc của em.
Nếu theo sơ đồ của anh thì em phải tính toán đi lại dây cáp mạng cho nhà. Vậy nên theo em thấy em có thể tận dụng được Modem 4 port của nhà mạng.
Anh nghĩ thế nào nếu em chia trên Modem của Frontier theo sơ đồ như thế này ạ:
Port 1 -> Main router
Port 2 -> Switch
Switch -> Deco vệ tinh
Vì hiện tại em đang dùng port của main router Deco để đi thẳng vào PC. Nên nếu theo sơ đồ của anh thì có vẻ rất khó để em có thể đi lại toàn bộ dây cáp mạng trong nhà.
Em đang dự tính upgrade X60 vì thấy Costco đang có đợt sale cho nó anh ạ. Nếu theo anh review thì em cũng đang phân vân với Asus đây :'(
Cảm ơn anh.
Như vậy thì cái “modem” trong trường hợp này không phải là modem, mà là một cái gateway.(Xem thêm ở đây). Trong trường hợp này thì nên chuyển gateway sang Bridge Mode hoặc chuyển X60, hoặc một bộ Wi-Fi mới, sang chế độ AP. (Xem thêm ở đây.)
Có vẻ khá phức tạp nếu như em dùng thêm switch để cắm trực tiếp vào modem.
Anh có nghĩ Modem sẽ chịu tải tốt nếu như em dùng trực tiếp 4 port của modem cho X60 (main rounter and setterline).
Nhà em là single house tầm 2500 sqt nên em thiết nghĩ là nên dùng mesh wifi và X60 thì chỉ có 2 port (wan và lan). Vì đa phần là phone và smart tv, camera, themorstat. Chỉ có 1 PC duy nhất để em control tất cả các thiết bị trong nhà.
Vậy theo anh nghĩ, em có nên để thêm switch để giảm tải cho modem hay là không cần switch và để modem tự cân bằng cho tất cả các thiết bị.
1 sơ đồ nữa của em là như này:
Internet -> Modem
Port 1 (modem) -> X60 main router -> PC
Port 2 (modem) -> X60 set (1)
Port 3 (modem) -> X60 set (2)
Cảm ơn anh.
Very helpful article. I have the original Linksys Velop triband mesh with the parent and 3 children in a 3600sf home (2500 sf on the main level and the rest upstairs). I have 1gig speed internet with Comcast. We have a lot of devices – multiple computers, 20+ cams (mix of Arlo and Abode), a couple of tablets, many Amazon Alexa devices and many TPlink plugs, switches and bulbs. While the Velop had issues early on they all seem to be ironed out and I get very good Wi-Fi. My only issue is when we have a power interruption. Most times all nodes reconnect, but on occasion one particular node will not reconnect (usually when I am on vacation) without unplugging and plugging back in. So I am basically pleased with the system. Is there any reason to upgrade the system (Wi-Fi 6??) or should I just leave well enough alone? Thanks for all of the information you provide. It is much appreciated.
You should leave it alone for now, Martin.
Thanks!
Hi Dong
Its refreshing to see reviews from someone who seems to know these products technically as opposed to an IT journalist
Re the Highthawk you say “Most importantly, it doesn’t come with a permanent dedicated backhaul — it’s excellent for wired backhaul.” I have a home thats wired so does this mean the Nighthawk is a good choice for me? I also note you didn’t think its performance was great, should i werry about this much?
I wrote that in the comparison with the Orbi, Darrel. If you have wired your home, I’d recommend a set of dual-band AiMesh hardware. But the MK63 will work, too.
Hi Dong,
Great posts. I live in a 3800 sq foot single family home with three floors built in 1990, basement and two stories. My Motorola MG 8702 combo modem/router, purchased January 2021, is located in the far side corner of the house in my office and I cannot move it. The house is not wired for internet use and I use Comcast as my ISP provider. The wifi coverage is weak to non-existent in corners of the house. I have tried Netgear extenders, the latest was the 7500, all without success even though it was placed within 35 feet from the router. I completely agree that extenders are not a solution.
Any recommendations on a mesh system? Cost is not a huge factor.
Thanks for all you do to help us out.
Try a 2-pack Asus RT-AX92U, Barry. Placement is the key.
Thanks Dong, I’ll give the 2-pack Asus RT-AX92U a try. I am looking for a mesh system that will serve me well now and grow in the future and hopefully the AX92U can fill that need. I’m in the process of converting the house to become “smart” and adding more smart devices all the time.
I presume I will need to convert the Motorola combo unit to become just a modem and disable the routing capabilities? do you believe the Motorola combo unit acting as just a modem will be sufficient to handle all of the Asus requirements?
I read you “placement” article and will try to comply as much as possible but the main router must remain in my office at one end of the house as that’s where the Comcast cable is installed.
Is there anything else I need to know before moving forward with the purchase?
Thanks again for your help.
Barry, a year removed from your post what did you end up doing?
I hope you definetly disabled the wifi combo part on your modem.
Budget not an option must be nice. Pay or do it yourself to have Cat 6e wired to the other nodes of a mesh system and get them most out of your Gig service from Comcast.
Taz
Thanks for the frank input Dong. I’ll have to try some more smooze and hopefully she won’t respond “Negative Ghostrider!” Thanks again.
Hi Dong,
I greatly appreciate what is clearly a labor of love as reflected by your website and you’re a tremendous fount of knowledge. Thank you.
I’m considering a WiFi 6-type mesh setup as we don’t have any high-quality ethernet wiring installers available in our location; and I’m certainly not going to start punching arbitrary holes in walls to string it myself (she’ll kill me!). So…
I like the idea of the Orbi RBK853 or 854 but in checking myriad reviews it seems to work out either really well or quite poorly, in terms of long-term, consistent signal reliability at range. In addition, AiMesh seems to be kind of hit-or-miss for more than a few as well. Given this, would we be better served by a RAX200 and a ‘mesh-like’ extender such as the EX8000 or EAX80?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts and guidance and all you do in providing your readers with all the amazing content!
Greg
Extenders are *always* terrible, Greg. But yes, a wireless mesh system, though better, is also hit or miss since there are so many factors that can make things not work as intended — more on that in the top section of this post. If you want solid Wi-Fi performance, the risk of getting killed is the only way. I speak from experience (it worked out well in my case.)
HI Dong,
Thank you for your realy helpfull post. I have a question. I live in a concrete/stone house with 3 floors. I want to set up a mesh network for the whole house. In the hallway I will connect the “mesh router” next to my ISP modem. To reach the back of the garden, about 35 meters removed from the ISP modem, I want to place the first satellite in my living room, between the garden and the hallway. This satellite will be wired.
On the 2nd floor I want to place another satellite, non-wired. My ISP download speed is 600mb/40mb.
I want to try and stay with a 3pack for now. In the future I would like to replace my excisting (wired)network set-up on the attic.
Because of the wired/non wired set-up I would like to know what you would recommend.
Kind regards from the Netherlands
You should go with a tri-band set of the Linksys Velop, like the MX4200, or three units of the Asus RT-AX92U, Mike.
Hello, Dong.
I read your recent review of Eero where you say you don’t recommend it. I also read the 6/15 article on mesh products, where you talk about pros and cons. I’m hoping you might give me an outright recommendation or two.
Q: What would you recommend for a large house (stucco walls) with WIRED backhaul?
I agree: I don’t trust Amazon vis-a-vis privacy … I tend to trust Google more.
I think I want WiFi 6 (or even 6E).
Ease of setup is secondary.
Would be a plus to have a built-in VPN like my current TP-Link AC2300.
I’d go with a dual-band set of AiMesh, Dan. https://dongknows.com/best-aimesh-routers-and-combos/
Hi Dong
The more I know, the more I realise I don’t know…..however I have established from reading your material and others’ (for real time range testing) that I need 4 to 5 broadcasters, each separated about 30 to 45 ft apart with 2 or more brick walls between them; but all connected via cat5e wiring/GB switches, except one. Each broadcaster/node ideally has a range of 2500 sq.ft. (Or more practically speaking ~25ft radius from node.
The above knocks a lot of the mesh units off the perch (so to speak), leaving the longer range stuff like: orbi, Deco, D-Link (the Asus units that have a good range are prohibitively expensive when 4 to 5 units are needed).
So here’s my question. Out of the following short list:
– Netgear RBK50 AC3000 (25 ft radius range);
– Velos (25 ft radius range), how would you rate them in terms of:
– roaming reliability for speeds <100Mbps, seamlessly switching between nodes;
– use of wired backhaul for most, but also one node possibly using a PowerPoint link;
– reliability over several or more years?
I’m not that fussed about speed…..happy with 100 Mbps. Also run a NAS, but that works fine just off the wired network.
Stuffed up my post…some options have been lost, namely:
– TP Deco x60
– D-Link x1873
Since you use wired backhaul, the Orbi is out of the question. Go with the “Velop”. By the way, it’s “Powerline”.
Hi Dong
Been looking at Apple Linksys Velos mesh wifi sets AC6600 tri band released late 2020. But, it looks like these are the 4 year old original sets revamped. They have the Ethernet etc cables coming out of the bottom corner. Do you know anything about these mesh sets? Your review doesn’t appear to cover these.
It’s similar to any regular Linksys Velop, Rudi.
Dong,
I was curious of your thoughts on using MoCA as a wired backhaul for a dual-band mesh system vs using a Tri-Band Mesh system with a dedicated backhaul channel. For my specific case, my main router is on the middle level of a three level home on one side due to where service comes in. The whole house is wired for cable into each room but I am currently using DSL provider due to cost effectiveness of the speed/service. I understand MoCA is inferior to a wired CAT 5e/6 backhaul, but is it in any way better or comparable to just using Tri-band Mesh system?
MoCA is fine if you use the latest one and the wiring is good, Arther. As for “comparable”, check out this post for more on the Wi-Fi range.
Hi Dong
Very informative. I like your coverage about privacy and being locked into vendor cloud, etc. services, which helped me remove some brands from the short list for a new mesh system.
Looked at asus mesh units, but when reading through the manual, I found it hard the read past all the typo’s and grammatical errors……it was quite riddled with errors. That made me think if that’s all asus cares about their user manual, what’s the software going to be like.
Your comment about software updates that break setups that work also rings alarm bells for me.
So based on the two above points, I’m not to keen to buy into those issues.
Also looked at Netgear, who don’t seem to suffer from these issues. So keen to see your full review of the MK8x.
Look into the firmware problems that Netgear has been having for the last few years. The Netgear community forum is a good place to start.
Asus is a Taiwanese company so Engish is definitely not their forte, Rudi. The issue with firmware happens in all vendors. It happens more with Asus, if so, likely because Asus releases firmware updates more frequently.
The difference that I found between Netgear and Asus firmware was that Netgear forced me to take the next firmware version, whether it worked well or not. With Asus, there’s always a working firmware version that you can revert to. Big difference…with the Netgear Orbi’s that I had, when I got a bad firmware release (too frequent), I was stuck with it until the next release. Asus is much better about arming the user with the tools to make things work.
Agreed, Roger! Some Netgear routers, not all, also allow you to downgrade to an older version of the firmware, though. But Netgear sure is taking the controlling route of late.
I bought an RT-AX89X about 16 months ago for WiFi 6 and for the latest and greatest. It’s been an unpleasant ride of regularly dropped connections, etc. However, in July 2021 it started to become pretty stable. They screwed things up a couple of times since then, but as of now, it’s working perfectly (as far as I can tell) and performance is excellent. Despite the previous headaches, I’m glad I purchased this beast especially now that WiFi 6 products (like new Macs) are being released. I was planning to add an AI mesh router, but the single router seems to be providing all the coverage I need in my 2000 sq’ house plus large garage. Signal in grounds outside and around the property are very good as well. The multiple 1G ports as well as the pair of 10G ports put this router in a class by itself.
Your experience is about right, Thomas. I had a better one but mostly because I took into account that the earlier firmware versions were buggy. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
My next mesh is Synology, both units, simply because I’ve never heard of them and they’re not any of the big gorillas, so to speak. Write-ups from Dong are great and that’s good enough for me. My Portal mesh has served well for 5 plus years but I’m on to the next.
Good call, M!
You know what? You should look up the eero Pro, and you’ll find that the eero Pro 6 is simply the next tri-band version of the eero, with wifi-6 added. So your statement that the eero Pro 6 is the first eero tri-band router is simply not true. The eero Pro 6 also has more up-to-date hardware, and is generally more capable than prior models. But that’s pretty much okay, you have most of the rest right. The accent is on ease of installation and use. I find the performance to be fine, not exciting, but fine. If you just want to use your network, and not spend time fiddling with it, then the eero is a fine choice. It will serve user needs with little attention.
Catching eeros on sale is the way to buy them…they are on sale occasionally, and the bundles go on sale as well. I got two eero pro 6’s on Amazon during the last holiday season for about $320, not a bad price.
You’re, right, Roger. For some reason I got confused between Pro and Wi-Fi 6, etc. Gonna correct it. Thanks.
What would be the best performance (fastest connection speeds) option to cover a 3000sq home and 1/2 acre of land, if my only option is a wireless backhaul? From what I can tell it seems that Velop would be the best, but I’ve always had TP-Link routers….
Usage patterns are lots of streaming (3 users), 30+ smart devices, full time at home office, and a teenager doing virtual learning (covid times).
Router is currently upstairs, gaming systems in basement 35 feet from router, and I often sit outside with laptop to work.
This has more to do with your Internet speed than your Wi-Fi, Alex. From the way you asked, I can see you make some assumptions. I’d recommend you start with this post, nobody can give you specific recommendations with just the info you mentioned: https://dongknows.com/how-to-pick-the-best-wi-fi-router-for-your-home/
Hi Dong,
I’ve got an Arris TG3452A router/modem from my ISP that doesn’t seem to be able to fully cover our 2k sq ft house (weak signal at the opposite end of the house). Our house is prewired with Cat 5e cable, so I was hoping to use that and a switch to connect the router and a mesh system to improve the wifi coverage. I don’t have much technical experience, so I am looking for some guidance on how to best achieve this – replace router/modem with full mesh system or add on to it. If there is a system that is relatively easy to setup/use that would be great. For what it’s worth, our internet comes into the router/modem by cable, so I would have to consider that as well I suppose. Also, I was hoping to use PoE, to the extent possible, as it would make it easier to locate the devices based on the cat 5e outlets.
Any guidance would be appreciated.
Check out this post, Kyle. In your case, this AP will do.
Hey Dong, great post. My Orbi Rbk50 router just died after 4 years. I have gigabit and I’m looking for full wireless with no backhaul for about a 2500 sq foot property with outdoor cameras. Orbi served me well but stuttered at times. Looking to spend around 300 plus tax. I like the idea of wifi6 and tri band future proofing. Any suggestions.
Go with the Asus RT-AX92U, Sam.
2 Costco specials- which to choose:
Velox AX4200 2pack for $229 or netgear MX63 3pack for $200?
The house isn’t big enough that I really Need additional units and I would prefer to go wired back haul.
Recommendation?
Your call, Jim. Either will do with wired backhaul. If you’re sure 2 are enough, though, go with the Linksys.
Dong, I see you mention AiMesh as a versatile system for mixing and matching ASUS’s line. Is TP-Link’s OneMesh comparable?
I’ve added OneMesh to this list, Phil, but it’s way inferior. More in this post.
Hi there,
I’m looking at x90 Deco or Asus XT8.
Which do you reckon is better?
Thank you
Jeremy
I’d go with the Asus, Jeremy. The X90 is basically the X5700.
Thank you for the response Dong!
I have a wired backhaul set up too. they are very similar except the xt8 has usb port.
Sure, Jeremy. If you haven’t gotten one yet, with a wired setup, I’d recommend a dual-band set. More here. But the TP-Link will work out fine, and yes, an Asus set will give you a lot more features, including those relating to the USB port.
i’ve got my place fully wired up actually.
Which would you go for within the price range of a pair of xt8?
it’s a new place so i’d like to “future proof” it if possible 🙂
Thanks again Dong!
I don’t keep tabs on the pricing, Jeremy. But the post I linked in the previous reply will help.