Home Wi-fi systems

GT98

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Aug 29, 2001
Messages
1,267
Been looking at Wi-fi systems to replace the router that my cable company provides. I've been looking at Google Wi-Fi, Amplifi HD, and Erro. I have about 1800+ Sq ft house with three levels (basement, first and second levels) and the router the cable company provide decent wi-fi coverage, but I'd like a bit more speed.

I know many of these systems are "locked" down so you can't tinker with them, but I have mixed feelings on that...sometimes simple is good so I don't have to fuck with it when I get home from work doing the same thing I do at work. Some flexibility would be good, but not required.

Pricing is my primary metric...don't want to be dumping $400 bucks on this-would like to keep in the 200-300 range.
 
Do you have Cat5/6 runs throughout the house? Or, are you limited to only being able place a single router somewhere in the home?
 
Do you have Cat5/6 runs throughout the house? Or, are you limited to only being able place a single router somewhere in the home?

I have cat6 to my desktop/xbox one and directtv box from my cisco switch in the basement (that I have my NAS connected to). I really don't have an easy way to run it to the top level of the house. The current router is set to left center of the house in the office on the first floor.

I have about 6-8 wireless devices.
 
General consensus around here is generally to use dedicated access points with a single router device to provide whole home wireless coverage. You can achieve this with Ubiquiti within your budget:

Get an EdgeRouter Lite - https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Edgerouter-ERLITE-3-Desktop-Router/dp/B00HXT8EKE - $94

w/ a solid AP - https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-Networks-802-11ac-Dual-Radio-UAP-AC-PRO-US/dp/B015PRO512 - $127

If you already have a switch, you can continue using that. Or if you need a PoE, you can get another switch for PoE.

Something like Meraki would be far outside of your budget, and Ubiquiti is extremely popular so there's a large community following that can offer help as supplement to any support needs.
 
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I purchased an Amplifi HD about a month ago and I absolutely love it. I live in a 3 story town home and getting good consistent wifi on the lower level and upper level was a serious problem. With the Amplifi, I consistently get 100Mbps+ download speeds everywhere in the house. At 1,800 sq ft you likely wouldn't even need the backhaul range extenders. Before I installed the range extenders with the Amplifi I was still getting around 60Mbps whereas before I was lucky to get 35Mbps. If you do find out later than you need the range extender, you can always pick one up.

The overall setup and usage of the system is a breeze out of the box. I'd recommend that you do a channel scan on both 2.4 and 5 with your current setup turned off and select the channels yourself instead of letting it run on the default auto mode.
 
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