New WiFi made a big difference

[braumeister]

We had a Netgear wifi system that was only about two years old, and I thought it was OK. Main router and one satellite. But DW recently got a new computer and when I was getting her automatic backups set up I discovered that she had a poor signal in that room. Nothing I could do about it because the satellite in another room is where our main printer is plugged into.

So I broke down and bought a new one with two satellites. Netgear Orbi tri-band system.

Wow! I'm amazed at how much better this is than the old one. Speed tests are at least 40% better in every room. And the Netgear Orbi app on my phone made setup a snap. Worked perfectly.

 

[Jerry1]

I have the Orbi too and the same experience. A lot better than my Linksys router that I thought was higher end. My issue is that I kept losing the signal and getting locked up with a notification saying “resolving host”. Whatever that is, it never seemed to get resolved and I’d have to reboot my computer. Since the Orbi (mesh router), no problems at all. Very happy with it. Got it from Costco. It’s the one with a base unit and one satellite. Works great in my 1700 sq ft ranch.

 

[braumeister]

Yes, I think I needed the one with two satellites because I have around 3,000 sf on two levels. Very happy with it.

 

[mn54]

how did you know that the new router would be compatible with your current ISP?

 

[HFWR]

how did you know that the new router would be compatible with your current ISP?

The router should be compatible. Compatibility would be important for the modem.

 

[cathy63]

We put an Orbi router with two satellites in my MIL's apartment and it's been great. She has Comcast coming in at the corner of her unit in a high rise building with lots of steel girders in the walls and an elevator shaft between the modem and the farthest corner of her unit. Needless to say, the Comcast modem's built-in wifi was useless unless you were in the same room. I put the Orbis in at Christmas and they were so easy to setup and have been solid for 10 months now.

 

[ncbill]

A $20 extender worked for us.

Mesh solutions are still much more expensive than the above.

 

[steelyman]

I'm a happy Netgear customer too, but my router is older (a Nighthawk, dual band). The big improvement over my prior router (D-Link) was the 5GHz band and 802.11ac (or whatever the current name is).

I like their mobile app and they keep on improving it. One thing that might be useful is to take a look at the metric "Link Rate" that, on my version of the app, is found under the "Device Manager" menu. There are separate values for each wi-fi connected device. I think it can be interpreted alongside the Speedtest results.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Also using the Orbi w/ two satellites. The coverage is fantastic! We still use the original router from the cable company, but it's required for the wireless receivers for the TV.

Orbi also has bitdefender which is I think is necessary if you use any IoT devices.

 

[Sunset]

how did you know that the new router would be compatible with your current ISP?

I usually (always to date) go with the simple set up.

ISP --> cable modem (mine) -----> router (mine) ----> all my devices.

So the only thing I ever needed to be concerned about with the ISP connection was the cable modem. I can change my router anytime without worrying about the ISP.

 

[braumeister]

I usually (always to date) go with the simple set up.

ISP --> cable modem (mine) -----> router (mine) ----> all my devices.

So the only thing I ever needed to be concerned about with the ISP connection was the cable modem. I can change my router anytime without worrying about the ISP.

That's what I do too. Netgear makes the setup very easy in any case. Once I had the new WiFi network set up and running using the same SSID and password as the old one, I just had to reboot a few devices and everything was right back to normal, only faster and fully available in every room.

 

[upupandaway]

The real secret to the Orbi is that dedicated backhaul channel especially if your using it to link to areas where you want to use a mixture of wired and wireless. I like that they all have a built in wired switch. I put one of the satellites in a free standing building about 30 feet away and it has worked like a charm. It kept me from having to use direct burial cable to that structure.

 

[mountainsoft]

I tried a MeshForce mesh router system and wasn't impressed. The coverage wasn't any better than my old Linksys access point, and the speeds were lower in many areas.

I replaced my Linksys access point in our attic with a TP Link AC1900 Wireless router. Then I disabled the WiFi in my NetGear router. The difference was impressive, I get coverage anywhere in the house and even outside on the patio. My daughter even picked up the WiFi signal up the hill about 150 feet away. Speeds are excellent anywhere in the house, and just slightly slower outdoors.

 

[RockyMtn]

bought a tp link Deco whole home 2 pack mesh system. Solved all of our dead spot problems in the house and adjacent casita. Very important as we have terrible cell service so mobile calls all route through wifi.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NF6V8S...d-us000-pcomp-feature-scomp-wm-5&ref=aa_scomp

 

[WestUniversity]

We also got the Orbi about 7 or 8 months ago. It works amazingly well. No dead zones in our house and great speeds...

 

[Cobra9777]

We installed a mesh system about a year ago when we started installing IoT devices in locations that had weak WiFi signal coverage (like outdoor cameras under the eaves). Our house is 2-story, 4500 sqft, plus a detached living quarter, and large outside patio/deck areas. So we bought two sets of the Tenda MW6 system, 6 nodes total. Current price is $110, which is considerably less than most other brands. I heard about the Tenda system on a Clark Howard podcast where he commented that it was half the price of the equivalent Google WiFi system and was getting equally good technical reviews.

We also still have the original WiFi network running with a different SSID (1 traditional router from ISP, plus 2 other routers configured as APs). I still have some devices connected to the old network but most are using the new mesh system. Also, our main desktop PC and all TV streaming boxes are hardwired to the original ISP router using some of the old APs.

I've been very impressed with the coverage from the mesh system. We have 2.2 acres and get good coverage all over the property. Mobile devices seem to switch more seamlessly to find the strongest signal compared to the old network. Early on, I had some weird compatibility issues with certain devices, like an older Echo. But a recent firmware update seems to have resolved that.