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Forum Discussion
strakerc
Oct 06, 2020Aspirant
Multiple EAX80s - Fastlane to Prevent Connection Issues
Hi there, There are a lot of threads about using multiple EAX80s to make a mesh network in a large home, and all seem to say "don't do that! They'll connect to themselves, that's the problem!" But...
plemans
Oct 12, 2020Guru - Experienced User
A couple things.
1. What router do you have? is it the RAX120?
2. I'd disable fastlane. Its a great concept but poor in implementation. Reason why is because 2.4ghz is slow. Even 5ghz when running in extender mode (the speed reduction it takes) is still much faster than 2.4ghz. Using it as your backhaul slows the extenders to a rediculous amount.
3. They're both connecting, they just both aren't showing in the app/browser as connected? But both work?
strakerc
Oct 12, 2020Aspirant
> What router do you have? is it the RAX120?
Netgear Nighthawk X6S
> I'd disable fastlane. Its a great concept but poor in implementation. Reason why is because 2.4ghz is slow. Even 5ghz when running in extender mode (the speed reduction it takes) is still much faster than 2.4ghz. Using it as your backhaul slows the extenders to a rediculous amount.
Again, not to be rude, but please read my original post; fastlane is the entire point of this post. It prevents the need for separate SSIDs, as it *completely removes the possibility of EAX extender devices from connecting to each other.*
Also, your comment is technically incorrect. Why? Because it depends on how far away your extenders are from your router. 2.4 GHz has longer range. Thus, if extenders are far enough away, 2.4 GHz is faster than 5 GHz due to range. This is the case for my extenders (router on first floor, one extender in basement, one on second floor).
Lastly, it doesn't really matter for my use case. I only have 150 MBPS down from my ISP. 2.4 GHz can handle this speed just fine.Case in point, running wireless speed tests anywhere in my house - connected to my router or an extender - shows equal speeds everywhere (~100 MBPS).
> They're both connecting, they just both aren't showing in the app/browser as connected? But both work?
Correct. I'll screenshot my router device list here.
- plemansOct 12, 2020Guru - Experienced User
strakerc wrote:> What router do you have? is it the RAX120?
Netgear Nighthawk X6S
> I'd disable fastlane. Its a great concept but poor in implementation. Reason why is because 2.4ghz is slow. Even 5ghz when running in extender mode (the speed reduction it takes) is still much faster than 2.4ghz. Using it as your backhaul slows the extenders to a rediculous amount.
Again, not to be rude, but please read my original post; fastlane is the entire point of this post. It prevents the need for separate SSIDs, as it *completely removes the possibility of EAX extender devices from connecting to each other.*
Also, your comment is technically incorrect. Why? Because it depends on how far away your extenders are from your router. 2.4 GHz has longer range. Thus, if extenders are far enough away, 2.4 GHz is faster than 5 GHz due to range.----This zone of a very small zone and by that time the speeds of both are reduced to a crawl. Whats the point of having a $250 extender (x2) if you've reduced the speeds that much. You'd have been better off to pay someone to fish ethernet through and use a cheap dual band access point at that rate. This is the case for my extenders (router on first floor, one extender in basement, one on second floor).
Lastly, it doesn't really matter for my use case. I only have 150 MBPS down from my ISP. 2.4 GHz can handle this speed just fine.Case in point, running wireless speed tests anywhere in my house - connected to my router or an extender - shows equal speeds everywhere (~100 MBPS).----did you try it running it in standard mode? and test both bands? With AX the 5ghz speed should still be plenty fast. And 2.4ghz is more sensitive to interference.
> They're both connecting, they just both aren't showing in the app/browser as connected? But both work?
Correct. I'll screenshot my router device list here.---I trust that you're correct in this. Just confirming its working. - strakercOct 12, 2020Aspirant
> ---This zone of a very small zone and by that time the speeds of both are reduced to a crawl. Whats the point of having a $250 extender (x2) if you've reduced the speeds that much. You'd have been better off to pay someone to fish ethernet through and use a cheap dual band access point at that rate.
What? You can get someone to fish ethernet through your walls for $250? Please, refer them to me. I'd love to do this. Now, for the rest of us where this is just not true (I live in $eattle for what it's worth), what I am saying holds very well and true.
> ---did you try it running it in standard mode? and test both bands? With AX the 5ghz speed should still be plenty fast. And 2.4ghz is more sensitive to interference.
Lol, yes. 5GHz doesn't improve the speeds even 1 MBPS. FWIW, I am comparing 5 GHz on my first floor with the round-about 2.4 GHz on other floors, *and I get almost identical speeds.* The first floor 5 GHz band from my router doesn't increase speeds by even 1 MBPS.
I really feel like we're off-topic here though; 2.4 vs 5 GHz isn't the point of my post (although I think it's important to start accurately informing the community about this). - NettyBlokeJan 24, 2021Aspirant
If these devices (and the RAX80) supported 802.3bz it would be a complete solution.
- strakercJan 24, 2021AspirantFWIW, my solution worked fine for a few months. But then a firmware update on both the extenders and router happened, and it started bugging out.
I switched to a true mesh setup (not Netgear).