Ubiquiti - AC Mesh

I'll give a nod to the UniFi AC-Mesh - a little old school with "rabbit ear" antennas, but it's a real performer. I had just one inside a 2400 sf house, and it covered all of it plus an outbuilding about 30 feet away. I now have a full UniFi setup, but I still use that AP and bought another one for use on a wall in the house.

Unifi meshing works automatically and quite well. I have several APs not wired and they do a great job of connecting spots to the wired APs. I'm getting 100Mbps across a U6LR to Uap-ac mesh bridge right now. If you have long distances, Ubiquity also have these Loco range extenders to get a wireless bridge that works really well too. I have one on a farm with a U6LR at the far end and cover almost 1KM of property with 3 APs. 

You can hook up one unifi AP to the router and mesh off it. you just need the wallwart and an ethernet cable from it to the AP. Not the cleanest but it does work well

\+1 vote for Ubiquiti UniFi

Unifi gear is not cheap. But I highly recommend it. I installed a wifi 7 pro AP the other day and it's fantastic. Their gear is great but the price tag reflects it. Highly recommend.

https://preview.redd.it/zfn21gdqkpje1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=d05d67faf408c3803282fe2ee0b6f84b32b6a222 I used to have a tp-link mesh system, which died just after the 2 year warranty was up. When comparing new systems, the Unifi was actually a decent price, way more features and control, plus much easier to expand and can handle hundreds of devices. We use these APs at the office, very stable/reliable. You dont need a switch, you could use poe injectors instead. Biggest draw back is running ethernet cables where you want them

Definitely not as plug and play friendly but very powerful tools baked right in. Also an easy rabbit hole of an ecosystem and a very deep (and expensive) one. Fortunately, they do play pretty well with others.

Absolutely true. I just removed 4 Deco X75s (had zero issues with them - just wanted a more advanced setup with VLANs for a hybrid personal/business network) and 3 Google WiFi pucks (had some issues with these). Everyone talks about issues but I haven’t had any with UniFi or with Tp-Link.

Ubiquity Unifi, TP Link Omada, and Aruba Instant On seems to be the 3 most common ones for people on this sub and can all accomplish what you need. I use Unifi at my house, but have setup Omada for some other family members. I'm in Canada and finding Instant On here at a reasonable price is the only reason I haven't tried that. Beware of SSID limits on some devices if you have a lot of VLANs. Some people have some serious hate for Unifi effectively using their user base as guinea pigs for updates. My experience hasn't been bad. A bunch firmware releases were bad a long while back, then got good for a while, but recently has been crap again for many. Unless there's a vulnerability, I don't update my access points too regularly and wait until the rest of the community can show a release doesn't have problems.

If you can get by with the regular Google Wi-Fi, TP-Link, erro, orbi, ECT.. systems. Great! There reasonably priced and reasonably fast.. Heck, there's nothing wrong with using equipment supplied by your ISP as long as the rental fee is reasonable and it works reliably. In some cases, that's free and there isn't a rental fee. True, someone at the ISP has access to your router if you go with their equipment but I'm honestly never come across that being an issue and over 30 years. It either works and people use it or it doesn't and they get their own equipment. If what they're selling in the big box stores is not going to cut it for you, a pretty reliable alternative would be ubiquiti/unifi. Slightly more complicated to set up but in my experience much more reliable, flexible, powerful, works with a broader range of older devices and newer devices, and you don't need to rely on the cloud unless you really want to. Plenty of YouTube videos and help groups as well. If you want something more complicated or expensive.. I don't think you'd be here posting this in the first place and would already have the answers you're seeking lol.

Same here. Moved from Orbi mesh which was unreliable at best. UniFi system easily lets you set up separate SSIDs with whatever channels you want to assign. A lot of the access points can even adjust power and detect the best channel to reduce interference automatically. I haven’t had to think about it since upgrading to this system.

Just tossed my netgear stuff for Ubiquity and couldn’t be happier. My devices no longer connect to whatever random access point it happens to see even if there’s a better one closer. Then they would get stuck on that one even after rebooting. So frustrating.

Pretty similar for me using Unifi as well. You can have multiple SSIDs with each one able to enable/disable 2.4/5/6ghz bands for each. Right now I have one set up with 6ghz max channel width on WPA3, one with 5/6ghz max channel width and one 2.4ghz on 20hz channel width.

All the unifi access points support mesh just fine. You can set "auto" or pick specific address points to use for priority 1 and 2. I have one of 4 APs with wireless uplink, and have no complaints. It's in my shed and has two wired security cameras attached that are constantly streaming. They also all support 802.11r/k/v for roaming and fast switching, regardless of wired/mesh uplink. These protocols make devices seamlessly switch APs as they move around, and without dropping connections. You can be on a video call and walk around without interruption.

I second this. Went all in and couldn’t be happier. Never had such good coverage and the control you have is insane!

Another vote for Ubiquiti UniFi.

Ubiquiti. Join the club. The more you get the more you want.

There are many helpful people in r/Ubiquiti. They could assist with your choices.

I dumped my entire nest and google WiFi mesh network and went Ubiquiti. Best decision I ever made. Period.

Technology aside (I.e. UniFi WiFi 7 better than WiFi 6 with my old Google/nest WiFi setup) the level of network control provided by ubiquiti software is FAR superior to Google home. UniFi tells knows whether problems are with specific clients, APs, or your ISP. I can create VLANs for just cameras and security. Separate ones for business and can filter application etc

If budget is not an issue, go with Unifi. I have a similar size home, and I and happy that I made the switch to Unifi

Ubiquity UniFi, I have two wired APs inside, one outside and two wireless APs outside. They blanket 5+ acres and a 2300 sq. ft. house with WiFi, zero issues.

Ubiquiti Unifi, requirements will depend on layout but I would do UDM Pro router and probably one wired access point on each floor. Very configurable, modular and easy to expand. I have two houses with Unifi mesh setups and virtually never have an issue. When I do, it's the ISP.

Two words, Ubiquiti UniFi. Little more expensive but an excellent, manageable and expandable mesh system. I have installed UniFi in both of my homes with virtually zero issues. One home install is over 5 years old, the other 1 year. Both houses are single level, around 2400 sq.ft. and sit on 5+ acres of property. Running 5 APs, two inside and three outside. Wifi always stable anywhere you go on the property.

Ceiling mounted APs are best. You're beaming down around things and people. And with wood framing and floors, many times you can cover the floor below with good placement. Unifi has them. Eero seems to be designed to site on a counter, desk, end table or maybe mounted on a wall.

This. UniFi if you have a larger budget or Omada if you have a tighter budget. Both are great.

With Unifi you don't have to have a controller running all the time. You set up the APs with the phone app and they're good to go.  The unifi controller can run on a Raspberry pi, a virtual machine or any x86 computer.

Consider access points. I have a unifi system. I have a router that is an access point. Then a cable runs to the other end of the house and there’s an another access point. In another part of the house where I can’t cable I have an access point but it runs as a mesh. One wifi network name. If you move around the house is connects to the strongest signal.

For the average consumer, Eero is a much better fit though. Sure, if you like to tinker or have one off use cases, Unifi is the much better option, but Eero does a great job of providing a product that just works without ever really needing to touch it. I've had Asus, Netgear, Linksys, TP-Link, Google WiFi, and Eero, but I've had meshing issues with all except for Eero. My current setup is Unifi with Eero in bridge mode.

I think folks that have commented already missed the point that you're not tech-savvy and do not way to deal with complicated setup/ troubleshooting. I would avoid Ubiquiti. It's a great product and I use it. But it requires network know-how the set it up and maintain it. I would recommend Eero. It's a solid performer and designed for the person that isn't tech-savvy and does not want to tinker with the network. Eero has probably the best mesh products on the market today. Depending on your layout/ needs, you could go PoE Gateway + PoE 6 APs. Great for ceiling AP locations. I also use this setup. Alternatively, you can use Max 7 or Pro 6E. Avoid 6/6+ models from Eero.

Why don't you replace all of APs to UniFi Ubiquiti? They've got the most optimized radios.

Look at Ubiquiti Unifi. They offer a scalable managed network, start small and add devices as needed. The regular Access Points also support Uplink functionality but they have separate mesh systems.

Ubiquiti Unifi, professional network equipment with consumer starting models and prices.

Yep, I started with 3 AC Lights, now have about 12 devices. But I kept away from the rack stuff (yet)

Unifi APs can run in a mesh.

One Unifi AP needs to be wired to the router. The other Unifi APs can be meshed.

There's a Wireless mesh setting you need to enable in the Unifi controller program. Other than that, just do initial setup while wired then relocate.

Unifi stuff is not very difficult to set up. It’s pretty plug and play. If you WANT to get into the weeds , sure you can do that too. And it’s much easier to troubleshoot if something goes wrong. I used to have Orbi and the web interface is a joke.

This is what I did. Way easier to manage than orbi and much more stable. Also, probably cheaper , but this depends on your needs.

Agree. UniFi is very easy to set up. You download the app, stand next to your new gear and it walks you through everything. Some of the cameras with speakers even talk to you. I was a little apprehensive at first too, but all for nothing.

At that scale, look at prosumer products like TP Link Omada and Ubiquiti UniFi. It should be using a wired back end that also delivers the power to the WiFi via POE switches ( power over ethernet). It'll be centrally controlled and have seamless roaming when you move around the house.

Modular and stable. I’ll never go back to anything else.

Second. I just hard wired my UniFi and I’m blown away from the stability and speed.

Can you get it wired? I like UniFi as a system and MESH.

Unifi from Ubiquiti. You’ve got the wire to the small out building already. You can poe power what you need out there for wifi easily and with the new stuff they just dropped you have a lot of options. I left orbi for unifi. It’s not perfect but it’s been a lot better than orbi ever was.

I did not like my orbi setup. Buggy POS for me riddled with terrible firmware releases they kept having to apologize for. I moved on to unifi and while it’s not a panacea… it’s a damn sight better than orbi.

Just go unifi. Good prosumer stuff. Super extensible. I have everything in my house hardwired but just did my parents place with the cylindrical mesh APs and have been happy with it.

Oh man, this money can get you solid unify setup: [Gateway Max](https://store.ui.com/us/en/products/uxg-max?variant=uxg-max) 2 or 3 [U6 Access Ponits](https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/all-wifi/products/u6-pro) Or maybe something [in wall](https://store.ui.com/us/en/category/all-wifi/products/u6-iw)? Edit: formatting

I had 5 eeros around the house and my pain was that devices took their time switching from AP to AP , getting poor signal even when I was standing next to another hard wired router. You had almost 0 information that's going on on your network. Even with paid subscription, you got a message threat detected, but that's it. No details at all. So I bought Synology router and leave eeros in bridge mode for WiFi only. 6 months later, I got rid of all eeros and got another Synology router. All issues with WiFi coverage were gone. Then I had some extra money and got unify.

I think Eero would be the most plug and play option. I've used TP-Link and they're decent but unclear political situation / possible ban. Ubiquiti/Unifi if you want to tinker and manage their network remotely (expensive)

You don’t really need mesh if you are doing wired backhaul. Go unifi, the extra money is worth the overall system.