Which is better for my network, an extender or another router?
Which is better for my network, an extender or another router?
Background: I am migrating from a Gen 1 Google WiFi mesh router and pulled the trigger and bought this router on prime day. TP-Link Tri-Band BE19000 WiFi 7 Router (Archer BE800) - https://a.co/d/en9OlMz
Huge upgrade, outside a few spots in my house where it's pretty spotty. I cannot easily move the router due to not having a basement, nor approval from the wife to break through a bunch of walls to wire it up how I want it.
So the question is... Do I get the BE11000 range extender that is currently $300
Or
TP-Link Tri-Band BE9300 WiFi 7 Router Archer BE550 - https://a.co/d/bUat5G4 which is currently $250. The speed difference isn't a deal breaker for me on the other devices. My computers are hard-line and happy next to the router.
Or do I just say screw it and return it and go back to a mesh system.
I am currently unable to connect the second node to a wired connection, but I have a plan on getting that done this coming year once I get wife buy-in...
Any help is appreciated, thanks in advance!
Neither router you linked to is supported by OpenWRT or DD-WRT.
Plenty of supported TP-Link routers exist, and probably for cheaper.
What you need is a cheap access point.
"Extenders" actually slow down your network since WiFi isn't full duplex but half duplex. That's why you can't have really have more than one.
Run an ethernet cable to an access point and you will be glad you did.
His router is tri-band though meaning it has 2 5ghz transceivers. With an extender usually you use one of them as a backplane for ap->ap communication so it doesn't interfere with your performance.
His router is tri-band though meaning it has 2 5ghz transceivers.
Unfortunately, for many models - like the Linksys WRT 3200ACM - that second antenna (technically the third one if you include the 2.4Ghz one) doesn’t function at all without the manufacturer’s firmware. It’s a dead stick with any third-party firmware, and is 100% software-enabled.
I have found this fact to be reliable whether it is DD-WRT or OpenWRT, and across several different manufacturers including Asus and D-Link.
Ok, thanks for the help - I will look into what I can do with an access point and I should be able to get something going and it looks like significantly cheaper.
No problem, also look at atzenteol@sh.itjust.works' comment in reply to mine. They have some info I wasn't aware of regarding tri-band WiFi routers. I'm living in WiFi 5 land, so I wasn't aware of this cool trick:
His router is tri-band though meaning it has 2 5ghz transceivers. With an extender usually you use one of them as a backplane for ap->ap communication so it doesn’t interfere with your performance.
So an access point is still a good solution, but it sounds like you can use it as an "extender" without an ethernet cable as long as you can use one of your spare 5ghz bands to communicate with it. Which is super cool and I was totally unaware of.
If it's just one or two rooms ya need wired up, but don't wanna run the copper? There are options. If you have any old coax drops in them there's adapters you can attach and just reuse the old coax. OR you could look into a power line adapter. Basically it uses the house electrical lines (in the wall) to create a connection.
consumer crap is just that crap.
I like small PC's as PFsense/Opnsense routers and then a POE switch and access points. It always works better than any mesh or consumer stuff.
One router (opnsense) a big Poe switch and unifi aps made a huge difference. Also wiring Ethernet everywhere helped a lot.
Previously we had devolo mesh plugs.
I think others have already said this, but to sum it up...
To extend wifi, avoid repeaters (unless speed isn't a big deal). Get a hard-wired Access Point. TP-Link makes some of you want to stick to consumer brands. Ubiquity and Grandstream are a bit more "prosumer". I don't have actual experience with Grandstreem, but the advantage is you don't need to run software to set them up. You can do it through a web browser.
These options need to be wire with Ethernet. You'll power them with a PoE injector.
"Mesh" typically refers to a main router/wifi AP combo, and an add-on WiFi AP, with a wireless link to the main router. This works well for a lot of people, and if worked well for you before, you might want to go back to that if you can't run wires to a "real" access point.
Using another router in Access Point mode is an option, but it would sort of be a waste of money (although, maybe not? Depends on price obviously). This will probably require a wire between the two routers, but you can probably also set it up as a wifi extender.
Fun fact: A lot of Ubiquity access points have "mesh", but to my knowledge it only works with other Ubiquity/Unifi equipment. You still have to power it using ethernet and a PoE injector, but if there's no network on that ethernet cable, it can link up wirelessly. I'm sure other brands have this as an option, too.
https://www.wi-fi.org/discover-wi-fi/wi-fi-easymesh
Those PP link routers are both eashmesh compatible so they should provide a good experience. Yes running an ethernet cable across your house will get you better performance, but do you know just how expensive/hard that is? My friend was quoted 2.5k to run like 4 ethernet drops in his house through his attic. Trying to do it ourselves also seems like a nightmare so I'm not really sure if I'm going to have to suffer through that.
My house is such a pain in that regard that I'm tempted to bury a line from my office in the front and around the house to get better coverage on the other side of the house. Not having a basement and how my attic is set up is a nightmare. A middle ground is probably doable but would require me to rip up some flooring, which is not ideal either. Thank you for the input, weighing my options of an AP, or getting one of the above and hopefully have an easier go at it for now, but lose performance.
Is the router flashable with OpenWRT? :D
jkjk -- most modern routers can be turned into just flat access points, ganged with another router.
The router is going to give you more control.
Probably is Broadcom
Ha, fair point!
You could break the network into parts. Start with a upstream router and then get a switch and some access points.
You will have a much better time
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:
Fewer Letters More Letters AP WiFi Access Point PoE Power over Ethernet Unifi Ubiquiti WiFi hardware brand
3 acronyms in this thread; the most compressed thread commented on today has 7 acronyms.
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