We've currently got a Tenda MW3 setup (4 boxes) - and it's been bomb proof.
I've just upgraded our broadband to 350 mbits. The Tenda MW3 tops out at about 60 mbits (theoretical limit of 100 mbits). So I need something that can deal with the extra band width.
Tenda MW6 is the obvious choice, but any others to consider?
Interested in your MW3 set up if it comes up for sale once you’ve found its replacement
Doesn't the QoS rules share/spread the bandwidth across all the network according to where it's needed?
On their site:
Nova MW3 offers data rates up to 1200 Mbps and prioritizes 5 GHz network access, allowing you to enjoy lag-free 4K HD videos.
Nova MW3 offers data rates up to 1200 Mbps and prioritizes 5 GHz network access, allowing you to enjoy lag-free 4K HD videos.
Don’t think so - theoretical 100 Mbs according to the matrix I looked at.
Edit - table here
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B077HTZ4TT
This is the issue with the MW3 - the Ethernet port spec.
'both Ethernet ports max out at 100 Mbps, which makes the Nova MW3 a non-starter if you have an Internet connection that's faster than 100 Mbps'
MW6 would be an easy swap - you get 1 Gbps Ethernet ports then.
One other thing to be aware of is they are dual-band. More expensive Mesh setups are tri-band. This further improves performance as you can have a dedicated WiFi backhaul.
I've had good results with my TP-Link Decos. Netgear Orbi and Eero supposed to be good too, but all more money than the Novas.
If you’re quite technical, and can or do run Ethernet, I’d recommend a Unifi setup*. Can provide more tips there if needed. But if you just want WiFi mesh then wait for others to chime in..
Bear in mind it’s hard to get 100s of megabits reliably over WiFi, due to signal strength, shared bandwidth etc. Good mesh systems will backhaul on a separate radio but even then there’s limited spectrum to go around.
*i have 3 UAP-AC-Lite and the controller on an always on system I have, though you can do without one. Good for about 550Mbps in real life, and practically I can get 200+ around my house. Kit that doesn’t move much and desks have wired connections too.
We had a Netgear Orbi for about 18 months which was simple to set up and no bother at all. Never really gave me issues that a reboot wouldn't fix (prob restarted it 3 times while we had it)
I then upgraded to a Unifi Dream Machine set up and for some reason our speeds have dropped by over a third! (we've still got about 100MBs down so I've not been bothered to do more than a cursory google to see what I could do to improve this)
I might use my fathers day pass to actually try to resolve this issue, as it will undoubtably involve bring the netwrok down a few times it's not something I can really do during the day (as I'm wfh) or in the evenings (as the kids on xbox haha).
I've been running a Unifi setup for a while.
With the prevalence of various mesh units now, I'm not sure I'd do it again.
It's a fairly expensive (both money and time) solution to set up - probably ~£500 for the three AC-LR units I have, plus various other bits of supporting hardware. It does work well, though.
Does the UniFi have a dedicated backhaul? If not I don't really see how it's an upgrade over the Orbi
I’ve used the standard BT Whole Home mesh system and the newer “premium” version.
The older version works extremely well - it’s completely fit-and-forget and didn’t need to be reset or anything like that.
By contrast the newer “premium” version has been a royal PITA. It has repeatedly stopped working and has required multiple resets to factory settings. BT’a tech support is useless so all in all it’s been one of the worst bit of kit I’ve used in a very long time.
I’d recommend the original version unreservedly - it’s also fixed Wi-Fi problems in my parents house again on a fit-and-forget basis.
We have an Orbi set up. Our broadband provider is Virgin and we have the 200 Mbits package. I can get that at my PC which is connected to a satellite Orbi node. Easy to manage. I did look at the UniFi network, but it required more technical knowledge to get it to work well. I suspect that it we had a bigger house or greater demands it may be a better solution. The new version of the Orbi should easily be able to cope with 350 Mbits. Like the UniFi it is not cheap, but it works very well.
Ok - assume I’m an IT Luddite and help me out.
65Mbps connection to the outside world, but the Wi-fi doesn’t really reach the whole house and with 2x work video calls, and 2x sons on GCN and friends video calls I think a mesh might help.
Four double bedroom, L-shaped detached house and the Openreach incomer is at the end of the one of the L’s legs.
Am I looking at a tri-band, three box solution? What speed will I need for HD and video calls to say 4 locations simultaneously (assuming 65Mb does it)?
Suggestions? Cost? Reasons not just to throw cash at Netgear (but which Netgear - even Orbi doesn’t help as there’s several).
33kV networks are far simpler.
igm - would Powerlines not be a good cheap option for you. It is not my expertise area but it sorted my home working issues out even though that was to a summerhouse on a separate consumer unit to the main house.
65Mbps connection to the outside world, but the Wi-fi doesn’t really reach the whole house and with 2x work video calls, and 2x sons on GCN and friends video calls I think a mesh might help.
It definitely would help. I'd aim to get three units on the ground floor equally spaced. If you have solid walls (like me) it's a bit more challenging as you need a decent connection between each unit. Tri-band better than dual. But dual would be an improvement TBH if you want cheaper.
So a 3-unit tri is £300+? TP-LINK Deco M9 is worth a look IME.
Or alternatively 70 quid on a Tenda Nova MW3 like the OP 🙂
Powerline I'd use if I had a single location I wanted to get the Internet to (like a workshop) and I had no other option.
TP-LINK Deco M9 is worth a look IME.
Powerline I’d use if I had a single location I wanted to get the Internet to (like a workshop) and I had no other option.
Take a look at the Deco P9 - WIFI mesh network with Powerline backhaul (upstream).
I'm looking at getting in on some mesh action at the moment and have a question.
Given that I don't have superfast fibre broadband, and live in a house which seems to made of ultra radio wave resistant bricks, would I be better getting more (probably 6) of the cheaper but technically less competent Tenda MW3 or fewer of the faster and more powerful premium types?
i.e. for the same cash outlay, will more slow nodes out perform fewer, faster nodes in a large house full of brick walls?
I've got the Virgin 350mb package (it actually achieves 384mb down and 37mb up) with an Orbi setup (Router RBR50 + 2 x Satellite RBS50) and the Virgin hub in modem only mode.
The Orbis' can handle GB LAN wired to the Virgin router and Speedtest shows the Mesh will achieve the speeds above throughout the house when connected through the satellites and a AC spec WiFi device. The Orbi 5Ghz dedicated back-haul works well - no bandwidth used for router-to-satellite connection affects the device-to-Wifi-mesh network bandwidth.
Easy to set up, but I did disable the daisy-chain option to force each satellite to connect directly to the router, rather than through each other and enable the MU-MIMO and Beamforming options.
You can also use the ports on each satellite (and the router) to enable lower-spec Wifi devices to use the full speed available from wired ports. I have a MacMini and classic MacPro (both with N spec adaptors) wired into one satellite and get the same speeds as above.
Works well.
Is powerline not recommended then?
I've been considering it as I'd really like a wired connection to my PC that I'm working from....it's upstairs at the front the house, phone socket and router are downstairs at the back of the house.
Powerline works well for me.
My line speeds are only about 38mbs direct from the router.
Wifi extenders to the summer house get me about 17mbs
Powerline gets me about 30-35mbs on wifi and 35mbs wired.
Is powerline not recommended then?
Ideal for what you describe if you can't run a network cable. i.e. Extending the Internet to a single PC or room.
Given that I don’t have superfast fibre broadband, and live in a house which seems to made of ultra radio wave resistant bricks, would I be better getting more (probably 6) of the cheaper but technically less competent Tenda MW3 or fewer of the faster and more powerful premium types?
i.e. for the same cash outlay, will more slow nodes out perform fewer, faster nodes in a large house full of brick walls?
My gut feel is you'll have similar issues with both. Had this problem in our place. Solid stone walls so almost zero signal can get through. WiFi mesh doesn't help with this, as it needs decent WiFi between units.
So I ended up with a cheaper 2-band one, got more units, and they are almost line-of-sight dotted around the ground floor. I've got them positioned so there isn't a wall in the way.
Given that I don’t have superfast fibre broadband, and live in a house which seems to made of ultra radio wave resistant bricks, would I be better getting more (probably 6) of the cheaper but technically less competent Tenda MW3 or fewer of the faster and more powerful premium types?
Probably 6 Tendas vs 2 or 3 Orbi's in your case, just don't count on great bandwidth on the outlying Tendas and if you have a lot of devices connecting into the mesh they could all be a bit ropey.
Does the UniFi have a dedicated backhaul? If not I don’t really see how it’s an upgrade over the Orbi
It's potentially a massive upgrade - unifi setups scale to 1000s of APs and many more clients, backhaul is up to 10GbE in some of the kit. Though for a home setup it's more about wired GigE backhaul and choice of APs appropriate to use case. E.g. you can get outdoor units, directional units, varying wifi, range and capacity spec stuff. Think of it like the hifi separates of networking.
On the powerline stuff - IME it's good for about 1-200Mbps. Tenda PH6 are good for a cheap (~£35) wired ethernet option with a pretty high performance chipset. Don't believe the headline bandwidth numbers (here's a good set of benchmarks on powerline: https://specklepattern.wordpress.com/2019/12/28/powerline-networking-2019-g-hn-versus-homeplug/ )
(FWIW my setup is unifi + wired connections, on a gigabit FTTP setup, hence I care about the bandwidth as I can use it)
Well, I have a box of Orbis sat in the hall.
Guess what I’ll be doing this evening.
Then probably redoing until I get them in the right places.
