Fwiw, unifi can also do mesh. I have a temporary setup in our new home until I can pull wires which has an ac 6 pro wired to my router, and a 6 long-range in our bedroom and nano ap in the garage wifi meshed. They just each have a Poe ac adapter powering them but they are meshed to the 6 pro.
Prior house each was hardwired cat6, and house prior to that I had only 2 of them but used coax moca 2.5gbps to the second one. All setups worked great.
ubiquiti is the go-to for mesh systems. In their good gear, the router/gateway and access points are independent from each other, allowing for upgrade of the wifi network separate from the router. They use POE+ for the access points - so like look at a UDM SE and hardwiring a couple AP's in mesh. You'll get seamless handoffs, and great coverage. I have a UDM SE w/U6 Long Range wired directly to the router, and a U7 Max Pro wired via 2.5Gbps MOCA, (one on each floor) and have excellent service all through my 2500sq ft home.
Note unifi is prosumer, they're used by small businesses, chruches, colleges, etc. so their feature set is way better than asus or deco, or whatever you'd find at a consumer level. They have 'simple' and 'professional' menus, so you can get by just fine with the simple menus, but they will do everything and anything you can imagine, super well.
I have Unifi network devices in my home. I have a Cloud Gateway Max used for routing and all my security, which sits behind the ATT gateway via IP passthrough. The firewall, security and other options (like customizing your DNS servers) make it worth the effort to install.
I have two Unifi U6 Access points in a mesh. One is attached to the network via Ethernet and controls all the WiFi (I do not use the WiFi on the AT&T device at all). The main need for my mesh is to reach some IoT devices that are located on the other side of the house - sprinkler box, Ring system, garage door opener - along with a Smart TV in the master bedroom. There's just my wife and I here 90% of the time, so what I have works great.
All network configuration and management is done from my Unifi gateway using a web interface.
I have a UniFi cloud gateway in IP passthrough, and my WiFi is completely handled with two UniFi U6 access points. One is Ethernet-wired to the gateway and the other serves the other side of the house. Works great.
I'm curious about your NAT issues. Using IP passthrough should eliminate NAT completely on your local network.
We have a Deco BE63 system that is fine, but Decos are so hit and miss. I see many people saying that they have great experiences, some say that it's terrible. My dad has issues specifically with his work laptop, as do some of our ring security cameras, everything else is fine. So even on the same system, different devices can work better or worse. You have like zero control with Eero, but it's unfortunately probably the best system for anyone who's not techsavvy. You don't need an Amazon account to use it, so if you do choose it, you don't have to hand your entire life away to Amazon, just what they can gather from trying to fit together your network traffic and other Amazon traffic, which would not half to be on the same account.
The combo that I would recommend and switch to if I had the money is probably a Ubiquity Dream Router 7 with two Express 7 satellites and a U6 Mesh. The Dream Router 7 and express 7s, which Support Wi-Fi seven on the 2.4, five, and 6 GHz band, would be in our house, while the U6 mesh, which only supports wi-Fi 7 on the 2.4 and 5 GHz band would be in our shed where coverage is more important than speed. So yeah, unless you're not techsavy, I would definitely go down the ubiquity path.
I bought their gear to set up WiFi in an office in a big converted house. Huge walls and three floors. It has been flawless. Nobody mentions the WiFi because it all works. I set up a separate VLAN for all the smart home stuff on 2.4ghz.
There are plenty of instructions online. I got their router and WiFi 6 access points.
I do a lot of security/networking for work - so I have a strong bias and risk associated security on my devices and accounts. And the vulnerability landscape right now is insane.
Microsoft's October 2024 analysis identified thousands of compromised TP-Link routers used to attack government agencies, defense contractors, and civil society — that's the CovertNetwork-1658 / Quad7 botnet. But that problem isn't isolated to just TP-Link. But I would avoid any companies who are (from top to bottom) beholden to a hostile foreign government. If they control the software AND the hardware side, it's harder to protect yourself from becoming a vector.
I also have subscription fatigue and hate the idea that a cloud compromise could impact my home network.
All in one boxes will keep setup simple, but IMO, won't do anything well. If you are talking just APs, not router/firewall:
If you don't want to tinker or have time to mess with security stuff: Ubiquiti and Ruckus are solid options.
If you like to set your own stuff up:
A free to use, pay to get support/extra features firewall like OPNSense is awesome. PFSense is another but I liked OPNSense interface better. You can run it on a repurposed mini-pc or old desktop.
Then you can buy a managed switch or something retired from a corporate network off ebay for cheap. This isn't required, but can help if you want to wire other things like cameras, additional APs, etc.
Then as far as APs go, you can turn an old router into AP only in a lot of cases, or go down the OpenWRT rabbit hole if you want. I have no idea if OpenWRT can handle mesh networks.
Factors that may change your concerns:
If you have kids you're trying to keep an eye on.
If you want to control where your traffic goes, and how invisible you want to be as a target.
What you do for work.
If you have guests or share wifi with others.
How well you can muddle through online documentation, and how well you can keep helpers like Google and AI chatbots from giving bad advice.
I should add: running an ethernet cable and putting your wifi router in a more central spot is the best bet for a place that size. Know that the 5ghz band doesn't travel through walls/pipes/electrical wires well.
Top Mesh Wifi Systems on Reddit
1
eero
Pro 6 Series
82% positive of 177 users
Easy, reliable, smart home ready; but paid features.
Blindbatts
