Mesh network advice

[donheff]

I have installed a three unit Deco TP-Link mesh network to fix streaming issues for a far flung TV two floors above my router. That problem is resolved. . The signal is excellent everywhere except the kitchen which has an addition with metal studs. Parts of the kitchen and the adjoining deck get very weak signals. The desk in the kitchen with my primary desktop is OK. It gets a signal around 67-70db. Other locations around the house are quite a bit better. If I place a unit by the desktop, will it pickup and boost the signal or just extend the so so 67db? There isn’t a good spot outside the kitchen kitchen to place another unit.

 

[OldShooter]

As an EE I would be astonished if the signal were not amplified back to normal output level. But I am just SGOTI. This is a question for your vendors pre-sale technical support staff. I'd just fill out the inquiry form that is probably on their site and get the official answer.

Alternatively take one of the boxes you already own and try it in that location.

 

[Ready]

I have Google WiFi in my home and it took six pods to completely blanket the home with coverage. And that is with all of them connected over wired Ethernet to a switch. If you are going with a wireless mesh the signal will not be as strong so you will need more units to completely cover the desired coverage area. You will need to play around with them to find out how well they can penetrate your walls.

 

[WestUniversity]

We have an Orbi Mesh system. Love it. The base supposedly covers something like 2000 square feet and each additional satellite another 1500 square feet. Have a great signal throughout our whole house and much of our lot outside of the house. It was super simple to setup and our whole network has the same SSID which was not my experience using wifi extenders. At the time we bought it Orbi was one of the top picks for mesh systems, if not the top pick, on the Wirecutter website...

https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-Comp...bi+router&qid=1619319495&sprefix=orbi+&sr=8-4

 

[Surewhitey]

DD got the Amazon Eero and loves it. I needed more range so went with the Meshforce M3 for the detached garage and opposite corner of the house. Working perfectly for my needs. As long as they overlap, they should be able to deliver similar speeds (my understanding). Extenders are different from this, more like half speed and then half of the other so diminished speed at the "end". Again, just my understanding.

 

[njhowie]

If the signal is weak for your desktop, it will likewise be weak to a mesh unit you place by the desktop. The mesh unit will certainly give the desktop a strong signal, but your performance will be as if you had a weak signal.

As much as prior comments explained what they did, they are really not answering your question, and I think you're looking for a solution which makes use of the TP-Link units you have in place.

A solution which will resolve the issue with the desktop in the kitchen, and the deck area is as follows:

1. Get a couple of Powerline Ethernet adapters. Place one in a socket in the kitchen, the other by your router. These TP-Link 1 Gb adapters are only $49.99 for a two pack starter kit:

https://www.amazon.com/Powerline-Ethernet-Adapter-Extender-TP-Link/dp/B084CZMYNM

2. Purchase a wifi router/access point to plug in to the Powerline Ethernet adapter in the kitchen. This will give you a strong signal in the kitchen and surrounding area inside and outside. This 1 Gb TP-Link is only $44.99:

https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-AC1200-Smart-WiFi-Router/dp/B07N1L5HX1

If the desktop has an ethernet port, you can plug it directly in to the router rather than using the wifi. Or, if you choose to place the powerline adapter and router at a different outlet not near the desktop, wifi would obviously work.

 

[6miths]

At the cottage I had to get internet for Zoom and initially started with Synology RT2600ac system which was ranked number one at CR at the time. It was very good coverage. Cottage is 60' x 32' footprint x 2 levels and it was well covered and we could get useful signal out to waterfront 100' away and decent at two neighboring cottages. With a Mesh unit at the neighbor's cottage they had coverage for their cottage and waterfront. Could watch Netflix on two TVs and have multiple laptops and smartphones on the network with no issues. (We are lucky to have had a new cell tower installed not far away.) Unfortunately the Synology base router died and I switched to Orbi which was number 2 or 3 rated by CR at the time and have coverage that is quite good (may be a shade less) but has worked very well.

 

[OldShooter]

@donheff, an ounce of data trumps a pound of theory. Can you not just move one of your current boxes to the desk and see what happens? I would not charge off in all directions simultaneously without starting with something simple, like a no-cost test.

FWIW at our lake place we have a Linksys mesh router and had weak signals in the garage, so we added a mesh unit (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B089ZT9X43) plugged in on the kitchen wall adjoining the garage. We now have WiFi out to the road easily100 ft. from the kitchen box.

 

[donheff]

Thanks for the several responses. I sounds like my intuition is correct. The signal strength at the location I place a new 4th mesh unit will be the bandwidth bottle neck. Devices in the kitchen or out in the yard would have a good connection to the nearby 4th mesh unit but would get data at the rate that unit gets back to unit 1 or 2. My phone app shows the area as consistently at 67dbs which I have read is marginal but OK. I have tested the desktop several times and am getting 125mbs down and 75 up which is more than enough for that area and the yard, although other parts of the house are testing at double those speeds. I'm probably OK just adding the extra mesh unit in the kitchen. I'm hoping to keep it very simple since I have only one spare ethernet port on the TP-Link base and I am currently using it for a network printer I keep in the basement. I have an ethernet cable that runs from the basement to the kitchen - if my mesh unit is marginal on wifi I can always connect the mesh unit thru the ethernet cable. If I want to keep the printer there as well, I could just buy a cheap hub.

Edit: just saw old shooter's reminder about testing one of the units. I will give that a shot and report back.

 

[donheff]

Well that took about 5 minutes. Thanks Old Shooter. The answer is good. I placed the bedroom unit in the kitchen. The signal strength went way up to 30dbm and is in the 50s throughout the yard so devices will connect well out there. On the critical data rate the back connection is serving as a bottleneck as we expected but there is some improvement particularly on the upload side. The mesh units theoretically optimize things so I guess a little improvement makes sense.

 

[donheff]

I bought the extra unit and got a pleasant surprise. Initially, results were along the lines of my test - good connection dbs but roughly the same data rate. But shortly thereafter the iPhone management app notified me that a firmware upgrade was available so I downloaded and installed it. After the firmware installed and the system optimized itself my data rates on the new segment increased about 50%.