Are you having difficulties accessing Wi-Fi from different parts of the house? It could be you are getting these Wi-Fi dead zones because of a weak signal from the router.
This normally happens if your home is large and the wifi doesn’t reach all places.
What is the solution? Mesh routers. But before you decide to use them, try to test to see if changing the location of the router can help to make the signal stronger or get a router with a longer range. Also, you could use a range extender. If these can’t work, then opt for mesh routers.
Mesh routers provide many access points for the Wi-Fi by rebroadcasting the routers signal. This means that you will have a strong signal, better connection, and faster speeds.
Now that you are sold out to getting a mesh router, what are the desirable features you should look for?
The mesh router’s Wi-Fi Standard
The wifi standard is 802.11. However, there are different versions designated by the letters b, a, g, n, ac, and ax. They are now known as wifi 1 to wifi 6. Therefore 802.11ax is the latest and also known as wifi 6.
Which is the best Wi-Fi version router should you buy. Do you go for wifi 6 or are you ok with wifi 4? That will depend on your devices. Routers with earlier versions have a slower speed, so if you connect your device that has the latest version 802.11ax or wifi 6 to a router with wifi 4, you should expect slower internet speed.
Devices are now moving towards the latest version so if you are buying a new mesh router, then look for those with the wifi 6.
However, if your devices have the older versions, and you don’t intend to upgrade soon, then you can get a router with Wi-Fi 5(ac), now that they are cheaper.
2.4 GHz or 5GHz (single-band or dual-band)
The earlier router models with wifi up to 802.11g or Wi-Fi 3 operated on 2.4 GHz. Also known as a single band, it tends to be slow. However, routers with wifi version from 802.11n to later versions had 5 GHz bands or dual bands.
Devices with dual bands have higher speed limits. So you are likely to get better speeds with a mesh router that has dual-band.
Antennas
How many streams can one mesh router deliver and how well does it connect to your devices? This is determined by antennas or streams. This is commonly indicated as 2×2, 3×3, and 4×4, which is Transmit x Receive.
For instance, a mesh router with 2×2 has 2 antennas or radios, one of 2.4 GHz and the other 5 GHz. That with 3 radios has an additional radio of 5 GHz, which translates to more speed.
A mesh router with 2×2 radios is suitable for a home. However, if there is a lot of streaming, you can opt for a router with a third radio.
Ethernet
Ethernet backhaul makes the mesh router more efficient. So, if you have Ethernet wires, then the mesh routers can link to each other using the wires.
In case you have the Ethernet wires, then get a mesh router that supports it.
Internet Speed
The whole purpose of having a mesh router is to access wifi and at a favorable speed. The best mesh router should have enough internet speed to meet your needs. For instance, an AC1200 mesh router is slower in comparison to AC 5000 or AX6000.
You don’t have to buy the mesh router with the highest bandwidth. Only go for what you need. For example, if your internet provider gives you 50mbps internet, it would be pointless to buy and AX6000 mesh router since your internet speed will not change.
