Should I get a mesh wifi system, or is my router just fine the way it is?
If you live in a smaller place and your signal is solid, your current router is probably just fine. But if you’re dealing with dead zones in a big house or your connection drops when you walk to another room, a mesh system is exactly what you need.
Quick things to check first
- Grab your phone and walk around the house to see where the Wi-Fi bars drop to nothing; those are your dead spots.
- Check where your main router is sitting right now. If it’s stuck in a corner or buried in a basement closet because that’s where the internet line comes in, that’s why your signal is weak on the other side of the house.
- Count how many devices are connected to your network at once. If you have a bunch of phones, TVs, and tablets all fighting for a connection on an older router, it’s going to choke and lag.
If that didn’t fix it
- Use a free Wi-Fi analyzer app on your phone to actually measure the signal strength in the rooms where you have problems. If the numbers drop drastically the further you get from the router, a single router just isn’t cutting it.
- If you’re thinking about mesh, check if your house already has ethernet cables running through the walls. If you can wire a mesh satellite back to the main router, it’s not technically a “mesh” anymore, but it’ll be way faster than a wireless setup.
When to call a pro
If you decide to buy a mesh system but your house has weird thick plaster walls or you just can’t get a signal to reach the backyard no matter where you plug the satellites in, it’s time to call a pro. Also, if you need to run actual ethernet cables through your walls to make a wired setup work, don’t start drilling holes yourself unless you know exactly what you’re doing.
Pro tip
When you set up a mesh system, don’t just hide the satellites behind a TV or in a cabinet; put them out in the open so they can actually talk to each other. Start with just the main router and one satellite, then walk around with your phone to see if you need to add another node to cover the dead spots.
Sources
- Mesh vs Router : r/HomeNetworking
- In 2023/2024, is there any reason NOT to be buying a mesh network?
- Q: How do I know if I need a mesh Wi-Fi system or just a better router?
- How does a mesh network improve WiFi coverage compared to a single router setup?
- Mesh vs Router - Choosing the Best WiFi Solution