I am looking for a wifi mesh system to improve the coverage in my home. I looked around and found a cheap solution with decent reviews, the Halo 50G by Mercusys (TP Link). I am not a fan of super cheap, super easy to use “magical” solutions, and within minutes of connecting just the access point I was seeing calls to the likes of google, facebook, amazon, etc in my network coming from the device. Not ideal.
I also found that Ubiquiti and Netgear may be the best options out there, but the prices I found are north of 600€ and I can not afford to pay that much right now.
So, my question is: Is there any wifi mesh system that is not using my network against me and does not empty my wallet? I am based in Europe and would like something under 200€ if possible, and ready to buy from the shelf.
Thank you for reading and for any recommendation.
If you are willing to do your homework:
https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/network/wifi/mesh/startI considered OpenWRT at first, but right now I do not have the time, or the will, to start learning about the project. It sure looks like something I will probably do in the future, but as of now I just need a commercially available solution.
GL. Inet is a commercial product running OpenWRT in the background
considered OpenWRT […] now I just need a commercially available solution.
FWIW you can buy OpenWRT based hardware, no tinkering, e.g. https://www.turris.com/en/products/omnia/
Openwrt is just as easy to use as any commercial solution, the one difference is that it doesn’t come pre-installed on most hardware. Find the right hardware, and installation can literally be as easy as running a single command from the command line.
If you’re trying to avoid reading documentation and messing around in settings, good luck finding a privacy-respecting commercial solution with secure defaults that’s still simpler than openwrt’s LuCI. And I mean that, good luck. Plwase share if you find something that works for you.
Maybe https://www.gl-inet.com/
As I understand their stuff runs a custom OpenWRT, so you can use them as-is, or if you want vanilla OpenWRT it’s very easy to flash them.
As far as Mesh goes I’m not sure how they would do, for mesh to perform well you need a system that has dedicated mesh radios in the 5/6ghz bands, and only the more expensive mesh systems typically have that.
check out OPNsense routers and use your existing equipment only as access points. You can then make firewall rules to block them from phoning home. protectli sells some inexpensive models.
I’m also looking for a good WiFi mesh, preferably one that can be used with IoT devices (aka. Even without an internet connection).
I tried TP-Link Deca, but the mesh refuses LAN communication if the router doesn’t have a constant and stable connection to the internet - A feature I previously believed to be given - making it unusable for IoT and for providing WiFi at remote locations.
I tried TP-Link Deca, but the mesh refuses LAN communication if the router doesn’t have a constant and stable connection to the internet
that’s ridiculous
Yeah, I even wrote TP-Link an E-mail about this, but they wrote back that that was just how the device worked, that they could not recommend any of their mesh solutions which could provide a stable WiFi connection even without internet, and that they obviously couldn’t recommend any devices from competitors.
My image of TP-Link might have taken a hit as result as I believed this to be a fundamental and implied feature.
if you still have the devices and you have some tech skills, maybe you could install openwrt on it. are you sure it’s model name is deca? I don’t see on the supported list
I returned them. And I did indeed get the name wrong as they are a series of WiFi mesh towers named ‘Deco X20’ and not ‘Deca’.
I do already use DD-WRT in my home network, but these were meant to provide a network-on-a-budget out in the field, aka. a stand-in for professional solutions which other people should be able to set up too, so I wanted to modify them as little as possible.
WiFi extenders do technically fit my requirements (and I’ve got them working mostly successful), but, as far as I’m aware, mesh is specifically made for the purpose of having a seamless WiFi device transfer from one tower to another, and where one can form a circle or “spiderweb” pattern with the signal taking the best (distance/speed/reliability) route back to the router - which is what I need.
Ubiquity seems to have gained traction lately, so I’ll throw them an E-Mail whether their devices are too smart to be usable too.
I think the transfer/roaming should be able to work fine without a mesh system too. I remember that OpenWRT has like 2 settings I think, that are not related to the mesh mode but can help device roaming, but by default disabled for compatibility reasons
If you can handle steep learning curve with less proven stability, Mikrotik.
Does it have to be new? I can consistently find used ac lites from unifi on Kleinanzeigen.de for 50€, I got two of those and later a 6 lite for another 50€, that’s half my network. They are old and out of warranty, but use very low power and have really decent speeds (~500mbps).
You can just setup an extender where you need it. That is what I have. No real need for mesh unless your place is really big.
First you need to define your requirements.
- Is just for browsing and the router will be connected to a VDSL link with something like 100/250mbit?
- Are you planning to have a server at home and transfer a lot of data within your LAN and need a lot of throughput?
If it’s 1, then you can get a bunch of used ac routers, something like Archer C5 or C7, flash OpenWRT on it and configure 802.11r within your LAN. This requires some fiddling, but you don’t need to spend a lot of money on a decent mesh.
For 2, well you with with €200 budget it’s going to be trikcy.
It might be helpful to specify your network needs. The system you linked is a WiFi 5 system. That’s 10+ year old technology.
What kind of speeds are you looking for? Will your access points be wired or wireless?
The system you linked is a WiFi 5 system. That’s 10+ year old technology.
I feel old… First adopted in 2013
My wifi 5 APs from unity get 450-500mbps. The wifi 6 APs get between 300 and 600. Only the expensive 7 pro max get noticeably more, 2.3Gbps, but the wifi 5 is more than enough for 95% of people out there.
