Where do I put mesh wifi?
Mesh wifi unit positioning can be something of an art, depending on the property that is being ‘meshed’. The obvious aim is to eliminate dead spots in your home’s wifi network, which you’ll already be very familiar with. These may be whole floors, the garden, or segments of the property thanks to an inconveniently placed supporting wall or two.
Having a rough idea of these problem areas before beginning your mesh journey is wise, as is having a rough idea of the total square meterage you’re looking to cover. Most systems state a coverage area, which will provide a rough rule of thumb and will highlight if there will be challenges. Very long gardens can be an issue, for example, even with optimal placement of units.
That said, the first node normally will need to be relatively near your ISP’s router, and the one or two satellites in a standard two or threepack would be best placed on different floors to offer maximum coverage. Bear in mind that units would theoretically be best placed in the middle of a floor to give maximum connectivity inside the building.
But to get coverage outside – in the garden for those summer WFH meetings – a unit near a window or edge of the building will be required (and may need a bit of planning).
Indeed, every property will have slightly different characteristics, so be prepared to shuffle the satellite units around a little to smooth out any flat spots especially with cheaper dualband systems.
Can mesh wifi improve speed?
The short answer to this is yes… and no. Mesh wifi systems will (or should) ensure that the internet speed your router can deliver is the one that arrives at your laptop, phone or other devices around the home. Usually, this isn’t the case, as the wifi signal will degrade the further from your router you go, and other factors like walls and floors get in the way. This loss of signal will reduce speeds.
However, if your ISP is providing a poor connection (or you’re on a cheaper, restricted package), then the mesh system won’t cover this up and increase your connection speed by magic.
What’s the difference between a mesh wifi network and a wifi extender?
You might have also heard of wifi range extenders (also known as wifi repeaters) which plug into a power socket and extend the distance your main router can offer internet. The biggest difference between a mesh wifi network and a wifi extender is usability.
A mesh wifi system is designed to be easy to set up and will replace your existing wifi network with a ‘bubble’ of wifi that should eliminate dead zones and flat spots throughout your house and garden.
An extender will just relay your existing network connectivity into a single area, and will by default be a different wifi network, forcing your devices to switch between the two.
It is possible to configure an extender to mirror your existing network, but this will require some fiddling to get right and may need tweaking in the event of a power cut, or similar.
In short, if you’re looking for an overall solution to variable wifi quality in a larger home or have lots of devices around the house, a mesh wifi system will solve your issues without extended faff and hassle.
How do I choose the best mesh wifi system?
Before you buy, it’s worth knowing that a mesh wifi system is a bit more intimidating than the traditional wifi routers you’ll be used to. And they’re more complex, requiring you to spend a bit more time on setup and in an app tinkering with settings.
However, it can feel like a substantial upgrade too, so it’s worth paying attention to the following key factors to find the best mesh wifi system for your needs:
Coverage
A mesh wifi system should cover an area of at least 2,000 square feet but some cover more. You’ll need to figure out how much space you’ll need to be covered including any outdoor areas you want to connect in like balconies or gardens.
The number of node units
You can get anywhere between one and three nodes for most models. How many you need will depend on several things, including where in your home your wifi hub is situated.
Coverage areas are a useful indicator of potential performance, but the variations in different buildings will have a vast impact on these. Overall you’ll want two units for larger flats and apartments, and three for smaller houses. Most systems allow you to connect more units if necessary, so if your mansion proves particularly wifiresilient, adding more units will solve the problem.
Speed
As explained above, the speed delivered by your mesh wifi system is theoretical and will be split across the bands. The maximum speed the best mesh wifi systems can achieve currently usually ranges between 1,000Mbps and 3,000Mbps, but some go to as much as a blazingfast speed of up to 5.4Gbps. For most of us, the maximum speed offered on your line won’t reach anywhere close to this, but a higher total speed device is better for faster speeds overall.
Dual or triband
Modern routers broadcast wifi networks on at least two different bands: 2.4GHz, which is good for long distances but can be slower, and 5GHz, which offers faster speeds but only covers shorter distances.
All mesh wifi networks come with both 2.4GHz and 5GHz (called dualband), but some have two 5GHz bands and a 2.4GHz band (known as triband). This means the access points can exchange information about the wifi network between each other using one band, freeing up the other two to keep your internet consistent.
Confusingly, newer mesh systems with wifi 6E (more on that below) offer 6GHz band coverage as well, in some cases also calling this ‘triband’. It’s worth checking exactly which of these options you’re dealing with.
Wifi 6 support
What is wifi 6? This new internet connection standard uses different tech to ensure it’s as fast and efficient as possible. Only newer devices support this standard (while older devices use wifi 5) but if you’re looking to futureproof your wifi network and plan to upgrade your laptops and smartphones soon, it may be worth getting a mesh wifi system that supports wifi 6.
We’d suggest getting at least a wifi 6compliant network (although we still recommend some more affordable wifi 5 models), and the very latest releases have upgraded this to wifi 6E, which can deliver speeds up to 2x faster than wifi 6.
Wifi 6E support
Intrigued by wifi 6E? This is the latest wireless standard and can boost speeds by opening up a 6GHz channel (cutting out interference from devices connected to 5GHz and 2.4GHz channels) but the downside is that not many devices (like your iPhone 14, PlayStation 5 or even your internet router) support it at this stage. Those that do are still expensive but are likely to become more affordable over time.
Subscriptions
A key element when choosing the best mesh wifi system is whether there are any ongoing costs, which many manufacturers have incorporated, especially for arguably essential functions like parental controls.
We’ve highlighted these in particular, especially as some of the more expensive subscriptions bundle in other online security tools as well, which you may already be paying for through other providers.
Parental controls
As mentioned above, most mesh wifi systems have tools to manage the network built into smartphone apps so you can adjust the settings. This includes parental controls that let you pause the internet. That’s ideal if you don’t want family time to be interrupted by phones. Mesh systems also offer the option to set up guest networks, so you don’t have to give visitors your main password.
Voice integration
The majority of mesh wifi networks work with Google Assistant or Amazon’s Alexa and allow you to turn on guest networks or pause the internet simply by asking your smart speaker. Some mesh systems have the voice assistant built into their access points too, so you don’t need a separate smart speaker.
Make sure you choose a mesh network that’s compatible with the current voice assistant you use. You also can find mesh systems that work with HomeKit – like this Linksys model – but there are fewer of these.
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