Okay tech guys/gals, school me on mesh Wi-Fi

[JimNasium]

I need to cover roughly 6,000 square feet on two levels. Hoping to also reliably capture adjoining outdoor spaces. Uses includes multiple devices with tons of video streaming, work and pleasure applications, smart home features, etc. every ‘best of’ list arrives at a different ‘best’. What’s your antifreeze solution?

[eDave]

• Outstanding - Highest price: Netgear Orbi RBKE963 WiFi 6E Mesh System. Coverage = 5500 sqft.
• Outstanding - Top mid price: Asus ZenWiFi ET8. Coverage = 5500 sqft.
• Outstanding - Low cost solution: TP-Link Deco M9 Plus Mesh Wi-Fi System. Coverage = 4500 sqft.

Linksys MX12600 Velop Intelligent Mesh WiFi 6 System will cover 8100 sqft. Around same price as Asus, more coverage.

[chiefsfan58]

I've tried a number of these (Eero, Google, etc) and the Netgear Orbi system is the best, hands down! It has the strongest signal through walls/floors/etc, best signal stability, and highest network throughput. A key differentiating feature is its dedicated backhaul. This means that one of the 3 wireless bands is dedicated for communication between the mesh nodes, which ensures that connecting to a satellite node is just as fast as connecting to the primary node.

If you have 2 floors, I'd go with the 852 version which includes 2 nodes: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WNY2WKG/
If you want a 3rd node for whatever reason (e.g. for the the outdoor space), then I'd get the 853 version: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082LZKYFL/

[Chief Pagan]

I have the Orbi and it works great.

I wanted high speed connection back in my office both up and down.

The secondary orb satellites also have an Ethernet connection. So I can plug my laptop/desktop in direct to the orb satellite/node that sits on my office desk and I don't have to use the computers WiFi at all. Not a big deal, but still kind of nice.

[stanleychief]

It's sort of a weird time in WiFi right now. I've been looking to upgrade my access point, but I'm luckily not in a rush to do so. I feel like a lot may change in the next year.

Your first choice should be to decide between WiFi 6 and 6E. There isn't much out there yet that supports 6E, but 6E opens up usage of the 6GHz band, which offers a lot more channels. So, buying a 6E solution now would save you from upgrading later. Unfortunately, there's a pretty steep cost associated with that, as the technology is new and many manufacturers haven't released products yet, and the ones that have, are doing so in their flagship products.

My current AP is an Ubiquiti, which is borderline enterprise grade. A lot of their devices have better range compared to consumer grade equipment. At the moment, they are not offering a WiFi 6E access point, only WiFi 6. I will likely upgrade my own network when they have a 6E offering.

[Buehler445]

I have the google mesh system. It's fine for what I'm after. Htismaque tells me it's not as good.

But it works fine for my hillbilly ass. And my wife set it up in like 15 minutes so it was pretty easy.

[htismaqe]

Don't go with Netgear. I know people like Orbi but I used to be a Netgear consumer beta tester and their support has gone WAY downhill. It's a shit show, honestly. They have no idea what they're doing anymore.

I use Asus but I use wired backhaul rather than mesh.

If budget isn't an issue, go with Ubiquiti.

[scho63]

6,000 sq ft???

Well look at Mr Rockefeller with the big 'ol mansion!