Home WiFi Suggestions

[Rich]

I currently use a Linksys router that my family is finding to be inadequate in certain parts of our (not all the big) house. Part of the problem, I think, is that the router is at one end of the first floor so there are parts of the first floor, basement and second floor that have deadzones. I was thinking of splurging for a mesh network such as Eero or Luma (although Luma still on pre-order).

Does anyone have any experience with such a network or have any suggestions for expanding the wifi in my house? I've heard negative things about range extenders and I'd rather not go with a system where you have to switch the network based on where you are in the house -- my family just isn't that sophisticated. It seems the mesh networks have seemless handoffs (or at least that's what's advertised). I'm only sort of a mild techie so please keep it simple. Thanks.

[-jk]

I currently use a Linksys router that my family is finding to be inadequate in certain parts of our (not all the big) house. Part of the problem, I think, is that the router is at one end of the first floor so there are parts of the first floor, basement and second floor that have deadzones. I was thinking of splurging for a mesh network such as Eero or Luma (although Luma still on pre-order).

Does anyone have any experience with such a network or have any suggestions for expanding the wifi in my house? I've heard negative things about range extenders and I'd rather not go with a system where you have to switch the network based on where you are in the house -- my family just isn't that sophisticated. It seems the mesh networks have seemless handoffs (or at least that's what's advertised). I'm only sort of a mild techie so please keep it simple. Thanks.

I've heard good things about the eero, but I just use two APs (not routers). I have a dd-wrt router handling that part.

For a few months I rented a house (while we put our second floor on), and found that I had full signal in one part of the master bedroom, but three feet away gave me no signal. Between the router and that part of the room were two bathrooms (with large mirrors), two flues, a kitchen's worth of appliances, and a brick wall.

You can only ask so much of wifi.

As part of my second floor addition, I planned for an AP on the main floor on one end of the house and a second upstairs on the other end. Both with 2.4 and 5 GHz and the same credentials. (Yeah, sometimes if I'm streaming and roam between them, it hiccups. I survive...)

Other than that occasional handoff hiccup, it's been rock solid. (Eero is supposed to take care of those hiccups.)

I also did something similar with my brother's house - added a second AP on the far end. He got bonus patio coverage! He also has four kids routinely streaming 6 to 8 devices...

Bottom line: if you want good coverage, use two APs and think about the angles.

-jk

Forgot to add: the main AV system components are hard-wired, as are the printers, to cut down on unnecessary wifi traffic.

[fuse]

I have a friend with the eero.
Short summary is he likes it, and finds it expensive.

I pre-ordered a competitor product from Ubiquiti, called the Amplifi.
Cheaper than eero, can't tell you how it works yet (probably won't ship for 2-3 weeks).

My key concern is that TWC is leasing me horrible cable modems.
My next hurdle is convincing my better half to give up TWC VOIP.
(Anyone have any "good" E911 stories?)

I have my eye on the Arris (former Motorola) Surfboard 6190, which TWC (and most providers) say they will support.

I have a Ubee, and I'm convinced that its wifi is interfering with the wifi from my Asus. I've asked TWC numerous times to disable the Ubee wifi and put the cable modem in bridge mode to no avail.

On topic- I have an Asus N capable wifi router (N-66?) that is pretty decent, along with some 500 Mbps powerline network boxes and an Asus extender.

The Ubiquiti Amplifi solution indicates coverage with the main box plus two extenders at way more than I need (20,000 square feet?) at a reasonable cost.

The real question on eero, Amplifi and other mesh network is if they are well engineered enough to do effective handoffs and maintain low latency and good throughput.
https://amplifi.com/

[moonpie23]

the TWC modem is crap for wifi......however, our TWC VOIP has been fine...

[fuse]

the TWC modem is crap for wifi...however, our TWC VOIP has been fine...

I think the TWC modem is crap in general. I can recall once upon a time being impressed with TWC service. That faded a while ago.

[Rich]

I have a friend with the eero.
Short summary is he likes it, and finds it expensive.

I pre-ordered a competitor product from Ubiquiti, called the Amplifi.
Cheaper than eero, can't tell you how it works yet (probably won't ship for 2-3 weeks).

The Ubiquiti Amplifi solution indicates coverage with the main box plus two extenders at way more than I need (20,000 square feet?) at a reasonable cost.

The real question on eero, Amplifi and other mesh network is if they are well engineered enough to do effective handoffs and maintain low latency and good throughput.
https://amplifi.com/

Thanks fuse, more competition in this space is definitely a good thing. The Ubiquiti Amplifi seems like a reasonable (and reasonably priced) alternative. I can't tell from the website what the back of the main router looks like and whether there are any ports for hardwiring. The Eero only has one port so I would need to use a bridge since I have a few things hardwired. If you can post a review once you have it I'd be interested in reading it.

[freshmanjs]

I currently use a Linksys router that my family is finding to be inadequate in certain parts of our (not all the big) house. Part of the problem, I think, is that the router is at one end of the first floor so there are parts of the first floor, basement and second floor that have deadzones. I was thinking of splurging for a mesh network such as Eero or Luma (although Luma still on pre-order).

Does anyone have any experience with such a network or have any suggestions for expanding the wifi in my house? I've heard negative things about range extenders and I'd rather not go with a system where you have to switch the network based on where you are in the house -- my family just isn't that sophisticated. It seems the mesh networks have seemless handoffs (or at least that's what's advertised). I'm only sort of a mild techie so please keep it simple. Thanks.

We had similar issues with a Linksys. Replaced it with a new version Apple Airport Extreme that sits in the basement. It now covers our entire house well. Basement + 2 floors. 4k square feet. Might be worth a try before going with a mesh. The new Asus routers have good range and reputations too.

[fuse]

Thanks fuse, more competition in this space is definitely a good thing. The Ubiquiti Amplifi seems like a reasonable (and reasonably priced) alternative. I can't tell from the website what the back of the main router looks like and whether there are any ports for hardwiring. The Eero only has one port so I would need to use a bridge since I have a few things hardwired. If you can post a review once you have it I'd be interested in reading it.

Screenshot of the back of the Amplifi (go to the store link) shows 4 hardwired ports.

I agree $350 Amplifi compared to $600 eero seems more cost reasonable. Ubiquiti has a pretty decent name as a low cost enterprise player, whereas eero is completely new. Hard to tell in this consumer space who has the advantage, particularly given I don't have either hardware.

I'll post back to this thread late June or early July on my experience.

[fidel]

I use powerline to extend APs in our house (same issues as -jk with the chimney flues). Router in basement (ClearOS), Surfboard as modem.

I also have done the powerline/APs for neighbors...everyone reports improved access and happy(er?) teenagers.

I do NOT recommend wifi extenders. They are like that old SNL skit for the deaf...someone reads the news, someone else shouts the same words over the top. May increase distance, but overall throughput is knocked way back (shouting/talking at the same time can make the info indecipherable).

Best is if you can link APs/router with an ethernet cable, but power line works amazingly well.

[gus]

My next hurdle is convincing my better half to give up TWC VOIP.


Any particular reason she wnats to hold on to it?

I used to love my VOIP (vonage), but we got rid of it years ago. I thought it would be useful to keep the phone number though, so I ported it over to google voice. We still periodically get calls on it (which I have routed to my cell phone).

[fuse]

Any particular reason she wnats to hold on to it?

I used to love my VOIP (vonage), but we got rid of it years ago. I thought it would be useful to keep the phone number though, so I ported it over to google voice. We still periodically get calls on it (which I have routed to my cell phone).

E911 is the primary reason.

[BigWayne]

I would not waste time with fancy new technology. Your bottleneck is almost assuredly your ISP connection, presumably a cable modem. You just need access.

I have used TPLINK routers and APs the last couple years and they have worked flawlessly for a really nice price. I have a wired connection to the other end of the house and have one of these (https://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-WA801ND-Wireless-300Mbps-Repeater/dp/B004UBU8IE/ref=sr_1_7?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1464815635&sr=1-7&keywords=tplink) placed there so I get access from both ends of the building.

If you don't have a wired connection available, you can use range extenders like these that just plug into an electrical outlet:
TPLINK WA850 (https://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-Wi-Fi-Range-Extender-TL-WA850RE/dp/B00E98O7GC/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1464815599&sr=8-4&keywords=tplink)
TPLINK WA855 (https://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-Wi-Fi-Range-Extender-TL-WA855RE/dp/B0195Y0A42/ref=dp_ob_title_home)

You would need to place these somewhere in the middle of the house where they can pick up a signal from the main unit.

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

We had similar issues with a Linksys. Replaced it with a new version Apple Airport Extreme that sits in the basement. It now covers our entire house well. Basement + 2 floors. 4k square feet. Might be worth a try before going with a mesh. The new Asus routers have good range and reputations too.
I second the Apple Airport Extreme. I actually use the Time Capsule to support centralized backup. Plus two strategically placed extenders on other side of house and upstairs. Apple never has issues with stability like I had years ago with Linksys that I constantly had to reboot.

[-jk]

I would not waste time with fancy new technology. Your bottleneck is almost assuredly your ISP connection, presumably a cable modem. You just need access.

I have used TPLINK routers and APs the last couple years and they have worked flawlessly for a really nice price. I have a wired connection to the other end of the house and have one of these (https://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-WA801ND-Wireless-300Mbps-Repeater/dp/B004UBU8IE/ref=sr_1_7?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1464815635&sr=1-7&keywords=tplink) placed there so I get access from both ends of the building.

If you don't have a wired connection available, you can use range extenders like these that just plug into an electrical outlet:
TPLINK WA850 (https://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-Wi-Fi-Range-Extender-TL-WA850RE/dp/B00E98O7GC/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1464815599&sr=8-4&keywords=tplink)
TPLINK WA855 (https://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-Wi-Fi-Range-Extender-TL-WA855RE/dp/B0195Y0A42/ref=dp_ob_title_home)

You would need to place these somewhere in the middle of the house where they can pick up a signal from the main unit.

In suburbia, I've found home geometry matters far more than the tech (except for streaming while roaming - a special case). I had a client recently having trouble with netflix on a wifi-connected apple tv box. We moved her wifi router about a foot (it had been hiding behind her big honkin' imac) and problem solved. I still strongly encourage hardwiring dedicated AV stuff whenever possible. First, it's more stable; second, it's a huge wifi drain for everything else.

Having two strategically placed APs can make a world of difference in your coverage. Too many things in a house will stymie a single wifi signal - appliances, duct work, mirrors, etc., they create coverage holes. Really big houses might need a third. My ISP connection is modest - 30 down on the hardwired connection. My wifi is also reliably 30 down from the internet from anywhere in the house. Way faster within the house. (If you live in a dense apt/condo space, you have extra issues. Getting everyone to play nice with channels is paramount. Some idiot always thinks "Hey! No one's using channel 2," screwing it up for almost everyone else. InSIDDer (http://www.metageek.com/products/inssider/index-2.html?utm_expid=190328-157.mS_dOn2eRcWhk2FGM20IXQ.1) is helpful for researching these issues.)

That special streaming case: if you want seamless streaming as you carry your tablet around the house, you'll need the "fancy new technology" that can actively manage handoffs between APs. I don't wander enough to worry about it - I can handle the occasional bump when I head to the (... never mind).

-jk

[fuse]

Spurred by this thread, I took another tilt at TWC and my cable modem config.

I asked them to put my cable modem in bridge mode.

Prior attempts (3), no joy.

This time, TWC managed to disable the 2.4 GHz, while leaving the 5 GHz on.

In any event, even testing using fast.com I see a major improvement.
Iphone not the best throughput test, and still went from strugging to push 19 Mbps to an easy 50Mbps.

I'm not expecting a full 300/30 over wifi.

Now if I can just get TWC to shut the 5GHz off the cable modem, I think my not yet completed purchase of the Amplifi will be unnecessary.

It will be interesting to see moving from N to AC if there is a tangible difference.

[fuse]

Spurred by this thread, I took another tilt at TWC and my cable modem config.

I asked them to put my cable modem in bridge mode.

Prior attempts (3), no joy.

This time, TWC managed to disable the 2.4 GHz, while leaving the 5 GHz on.

In any event, even testing using fast.com I see a major improvement.
Iphone not the best throughput test, and still went from strugging to push 19 Mbps to an easy 50Mbps.

I'm not expecting a full 300/30 over wifi.

Now if I can just get TWC to shut the 5GHz off the cable modem, I think my not yet completed purchase of the Amplifi will be unnecessary.

It will be interesting to see moving from N to AC if there is a tangible difference.

Cable modem wifi now completely off.
Will be interesting to see if the Amplifi takes this to the next level.

[Jarhead]

For anybody who is changing their own configuration from TWC, you should consider this announcement from Charter, aka Sprectum. (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-17/so-long-time-warner-cable-charter-to-retire-much-maligned-brand) Most of us in this part of North Carolina will be involved. I am hopeful.

[SoCalDukeFan]

I use powerline to extend APs in our house (same issues as -jk with the chimney flues). Router in basement (ClearOS), Surfboard as modem.

I also have done the powerline/APs for neighbors...everyone reports improved access and happy(er?) teenagers.

I do NOT recommend wifi extenders. They are like that old SNL skit for the deaf...someone reads the news, someone else shouts the same words over the top. May increase distance, but overall throughput is knocked way back (shouting/talking at the same time can make the info indecipherable).

Best is if you can link APs/router with an ethernet cable, but power line works amazingly well.

I also use a powerline and it works great for me. And its cheap.

SoCal

[Rich]

I also use a powerline and it works great for me. And its cheap.

SoCal

Powerline getting good reviews here, but we recently did a second floor addition in which we have a separate circuit board for the new space. As a result, I don't think the powerline option will work in my case, at least for the second floor. I believe the router and the powerline extender need to be on the same circuits.

[brevity]

For anybody who is changing their own configuration from TWC, you should consider this announcement from Charter, aka Sprectum. (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-17/so-long-time-warner-cable-charter-to-retire-much-maligned-brand) Most of us in this part of North Carolina will be involved. I am hopeful.

I know it's a typo, but "Sprectum" can be a great way to label that Charter service once the honeymoon is over and customers start to complain.

Yay anagrams! Go Barves!

[sue71, esq]

For anybody who is changing their own configuration from TWC, you should consider this announcement from Charter, aka Sprectum. (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-17/so-long-time-warner-cable-charter-to-retire-much-maligned-brand) Most of us in this part of North Carolina will be involved. I am hopeful.

Oh goodness. I cannot express the level of suckitude that is Charter. It's only surpassed by... TWC. Maybe.

One of the best things that happened when I moved from Pasadena to Glendale was that I could dump Charter and go with AT&T UVerse. (Actually wishing I had UVerse in Vegas, but that's another story.)

Oh may I never see Charter again.

[Jarhead]

Oh goodness. I cannot express the level of suckitude that is Charter. It's only surpassed by... TWC. Maybe.

One of the best things that happened when I moved from Pasadena to Glendale was that I could dump Charter and go with AT&T UVerse. (Actually wishing I had UVerse in Vegas, but that's another story.)

Oh may I never see Charter again.

Now, I am flummoxed.

[fuse]

I have a friend with the eero.
Short summary is he likes it, and finds it expensive.

I pre-ordered a competitor product from Ubiquiti, called the Amplifi.
Cheaper than eero, can't tell you how it works yet (probably won't ship for 2-3 weeks).

My key concern is that TWC is leasing me horrible cable modems.
My next hurdle is convincing my better half to give up TWC VOIP.
(Anyone have any "good" E911 stories?)

I have my eye on the Arris (former Motorola) Surfboard 6190, which TWC (and most providers) say they will support.

I have a Ubee, and I'm convinced that its wifi is interfering with the wifi from my Asus. I've asked TWC numerous times to disable the Ubee wifi and put the cable modem in bridge mode to no avail.

On topic- I have an Asus N capable wifi router (N-66?) that is pretty decent, along with some 500 Mbps powerline network boxes and an Asus extender.

The Ubiquiti Amplifi solution indicates coverage with the main box plus two extenders at way more than I need (20,000 square feet?) at a reasonable cost.

The real question on eero, Amplifi and other mesh network is if they are well engineered enough to do effective handoffs and maintain low latency and good throughput.
https://amplifi.com/

Took me a while to find the buried thread.

First, Ubiquiti has a great reputation.

Amplifi as a first foray from business to consumer has been rocky for me.

I pre-ordered in May, with an original ship date of end June for the Amplifi HD.

That got pushed to July, then August, then end September.

Last week I started seeing people report receipt of their Amplifi HD with a pre-order date of August.

I reached out via support chat and Twitter as my order still indicated "processing" on the Ubiquiti website.

Ubiquiti's special project VP emailed me indicating he was personally looking into the situation.

Two business days later I had to email him asking for status. His explanation was their web store had a reporting glitch and my order had shipped in the first wave.

I emailed the VP again asking for a fedex tracking number, no response.

Of course it arrived either last night or this morning in the rain.

Box was in plastic, outer cardboard was wet but the interior packing was dry.

The Amplifi is amazingly professionally packaged. Unboxing was an event, if for no other reason than for waiting since May and not wanting to break anything.

Installation was easy. Download an app, power down cable modem, power up router and cable modem.

The mesh attennas are bigger than I expected, but not surprisingly so. The 3 different tiers of Amplifi (regular, LR, HD) advertise 10k, 15k and 20k of coverage in square feet.

My house is less than 3k square feet and my initial "far" antenna had trouble connecting.
I'll be playing with antenna location to optimize.

App configuration and firmware update were easy, and the app is easy to use.

Less than one hour in, I'd say the Amplifi HD is a success.

As a consumer, I am torn by the experience.
The sales experience was terrible.
I really want to like the Amplifi and want to get past the poor sale and enjoy the experience.

Time will tell.
Since pre-sales are done, my hope is no one else sees the bad sales experience and benefits from the technology.

For now, a reluctant fan looking forward to becoming an advocate.

[HaveFunExpectToWin]

For those looking for another solution, a small startup you may have heard of just announced this... https://madeby.google.com/wifi/

And for those TWC customer that are renting their cable modem. Absolutely go and purchase an Arris (Moto) Surfboard modem to replace it. You'll get better speeds and it pays for itself in less than a year. http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-cable-modem/

[Rich]

I've been sitting on this decision for quite some time and thought I'd revisit it. Since this thread started there are now multiple players in the field. In addition to eero, AmpliFy, and Luma, now Google, Netgear (Orbi) and Linksys (Velop) have joined the mix. I'm curious if anyone has recently jumped into this technology, which product you've chosen, and whether you recommend it over a standard router for your home network/WiFi needs.

[fuse]

I've been sitting on this decision for quite some time and thought I'd revisit it. Since this thread started there are now multiple players in the field. In addition to eero, AmpliFy, and Luma, now Google, Netgear (Orbi) and Linksys (Velop) have joined the mix. I'm curious if anyone has recently jumped into this technology, which product you've chosen, and whether you recommend it over a standard router for your home network/WiFi needs.

Still quite happy with Amplifi HD.

No direct experience, the Orbi is getting pretty strong reviews.

[-jk]

A nice, if techy, read:

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/03/802-eleventy-what-a-deep-dive-into-why-wi-fi-kind-of-sucks/

[left_hook_lacey]

I currently use a Linksys router that my family is finding to be inadequate in certain parts of our (not all the big) house. Part of the problem, I think, is that the router is at one end of the first floor so there are parts of the first floor, basement and second floor that have deadzones. I was thinking of splurging for a mesh network such as Eero or Luma (although Luma still on pre-order).

Does anyone have any experience with such a network or have any suggestions for expanding the wifi in my house? I've heard negative things about range extenders and I'd rather not go with a system where you have to switch the network based on where you are in the house -- my family just isn't that sophisticated. It seems the mesh networks have seemless handoffs (or at least that's what's advertised). I'm only sort of a mild techie so please keep it simple. Thanks.

Just a couple of questions:

1.) What type of router is your Linksys? How old?

I almost went the expensive mesh networks as well. I recently moved into a larger house, and the internet was really slow. Did a speed test standing next to my router and realized my router and modem were part of the problem because I was only getting 25mbps on a good day. After some research, my router/modem combo was waaaaayyyy too old to support the 100mbps I was supposed to be getting. So instead of going with the expensive networks(best buy guy almost had me sold on Orbi), I tried a $100 netgear dual band AC router first. I read that this type of router could actually hurt my range, but I found the opposite to be true.

I'm now getting 65-85 mbps on wireless speed tests ALL OVER THE HOUSE AND IN THE YARD! I have yet to find a dead spot anywhere, including in the yard. I don't have any range extenders. There are 4 cell phones in the house, several tablets, Dish Network Hopper system that uses wifi and a lot of youtube and Netflix streaming going on on all 3 floors. Haven't had anymore issues.

Just something to look into before shelling out for the expensive whole house systems.

[Rich]

Finally dove in and purchased the Netgear Orbi RBK50, which advertises coverage of 5000 sq. ft. I installed it today, which was very straightforward and easy. I used the same network ID and password as the previous router so I wouldn't need to re-sync everything. The router and satellite are quite big, and not really my or my wife's taste, but I was able to hide the satellite beneath a side table without diminishing the speed and don't mind having the router on my desk. I ran a speed test throughout the house (basement, first floor, second floor, all rooms) and I'm getting just about the same speed on wifi as I am on my wired desktop (230 Mbps download/12 upload). I bought it for $350 on Amazon, which is discounted $50 from when it was first released. It's pricey, but it seems to be working great and seems to have taken care of the dead spots in my house.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Finally dove in and purchased the Netgear Orbi RBK50, which advertises coverage of 5000 sq. ft.

So weird. I have it on good authority that Orbi underperforms because he has bad knees.

[mgtr]

So weird. I have it on good authority that Orbi underperforms because he has bad knees.

This was Sean to be true.

[Green Wave Dukie]

This was Sean to be true.

But now it is a walk in the (College) park

[rasputin]

But now it is a walk in the (College) park

Will he come out of his shell?

[GDT]

It's pricey, but it seems to be working great and seems to have taken care of the dead spots in my house.

I also went with an Orbi. It took maybe 5-10 minutes to setup and has been working flawlessly ever since. I don't have a big house but coverage and speed are both great. I had been bridging two routers over powerline and the Orbi works much, much better for me. Good luck!

Me, that is.