Mesh (Eero or Luma) vs Mainstream+Range Extender vs Monster Router

[Ducman69]

I have CAT6 in every room of my home, with most of my machines hardwired, and two WirelessAC 1900 routers. Works great for me.

But my tech-tarded sister just bought a new large two story house, and wants an upgraded wifi network. Wiring the home isn't an option.

I stumbled upon consumer wireless mesh networks, and the Luma in particular (available for preorder now) looks really exciting based on its pleasing aesthetic, super easy setup, and smartphone/tablet interface. They have a three unit package for $300, which isn't cheap, but doable. A competitor Eero is similar, without the parental controls, for $200 more.

What are your thoughts on these mesh network options, vs say using a AC1900 router + AC1750 range extender upstairs (like a TP-Link AC1750 Wi-Fi Range Extender), vs a beastmode AC3200 single megarouter trying to manage coverage in the whole home?

 

[bds1904]

Don't bet on preorders. Eero was over a year late to ship.

Because of that I wouldn't use either. If a company will take over a $1M in preorders sales and not deliver for over a year after they said they would, I don't see their company lasting. Keep in mind eero took orders 6 months early so no product for 18 months after ordering it, that would piss me off.

Use Open-Mesh. They have been around for years, have an affordable AC product (OM5P-AC) and a high performance (MR1750) AC AP. The nice thing is that they all support seamless roaming no matter how they connect to the network (mesh via wifi or Ethernet) and have flexible power and mounting options. For example, their "om indoor wallplug enclosure" blends in nicely, is great for repeater nodes and is tamper resistant. Perfect for a non-techie because they can't even unplug it without some thought. The Ethernet wall enclosure is nice for the nodes that do have Ethernet because they are also tamper resistant. Tha brings me to my next point, hardware watchdog. If the device isn't responding, it reboots. The AP's are also cloud managed (and they have a smartphone app) so they are easy to set up. You can even set up outage alerts.

 

[Ducman69]

It seems like Eero and Luma target a completely different audience though, with the key point being that completely tech retarded people like my sister can set them up in 5 mins with no problem, with really easy to use parental control and monitoring options on the Luma in particular. I don't see Open-Mesh catering as well to that hand holding automated experience, do you agree?

Or do you think Eeros huge success over say Open-Mesh that isn't really even talked about is pure marketing genius?

For example, here on my home network, 2.4 and 5ghz networks are separate SSIDs (confusing to my sister), and if you were to setup connections to both, you'll almost always end up stuck on 2.4ghz slower speeds. Why? Well, 2.4ghz has a further range, and most devices will disconnect from a weak signal (5ghz when far away) to connect to a superior STRENGTH signal like 2.4ghz, but since the 2.4ghz will subsequently never be weaker than the 5ghz channel, it'll stay stuck on the slow one unless you disconnect manually. Not a big deal for me, but something that the Eero and Luma promise to solve through automation from what I was skimming.

 

[bds1904]

Eero and Luna do target the home user, but at the same time "easy wifi" isn't ever the best wifi.

Open-Mesh is not hard to set up at all. You create an account on cloudtrax, configure the WiFi settings then add each one of your AP's. Plug the AP's in and they completely self configure. Open-Mesh also has band steering and seamless roaming, which is what makes wifi with multiple AP's work well.

Eero looks nice but you are right, their marketing has been their success. Eero is also cloud managed. What happens if they fail? I would suspect them to since they missed the initial launch date by over a year. In contrast Open-Mesh has been around since 802.11g was king. The software they use is also based on open-source software, hence the name.

Ive always suspected don't hear about Open-mesh much because they cater to a niche market. They have always placed themselves between home wifi and enterprise wifi. Cheaper than enterprise gear with 90% of the features and slightly higher priced than premium home gear. Eero and Luma have also positioned themselves there. The promise a lot and all their marketing is full of hype. "We promise this and that. Well fix home wifi forever!". Note they target home users, not power users. Closed source software, unproven network designs, no options for 2 wired WAP's and the list goes on. Open-Mesh has a no-bs approach, and I value that.

 

[GT98]

The Luma pre-order is turning into a shit show...they are partners with Amazon, but yet they haven't shipped any product to Amazon pre-order customers, but yet you can go to Best Buy and get it (at full price)! Some people have been waiting since end of 2015 to get their product.

I ordered mine back in June, but I'm thinking about pulling out and doing something different. They claim to have all the pre-ordered filled by August 26th, but have already blown one delivery date.

 

[Ducman69]

The Luma pre-order is turning into a shit show...they are partners with Amazon, but yet they haven't shipped any product to Amazon pre-order customers, but yet you can go to Best Buy and get it (at full price)!

Lawsuit? Lawsuit.

 

[Nate7311]

More like Lolz-suit. Second the Open-Mesh suggestion.

 

[GT98]

Check this shit out:

Amazon Pre-orders
The greatest communication challenge has been for those customers who pre-ordered through Amazon. We apologize that you did not receive the shipping estimate email. Unfortunately, we do not have access to the list of customers who purchased from Amazon to contact them directly. We understand that it is frustrating to not know when your Luma will arrive. We’ve shipped 41% of Amazon pre-orders already. By the end of this week 62% will be shipped. By August 16th, Luma will have shipped 100% of Amazon pre-orders to Amazon, which will arrive to customers by August 26th at the latest

But yet Amazon is still showing it as unreleased! I think they are still bullshitting everyone.

I move next week...not even sure if I'll need it in the new house...I get that figured out when I move in on Monday.

 

[Grentz]

Is there no where you can get a second hardwired AP? My recommendation for a two story house would be having a couple APs hardwired.

Open-mesh is OK, but not as good as hardwired APs in my experience.

 

[Ducman69]

Is there no where you can get a second hardwired AP?

This is an older thread. Sorry, what I ended up doing is setting up her modem, router, server, UPS, etc. in a cabinet next to her fireplace, used a flush regular floor vent into the cabinet to exhaust air through two 120mm USB fans (sucking air in through the sufficient gap in the doors), routed HDMI up to the TV through wall to the TV, and connected the setup to an upstairs second AC1900 router via powerline:
Amazon.com: ZyXEL PLA5456KIT 1800 Mbps* AV2000 HomePlug AV2 Powerline 2-Port Gigabit Pass-Thru Ethernet Adapter 2-Pack Kit: Computers & Accessories

Likely because its a brand new home construction, the powerline performance was actually quite decent with this ZyXEL AV2000 kit (supposed to be fastest powerline adapter on the market as of right now).

Just two routers in the center of the house on both the first and second floor proved sufficient for 5-bars 5ghz performance.