Best alternative to Google Wifi

Hardware
1

I have been thinking about replacing my Google Wifi mesh network for a number of months now simply to allow for better management and reporting. However an issue in the early hours of this morning has convinced me that this is now paramount even though moving is going to an alternative solution will be initially painful. Last night our broadband connection dropped for a couple of minutes. I’ve known about the issue of Google wLAN not being available it the internet connection is down but this time the mesh point connected to broadband modem didn’t realise that internet access was available again and so the wLAN was not restored until I power cycled that point at 7am. The Nest thermostat also decided that it wouldn’t behave and so neither the heating nor the water heater had turned on. It was well below freezing last night where I live in the UK and so my better half was not amused. Thankfully motion sensors and lights are on a zigbee network and so I didnt need to get the candles out!

What would other people recommend for a mesh network that is not reliant on the internet connection being available? The house is about 300sqm but is long and thin with the broadband line coming in at one end of the house. Internally it is all stud walls.

Thanks in advance
Doug

1 Like
2

For years now, I’ve enjoyed a very reliable WiFi network built on 4 eero devices.

However, you could possibly address your issue by placing an EdgeRouter Lite or similar between modem and mesh, provided you can run your Google WiFi in bridge mode. I use an EdgeRouter to segregate my IoT devices from my regular network.

3

Thanks, that is an interesting option and probably a lot cheaper than replacing the whole mesh. I had been considering splitting IoT devices onto a separate network anyway. However I think the issue is that Google WiFi can only run in bridge mode if there is only a single mesh point; I have 3. I have a TP Link Archer VR900 modem router as the broadband connection but the wifi doesn’t work on it (I bought it dirt cheap off eBay because the WiFi wasn’t working and I only needed it to replace the ISPs offering) so that would need replaced as well.

4

Can recommend the Unifi devices, work great here and doesn’t care wheter you have internet or not.