Mesh Router or Repeater?

[Sachin23]

Hi guys,

I do not get wifi signals in one of my rooms at the far end with the default router (BDT-121 Dual band 11AC GPON Router) that came with Airtel. I have an additional D-Link Router with me which I started using in AP mode to extend the range and it works fine.

The problem is that I now have two SSIDs and have to manually change them while moving in the house everytime - which is very inconvenient.

Did some research on the internet and I understand that using a MESH Router will solve my problem. However, since I am a novice, I would like to understand from you:

* If it is possible to solve my problem with the existing hardware that I have. It is D-Link 825ac. I also have an additional TP-Link TL-WR841N

* If not, there are a lot of mesh routers available on Amazon. Which one would you suggest - reasonably priced and good performance.

* Alternatively is there any other Router which I can purchase having good range to cover the entire house (1700 sqft) ?

Thank you in advance for the help.


P. S. - I did not find any existing thread on this topic so created a new one. In case there is one, you may link it down here please.

 

[aakshey]

I don’t suggest the E4 no matter what. Internet speeds will be upgraded soon. Mesh setups will be for a long time. M4/M5 are fine as long as they have Ethernet backhaul.

Do note, with mesh nodes you only get good speeds in the same room if your concrete is dense. Your speed will fall to sub 50 Mbps in the adjacent room. So always have a node per room.

If you want wireless backhaul, nothing competes with the Orbi.

 

[Sachin23]

What's your plan and speed? If it's less than 100Mbps, I would suggest Deco E4, but if you get more than 100Mbps, buy the M4 as E4 only has 100Mbit Ethernet ports(M4 has gigabit ports).

The other consideration is you have to connect the two decos with a Cat 5e or Cat 6 cable. If you connect them using Wireless, your speed will be splotchy and fluctuating.

I used the E4 for a few days, it worked perfectly fine except that it won't go over 100Mbps so I returned it and bought the M4. I have zero complaints so far. One is upstairs, one is downstairs, and I get full 200Mbps no matter where I'm at in the house.


PS- When you do buy the mesh router, make sure you turn off the wireless signals of your default modem/router, otherwise you might face some signal interference.

Am on a 100Mbps plan and just ordered deco M4 from Amazon. Did not buy E4 because M4 is also future proof - even if I switch my plan tomorrow, i'll still get the desired speeds. Will connect them over wireless for now and see the results. Will update on the performance once it is delivered.

Can't wait!

 

[vpsj]

I don’t suggest the M4 no matter what. Internet speeds will be upgraded soon. Mesh setups will be for a long time. E4/E5 are fine as long as you have Ethernet backhaul.

Genuinely curious, but why wouldn't you recommend M4? Even if you have Ethernet backhaul the maximum speed E4 can support is 100Mbps because their ports are not gigabit. Can you please tell me if there's something specific that's bad about the M4?

 

[aakshey]

@vpsj I wrote that by mistake. Stay clear off E series. M series is okay. So M4/M5 might be okay. Don’t buy something limited to 100 Mbps. Don’t buy anything that lacks Ethernet backhaul.

 

[Sachin23]

Deco M4 got delivered today. So happy with the performance so far. I get full speeds in every corner of the house! I no longer need to worry about my VoWiFi calls getting disconnected while talking and walking in the house! No more worries about connecting to my nearest AP manually. Its such a relief!
The only thing that has me worrying is that the phone remains connected to the farthest node even while I sit next to the nearest one (until I open the app and it automatically connects to the nearest one in about 10 secs. Strange issue! ) But as long as am getting full speeds, I am ok with it.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I have one less thing to worry about in my life now

 

[vpsj]

Awesome. Glad you're enjoying the decos.

The only thing that has me worrying is that the phone remains connected to the farthest node even while I sit next to the nearest one

Regarding this, I think it's just app that doesn't update the data in realtime until you manually refresh. Because I've been on the terrace and getting full 200Mbps while the Deco app was showing that my phone was connected to the ground floor deco. In reality my phone was connected to the 1st floor deco, it just wasn't updated in the app.


One more thing, can you please tell me if you've connected the two nodes wirelessly or with an ethernet backhaul? With wireless connection I found my speeds to be a little too fluctuating, but when I ran a 25ft cat5e cable and connected both the nodes with ethernet I was back to a constant 200Mbps speed

 

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[Sachin23]

@vpsj - Yes, probably it's the app which is only updating after I open it. You are right!

I have connected both the nodes wirelessly. Haven't noticed any drop in performance or speed for the entire day today. Getting consistent speeds throughout. Am on a 100 Mbps plan. Speed test attached (this is while being connected to the secondary node and sitting at the farthest end of the house).

 

[aakshey]

With Orbi, assuming Ethernet backhaul:

Over lan I get full gig.

Over WiFi I get up to 500-600+ Mbps if in the same room.

Assuming wireless backhaul:

Over WiFi I get up to about 400-500ish if in the same room as the node.

I have one router and 5 satellites, so 6 nodes. RBK50.

 

[Venkat R V]

Friends,

I took the plunge to buy Deco M5 mesh Wifi after reading this thread and realising that few of you have tried other routers already. The range of the stock router from Airtel is really horrible !

Any suggestions about how to configure the Airtel router to just work as modem (incl phone), will be really useful. Planning to use Deco M5 in router mode.

Thank you

 

[vpsj]

Friends,

I took the plunge to buy Deco M5 mesh Wifi after reading this thread and realising that few of you have tried other routers already. The range of the stock router from Airtel is really horrible !

Any suggestions about how to configure the Airtel router to just work as modem (incl phone), will be really useful. Planning to use Deco M5 in router mode.

Thank you

All you need to do is connect your main Deco with your Airtel Modem's Lan port(NOT Wan port) with a Cat5e or Cat 6 cable(one such cable is provided in the Deco box). Then you should follow the Deco's app instructions and set up the 2nd Deco node.

After both of them are online, test that they're working properly, then just disable the 2.5ghz and 5ghz Wifi radio bands of your Airtel Router to prevent any interference with the Decos. And... that's it I think.

If someone can suggest anything else to improve the home wifi network experience, please correct me.

EDIT: I would also suggest you connect your Deco nodes with a cat5e/cat6 cable as well. These Decos don't have a dedicated backhaul so if they're connected wirelessly, you may get speed fluctuations when a lot of devices are using your internet at the same time