Wifi recommendations, including outdoors

Hi all. Looking for recommendations for a mesh wifi system that works well in a single-family brownstone across multiple floors. Also looking for ideas on getting wifi coverage outside.

Not having a great experience with the Google wifi system in our 2000 sq. ft., 3 floor masonry home.

We’re also considering wiring up ethernet ports and doing something more complicated than mesh wifi to get better coverage, can anyone recommend a professional who can help with this?

Thanks all!

cdix999

in General Discussion 2 years and 6 months ago

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namahs | 2 years and 6 months ago

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We have the eero pro mesh for 5+ yrs and they have worked flawless for coverage so far. I would highly recommend giving it a try, For your space..3 eero should be more than enough. Just make sure you get the higher end pro model/tri-band model. Also test the placement of the units. I know in the past some reported issues and usually cause is because people place the units too close to each other.

colonialrevival | 2 years and 6 months ago

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When I re-wired, I had cat6 and coaxial pulled to at least one location in every room, as well as a handful of other locations wired for access points. We have a Unifi system similar to the author’s in [this article](https://onezero.medium.com/how-to-build-the-speedy-home-wi-fi-network-of-your-dreams-489dece25480), but with a bit simpler hardware. Paired with our Fios gigabit connection we get about 800mbps throughout the house over wireless, with three access points.

brooklyndempsey | 2 years and 6 months ago

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I’ve set up mesh networks in a few brownstones with good results. It can be tough to get good wifi coverage. Thick brick walls between the main house and extension, and “long and narrow” geometry mean you will probably need more access points points than the square footage indicates.

– Wiring the access points with ethernet wire is ideal. Wireless meshing can work well but the access points need to be close enough together and it will slow the peak speeds, which can be a limitation if you have very fast internet.
– Recently I installed wifi for a small school, which occupies a full brownstone. We used Eero Pro 6’s which worked great, including wireless mesh connections through some of the floors.
– I’ve used Google wifi in the past successfully. If you are having an issue, it may be that you need more access points for your space, and may need to experiment with where they are installed.
– My brownstone is about 6k square feet and has 11 access points, two of them outside. I use Unifi which requires more experience to set up (or an installer). They are powered over the ethernet (PoE), which means they don’t each need an electrical outlet.
– I’ve never gotten a good signal through the roof or back wall of the house, so in my home I have separate outdoor access points on the roof deck and rear yard. You’ll need an access point that is rated for outdoor use or a weatherproof enclosure, and wiring for it.

For a 2000 square foot home, I would probably use a consumer mesh network with wired ethernet to the access points, and adding enough access points so you get good coverage. Going to a commercial setup (Unifi etc) is an option but seems like overkill.

Guest User | 2 years and 6 months ago

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Eero is working well on our 3 floor plus basement + Garden. I have the router on the parlour floor and then a beacon on each of the others.

pmody | 2 years and 6 months ago

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I’ve had very good success with the Amplifi HD mesh system. I keep the base station in my parlor floor living room and 1 mesh extender in a rear bedroom on the garden level. That’s enough for coverage on those 2 levels plus the floor above plus the entire backyard. No dead spots. If I needed coverage on the top floor I would need to get 1 more extender. The app for it is pretty good too. Good luck!

https://www.amplifi.com/amplifi-hd

justinromeu26 | 2 years and 6 months ago

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i do not think my mesh is doing any better than the arris router my provider gave me.