I am looking for a wifi mesh system to improve the coverage in my home. I looked around and found a cheap solution with decent reviews, the Halo 50G by Mercusys (TP Link). I am not a fan of super cheap, super easy to use “magical” solutions, and within minutes of connecting just the access point I was seeing calls to the likes of google, facebook, amazon, etc in my network coming from the device. Not ideal.

I also found that Ubiquiti and Netgear may be the best options out there, but the prices I found are north of 600€ and I can not afford to pay that much right now.

So, my question is: Is there any wifi mesh system that is not using my network against me and does not empty my wallet? I am based in Europe and would like something under 200€ if possible, and ready to buy from the shelf.

Thank you for reading and for any recommendation.

  • ReversalHatchery@beehaw.orgEnglish
    4·
    1 day ago

    I tried TP-Link Deca, but the mesh refuses LAN communication if the router doesn’t have a constant and stable connection to the internet

    that’s ridiculous

    • Ekky@sopuli.xyz
      2·
      1 day ago

      Yeah, I even wrote TP-Link an E-mail about this, but they wrote back that that was just how the device worked, that they could not recommend any of their mesh solutions which could provide a stable WiFi connection even without internet, and that they obviously couldn’t recommend any devices from competitors.

      My image of TP-Link might have taken a hit as result as I believed this to be a fundamental and implied feature.

        • Ekky@sopuli.xyzEnglish
          1·
          30 minutes ago

          I returned them. And I did indeed get the name wrong as they are a series of WiFi mesh towers named ‘Deco X20’ and not ‘Deca’.

          I do already use DD-WRT in my home network, but these were meant to provide a network-on-a-budget out in the field, aka. a stand-in for professional solutions which other people should be able to set up too, so I wanted to modify them as little as possible.

          WiFi extenders do technically fit my requirements (and I’ve got them working mostly successful), but, as far as I’m aware, mesh is specifically made for the purpose of having a seamless WiFi device transfer from one tower to another, and where one can form a circle or “spiderweb” pattern with the signal taking the best (distance/speed/reliability) route back to the router - which is what I need.

          Ubiquity seems to have gained traction lately, so I’ll throw them an E-Mail whether their devices are too smart to be usable too.