I don’t know if this is allowed here but the question is as a direct result of wanting a much more reliable network since using HA. if not I apologise and feel free to delete the post.
Does anyone here have any experience with any of the mesh WifFi products?
I think it is time I upgraded my network to something more robust than a consumer ISP (BT) router and an old D-Link router acting as an access point - I live in a reasonable size old Edwardian house with thick brick walls on two floors
I have read god things about the Netgear Orbi stuff but it is a bit more expensive than the competition.
Does anyone have any views?
(I’m in the UK but not sure that makes much difference.)
I like unifi. Other products are higher priced or known vulnerability (open wan port and hardcosed password) so I avoid it.
Mesh or not depends on where install.
Lots of concrete and poor signal, mesh can help.
Standard wood frame, mesh is good but not needed
Remote building mesh can help but standard also usable
I also run Unifi APs to get every corner of my house covered. I like that the APs came with PoE adapters so I only need one LAN cable where I need the APs.
And the integration with works really well; it forces me to run the controller on a separate RPi, though.
I bought the APs before mesh routers were available. Not sure I would have gone the mesh direction because it’s just another source of RF in the house that might cause interference, albeit at different frequencies yet again.
I have both unifi with mesh and without. Not needed generally and I prefer a standard 2.5mhz so
I use mesh because construction materials block signals to most area. Mesh technically should work better in this scenario but meh!! Price was low so their great. Originally I had applied wireless connected to other so for this area as wire was difficult
Again, price and building material ultimately determine what to use
I have a Linksys Velop (3 unit system.) Works great. Much better coverage than I used to get. I would highly recommend. (I’m in the US, but a quick check of their website seems to imply it should be available in the UK.)
I got an EdgeRouter X (50€) and a Unifi UAP-AC-PRO (130€). It’s the most stable network I had ever have (after many router or all-in-one from tp-link, thomson, xiaomi, a Linksys WRT with dd-wrt…).
I get the same coverage with the unifi access point as I did with an all-in-one + repeater (one from d-link and then one from Xiaomi).
The single Ethernet cable to connect and power the access point make the install super easy (thin Ethernet cable allow for even more discreet install in rental)
I can speak to this: avoid the Orbi. It was a good upgrade over my previous Netgear Nighthawk router with a TP-Link Repeater… until around the time I started using Home Assistant. The network started getting real flaky.
After some research I discovered that a decent number of people have been having issues in the past 6 months with the Orbi. One guy even believes he has more problems when he runs Docker on his network (hint: Hass.io uses Docker). The problem is widespread enough that a few months ago Netgear started releasing beta firmware updates that attempted to correct the problem. As of about 3 weeks ago the problem was not resolved.
I decided I wanted to get off of the WiFi upgrade/disappointment cycle. After hearing lots of users here raving about Unifi, I went that route. It is a business grade solution that allows you to setup multiple wifi hotspots, but instead of being connected via a wireless link, you connect them together with wired ethernet cables.
I started with one Unifi AC Pro and have been very happy with it. Now that I have been using it for a few weeks I am learning where the weak coverage is and will try adding another Unifi AC Pro on the other side of the house. I will probably run ethernet on the outside of the house to minimize drywall holes, but I strongly believe it will be worth it!
Thanks, Pretty much all the comments here have me leaning towards Ubiquiti having originally posted because I really wanted some kind of confirmation that Mesh (probably Orbi) was a good direction!
Your comment here and the post you link to has me very nearly sold on Ubiquiti.
I have read some things about setup that make it sound like a minefield. I can’t believe it is that bad though? Does the controller software need to be always on? If so can I run it on a rpi - even if I am a total Linux novice - I’m running hassio so I assume it can’t be on that rpi?
I am in the UK and have had a very painful first-hand experience of the Linksys Velop system.
TL;DR - avoid Velop, be careful with any mesh
I bought 5 nodes just under a year ago. I have a quite large house, with some thick old walls, so a challenging wifi environment. I missed the Amazon return window, and then suffered with regular wifi signal drop-outs and very unhappy family for about 9 months. This was firmware related. My Velops were operating the wifi behind an Asus router (Velops don’t have basic functionality like VPN access, even now.) My home automation devices regularly lost connection.
A few months ago Linksys/Belkin finally issued some firmware which improved stability, so I purchased 3 more nodes; the hope was that my remaining issues with stability might be solved by blanket coverage. No joy.
After a general moan on the Linksys forum, they sent a techincian to my house for a day (!). His initial feeling was that I was suffering from intra-Velop signal interference, and reduced the number of working nodes. He then found that nodes were dropping off at random. The only working solution we came up with by the end of the day was to use a wired back-haul between nodes using powerline technology.
The bottom line - kudos to Linksys, they have now agreed to fully refund me. I am in the market for another solution. But my experience with the Velops has left me scarred. I suggest that if you decide to try a mesh system then buy from a retailer that allows for returns (eg Amazon) and be ruthless about returning them if they do not work reliably for you within 24-48 hours.
No, no don’t worry, you can totally install it on any machine (like your computer) and stop it once the setup is finished.
The unifi controller software is not needed except for setup and for special service (the captive portal for guest network, but that’s totally optional).
No, it’s not that bad. If you ever set up some router an raspberry pi, it should not be a problem.
But you need to install the UniFi controller software on your computer to set up the AP, that’s certainly why it appear more complex (in opposition to simply connecting to the AP directly)
There are several docker containers out there for the Unifi controller. This one even had all the various builds of them: https://github.com/goofball222/unifi
Super simple to install a container and just let it eat. Surprised we haven’t seen one of these containers linked as an add-on yet.
That is supposed to work without issue. But it just add more interference in some case which doesn’t help (especially since people usually need mesh network because of wifi issue).
It also have a reduced bandwitch and a much higher response time than a wired network.
It’s only good if you really cannot pass the single Ethernet cable required by the unifi access point (they can also work as meshed with each other)
On some mesh systems the RF backhaul channel is on a different frequency to the WIFi usage so you don’t impact bandwidth through contention. However wired is always better where possible.
