Time for a new MESH setup

[Killerbob]

After 5 loyal years of service, my LinkSys Velop MESH system is starting to show its age. Our house is on three levels, 1500sq. ft. each, and my ISP Modem is installed in the basement.

I have hardwired a QNAP 10G Switch to the ISP router and my office is wired (Mac Pros, Mac Studio, and QNAP NAS). Everything else is on WiFi, and at any moment in time about 30-50 devices connect to my MESH satellites. I have three Velop nodes, all hardwired to the ISP router.

My problems started when I added 6 Sonos speakers and a new 4K Apple TV to my Entertainment Center - speeds are slow, as in real slow.

I have checked out the MESH offerings, and it is a bit crazy how many systems there are. I am looking for:

• WiFi 6e - iPads, iPhones and TV would use 6e
• 2.5G Ethernet on the base unit at least, 2xGigabit on the satellites - One for backhaul, and one for wired Ethernet to my alarm and to a backup NAS set up elsewhere in the house
• Decent Bridge mode as my ISP modem performs really poorly in Bridge mode

Any suggestions and/or experiences?

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

Netgear Orbi mesh is pretty strong right now and is arguably the standard but you’re gonna pay for it.

 

[Killerbob]

According to Netgear I “need” the 960-series. CAD1800 for a 3-pack… Probably a bit overkill for me…

Any other experiences?

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

According to Netgear I “need” the 960-series. CAD1800 for a 3-pack… Probably a bit overkill for me…

Any other experiences?

You don’t have to take their recommendations. That’s the nice thing about mesh, you can add on as necessary.

 

[icanhazmac]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09PRB1MZM?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

I recently bought this setup, it is wifi6 not 6e but I am fairly sure the newer models have support. You might want to check them out as an alternative to NetGear, I am done with them and will probably never purchase another one of their products.

Edit: this one offers 6E

https://www.amazon.com/Deco-Mesh-Wifi-6E-Router/dp/B09VW5JHPH/ref=sr_1_1?crid=TXA2J00RNYUG&qid=1704201452&sprefix=axe5400,aps,194&ufe=app_do:amzn1.fos.f5122f16-c3e8-4386-bf32-63e904010ad0&th=1

 

[Killerbob]

My 3 months usage report is:

I bought a DECO setup: 2 x XE75 Pro and 1 x BE63/65.

The BE63/65 is the Router connected to my ISP Gateway. I picked the BE63/65 because it has 4 x 2.5GbE ports and one is connected to my ISP Gateway, one is connected to a 10GbE QNAP Switch, and the remaining two are connected to my XE75 Pro nodes.

The XE75 Pros, with their one 2.5GbE port and two Gigabit ports, ensure a hardwired and consistently stable backhaul for the MESH system.

On average, I have 60 devices on the system, with 8 of these hardwired to the Switch.

Since I started running this setup, I have only had stable WiFi throughout the house. My Apple TV 4K consistently gets 500Mbps, and my iPad Pro is in the 900-1100Mbps range. My Mac Pro and Mac Studio are getting 1550Mbps on my 1500Mbps ISP connection.

My only issue is that every time I run the Network Optimization in the DECO app the 6GHz WiFi is changing from channel 69 to 86, or the other way around. Every. Single. Time.