For years, we have called mesh WiFi the solution for a fast and reliable wireless network with a good range. But… mesh Wi-Fi is not always the best option everywhere. In this article, we’ll discuss some alternatives that, depending on your home and situation, might be a better option.
The advantages of a Wi-Fi mesh system are known, but there are also disadvantages: the better sets are pricey, they often replace all existing hardware that you have already invested in and of course it remains a wireless solution. And all signals that pass through the air are by definition sensitive to external influences.
Each house is also unique; the layout, the available hardware and the exact wifi problem therefore differs per situation. Perhaps investing in a complete mesh system is an exaggeration if you are only just that little bit short of range for the back of the garden or that one room in the attic. Or what if your house is fully wired? Then of course you want to make optimal use of it.
The latter actually remains the best advice we can give anyway: if you really want to create a top WiFi network, nothing is more reliable than having a cable drawn. In this article we discuss situations in which cables are not a solution, but we also outline how you can (have) a situation where you can, for a truly ultimate wireless network at home.
Wifi mesh systems
In an article about Wi-Fi mesh systems, the performance that you get with such a system should of course not be missing. Wi-Fi mesh systems can be divided into different speed classes, with dual-band AC1200 / 1300 systems not having a separate wireless backhaul, while tri-band systems in the AC2200 / 3000 class do.
One of the WiFi mesh points forms the wired connected basis of the system, and when your laptop is connected to that mesh point, for example, you can use a speed of at least 450 Mbit / s with any system, just like with a wired access point. fetch. With the better systems you can still achieve a speed of between 200 and 350 Mbit / s via a wirelessly connected mesh point. With the better dual-band systems, you can still achieve a speed of between 120 and 200 Mbit / s via wirelessly connected mesh points.
Please note: these are speeds that we have achieved at our test location with the best systems in their class; wireless speeds may vary by location. You can find the test results of 23 WiFi mesh systems in our comprehensive WiFi mesh test, which you can read here.
Repeaters
The WiFi repeater, sometimes also called the range extender, is one of the oldest solutions for expanding your wireless network. These devices have now become so common that you can get them from the grab bag for a few bucks at the local price fighter. Basically, a repeater doesn’t work much differently than a mesh system. It makes contact with your existing network in a place in the house where the connection is still good, and then expands it.
Then why pay more for a mesh solution? Now, in practice, the results of repeaters appear to be quite disappointing. The cheaper devices in particular need a reset regularly and are sensitive to external influences. So they deliver variable performance, often without a clear explanation. And if it does work stably, count on speeds of about 50 Mbit / s with peaks up to 90 Mbit / s for the really well-functioning ones.
Although the theory of mesh and repeaters is not far from each other, the practice is different. Most mesh solutions use powerful modern chips, good supporting components and sophisticated software. Repeaters are cutting back hard on this. Feel free to compare the experience with that between a high-end and a budget smartphone: they are similar in theory, but the experience is incomparable.
Halving of capacity
But even if you have a properly working (more expensive) repeater at home, the problem remains that the way repeaters work by definition leads to a capacity loss of about fifty percent. More luxurious dual-band repeaters such as the AVM Fritz! WLAN Repeaters overcome this by being smart with the free bands and thus still deliver the maximum speed that you would expect from a typical internet connection, but then price-wise we already come close to mesh and the other alternatives in this article. In a mesh system, all components are coordinated, so that the speeds are simply better.
Cheap
Why do we pay a lot of attention to repeaters despite the fact that we are so critical of them? Now, if you only want to improve the Wi-Fi performance for your home in a small part of the house, then a repeater is an acceptable option given the price and ease of installation. In contrast to a mesh system, which quickly replaces a large part of your network, it is a matter of one device in the socket and go. So if you are only sitting with a bad connection in that one small room where you at most want to scroll through your timeline or watch Netflix, a repeater is still a valid alternative. But always ignore the real budget models.
Wifi 6
Today, Wi-Fi 6 is the new standard, and phones and laptops with Wi-Fi 6 are already fairly widespread. Although there are now enough WiFi 6 routers for sale in all price ranges, the range of amplifiers, access points and powerline adapters is still limited. If you already have WiFi 6 devices, or if you expect to purchase a new (luxury) laptop in the near future, WiFi 6 support is something to look at. In that case, do not purchase a relatively expensive access point system yet, but wait a little longer until the WiFi 6 variants are for sale.
Access points
There is nothing better than a wired network as the basis for your home when you go for top performance and reliability. However, the better Wi-Fi mesh systems can also make use of it; this is also called wired backhaul. In that case, the mesh systems use the wired network for mutual communication where possible in order to relieve the wireless connections. And, where that is not possible, they bridge each other wirelessly, so that you have a good connection everywhere in the house. If you have a Wi-Fi mesh system with this function and the option to connect a part wired, do that. Each wired connected device ensures less interference on your wireless network, increasing your wireless performance for the devices that really need it.
If your house is fully wired and you don’t need that bit of wireless bridging, but you do experience a weak spot in your Wi-Fi coverage, you can consider a wired access point. A separate access point usually costs only a few tens, but it is more reliable than equally priced repeaters. As long as those cables are there, there are no cheaper alternatives that actually work well, with comparable speeds to those you would expect near your own router.
Via a wired connected access point you can (if you are close enough to the access point) easily reach a speed of about 450 Mbit / s in the case of an AC1200 access point. If you have a spare wireless router, you can also use it relatively easily as a wired access point. We do recommend that you only do this if this ‘old’ router is a relatively modern WiFi 5 copy.
Business access point system
One step up in the ranking we find the business access points; they are faster, more reliable and not necessarily very expensive. They offer extremely extensive possibilities that are of interest to both business users and interested consumers. Centralized management, where you manage multiple points from one software package, is also interesting for the real network fanatic.
However, therein lies the challenge, because the better business access point systems require that you have software running on a physical system in order to make adjustments to the network, or purchase a controller that takes over that role (read: extra costs). The user-friendliness is therefore hard to find for real laymen.
Nevertheless, we are extremely charmed by, among other things, the TP-Link Omada system, where you can already purchase an AC1200-class access point for around 60 euros, just like the high-quality (slightly more expensive) Ubiquiti UniFi solutions. Both systems are perfectly capable of providing a complete (business) building with WiFi.
In terms of price-performance ratios, these are excellent and above all extremely reliable solutions. It is also possible to combine them with a PoE switch, so you can conceal them chic on the wall or ceiling without the need for a plug. The PoE switch (about six bucks for an entry-level user) then provides the devices with both power and network. This is the way to go for the tech fan with in-house cabling.
Ac class for access points
Both WiFi mesh systems and access points are classified by ac classes. And the higher that class is, the more expensive the access point or WiFi mesh system becomes.
For really good performance, we recommend a WiFi mesh system of at least AC2200 class, while for wired access points we recommend an AC1200 one. The ac class of an access point cannot therefore be directly compared with that of a mesh system. A mesh system needs a good wireless backhaul and that wireless bandwidth is part of the ac class. That is why we prefer to look at the AC2200 class or higher for WiFi mesh systems. If you do not include that wireless backhaul, then with the WiFi mesh systems you are actually dealing with an AC1200-class access point. For most situations, an AC1200-AC1300-class access point using two data standards is more than sufficient. After all, almost all clients are equipped with a WiFi adapter with a maximum of two data streams. But if you have a Macbook Pro or other laptop with a rare 3x3stream network adapter, the upgrade to AC1750 access points can be interesting.
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