Just did this - 7 people, 3 floors.
Went through a few mesh systems (tplink be4800, be5000, XE75). Hated the way mesh worked, walked to another room device would hang on the further node and online games were choppier (higher ping and latency) than a single nighthawk (even had wired backhaul from main to second of the 3 nodes). Then went through multiple Netgear Nighthawks (rs200, rs300, rs500, axe3000). Ordered a refurbed RS700S for $349, its a beast but better coverage, better speeds, lower pings, less latency than any of the Mesh systems.
Dead spots where we got 5-10mb/sec now getting 550mb. Using the nighthawk app I could see with the RS500 60% signal level in some of the dead spot areas, now getting 90+%. I've got a 1GB connection from Spectrum and they overprovision so wirelessly with iphone 17 getting over 1gb a floor above or under the router and up to a room away still. Wired to PCs getting 1.1-1.2 gb too. I tested speeds in every room of my house with each system to record speeds.
I found a single, more powerful router to be a much better and consistent solution for 3 floors and 7 people.
You're going to have a problem and its the house.
I had some dead spots, tested multiple routers and mesh systems. The best fit for us was the Netgear Nighthawk RS700. Pushed through those dead spots and where we got 5mb/sec, now getting 450mb/sec. Even the mesh systems struggled there. I found a refurb on Amazon for $349. Its not cheap but it worked for me. (house is 3200sq ft, 7 users, 40+ devices w/ 1GB connection from Spectrum). I did try the RS300 and RS500 but neither pushed through like the RS700 did with the extra antennas.
Looks like they bumped to $356 but mine was refurbed by netgear and had a 90 day warranty from them:
[https://a.co/d/abj8BU7](https://a.co/d/abj8BU7)
You're going to have a problem and its the house.
I had some dead spots, tested multiple routers and mesh systems. The best fit for us was the Netgear Nighthawk RS700. Pushed through those dead spots and where we got 5mb/sec, now getting 450mb/sec. Even the mesh systems struggled there. I found a refurb on Amazon for $349. Its not cheap but it worked for me. (house is 3200sq ft, 7 users, 40+ devices w/ 1GB connection from Spectrum). I did try the RS300 and RS500 but neither pushed through like the RS700 did with the extra antennas.
Looks like they bumped to $356 but mine was refurbed by netgear and had a 90 day warranty from them:
[https://a.co/d/abj8BU7](https://a.co/d/abj8BU7)
The fact that he was getting 1GB connected to the router tells me its not your ISP or your router. Your devices are either too far away, configured improperly or lack decent wifi technology.
What wifi cards / generation are in the devices you are using wirelessly?
What band are you connecting these devices to (2.4 or 5ghz)?
Which Netgear Nighthawk router do you have?
What does he get with the ethernet wired to the netgear, then ethernet connected from router to the modem?
I've got the Netgear Nighthawk RS700 and get 1.2gbs on my iphone 17 from 2 rooms over or a floor below. I tested 3 other mesh options and kept coming back to the nighthawk, it was faster and coverage was better than the mesh systems in my house. I did also try the Nighthawk RS300 (it was junk, terrible signal strength some rooms had NO service) and the RS500 (decent).
I bought one these refurbs, its been amazing [https://a.co/d/3zliEdp](https://a.co/d/3zliEdp)
Maybe those are issues with that particular model then. I went out and bought a 3 node versions of the TP-link BE4800, BE5000, XE75Pro and Nighthawk RS300, RS500 and RS700... and did all my own testing in my house to see what gave the best speeds and signal strength in each room.
My house is \~3200sq ft, PCs in the basement, main floor and upstairs. We have 5 kids and about 50 wifi devices (ipads, iphones, laptops, TVs, rokus, android tablets, amazon echos, etc), a few dead spots (was getting 5mb at a desk in one room, now getting 450mb) in the house (built 2001). Its overkill but highly recommended if you need coverage and speed!
..so if that tells you anything about what I needed and that the RS700 won....
How big is your house? If it’s under 3000 sq ft you could get away with a strategically placed modern router (netgear rs500-700 for example). You’d most likely have to do some tweaking to the default settings for the most stable connection (I did)
I have a Netgear Nighthawk Wi-Fi 7 Tri-band router. It holds over 100 devices and I have a 2100 square-foot house with no issues anywhere including the backyard and garage and driveway and even out into my street. It is fully customizable, depending on what you wanna do. It has been fantastic. I want to say it was about $250. I also use a separate Netgear Nighthawk modem. I don’t like combo devices at all.
Right now there’s one that’s only $131 on a sale.
https://a.co/d/09Bmr4S8
I upgraded from the Netgear Nighthawk mesh Wi-Fi 6 system to a single point Wi-Fi 7 Netgear Nighthawk router. Coverage is significantly better even though there’s only one point. It is tri band, which allows for more connections. (60 WiFi 6 and 100 WiFi 7) And the speed is so much faster. I speed tested the Wi-Fi mesh system on my iPhone 17 Pro Max. I was averaging about 400 Mbps. I have a 1 Gbps plan. With the Wi-Fi 7 I’m getting around 900 Mbps. On Wi-Fi. Not a hardline connection. My latency dropped from an average of 25 to 27. Down to 10 to 12. I am also using a Netgear Nighthawk modem, which is rated for 1 Gbps.
As far as penetration for the different types of Wi-Fi. It’s based on the megahertz. The lower the number the better the penetration. Think of it like frequency of music or sound. The lower the frequency the more penetration you get. Think of a car with a very loud stereo. Tons of bass. In your home, you hear the bass, but you don’t hear the higher frequencies. That is exactly how the Wi-Fi bands work. 2.4 penetrates walls extremely well but it’s a slower speed. 5.8 penetrate allright, but it is a much faster speed. The new 6Ghz band is a higher frequency than the 5.8. That is why it does not penetrate as well as the other two. But it is by far the fastest connection. And remember your device has to support the different connection speed as well.
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