Wi-Fi Router Vs Mesh System: Which Is Best for You?

We each want a good, beardown Wi-Fi awesome passim our homes, but figuring retired really to execute it without overspending tin beryllium tricky. Even erstwhile you’ve decided to switch nan router from your net work provider, do you get a caller Wi-Fi router aliases put successful a mesh system? I covered this concisely successful my router buying guide, but I’m going to dive a spot deeper here.

I’ve been testing each sorts of location networking cogwheel for years now, truthful I’ll break down your options, measurement up nan pros and cons, and thief you decide.

What Is a Single Wi-Fi Router?

A router is simply a cardinal hub and gateway wherever nan net comes into your home. It connects to devices connected your location web and directs nan traffic. You usually plug a modem into your router utilizing an Ethernet cable (some routers double arsenic modems). While you tin link different devices to a router utilizing Ethernet cables (if it has spare ports), astir gadgets nexus wirelessly utilizing Wi-Fi.

Read our Best Wi-Fi Routers guide to spot our apical recommendations. These are usually capable for astir homes. You mightiness fancy a shiny caller mesh, but if you person a location of modern construction, pinch a timber framework and drywall, and a humble quadrate footage (2,500 quadrate feet aliases less), a azygous router should beryllium capable to support you online.

Pros

• Less expensive
• Easier to group up
• Only 1 instrumentality to configure
• Fast and stable

Cons

• Limited range
• Difficult to spot successful nan correct spot
• Dead spots are likely
• Can’t link distant devices via Ethernet (without moving agelong cables)

How to Get nan Best From Your Router

The Wi-Fi awesome will ever beryllium strongest adjacent nan router and will gradually driblet disconnected and slow down nan further distant you get. You should effort to spot your router centrally successful your location and time off it retired successful nan unfastened to get nan champion capacity from it. This could beryllium tricky because you request to plug successful your modem, and you request a powerfulness outlet, but an Ethernet cablegram is cheap, and you tin ever get an extension. Central placement is worthy nan hassle if you want coagulated sum passim your home.

It’s besides amended to person nan router up high, connected apical of a bookcase aliases mounted to nan wall adjacent nan ceiling connected your crushed floor. The nonstop predisposition of your router and its antennas (if they are adjustable) tin beryllium amazingly impactful, truthful effort different positions to find what useful champion pinch your astir important devices astir nan home.

Top Single Routers

What Is a Mesh Wi-Fi System?

A mesh strategy consists of a main router that acts arsenic a gateway aliases hub, conscionable for illustration a azygous router, pinch your modem plugged successful via Ethernet. But mesh systems besides person satellites aliases nodes that you tin spot astir your location to widen Wi-Fi coverage. Mesh systems coming arsenic 1 azygous web and determine erstwhile to hand-off connections to devices arsenic you move astir nan home.

Read our Best Mesh Wi-Fi Systems guide for our apical recommendations. These models tin guarantee beardown Wi-Fi passim large, engaged homes. If you person a location pinch heavy walls aliases building materials that interfere pinch Wi-Fi, and a comparatively ample footprint (3,000 quadrate feet aliases above), a mesh strategy is apt your champion bet. Mesh systems tin besides beryllium awesome for adding sum to dormant spots aliases extending Wi-Fi into your garden.

Pros

• Wider coverage
• You tin destruct dormant spots
• You tin link distant devices via Ethernet
• Easily scalable

Cons

• More expensive
• Not suitable for smaller homes
• Require aggregate powerfulness outlets
• Can origin issues pinch immoderate devices

How to Get nan Most From Your Mesh

For champion performance, mesh nodes should beryllium connected to nan main mesh router pinch Ethernet cables (wired backhaul), but that’s not ever possible, truthful they tin besides link via Wi-Fi (wireless backhaul). The main mesh router and nodes should beryllium placed retired successful nan open; don’t put them wrong cabinets aliases down TVs.

When placing your mesh nodes, deliberation of your strategy arsenic a Wi-Fi spine for your home. Rather than placing nodes successful a dormant spot, spot them halfway betwixt your main router and nan area you want to cover. If they are excessively adjacent together, you tin extremity up pinch interference problems, but if they are excessively acold apart, nan relationship betwixt router and node will beryllium slow aliases patchy. The manufacturer’s app will apt guideline you astir bully placement.

Top Mesh Wi-Fi Systems

Should You Choose a Router aliases a Mesh System?

There’s a batch to measurement earlier deciding whether to bargain a mesh strategy aliases a azygous router, but it’s important to statement that mesh systems are not needfully ever better. If you tin screen your location pinch a azygous router, that is nan champion option. Better sum is nan only logic to opt for a mesh. With a mesh, nan strategy must make decisions astir erstwhile to manus disconnected connections and really to nonstop traffic, and this adds a furniture of complexity.

Some mesh manufacturers are amended than others erstwhile it comes to routing postulation and providing a unchangeable connection. Netgear and Eero are particularly bully connected this score. If you person smart location devices, specified arsenic a Sonos system, for example, immoderate mesh systems don’t grip them good and whitethorn driblet speakers from nan web aliases forestall you from seeing aliases controlling them via a telephone connected to a different node. There are imaginable snags that you won’t get pinch a azygous router.

Consider besides that you ever get overmuch slower speeds from your nodes than from nan main mesh router, unless they are connected via cables. Mesh routers connected wirelessly to nodes must usage immoderate of nan disposable bandwidth for postulation betwixt nan main router and nan node. This tin efficaciously halve nan bandwidth that’s disposable for your connected devices.