Question Home wifi questions

[rh71]

I'm on a 200/200 Fios plan but speedtest shows I hit 300Mbps consistently. The G1100 router (2.4GHz wifi - channel 1) is hooked up at one end of the house (office where the ONT is) and I subsequently added an access point with a TP-Link C7 (2.4GHz wifi - channel 11) in the middle of the house to serve the kitchen/living room and upstairs opposite end of the house. The SSIDs are the same as each other but channels are different which is what's needed to make an AP work. I also have 5GHz set up similarly.

1) When I initially set this up, I read that moving through the house with my phone, it should seemlessly switch to the other AP but that doesn't appear to be happening in a timely manner. Why? I connected to the TP-Link wifi to speedtest and subsequently walked back to my office where the G1100 router is and have started posting this thread on my PC. My connection on my phone still says it's connected to the TP-Link after 5 minutes. EDIT> It actually switched properly after I finished posting this, but this process seems slow and ineffective? Does it only do a periodic query for switching to the best available signal?

2) Why are my wifi speeds standing right next to either router connected to that specific router (evident via mac address) still resulting in only 40-50Mbps when the 2.4GHz max is supposedly 300Mbps? 5GHz testing reveals closer to 150Mbps, BUT only sometimes which is also frustrating. I realize there's other factors including interference, but these are so far off from expectations that I'm questioning whether I've set up correctly.

 

[VirtualLarry]

1) Consumer wifi devices do not do "seamless roaming / handoff". You need prosumer gear, like ubiquity APs and a controller.
2) That's wifi in a nutshell, get used to it. (*)

(*) Edit: it depend on the client devices too. Budget laptops and cell phones often have 1x1 N, not even dual-band or AC.

 

[rh71]

1) Consumer wifi devices do not do "seamless roaming / handoff". You need prosumer gear, like ubiquity APs and a controller.
2) That's wifi in a nutshell, get used to it.

So do I even benefit by having the SSIDs of the 2.4GHz wifis the same? It would be easier to know what I'm connected to if I simply named them differently.

Also, why did my phone end up switching on its own anyway? It just happened again while testing 5GHz in between the 2 routers. Is it simply the phone's own doing because the SSIDs are the same?

 

[rh71]

If I buy something like this in place of my AP, will it:

1) halve the speed like extenders usually do
2) have no guarantee I'll be higher than 40-50Mbps
3) have a much more reliable 5GHz?

https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Deco-Whole-System-2-Pack/dp/B0797D6853

(or just a 1-pack)

Or are these simply easier-to-setup APs? Ultimately I just want better 150Mbps+ coverage throughout the house. Too much random buffering upstairs, etc.

 

[Hans Gruber]

I have the TP-link M9 3pk. It has the seamlessly (fast roaming) roam handoff between nodes that are not supposed to be available in a consumer device.

 

[rh71]

I have the TP-link M9 3pk. It has the seamlessly roam handoff feature between nodes that are not supposed to be available in a consumer device.

Does it halve your speed at any point? I read it will if you don't connect them to the router via ethernet, which kind of defeats the purpose of switching to these?

Also what kind of speeds are you getting on wifi while connected to them?

 

[Hans Gruber]

I have the Comcast gigabit connection. 900+mbps down and 40-45mbps upload. I spent a small fortune on building my own personal network. The M9plus is a tri-band mesh network. I have all 3 nodes backed by a wired gigabit connection. In the Deco app, there is a feature called fast roaming that allows you to switch to the strongest node as you move around your house. You need to enable it in the app.

The tri-band is the way to go even if you are going with a wired backhaul. It doesn't give you better speeds, the wired backhaul does that. It eliminate latency. A standard wireless connection will give you 350-380mbps up and down anywhere in your house. The mesh network triangulates all the receivers in an always connected mesh. So it doesn't act as an AP because it's always connected.

The Deco M5 lacks tri-band. Both are wireless 5ghz AC. My M9 will do high 600mbps down but realistically 450-600mbps all day throughout the house down. The theoretical maximum speed is around 875mbps for the bands.

 

[VirtualLarry]

My M9 will do high 600mbps down but realistically 450-600mbps all day throughout the house down. The theoretical maximum speed is around 875mbps for the bands.

That's assuming a receiver (client) with a 3x3 connection. I suspect OP's connections are only 1x1, he won't see that kind of performance. In fact, upgrading the router may not even help!.

 

[Hans Gruber]

That's assuming a receiver (client) with a 3x3 connection. I suspect OP's connections are only 1x1, he won't see that kind of performance. In fact, upgrading the router may not even help!.

With a tri-band mesh network he would see 350-380mbps max speeds up and down with a wifi 5 AC mesh network. Since his speed is 200/200mbps. He would easily max out his network. Think of a mesh network as standing next to a good router 5-10ft away. Whatever speed you get close to a router you get pretty much throughout the house. There is one spot in the kitchen and dining room that only get 400mbps for me.

If someone gets a non tri-band mesh network that is not wired backhaul. They would see some latency between their router. Same as having a standalone router that people are used to. With triband it feels more like an ethernet connection than wifi because the 3rd band is always connected reducing the lag. It's kind of like going from a standard SSD to a M2 NVMe drive. Not a huge improvement but it makes your computer feel snappy.

 

[JackMDS]

The TP-Link in your link are just "fancy" Extenders.

Unless One lives in small enviroment (small apt.) Good Wireless can not be achieved with consumer Wireless.

Either One buy Pro Wireless (expense that goes into $500 and above). Or use wire to APs.

On line Verbal marketing conundrum is Not a replacement to Technology.

 

[rh71]

Thanks all. Not willing to go with any further expense. I've always been confused about mesh vs. extenders and whether they halve the speed. So mesh won't halve the speed even if not hardwired to the router or to each other?

Any response to these 2 questions?

So do I even benefit by having the SSIDs of the 2.4GHz wifis the same? It would be easier to know what I'm connected to if I simply named them differently.

Also, why did my phone end up switching on its own anyway? It just happened again while testing 5GHz in between the 2 routers. Is it simply the phone's own doing because the SSIDs are the same?

 

[Hans Gruber]

Thanks all. Not willing to go with any further expense. I've always been confused about mesh vs. extenders and whether they halve the speed. So mesh won't halve the speed even if not hardwired to the router or to each other?

Any response to these 2 questions?

When you do research on the web. 2.4ghz will do 40mbps up/down 5ghz will do 100mbps up and down. 5ghz AC will do 200mbps up and down. Those are conservative numbers but fairly accurate. If you do not want to spend a significant amount of money, the above numbers are what you should expect. Wifi sucks. Unless you are going to beyond $500, you cannot expect better speeds.

The rule of thumb is to halve the speed for wifi. That is pretty accurate. So if you had a wifi band with 2000mbps pipe and a gigabit connection. You could assume gigabit download speeds with the right equipment. Only the flagship smartphones have wifi 6.

Since you do not want to spend any money on a real wifi router. If you stick with your free Fios modem/'router. The 2.4ghz band will probably give you 40mbps at best and probably as low as 5-20mbps. The 2.4ghz band is overly saturated and heavily congested around populated areas. So the speeds on 2.4ghz are terrible. As the saying goes, you get what you pay for.

 

[rh71]

^ thx, I did ebay $70 for a used G1100 as I was coming from their older Actiontec router (was on 50 Mbps plan). Now I wish I had put that into a better router even if it's not a prosumer grade.

 

[DaaQ]

When you do research on the web. 2.4ghz will do 40mbps up/down 5ghz will do 100mbps up and down. 5ghz AC will do 200mbps up and down. Those are conservative numbers but fairly accurate. If you do not want to spend a significant amount of money, the above numbers are what you should expect. Wifi sucks. Unless you are going to beyond $500, you cannot expect better speeds.

The rule of thumb is to halve the speed for wifi. That is pretty accurate. So if you had a wifi band with 2000mbps pipe and a gigabit connection. You could assume gigabit download speeds with the right equipment. Only the flagship smartphones have wifi 6.

Since you do not want to spend any money on a real wifi router. If you stick with your free Fios modem/'router. The 2.4ghz band will probably give you 40mbps at best and probably as low as 5-20mbps. The 2.4ghz band is overly saturated and heavily congested around populated areas. So the speeds on 2.4ghz are terrible. As the saying goes, you get what you pay for.

I get your trying to help, but, this is quite the statement here of over generalization.

OP, what device are you using? (your phone) make and model.

It depends on the equipment used, as mentioned above. WIFI 6 is only on flagship devices atm. I am not sure what the minimum spec is for WiFi6 antenna wise, ie 2x2 3x3 4x4.

2.4ghz can be over saturated yes, environment dependent. Apartment complex? Hell yes. Single family home, not so much unless you have so many IoT devices....

Point I am making is if OP's device only has a 1x1 antenna in it, then nothing will help. If it's 2x2 or 3x3 then yes some improvements can be made. WiFi6 uses both 2.4 and 5ghz.