Access Points vs. Mesh: How to get the best Wi-Fi coverage

Mesh networking is gaining in popularity. Ownership a kit with a few nodes tin spread out fast Wi-Fi across a relatively large expanse, plus they are easy to prepare and maintain, nearly requiring nothing more than a few minutes choosing preferences in an app. Nigh of these mesh kits come with a hefty price tag, and your standard router coupled with an extra access point or extender might still exist enough to ameliorate your existing network. So, should you switch over to a mesh networking system, or tin you live with the router yous have, admitting with a few extra access points?

See our beginner'south guide to home networking gear

Choosing betwixt extra access points and mesh networking

Google Wifi

The wireless network in your dwelling house, following the initial setup, should go mostly unnoticed until it's fourth dimension to upgrade. Whether this isn't the case and you want something more reliable, the router is so old it no longer supports the latest standard, yous demand new hardware to go along up with faster speeds from your Internet service provider, or you lot need to cover a larger area, you're probably shopping effectually for a solution.

I don't want to spend a lot of money

If your existing network — one with a single router — is having trouble striking certain areas of your home, adding an extender or wired access point will fill that void with glorious Wi-Fi for a relatively low cost.

Netgear's N300 extender

An admission signal requires an Ethernet cablevision running back to your router, and creates its ain network with the same network name (SSID) as your original router. Setting this upward will require you to get into some intermediate networking stuff like Power over Ethernet (PoE), only the end upshot can be satisfying. Think of a hotel'southward Wi-Fi, and how you tin walk the halls without losing network access.

An extender connects wirelessly to your router and creates a chimera of Wi-Fi for a far corner of your home. The deviation here is that an extender is going to cut your speed in half (it has to split wireless traffic coming from and going back to the main router), while a wired admission point can rely on the wired connection for backhaul traffic. Extenders likewise generally use a unlike network proper name, appended with something like "EXT."

If yous're only trying to hit your entire home with Wi-Fi without paying mesh prices, an extra admission point or extender should serve you well. If you take an one-time router lying around, you lot can plow information technology into an access point, though this does crave a flake of tinkering that some don't have time for or simply don't desire to effort.

All-time Wi-Fi extenders to improve coverage in your dwelling house

My router is quondam and boring

This is a fast Netgear Nighthawk router

Changing plans with your ISP in order to get faster internet than you lot had before won't practice much adept if the router you lot're using can't keep up. While many companies volition include a router in the programme you lot pay for, it notwithstanding might not be up to your standards.

If you're thinking near paying for an entirely new router and you have a large area to embrace, it'southward probably worth upgrading to a mesh network. Yous might not become the aforementioned wireless speed that y'all'd get with a $500 gaming router, but for well-nigh people, the speeds offered with mesh systems is more than than enough.

Best Wi-Fi router in 2022

Sure, at that place are plenty of inexpensive standard routers out there that tin prove suitable for smaller apartments or condos, simply for large spaces, you take to add in the price of actress access points or extenders. If you can snag a mesh network kit for somewhere between $200 and $300 (in the case of the Netgear Orbi or Google Wifi), yous're likely in the same price range equally a standard router setup for a large dwelling or role.

I like to tweak all my network settings

Commercial mesh networking systems do undoubtedly come with fewer avant-garde settings than your standard routers, but that's seen every bit a selling point for many people. If you lot're on the side of "set it up one time and forget about for a couple of years," a mesh network volition do you fine.

If, still, yous're more on the side of "I want to tinker with my network every day," you might exist disappointed with the mesh network (you likewise likely already know what blazon of router you need and why).

How to cull the best router

Wrapping things up

Linksys Velop

Choosing between a standard router setup and a mesh network kit actually comes down to iii things: your upkeep, your existing hardware, and how comfortable y'all are with configuring a custom network.

If your existing router works well other than non existence able to hitting a far corner, ownership an extender or calculation an access betoken can probably fix things up without you lot having to spend a bundle of cash. Of class, calculation your own access point (possibly y'all have an old router lying around) does require a flake of networking know-how, which some people might want to avert in lieu of something they tin plug in and forget.

For those with an onetime router that needs to be retired, a mesh network makes a lot of sense when looking to the hereafter, especially if you have a large surface area to cover. You plug it in, get through a few quick setup steps in an app, and it's good to go. No running cables through the house or worrying almost the whole network going downward if one of the nodes fails. Its brains proceed the network from getting congested when a few people are streaming or gaming, and everything is contained in a single, modular network.

There's non really a single respond for which network selection is best for anybody, though hopefully a couple of your questions have been answered. For more data and to farther help you decide, check out these links.

Is Google Wifi worth it?
Mesh Wi-Fi pros and cons
5 important Wi-Fi router features for gamers
Netgear Orbi vs. Linksys Velop: Which Wi-Fi system is all-time?
What to know when choosing betwixt router and mesh networking

Buyer'southward guide

These are the best Netgear routers available now

Love Netgear and desire to improve your habitation net? Nosotros've rounded up the best routers available now, whether you're looking to game, set up a mesh network, or only bask lag-gratis internet in your domicile.