What mesh wifi?

the porter

Does anybody use the bt home Wi-Fi with the sh3 in modem mode as I can’t seam to get mine working only when I leave it out of modem mode cheers

maverick177uk

Can you use BT home mesh with other  providers I’m on plusenet?

the porter

Yes works with most providers

everett_psycho

I'm really close to picking up a mesh system. Our house isn't too big but the builders didn't think the Comms side of things through and to use the cabling throughout the house we have to have our router in a metal media panel upstairs as there's no return cable from any room to get back to the patch panel.  I've got an AP at the moment but the different ssid is driving me crazy with my wireless speakers. Depending on where my phone connects to I only see half of each group that's split between the 2 WiFi networks.  There's 2 things in unsure on though about making the change.

I've got Ethernet cables I can use for the backhaul, so tri band isn't essential, but I'd want to utilise this to get the best performance. I presume they can function as a mesh network in this way.

I'm also unsure how I'll need to set the thing up. We have fttp, so currently the ONT takes the fibre and then the router serves as the isps modem. I don't think in this set up I can replace my current router with the mesh unless I do for a higher end set up. I'm assuming again that if I just shut off the WiFi and DHCP on the main router the mesh router will do the rest.

I was considering splashing out on fancy ones but then found the tenda MW6 available for half the price. Unfortunately I can't get the BT ones here so I'm tossing up cheaping out on the MW6 imported off AliExpress for about $180nzd (£90)or is it worth splurging on Google WiFi or tp-link deco m6, I'm not sure they are worth over double the money.  My ISP is also offering free Google WiFi if I take the gigabit plan, it's hugely overkill for 2 of us but for £7.50 more a month I am tempted just for the routers.

mickevh

I'd leave the DHCP running on you ISP router and disable it on the additional AP's (mesh system.)

If your network is partitioned into two, then it's more likely that you've deployed a router somewhere and that has split your network into two (or more) rather than because you've used different SSID's on the Wi-Fi. Check out the IP addresses on you groups of devices to see if they are all in the same range, if not it could indicate you have partitioned your network. (In SOHO it's probably 192.168.X.Y - 192.168.X should be the same for everything.)

A SOHO router does not become an AP just by "saying so" - there's some hoops you need to jump through to make it happen (see the "Using Two Routers Together FAQ pinned in this forum) or the device needs a specific "AP Mode" in it's UI which you need to turn on (not all have this.) If your "AP" is a normal SOHO router and you haven't done one of these things, you could have partitioned your network and/or deployed multiple DHCP servers which would also be a "bad thing."

Post up some details of a few IP addresses if you like, someone here will be able to figure it out pretty quickly and you are not betraying anything confidential.

Bl4ckGryph0n

With fttp I’d definitely go for the MW6 range. All you have to do is plug one of them into your ISP router, you can set it to bridge so the ISP router keeps doing what it does now and provide DHCP. Then just strategically place the other MW6 units around the home to make a nice mesh.

psychopomp1

@everett_psycho
Are you in a new build with wafer thin walls? If so, a mesh system is waaaaaaaay overkill for wifi and you will most likely get away 1 decent router/AP such as the Netgear R7800 or an Asus RT-AC86U. However the router will need to be out in the open and not in the cupboard/other enclosed space where the builders have installed the ONT - I assume its an Openreach FTTP install? Btw my home is also fairly new (4 bedroom, detached, 2 floors) and I find my single router easily copes with my 330/30 FTTP line, so no reason why your FTTP line can't as well assuming its of a similar construction. Sometimes the simple solution is the best

everett_psycho

I gave up with the two routers thing, it was a major headache and despite following the guide the second router wouldn't play ball and seemed capped at a single device. I have an actual access point running off Ethernet back haul and IP addresses are consistent on the right subnet. It's only casting that is proving to be an issue even on Ethernet connected devices. If my phone's on the router I can't see anything connected to the downstairs switch, but connect to the ap and I can't see upstairs. Strangely Plex works straight through.

It is a new build and the walls aren't too thick, they have stuffed the cavity between floors with insulation though. The issue is the ont is in the media panel with single Ethernet runs to each room, so to get the router out in the open I then can't get back to the media panel to distribute it between my spare room and downstairs. I'm actually in New Zealand but it's a standard issue hauawei ont from the fibre company, the housing build quality isn't all that great though. We are actually looking to move soon, the issue with kiwi homes is they tend to have only one elongated floor so the footprints are usually huge for a two bedroom place that a single router won't cover, was looking to future proof for the move while also solving our current networking issues.

I'll do some digging after work tonight on the IP addresses to make sure they subnet is right on the AP, but I don't think the one I have is capable of routing it's own traffic. I'll also draw up a quick diagram explaining the situation a bit clearer as a pictures worth a thousand words. I may just tolerate it until we move and see where we end up and if we need the boost there. Moving will also mean signing a new plan and some isps do offer cheap router upgrades here for lower users. Mine does offer Google home at a $200 discount but it's still more than I really need to pay to sort this out.

everett_psycho

So o did the digging and couldn't find anything causing my issues, everything seemed as it should be but it was just not working. As I was still on my stock wireless N router with an AP I ended up waiting for a sale in AliExpress and picked up the tenda MW6 three pack for about $115usd.  Three is overkill so I've only set up two in bridge mode with wireless backhaul between them being fed my my isps router. A bit of tweaking over the weekend and some stupid mistakes along the way (curse the loose network cable i spent over an hour overlooking) and I'm happy to report all my bugs are ironed out and I can now get the full 200Mbps download connection all over the house.
Finally my cast devices work as a single home as well.

The tendas were a bit fiddly to get exactly right and the bridge mode is slightly weird to work out with the wired backhaul. The secret is the lan out on the master node has to reach the same port on the satellites.  Once I got that working the rest fell in to place pretty fast. I'd definitely recommend it to others that don't have high needs. Worth asking for help of you need it as with perseverance they do work, the instructions are just a little bit crap.