If you don't mind previous generation, say wifi 6 instead of wifi 7 then check out closeouts. Picked up a pair of Linksys Velop (MX4200) for $20 a piece from woot.com. Each node can cover 2700 sf and up to 7 nodes per mesh. I upgraded so I can deploy NDI cameras for streaming.
I have have a couple AX 4200 tri band. One with a Ethernet connection to my router and one node meshed to the first. It works well in my home. They have 2 or 3 walls between them.
You could just try them meshed first. If they don't deliver the speeds you want, you can consider hardwiring them. Hardwiring them is ideal for speed and latency, but there's nothing wrong with wireless backhauls IMO.
I bought one of the popular linksys AX4200 kits, as well a couple of the LN1301 units and played around with the mesh setup and it was just trash. And those claim to be tri band.
So my question is this, is mesh only worth it if you CAN do you a wired backhaul? I can't really do that in my current place and when I do move I'm just going to skip to a unifi setup.
They are worse spec wise but not by much. They're compatible with the LN1301 though so if you have an LN1301 and need more coverage, by all means get them.
...If they didn't sell out.
LN1301 is the bigger brother to those and is a common router talked about for people who frequent this sub.
You can Google about their history, but basically they were sold at firesale prices because tech companies thought governments would be stupid enough to keep us in eternal lockdown and we'd work from home for everything. That firesale was listed on this sub several times and each one went for $15-$20 a pop. Practically stocking stuffers. They're Wi-Fi 6 but they're still plenty enough for home networks. Stock firmware blows but it can be easily upgraded to OpenWRT or DD-WRT.
Go on eBay, look up LN1301 - a lot of people are reselling them:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/126980499244
This guy's selling a bunch of open boxes, but he's probably doing this to save on shipping because they've originally came in a bulky box.
Even with a pack of 3 at this price it's still a great deal, and I can tell you as someone who has this setup using a wired and wireless backhaul the system is very reliable. I've NEVER had to restart these since I bought and set them up.
Top Mesh Wifi Systems on Reddit
1
eero
Pro 6 Series
82% positive of 175 users
Easy, reliable, smart home ready; but paid features.
cty_hntr
