Ubiquiti - AC Mesh Pro

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.

>I want them to be connected in to a seamless mesh network for seamless roaming. So, "mesh" has become an obtuse word in home networking. It's really just wirelessly uplinking to access points when cable can't or won't be used. Seamless roaming is built into wifi, it's not something that is only available in mesh systems - marketing hype has steered the understanding that way. You could set up three access points independently, with the same parameters (SSID, passphrase, security method) and your clients will roam amongst them as needed, seamlessly (meaning, no intervention required by the client to move). What mesh systems do bring is a unified management of access points which allows for certain enhancements to improve roaming (sometimes known as "fast roaming"). It's not super beneficial to home networks, but it's there. So if you're not buying a mesh system, using Ubiquiti UniFi or Omada - which both have a central "controller" - will provide those same features (and arguably better in some ways). Both of these are "prosumer" - a large step up in quality and features. Avoiding "the cloud" is maybe a good thing or maybe bad. With UniFi, you can set up access points standalone with an app that communicates directly with the hardware. Or, for a better setup, you would need the controller which allows more control and statistics. You also need to set up a userid with them, but you do not have to manage your network via, or have it connected to them - you can run it standalone. There are some benefits to the cloud access such as remote access to your controller. I run a full UniFi stack and it's been super reliable and easy to work with. I have a Dream Machine Pro, 5 switches and 4 APs. Since you mentioned PoE also, that's the way to go. I have my setup on a UPS, and everything is powered by a 16-port PoE switch. If the power goes out, everything keeps working off the UPS. The remote switches are also PoE powered, which is quite nice. Edit: spelling and some minor clarification

Just so you know, mesh doesn't bring roaming to wifi - any APs set up with the same authetication configuration (SSID, passphrase, security method) will allow wifi clients to roam amongst them as needed. Mesh uses what setups like Ubiquiti UniFi and commercial networking hardware use to allow *faster* roaming. UniFi would be my recommendation. It doesn't matter what your brother in law thinks.

UniFi - reliability, self-hosted, no cloud, no subscriptions etc.

UniFi has all the blocking and other features that you'd want. I have not tried it but it now also has ad blocking. At this point, I would never change. It's easy to maintain and upgrade etc. If something does fail, it's pretty simple to replace the component and keep moving. It's got a lot of enterprise type features that I like.

The things that stink are consumer level hardware and using wifi as a network infrastructure. Most of what you describe is due to those two things - cheap design and construction and iffy firmware for the hardware, and the general inadequacy of wifi to provice a reliable pathway, since it's subject to distance, going through something other than air, interference of several kinds. You don't care about speed - fine - but speed (on a node) is a consequence of weak signal, or interference. So, those two things - speed and reliability of connection are tied together. There are other solutions aside from mesh to reach an outbuilding. Ethernet cable, fiber optic cable, point-to-point radio - all are better than trying to stretch a mesh somewhere far away. In general, when placing mesh points you do not place the mesh where you need the wifi, you place it in a spot that gets a *great* signal from the base router and the clients get a *good* signal. The link is more important than the client. That makes it impractical to use for jumping a bunch of space between two buildings. Eero seems to get the most positivity for pure mesh systems. The plethora of offerings by the major consumer mesh manufacturers (Asus, TP-Link, Netgear, D-Link) shows how they would rather keep pumping out new devices than actually make something you would love to own. In fairness to them, wifi is no way to run a network infrastructure but consumers demand it. Wifi itself was designed as a convenience for portable devices, and convoluting it into network infrastructure was not a good idea, but one driven by the need for sales and consumer demand (plus consumer belief that wifi is somehow better.) u/Scotty1928 makes a good point - I also run UniFi. If I was confronted with your issue (of the outbuilding), I would probably first try an outside AP on the house (outside - and you'd need to wire it to your network.) The AC-M is a particularly good UniFi model for this) and see if you get an acceptable signal at your outbuilding.

In consumer world - Asus and TP-Link are the better choices. Eero is great hardware has a subscription model for some needed (IMO) features. I would avoid Netgear, D-Link and Linksys - they are not what they once were and have subscription models, sometimes poor support, and varying reliability and quality. You could also consider gl.Inet Flint devices if you're looking for an all-in-one router, they have gained a very good reputation. I agree that a better choice than any of the above would be Ubiquiti UniFi and TP-Link Omada is also decent - it's different than the consumer gear. Reliability is one of the major points of these prosumer setups. I've been running UniFi for 7 years, it's great.

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. 

Problem 1 you are using the ISP wifi. Those are usually crap and don't allow you to update settings much. Problem 2 the extenders are like mesh in that they are using your own wifi to resend signals. Info to consider: Are you using 5ghz or 2.4ghz signals? Everyone wants the faster 5 ghz but don't consider that these are more affected by walls. If you can use the 2.4ghz your signal will be better. Second you don't want a bunch of your bandwidth eaten up with "back haul" so you need your remote AP(access point) hardwired back to the router. I am a believer in putting the ISP system in passthrough and using your own router/wifi. Option 1 consumer grade. Asus. Get 2 put one at each end of the house. Run a wire between them, one will be your router, the other will be converted to just be an access point. You can set them up in mesh so it's one wifi network and devices can hop as needed. You cannot buy just an AP from Asus, but can get a better and lower cost device. TP link is also good. I avoid everything else. Option 2 Prosumer Get a Ubiquity unifi system. There can be set up simple or go full on and power a football stadium. For home you can get a single unit as the router or one that is router and wifi AP built in, then get a separate dedicated AP for other locations. You can update the AP s as new tech comes out without replacing the working router. GL

It's the way to go. I have 4 unifi aps in my house, a couple in the garages, a couple outside. All hardwired though, no lossy meshing. No kids and wife complaining about wifi.

Ubiquiti unify is your best bet for a great mesh system. I have it on my small holding and have good coverage over 2.5 acres

Ubiquiti UniFi APs are rock solid for me.

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.

Ubiquiti is great but not the same (very) basic setup that Eero offers. For non technical folks, Eero still a good bet. Otherwise Unifi all the way.

This period. Do it right first time. Thank us later

Unifi... End of story. Just Works, especially when over 20 devices on network,,4k 8mp cameras, iot, etc

Unifi ap is the way

If you can place a router near the center of your house, then I think just about any single router (non-mesh) should be enough to cover 1200 SF (unless you need strong outdoor coverage, have block walls, etc.). You said you have a couple of HomePods. Those support Thread already, so you don't necessarily need Thread from your router (especially if your router and one of the HomePods are in the same room). For simplicity (and possibility of future expansion), Eero makes sense, but I'm not convinced you need a mesh system. If you aren't running mesh nodes or if you don't need maximum throughput or range, then a dual band Eero is fine (what is your ISP speed?). TP-Link Deco (mesh) systems are more affordable than Eero and are pretty easy to set up and manage. Asus routers also have the ability to mesh and so are also expandable as a product line, which is nice. They have more features and control and can therefore be more difficult to set up as a layman. Looks wise, some of their routers are very large with a lot of antennas, which may not appeal to some. Unifi is for tech enthusiasts and network tinkerers. They work well if you know what you're doing, but I'd avoid them. I recall some people having problems with Unifi and Apple devices. Unifi doesn't perform that well when wirelessly meshed (i.e., it's better to wire each access point with ethernet). Also, most (not all) of their access points are ceiling mounted. I have had all versions of all of these (and Google/Nest too). I generally recommend Eero to my friends and family because they are not knowledgeable about networking and aren't interested in managing or tweaking their networks. They want set-it and forget it / "it just works". I don't think you mentioned how many devices you have on your network, if you have a a lot of IoT smart home devices, your ISP speed or if you home is wired with ethernet, which factors in a lot. If you have a lot of devices now or plan to later, then you may benefit from WiFi7, which supposedly improves performance on congested networks. Wifi7 is a bit confusing because the short range, high bandwidth 6ghz radios are not mandatory. They were ironically mandatory for WiFi 6E, which is why I think some people are confused. The 6ghz band requires compatible devices and has a short range (often limited one room). If you have compatible devices and a really fast ISP plan, then 6ghz might be useful to you. If you want whole house 6ghz coverage, then you are back to looking into tri-band mesh systems (like Eero 6E, Eero 7 Pro and Eero 7 Max), two Asus routers, an Asus ZenWifi kit, or a TP-Link Deco kit (all rated for WiFi 6E or Wifi 7 tri-band). I'm going to make the same recommendation for you as I do my family and friends: Get a basic Eero 7 (dual band) single router. If you want maximum coverage/speeds, then get a two pack. It's easy to live with, works well, can support high ISP speeds, etc. You can easily expand your network with any other Eero product later, like another Eero 7 or even and Eero 7 Outdoor if you want better coverage outside. I wouldn't bother with 6ghz personally or tri-band systems at this time, unless you have specific needs (like a congested network, WiFi pollution from neighbors, a super fast ISP connection that you are trying to maximize, etc.).