Deco BE85

Totally agree that mesh is the way to go. One thing to keep in mind with the brick veneer mentioned earlier: if Node 1 is in the garage, the signal has to punch through an external brick wall just to get to the rest of the house. In that specific layout, the extra cash for WiFi 7 (like the Deco BE85 or BE65) actually makes sense. It uses MLO (Multi-Link Operation), which lets the nodes talk to each other across multiple bands at the same time. It’s way better at 'punching' through that first brick wall and the floor to reach the upstairs node without the speeds dropping off a cliff. WiFi 6E is great, but WiFi 7 is built for exactly this kind of 'obstacle course' layout.

I guess I am the only one voting Omada... I had the Deco BE22000 beasts. They worked great but extreme overkill for iPhones and iPad (Apple restricts you to 160Hz wide @ 5&6 GHz) although a ton of IoT. They were nice for laptops but not so much so that they were worth the cost, watts, and restricted VLAN... I grabbed a few EAP773's and VLAN support just works. Also, no more counter decor, lol. Price-wise wise there are half the cost of the beasts for more AP's and wider coverage with the same speed at the end device for me. The controller works fine via Docker container, but could just as easily be the hardware box... It feels more complex due to the controller but it isn't really.

Yes, you will want to buy a mesh network that supports wired backhaul. Mesh on this sub usually refers to wireless backhaul connected nodes. However, when looking up products you will want to search for a mesh network. I use TP-Link Decos (3xBE63's and the main node is a BE85). I'm pretty happy with the performance. Others like Asus or Unify. Look up the features and reviews of each and decide. All of those options will allow you to have the same SSID and switch between nodes effortlessly. 2. You should install conduit during the remodel if possible. Continue connecting the nodes via ethernet backhaul. I'm a little unclear if you mean running new ethernet during the remodel or replacing old cables. In reality, Cat5e is great for most users and already supports PoE, so existing runs should be just fine! 3. I would considering upgrading your switches if you want greater speeds. Cat5e and Cat6 can support 2.5gbe and 10gbe respectively and is likely to be one of the bigger bottlenecks in your network. I'm not sure how many switches and ports you have, but the good news is 2.5gbe switches are fairly inexpensive! This really only applies if you're ISP plan speed is over 1 gig or you need a faster internal network like if you own a NAS.

I had a TP-Link BE85 setup before this and returned it because of constant disconnects which is a known issue with them. I felt like their speeds were higher than Eero but the disconnects and the complexity of three separate SSID’s versus a single one made Eero a better choice. Prior to that, I owned an AMPLIFI Alien setup that I really liked. One of my units started having issues and needed replaced after several years. AMPLIFI has decided not to continue supporting the Alien product anymore so that was stuck on WiFi 6. Before the AMPLIFI setup I owned a Linksys Velop system and it was absolute trash. I don’t think there is a such thing as a perfect mesh system because if there was I would have bought it. That being said, I am sharing the same frustrations as you with the recent firmware updates.

I have the TP-Link BE85 Deco mesh. I installed it when I ungraded to 1 Gb internet. Two months ago I got a great deal on 2 Gb fiber. I’m glad that I bought the BE85 since it has two 10G ports and two 2.5G ports. I thought about getting the BE95, but after comparing the specs, reading several reviews and also a good sale price, I found that the BE85 made more sense. I’ve had the BE85 for about one year and I have been happy with it.

I have a deco be85 connected as my "main router" and my pc is connected to a be25 in my bedroom that is connected to my network via wifi to that be85 My PC is ethernet to that be25 and I get 920/940 and my ping is 8 Good Luck on your networking adventures :)

I've had good experiences with Netgear Orbi and with TP-Link Deco mesh systems. I'm currently on a Deco BE22000 WiFi 7 3-Pack mesh and it works very well, some teething pains when it first came out that were fixed via firmware but that's about it. I get well over 1Gbps via on WiFi 6E and 7 devices. My past Mesh was an Orbi and that worked great for 5 years or so. Primarily consider the speed of your internet connection and try to look for a mesh that can make use of that bandwidth. Generally speaking a WiFi 6E mesh should do the job and considering your layout, a 3-unit mesh would be ideal specially if you can connect them via ethernet cable for backhaul.