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<div dir="auto">Mesh != Extender.</div>
<div dir="auto">More precisely, mesh deployments *can* use all-wireless extenders, but are more commonly deployed with a mixture of wired-where-possible and wireless-where-not.</div>
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<div dir="auto">Some mesh products exist that don't allow extra wired nodes - avoid these.</div>
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<div dir="auto">Otherwise, the "mesh"-ness means 100% seamless handover between the APs as you walk around the house with your phone.</div>
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<div dir="auto">-Adam </div>
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Get <a href="https://aka.ms/AAb9ysg">Outlook for Android</a></div>
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<div id="divRplyFwdMsg" dir="ltr"><font face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size:11pt" color="#000000"><b>From:</b> Roundtable <roundtable-bounces@muug.ca> on behalf of Trevor Cordes <trevor@tecnopolis.ca><br>
<b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, February 27, 2024 4:51:55 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> Kevin McGregor <kevin.a.mcgregor@gmail.com><br>
<b>Cc:</b> Continuation of Round Table discussion <roundtable@muug.ca><br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [RndTbl] Wifi recommendations</font>
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<div class="PlainText">On 2024-02-26 Kevin McGregor wrote:<br>
> I have a Netgear Orbi mesh (1 base + 1 satellite) in my house. They're<br>
> about 6 years old and don't support Wifi 6 (802.11ax?).<br>
> <br>
> I've noticed that in my basement it works pretty well, but upstairs<br>
> the effective data rate drops off VERY quickly when I move away from<br>
> the router (satellite). I figure this is because of the large number<br>
> of wifi routers in my neighbourhood competing for the same bandwidth.<br>
> <br>
> Would upgrading to a Wifi 6-capable router help? Any other<br>
> suggestions?<br>
<br>
Your WAP / extender may have options to boost the signal (they may be<br>
set low due to "apartment friendly" defaults). You can also look for<br>
options to change the channel, trying "weird" ones. Or enable an<br>
auto-scan-and-pick-least-used-channel mode.<br>
<br>
If you're doing house wiring, ditch the extender and install a<br>
standalone WAP in its place. Extenders have the massive problem of<br>
needing to have a clear channel for both extender-to-device *and*<br>
extender-to-base. Thus your difficulty in finding free(er) channels is<br>
doubled! A wired WAP solves this problem. It won't be as "meshy" but<br>
if you put both WAPs into your devices (phones) on auto-connect,<br>
they'll just switch to whatever works if the other barfs out. And you<br>
can scale to even more WAPs if you want.<br>
<br>
You can even do PoE to the WAPs with the right switch (expensive) or<br>
standalone injectors (cheapish!) and supported WAP (or cheap<br>
de-injectors!), if the desired location isn't close to power...<br>
<br>
Ironically, I find that as the Wifi specs get better, their ability to<br>
hold signal gets worse! My best signal ever is still my G one I<br>
relegate my visitors onto... maybe all the wifi progressions are just a<br>
scam??!<br>
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