Some systems also offer basic parental controls: for example, you might be able to block internet access for specific devices between certain hours. This means visitors can’t snoop through your shared folders or unwittingly bring malware onto your home network. Devices connecting to this will be able to connect to the internet, but can’t talk to other devices on your home network. Most mesh systems can present a wireless guest network alongside your normal domestic network. You may not be able to change the default address range, and not all models let you join clients to the network via WPS. Note that, while most mesh kits do basic router duties, they’re often not as configurable as a “real” router. A web portal is sometimes available too, but it may not expose all of the available settings. You can then continue to use the smartphone app to monitor and manage your mesh system. Most mesh Wi-Fi kits come with a smartphone app – for both Android and iOS – that walks you through the setup process. Are mesh Wi-Fi systems easy to set up and administer? Choosing a faster system also means traffic will be able to travel around your local network faster, so (for example) you will be able to copy files to and from a NAS appliance more quickly that’s how we tested the mesh systems below to get a true picture of their maximum transfer speeds. It may make sense to pick a Wi-Fi 6 mesh kit that can handle the full speed of your current internet connection, with headroom to grow if you upgrade to faster broadband in a couple of years. However, the average internet speed in the UK is going up and up. Even a low-cost Wi-Fi 5 mesh system should be fast enough to deliver a connection of 40Mbits/sec or more around your home, which is plenty for working, browsing the web and even streaming 4K video. Do I need the fastest mesh Wi-Fi system out there?ĭepending on your needs, you may not need to invest in the fastest, most expensive kit you can find. If you think you might want to invest in additional nodes, check your options before you buy, as not all manufacturers sell individual units. In practice, the coverage you actually get will depend on mundane things such as fridges and walls – but the best kits are more than capable of filling a moderately sized home with fast Wi-Fi, even with only two nodes. ![]() Most kits promise more than 400m² of wireless coverage with just two or three nodes. And make sure you connect your first mesh node to a Gigabit Ethernet port on your router a slower 100Mbits/sec port will seriously bottleneck the speed of your wireless clients. Just be warned that this isn’t normally the default installation procedure, so you may need to do a bit of research when getting set up. If you’re currently using a combined modem router, you can normally set this into modem mode, allowing the mesh system to handle router duties.Īlternatively, you can use your mesh kit in bridge mode, and connect it to your existing router via an Ethernet cable. ![]() ![]() Most mesh systems are designed to replace your existing router. ![]() This makes it easy to extend a wireless connection over a huge area by simply placing nodes at regular intervals around your home or workplace. As the name suggests, mesh systems are also designed to support multiple nodes, which can be deployed in a “daisy-chain” configuration, rather than each one needing a direct connection to the router.
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