Best mesh wifi for slow broadband?

I need to improve the wifi coverage in my brick-built detached house and a mesh system is often quoted as the best solution. However, my broadband service seldom goes above 30Mbps, and I'm guessing that the more expensive mesh systems might be overkill.

Most of my network kit uses wired Ethernet connections. I'm also aiming to use a wired Ethernet backhaul between the mesh nodes. Wifi is primarily used for mobile phones, iPads and my wife's Wifi 6 laptop.

Some advice would be appreciated.

Apologies if this question has been answered many times already. This is my first ever post on the Thinkbroadband forum and my attempts to search for an answer generated no results.

Edited by haggis999 (Sat 06-Sep-25 22:46:20)

If you are using wired Ethernetbackhaul, why do you need a mesh?

My suggestion would be to use a set of Ubiquiti AP - U6+ would be fine for ceiling mount and devices will roam as needed.

https://uk.store.ui.com/uk/en/category/all-wifi?filt...

Have a PC hosted controller and you will be good to go - tweak the 2.4 & 5 GHz power levels &c for best performance. You can also use a Ubiquito tool to model your house with different APs and location.

In reply to a post by MHC:

If you are using wired Ethernet backhaul, why do you need a mesh?

I am not using wired Ethernet backhaul (I don't own any kit where backhaul is a feature). I was simply saying that if I bought a mesh system I would aim to have a wired Ethernet backhaul rather than a wifi backhaul.

Since making my post, it has become apparent to me that while mesh systems get a lot of publicity, plenty of people (like you?) think that APs do a better job in some circumstances. No doubt the devil is in the detail. I need to do some more reading on this topic.

What features of either an AP or mesh solution would be a waste of money when I only have 30Mbps (download) broadband?

A mesh uses WiFi back haul but can be exact same APs. Add latency and takes bandwidth which given the brickwork, can impact overall speeds.

If you can wire to all locations then depending on house layout, 2, 3, 4 U6+ would usually be adequate.

My house - was a good size semi that I extended to twice teh original size meaning there is a double sking brick wall down teh centre. I was using 2 UI Flex HD APs for a long time and speeds were excellent. But one small spot where I needed some 2.4GHz coverage was a little "dark" so I added in a U6+. At present I have visitors so around 20+ devices (no where near capacity) with three grandchildren continually playing games &c. All fine

@MHC and anyone

Is there any real difference between a Mesh with ethernet backhaul and a collection of APs on ethernet with the same SSID from the perspective of a client machine going walkabout around the premises?

What do you mean mesh with ethernet backhaul?

Mesh means you don't have ethernet backhaul (well apart from the main AP of course in terms of its connection to the internet..)

It depends on the vendor how they have implemented the mesh system, some of them act as a giant AP so it can allow better roaming, but how often are you actually roaming around the house in the middle of doing something which is highly sensitive on packet loss etc. Usually devices are static-ish.

Your logic does make some sense in terms of - seeing as you only have slow internet, you don't really need a super speed wifi system, however, it's also not quite as simple as that in terms of the newer WiFi standards also have better technologies for stability etc etc.

I would still recommend going for latest technology (i.e WiFi 7) because your devices will always play nicer with it. They'll use less power, it will be more stable, you'll likely get more range, etc. It's just that you don't need to neccessarily pay for the models with multiple radios etc.

But my advice would still be to look at the latest tech.

I really like Ubiquiti but I don't know much about their mesh system and they don't seem to push it. If you have the ability to get ethernet to all your APs I'd probably recommend Ubiquti UniFi U7 Lite - provisioned in normal mode, but make sure to provision it by the proper software so that it pushes out all the identical settings and allows AP roaming. As long as you have placed the APs correctly and don't have any blackspots, you will likely find you can roam around your house perfectly without any noticable drops or interuptions.

In reply to a post by Pipexer:

What do you mean mesh with ethernet backhaul?

Mesh means you don't have ethernet backhaul (well apart from the main AP of course in terms of its connection to the internet..)

The Interweb suggests that your mesh definition may be out of date. A Google search for "Can a mesh system use Ethernet backhaul?" gave the following AI overview response:

"Yes, many modern mesh Wi-Fi systems support Ethernet backhaul, which uses a wired connection between the mesh nodes to provide a faster, more stable, and reliable network compared to a purely wireless connection".

In reply to a post by Pipexer:

If you have the ability to get ethernet to all your APs I'd probably recommend Ubiquti UniFi U7 Lite

Price-wise that's an acceptable solution for me. My switches don't provide POE, so I would need a POE adapter, though it's not yet clear to me if such an adapter is included with Ubiqiti APs or has to be bought separately.

I have been assuming that I would need an AP on both floors of my two-storey 5-bedroom house. Given the brick walls, is it possible that I might need more than one AP per floor?

My detached garage is provided with a network connection via a Devolo powerline adapter. The adapter in the garage currently rebroadcasts my wifi signal, which is useful when using mobile devices in our back garden. Would this coexist with a new AP installation, all using the same SSID?

Edited by haggis999 (Sun 07-Sep-25 23:04:29)

I see - good to know - if you can run ethernet to all the APs I would still recommend looking at Ubiquiti. You can try it in Mesh or non-mesh mode too then.

The general rule of thumb is that you can go through one brick wall in a straight line from the AP - so in your 5 bedroom if you can position an AP in the centre (like the hallway) and from there you can draw a straight line into each of the rooms without going through 2 brick walls (or at most just brushing a 2nd wall), you might get away with 1 AP on each floor. However if you are going to the effort of running a cable, I would be inclined to go for 2 and then have it positioned in such a way that 2 APs will cover the top bedrooms.

You would probably find 1 AP is fine on each floor for things like your mobile phones etc, but if you have any older Smart TVs they can be a bit sensitive and if you have TVs in bedrooms against walls etc they can get a bit delicate then if you are breaking the above rules.

Regarding your detatched garage whilst I can't claim to know the Devolo powerline solution I would be inclined to suggest you do not attempt to use that in conjunction with a new setup, it will probably end up interfering or causing some issue with roaming due to security mismatch and other things. Mesh systems simply do not like other APs on the same network for a varity of reasons. If you cannot get a cable into the garage and it might be difficult to get 2 cables into 2 APs in your upstairs (should you find you need more than 1 AP), I would be inclined then to be looking at a mesh system which isn't reliant on so-called ethernet backhaul - buy a 4 or 5 AP mesh system and put on of them in your garage and then it's all done and dusted..

Why not try the eero system - if it doesn't work out you could probably even return it to Amazon for a full refund.

Re Ubiquiti (which may not be the best bet in your situation) normally the powerline is sold separate. It's best to go for a PoE switch in my opinion as otherwise you end up with cable spaghetti. I put in a 4 AP Ubiquiti system at a friends house and he didn't want to pay for a switch, instead choosing the PoE injectors, and then every time he tidies up he proceeds to phone me up asking for help when he plugs all the cables in wrong. Highly frustrating. Aside from when he messes up what cables go where due to his stupidity, the system works perfectly.

That's how my Linksys mesh system from Community Fibre works, I was having problems with losing signal for my smartphone and the lighting in the bedroom, got a 2nd unit, set up the WiFi to the main one, then took it upstairs and plugged it in to the switch in the bedroom, everything WiFi now works all over the house.

In reply to a post by Pipexer:

I would still recommend going for latest technology (i.e WiFi 7) because your devices will always play nicer with it. They'll use less power, it will be more stable, you'll likely get more range, etc. It's just that you don't need to neccessarily pay for the models with multiple radios etc.

Less Power - debatable.

Ubiquite U7-Pro and U6-Pro are very similar in performance terms, coverage, data rates, power in 2.5 & 5, clients &c. U6 is 13W, U7 is 21W - teh 6GHz radio is 23dBm - or 200mW even allowing for the radio only being 50% efficient that is still well under 1W. The U7-lite has a coverage area of around half, no 6GHz but still takes 13W

Was referring to the power consumption on the client device, which is normally battery powered, and therefore where it counts - the newer standards are more efficient.

Agreed. I have used separately Fritz!Box and TP-Link gear meshed, each with 2.5Gb Ethernet backhaul, no issues. WiFi-only backhaul is not necessarily a real requirement.

If you are likely to be on a 30Mb connection into the foreseeable future then there is no point in over-specifying the kit you install. A lot of the advice earlier in this thread is given by technologically adept users and is sometimes more comprehensive than an average domestic user would need.

We have an FTTC connection with 70Mb+ download speeds. We live in a stone built fisherman's cottage which has been extended to the rear (outside the pre-existing 40cm. thick stone wall) then a detached concrete garage 30m. from the house. We bought the cheapest 3-node mesh we could find (in our case a set of Tenda units) with the master unit adjacent to the router in the downstairs living room and hard wired, the next unit upstairs on the other side of the stone wall just about in line with the access stairway through the wall and then the third unit daisy-chained from that unit and mounted above the inside of the garage door. No hard wiring to either of the slave units. I have not noticed any significant speed drop anywhere in the area covered by the mesh and transfer from node to node when walking about with a mobile phone on wifi calling is seamless.

I accept that when we move to FTTP we will need to upgrade the kit if we wish to take advantage of any higher speeds but until then our current system is perfectly adequate for normal domestic use.

In reply to a post by Pipexer:

What do you mean mesh with ethernet backhaul?

Mesh means you don't have ethernet backhaul (well apart from the main AP of course in terms of its connection to the internet..)

As I understand it, Mesh means not that you don't have ethernet backhaul but that you don't have to have it. MY question is asked in that form so as to avoid an irrelevant discussion of the backhaul.

In reply to a post by Pipexer:

...Mesh systems simply do not like other APs on the same network for a variety of reasons. If you cannot get a cable into the garage and it might be difficult to get 2 cables into 2 APs in your upstairs (should you find you need more than 1 AP), I would be inclined then to be looking at a mesh system which isn't reliant on so-called ethernet backhaul - buy a 4 or 5 AP mesh system and put one of them in your garage...

I'm getting a bit confused here. I thought an Access Point solution was different from a Mesh solution, but you are referring to "a 4 or 5 AP mesh system". Does this mean that the nodes of a Mesh system are just ordinary APs with some special mesh software. If so, can you switch the APs in or out of mesh mode with a simple software configuration change?

I'm also puzzled as to why you don't appear to like using wired Ethernet backhaul. Is that not always faster and more reliable than wifi backhaul?

A standard AP has to be connected to a wired connection. The wired connection is what connects you to the network, the AP may have software that allows it to detect other APs and form the beams so as to control the level of interference.

A mesh is an AP with additional software (and maybe hardware) that allows it to do the network connection via the wireless network itself. It will also usually have software that allows it to form the beams to control the level of interference with other APs.

A standard AP cannot work without a wired network connection. A mesh AP will generally work with or without a wired network connection. A wired connection would be better (as long as it is done properly). A wired mesh access point may also be the backhaul for other non-wired mesh access points so you could use a single wired connection to get a good connection to serve a number of mesh access points (you could use this potentially for an outbuilding where you can't get good wireless signal to it but once you connect to a wired connection you can mesh the wireless happily within the outbuilding without more cabling).

An access point is an access point - it may be a traditional access point, or it might be a mesh system. It's still an access point. Some systems allow the APs (access points) to operate in a Mesh configuration, or just "normal" AP mode. But that depends on the vendor. Most mesh systems, last time I checked, are designed only to work in a mesh configuration and with APs of exactly same model, you can't change them to run as standalone APs.

I am not against ethernet backhaul - I am simply saying that if you have areas of your house where you cannot get cables run then you would be better focussing on a mesh system which runs as a traditional mesh (i.e no firm reliance on backhaul/cables) because ultimately that's what most of the system will be running on.

If you can get cables to most access points, you can then look at one which can leverage ethernet backhaul to help but you better make sure that the APs where you didn't get cables to can act reliably in the traditional mesh sense.

If you can get cables to ALL access points, then there isn't any compelling reason for buying "Mesh" gear at this point. Just buy ubiquti and run cables to them all and provision it in normal mode.

Edited by Pipexer (Tue 09-Sep-25 21:30:59)

Thanks for the clarification.

Before I make any decisions, I will try to work out the best places to install APs and then check how easy it would be to run an Ethernet cable to each of them.

I plan to use POE injectors in each case, as it would not be economic for me to replace my existing 24-port gigabit switch with a POE version (The cheapest I have found is an unmanaged TP-Link TL-SL2428P at £178, which I can't justify when I might only need 2 POE ports). I also have an 8-Port 2.5GbE switch, but it has no spare ports. Replacing that with a POE version with more than 8 ports would be an even more expensive proposition.

Is it possible to locate the POE injectors close to the Ethernet switch or must they be close to the APs?

In reply to a post by haggis999:

Is it possible to locate the POE injectors close to the Ethernet switch ... ?

That is what I would do in the first instance. Remember that a PoE switch is nothing more than a switch with internal PoE injectors. And when I had the wireless internet, the head end was fed by an injector at 10 or 15m distance.

Could I run a cable of up to 100m from a POE injector beside the switch?

You could, but wire guage, copeer/cca popwer consumption will come into play.

The PoE injector would be at the switch as you want the power to go from there to the AP. If you have power sockets near where the AP will go then you could just plug them in to those rather than do PoE - my mesh devices are all wireless and just plug in to the mains. PoE is nice to reduce cables and if you don't have convenient power sockets but it is not essential.

Edited by ian72 (Wed 10-Sep-25 12:11:56)

You don't necessarily need to replace the existing switch, you could just add a POE switch to support the APs or Mesh nodes. £45 for a TP-link 8 port POE+ switch and £30 for a 5 port POE+ switch, but as noted elsewhere it depends what works best from a cabling/power point perspective.

In reply to a post by Pipexer:

If you can get cables to most access points, you can then look at one which can leverage ethernet backhaul to help but you better make sure that the APs where you didn't get cables to can act reliably in the traditional mesh sense.

If you can get cables to ALL access points, then there isn't any compelling reason for buying "Mesh" gear at this point. Just buy ubiquti and run cables to them all and provision it in normal mode.

I'm not yet certain if all my potential AP locations are easily wirable, so perhaps I'll end up looking for a mesh solution that can exploit Ethernet backhaul for one or two nodes and wifi for another node. How can I make sure that this wifi node "can act reliably in the traditional mesh sense"? Is there some feature I need to look for?

If you buy a mesh solution from a single manufacturer (and preferably the same devices) then they should work fine.

I'd echo Ian's advice and strongly recommend getting exactly the same model kit - make sure that the APs which you can't get a cable to are also not breaking the 2 wall rule with distance from other APs. Plan accordingly and sensible. It is your garage AP which might be the biggest issue (if you can't get ethernet to that) so try and position an AP in your house as close to the garage as sensibly and reasonably possible. You don't need to neccessarily put it up against the wall, but depending on your house layout you may want to put it closer to the garage than you would normally - and of course the AP in the garage closer to the house too. That way everything stands the best chance. Enjoy!

I see that some mesh solutions, such as the Eero and Orbi, are described as wifi routers. Do they take the place of your existing router, which is then just used as a modem?

Eero can indeed replace your router, but it doesn't have to. I have the Eero 6+ mesh and have used it in both router and non-router modes - I am currently using it in non-router mode.

The gotcha with Eero is that if you want the advanced features around logging and the likes then you have to pay a subscription. I paid for the first year and then decided paying nearly £100 a year for the features was just not worth it. Dynamic DNS is only available under the subscription as well which is very annoying (this is the reason I moved back to using the EE router and when I switched it found out that the EE routers don't do dynamic DNS either now!).

In Router mode the Eero doesn't need the ISP router at all, if you are on FTTP then it will just connect directly to the FTTP ONT.

EDIT: Just remembered you are FTTC and so you would still need a modem for the Eero, other mesh routers might have FTTC capabilities built in. Personally I wouldn't buy an Eero again, they are fairly basic routers even with the subscription - the main benefit is that if you have fairly recent Echo devices they can also act as part of the mesh network (although I am not sure how much benefit they give).

Edited by ian72 (Fri 12-Sep-25 08:46:27)

Keep your existing router and set to bridge mode.

The get a Ubiquiti Cloud gateway - will work with FTTC today and FTTP when it arrives. Add several of their Access Points - ceiling, on wall, in-wall, desk, mounted. They will all support meshing.

UniFi GPT

All UniFi access points support wireless meshing to extend wireless coverage without physical cables. This includes models across WiFi 5, WiFi 6, and WiFi 7 technologies, such as:

WiFi 5 APs: AC HD, AC In-Wall, AC Lite, AC Long-Range, AC Mesh, AC Mesh Pro, AC Pro, AC SHD, BeaconHD, FlexHD, In-Wall HD, nanoHD, WiFi BaseStation XG.
WiFi 6 APs: U6 Enterprise, U6 Enterprise In-Wall, U6 Extender, U6 In-Wall, U6 Lite, U6 Long-Range, U6 Mesh, U6 Mesh Pro, U6 Pro, U6 Plus.
WiFi 7 APs: E7, E7 Audience, E7 Campus, U7 In-Wall, U7 Lite, U7 Long-Range, U7 Outdoor, U7 Pro, U7 Pro Max, U7 Pro Outdoor, U7 Pro Wall, U7 Pro XG, U7 Pro XGS.

Have a read of: https://help.ui.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002262328-C...

You then have full control, no annual licence fees, updates regularly, Guest WiFi easily set up, ...

In reply to a post by haggis999:

I'm getting a bit confused here. I thought an Access Point solution was different from a Mesh solution, but you are referring to "a 4 or 5 AP mesh system". Does this mean that the nodes of a Mesh system are just ordinary APs with some special mesh software. If so, can you switch the APs in or out of mesh mode with a simple software configuration change?

I'm also puzzled as to why you don't appear to like using wired Ethernet backhaul. Is that not always faster and more reliable than wifi backhaul?

A lot of confusion here with APs and mesh systems.

There is something called WDS .. wireless distribution system, which allows you connect units together wirelessly. its rather pants as theres no dedicated channel for communication between units.

You can also traditionally wire APs to a router. You have 5 aps, you have 6 units to maintain and configure.

Mesh system, brings AP unit management together on the router. A mesh system is still a mesh system if its wired. But mesh system allows you have a mixture of wireless and wired connections. If you connect them, they typically will use one of the radios for communication with the router. so if both your router and ap has 3x5ghz radios - under mesh conditions it will be 2x5ghz usable radios.

You can also system wide ssids and local ones - again set up on the router.

In reply to a post by Pipexer:

An access point is an access point - it may be a traditional access point, or it might be a mesh system. It's still an access point. Some systems allow the APs (access points) to operate in a Mesh configuration, or just "normal" AP mode. But that depends on the vendor. Most mesh systems, last time I checked, are designed only to work in a mesh configuration and with APs of exactly same model, you can't change them to run as standalone APs.

Theres nothing stopping you having a mesh config and a separate ap, either from the same vendor, or another on the same network. Not really sure how you managed to think that.

Mesh is about easy configuration of multiple units working as one - ie a mesh, with a flexibility of adding new units without messing everything up and not having to deal 2,3,4,5, etc UIs.

Get a poe switch

In reply to a post by haggis999:

I see that some mesh solutions, such as the Eero and Orbi, are described as wifi routers. Do they take the place of your existing router, which is then just used as a modem?

routers are typically a bundle of multiple functions.

Traditionally you had wifi modem routers or cable routers.

Wifi modems do not have any modems.

if you want to use an Eero or orbi systems with you have 4 choices

1. buy a vdsl modem and ditch your exisitng modem router
2. see if your modem router can go into ip passthru/bridge mode.
3. give your your modem router a static ip and turn off dhcp and have routing via eero/orbi
4. use the dhcp server in your modem router and turn the eero/orbi dhcp server off.

3 and 4 has advantages and disadvantages for each solution, and you may loose some functions. The ideal is 1 or 2.

Why would you have separate solutions running in the same household/property - all that will do is cause interference and channel overlapping, etc. Would you then give them the same SSID? How will clients then seamlessly roam between 2 completely different solutions? How would you handle differences in how the security implementation is handled across those solutions? What happens with multicasting? Do you leave both solutions on auto channel selection or should you then manually configure each ones on a particular channel to stop them switching?

Short answer - at best you'll have degraded performance, at worst things won't work properly or you'll overlook something.

By all means if you are clued up and understand things like subnets, VLANs, concepts like intra-BSS isolation, etc, then by all means, mix and match and have a home hodge podge. If you just want things to work, then rely on the old KISS (keep it simple, stupid) approach.

As for mixing different models - that's never been a good practice mesh or not. In an enterprise wireless environment you don't randomly mix APs in the same building - you may have a few different APs for specific purposes like directional or in venue halls but on the offlice floors where you want roaming to work and for things to play nice, you use the same model across the entire floor with the same firmware with the same config. You may get away with different models placed randomly, but it's simply not recommended and no competent network engineer would sanction that sort of approach.

I'm no stranger to technology, but the world of access points, mesh or otherwise, is not familiar territory for me. I always try to adhere to the KISS principle and have already been persuaded that sticking with a single AP vendor is the best approach.

EDIT: My ISP router is a FritzBox 7530 AX, which doesn't support bridge mode. If I continue to use this router, would its wifi signal interfere with a non-FritxBox mesh system?

Edited by haggis999 (Fri 12-Sep-25 23:06:49)

It does not matter that the 7530AX does not support bridge mode, as long as you can turn off the on board wireless, which will allow you to apply KISS to your eventual wireless set up.

Would I also have to turn off DHCP in my FritzBox router, so that it doesn't conflict with DHCP in a wifi router?

In reply to a post by haggis999:

Would I also have to turn off DHCP in my FritzBox router, so that it doesn't conflict with DHCP in a wifi router?

Yes, you should turn off one or the other. Only 1 DHCP per network.

In reply to a post by haggis999:

Would I also have to turn off DHCP in my FritzBox router, so that it doesn't conflict with DHCP in a wifi router?

Make sure before you do anything insure that the Fritzbox is on a static ip once dhcp is turned off. use that ip as the gateway ip for the APs. you may find it easy to have both connected to a pc/mac at the same time to make sure you have configured both units. Until we know what mesh or aps you are getting we are sorta in the dark.

also you can have the fritzbox wireless available, but thats after you have set the mesh ap/aps up.

has pppoe passthru though

https://en.fritz.com/service/knowledge-base/dok/FRIT...