Like Tree38Likes

2019 - Router + Mesh Setup

Closed Thread
Page 6 of 8 FirstFirst ... 3 4 5 6 7 8 LastLast
  1. #51

    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Posts
    1,194
    Quote Originally Posted by jgl:
    I've had the same set of gear tested at three homes. Worked well enough for two places for multiple years to be a completely viable alternative to UTP. The reason it was retired at all was because one friend moved house, and the second friend to inherit it needed a more modern wifi standard.

    Unfortunately the first location, where it didn't work properly, was my own flat in HK.

    Mind you, this is a couple of very early gen poweline adapors, I'm guessing it's improved somewhat since.
    Newer units improved in throughput, but error correction is worse or probability of errors goes up. I've seen latencies go up to 200ms across a home if the electrical installation is crap... Only way to make it work was using some older 85mbit homeplug....
    jgl likes this.

  2. #52

    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    856

    I think it really depends on the speed that you are comfortable with. sub 100 works for 99% of the average user. hell my company runs 100 and no one seems to complain. the other 1% people like me who runs server at home to transfer GB of files needs a gigabit connection


  3. #53

    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    11,884

    Update on the Velop system.

    After a couple of months, the two nodes kept dropping out from each other. They were well within wifi range. I couldn't figure out if it was a problem with the nodes or whether it was external interference. The latter was unlikely as the installation was done in an area that isn't swamped by competing signal, nor were there obvious sources of interference. I didn't bother spending that much time troubleshooting and ended up wiring the nodes with ethernet cable instead, an ugly but effective band aid.

    In hindsight, I should not have gone with the Velop system:

    • Setup was a pain in the arse because it's designed only to be installed by people with zero experience, so if you do have half a clue what you're doing, it's just maddening
    • It's practically impossible to troubleshoot and retain sanity as the interface is so incredibly crippled with a single bloody LED
    • The fancy features tacked on are not terribly useful or flexible- parental controls, network performance, device prioritisation. The parental controls feature is particularly half arsed- instead of blocking classes of website, you need to enter the individual URL of every single site that needs blocking.

    The one thing I can say on the positive side, is that the white rectangular towers look nicer than the more common spidery router design with their multiple black antennae poking into the air.

    The more I think about this, the more I realise that for a simple 2 -3 node setup, I probably should have just gone with cheap wifi repeaters and ignored the theoretical bandwidth hit. I took the mesh route because I literally had a day to buy gear. And to be completely honest, wanted to see what this mesh hype was about.
    Last edited by jgl; 14-01-2020 at 02:19 PM.
    chichow, pin, bdw and 1 others like this.

  4. #54

    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Posts
    50
    Got the Asus CT8 mesh yesterday... and we can't be any happier.


    I was using router + powerline adapters for a few years. Standing next to the (netgear) router (in the guest room), the speed and connection were fine (around 90+ mbps). But in the other bedrooms (1 room away from the router) or living room (2 rooms away), the speed and connection were pretty bad, even when connected to the wifi from the powerline adapters (netgear/tp-link/etc.). At best (which didn't happen often), I can get 20+/- mpbs. I heard the performance of these adapters depend somewhat on the distance, quality of the lines, etc. Given that we are in a relatively old building, I suspect there are some structural stuffs that I can't change to improve the powerline adapters' performance.

    With the mesh, I can now get 70 to 90 mbps even in the living room. Websites load faster, netflix experience much better. The kids are ready for their online school! The CT8 setup was a breeze using the app; I can do more tweaks using the web interface. And I free up power sockets that were dedicated to the adapters.


    I considered the Google Nest (for the look and ease of implementation) and Orbi (for performance). In the end, I went with the Asus CT8. No regrets, at least not in the last 24 hours and hopefully not in the next 24 years.
    shri and ArrynField like this.

  5. #55

    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Posts
    50
    Original Post Deleted
    Oops, missed out the most important piece of info.

    HK$2580.

  6. #56

    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Posts
    8,280

    There is a really cheap one out in Australia now, only AU$109 (HK$600) for a 3 pack. This brand Kogan is not the best, they just rebadge cheap chinese shit. But I've bought a few stuff off their website, eg a smart heater so I can say "Hey google, turn on the heater. etc" and it works fine

    But does anyone recognise this model below? I assume its some cheap Chinese brand and they've just put their Australian branding on it.

    https://www.kogan.com/au/buy/kogan-w...e-mesh-3-pack/


  7. #57

    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Posts
    6,714
    Quote Originally Posted by bdw:
    But does anyone recognise this model below? I assume its some cheap Chinese brand and they've just put their Australian branding on it.

    https://www.kogan.com/au/buy/kogan-w...e-mesh-3-pack/
    Rebranded Tenda Nova:

    https://www.amazon.com/Tenda-Technol...ef_=ast_sto_dp
    shri and bdw like this.

  8. #58

    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    11,884

    A quick Google of Tenda shows they are not terribly security-conscious.

    Also a PSA for anyone considering the Google wifi gear- there are reports that these things are region locked, i.e. you bring it to another country and it stops working.


  9. #59

    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Posts
    8,280
    Quote Originally Posted by emx:
    Thanks, I was wondering what it was. Good find on Amazon with free shipping to HK now. Amazing price for a 3 pack, but I wouldn't expect too much quality wise and I suspect you get what you pay for.
    ArrynField likes this.

  10. #60

    Join Date
    Nov 2019
    Posts
    2,160

    Here's a review, compared with another budget mesh wifi:-

    https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wire...viewed?start=4


Closed Thread
Page 6 of 8 FirstFirst ... 3 4 5 6 7 8 LastLast