Stable WiFi as a New Year’s resolution? How to set up mesh repeaters

Mesh what? A mesh network offers laptops, smartphones and tablets several inputs into the home network, so-called access points. It differs from normal WLAN networks in that the router automatically determines the best “access point” for your device. If you go from the top floor to the basement, your smartphone in the mesh network always connects to the repeater that offers the most stable reception.

Ideally, you will not notice any disconnection when you stroll from top to bottom. WLAN repeaters without mesh function cannot do this. If your smartphone is connected to a normal, it tries to tap into the reception of the repeater in the attic in the basement. The connection is correspondingly bad.

Mesh repeaters: what to look out for

There are a few things to consider before setting up a mesh network. Not every router can calculate which repeater is the best access point for the devices in the network. So you need a mesh-capable router in conjunction with mesh-capable repeaters. In German households, a Fritzbox laptop & Co. often connects to the Internet. The manufacturer reveals which of his customers are Modems and repeaters work together in a mesh network. The latest of the new is not always necessary: ​​Some Fritzboxes are mesh-capable after a firmware update.

If you find after the check that your router is not mesh-capable, you don’t need to despair: There are sets that contain mesh routers and repeaters, such as the Fritzbox 7590 with the Fritz Repeater 2400. Both routers and repeaters transmit in the 2.4 and 5 gigahertz (Ghz) ​​frequency bands. The modem is suitable for DSL and VDSL connections to set up a mesh system.

So if you’re with cable providers like Vodafone, the package won’t make you happy. Nice: You can easily expand the home network with additional ones AVM repeaters. Thanks to the WPS function, a push of a button is sufficient to embed the repeaters as access points in the network. The repeaters take over the setting of the network of the Fritzbox. So you do not have to connect to a new network with your smartphone etc. By the way: Most other mesh repeaters also couple via WPS buttonHowever, some sets of routers and repeaters create a new home network that you have to reconnect your devices to when you set up the mesh system.

You should also choose a single manufacturer: who intends to Mesh repeater from Netgear Embedding it in an existing mesh system with AVM repeaters poses problems. The various manufacturers usually do not get along well with one another. Exceptions are WiFi repeaters and routers that do EasyMesh certificate to have. This allows mesh repeaters from different manufacturers to communicate with one another.

The question arises as to whether you want a dual or tri-band mesh system. The difference lies in the communication between the mesh repeater and router: dual-band mesh networks have 2.4 and 5 gigahertz frequency WLAN. Your communication succeeds via one of the WLAN frequency bands. Tri-band mesh systems outsource communication to one another on their own frequency band, which usually transmits at 5.8 gigahertz. But who needs what?

Mesh repeater: At home, a dual band is sufficient

For normal household use, dual-band mesh networks are sufficient. The number of connected devices is manageable. Accordingly, there is enough space on the frequencies for communication between router and mesh repeater and computer, smartphone, television, etc. In general, the more devices in the network send and receive data at the same time, the sooner you want to keep the frequencies free – because at some point the information highway is full and the home network is paralyzed.

If you don’t have a Fritzbox, this is suitable for home use Netgear-Orbi-WiFi-Set-RBK13-100PES. It consists of a router that you connect to your modem and two mesh repeaters. According to the manufacturer, the set covers an area of ​​up to 300 square meters and transmits with two antennas each at 2.4 and 5 gigahertz.

Compared to the AVM Fritz Repeater 2400, it is multi-user, multiple-input, multiple-output capable (MU-MIMO). That means that the Router devices at the same time can send different data on different antennas. The speed of the mesh system benefits when smartphones, televisions and laptops also support MU-MIMO. This is the case for iPhones from the iPhone 6 onwards.

It’s cheaper Mesh set from Tenda, consisting of a router and two mesh repeaters. According to the manufacturer, it is also MU-MIMO-capable and covers a maximum of 300 square meters. However, buyers can expect an ugly bottleneck: the Ethernet ports only offer a data transfer rate of 100 megabits per second.

If you want to connect your television or computer to a WiFi repeater by cable, do not use your full bandwidth if your internet connection is faster than 100 megabits per second. It’s a shame: if your modem is also a router, the Tenda-Set does not take over its WLAN settings, but rather sets up its own network with which you have to reconnect your smartphone, tablet, television, etc.

Mesh repeater: Wifi-ac or Wifi 6?

Wifi 6 is the newer standard. Accordingly, it manages the data in the network more efficiently and offers faster transfer rates. If several people in a household are streaming 4K films while the other half is playing online, mesh repeaters with the older standard could reach their limits.

In addition, WiFi 6 solves an annoying problem that plagues city dwellers in particular: WiFi networks of all neighbors that interfere with each other. If you are affected by this, you should consider choosing Wifi 6 over the older standard. By the way: Wifi 6 is backwards compatible. So you don’t have to convert your entire network to the standard, you can do it step by step.

The set Nightawk MK62 from Netgear consists of a router and two repeaters. The manufacturer promises a coverage of up to 250 square meters. Nice: It’s EasyMesh certified. You can therefore integrate repeaters from other manufacturers into the network with the certification. The set flexes its muscles, especially when it comes to the number of devices: The manufacturer promises to provide a reliable line for up to 25 devices – Wifi 6 makes it possible. You can use a smartphone app to manage your network and set up guest access, for example.

Who Needs a Tri-Band Mesh Network?

Tri-band mesh systems mark the upper class. If you want to equip a doctor’s practice, law firm or a place with many people with WiFi reception across the board, you can use tri-band mesh repeaters and routers. Who one Fritz box 7590 calls his own, drives with him Fritz Repeater 3000 into the secure WiFi port.

Like its little brother, the repeater works as an access point with Fritz boxes. However, it offers two Gigabit LAN ports and thus one more than the Fritz Repeater 2400. Practical if there are two computers in the study that you want to connect to the repeater via LAN cable.

That is more extensive Set from Netgear consisting of a mesh router and two repeaters. The manufacturer promises a coverage of up to 525 square meters. Netgear donated a total of eleven Gigabit LAN ports to the set, distributed over the individual repeaters and the router. The network can be set up and managed using the free Orbi app. You can use it to create guest networks, for example, or set up parental controls.

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Sources: T3N.de, Heise.de, Elektronik-Kompendium.de

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