petieg

rob53 said:

petieg said:

kharvel said:

rob53 said:

lorin schultz said:

rob53 said:

[...] Of course my biggest issue with all of these routers is their cost. 

My initial reaction was sticker shock, but then I realized I paid more than that to have multiple Airports, and they don't provide mesh coverage.

Would even a decent router and extenders by much less expensive that what this costs?

I have two Airports configured to provide the same type of coverage mesh systems provide. Apple makes it real easy to configure the second device and it uses the same SSID so what's the difference between this configuration and a mesh system? I hardwired the second Airport to the first via ethernet so I wouldn't lose any speed. Apple sells the Extreme for $199, Amazon has refurbished for $169. The Veloc info says there are no unsightly connecting cables, but you still have the power cord and the main ethernet cable from your cable/DSL modem so there are cables involved. The Veloc has two ethernet ports so they can be connected the same way I connected my Airports.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202056 I used the roaming  configuration. Using Airport Utility, go under Wireless, then drop down menu to Extend Wireless Network. The Utility handles all the configuration settings and you're off and running. I haven't tried using a third Airport but I see no reason why this wouldn't work.

I am very interested in hearing other people's opinions on this set-up.  I'm thinking of getting another Airport Extreme and setting up a mesh network in the same fashion as rob53.  Does anyone know if this set-up would be just as good as a Netgear Orbi or Ubiquiti Amplifi mesh network?  

It's not mesh... If you add more routers, it loses capable bandwidth. (OK, you have them hardwired together which is better, but is not the most typical type of setup.)  These other products have dedicated wireless backbone comms between themselves, not effecting your usable wireless bandwidth. IMHO

I never said it was a mesh network, I simply said it acts similarly in that the same SSID can be used over a greater range. I set up my first extended network years ago but noticed the halving of speed. Therefore, later on I used the hardwired connection and tests show I had my full strength signal throughout my house. Wireless connections are always subject to reception issues, especially when the signal has to go through metal, water, and brick or when competing for WiFi channels. 5GHz also has shorter range than 2.4GHz, which suffers from a lower maximum speed. Hardwiring the devices together will always give a stronger signal, just like hardwiring computers using ethernet cables. 

For the majority of home users, it doesn't really matter which way you go as long as you can set things up easily and have it consistently work.

kharvel said:

rob53 said:

lorin schultz said:

rob53 said:

[...] Of course my biggest issue with all of these routers is their cost. 

My initial reaction was sticker shock, but then I realized I paid more than that to have multiple Airports, and they don't provide mesh coverage.

Would even a decent router and extenders by much less expensive that what this costs?

I have two Airports configured to provide the same type of coverage mesh systems provide. Apple makes it real easy to configure the second device and it uses the same SSID so what's the difference between this configuration and a mesh system? I hardwired the second Airport to the first via ethernet so I wouldn't lose any speed. Apple sells the Extreme for $199, Amazon has refurbished for $169. The Veloc info says there are no unsightly connecting cables, but you still have the power cord and the main ethernet cable from your cable/DSL modem so there are cables involved. The Veloc has two ethernet ports so they can be connected the same way I connected my Airports.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202056 I used the roaming  configuration. Using Airport Utility, go under Wireless, then drop down menu to Extend Wireless Network. The Utility handles all the configuration settings and you're off and running. I haven't tried using a third Airport but I see no reason why this wouldn't work.

I am very interested in hearing other people's opinions on this set-up.  I'm thinking of getting another Airport Extreme and setting up a mesh network in the same fashion as rob53.  Does anyone know if this set-up would be just as good as a Netgear Orbi or Ubiquiti Amplifi mesh network?