NETGEAR Wifi 6 Router (RAX10) | AX1800 and best Mesh Router ?
Please excuse my ignorance on this. I have the router shown in the subject, and it has worked very well sat in front of Virgin Modem. I am moving to a new house where the modem will be downstairs, and I will again put the router in front. I wanted to put a second broadband point in upstairs, but this requires an additional network so double cost since needs two accounts. This therefore leaves the upstairs rooms reliant on the wifi signal from the downstairs router. I am used to 1GB ethernet-connected broadband and worried that this new set up will be a very poor substitute.
My question is would it be beneficial to put a MESH router upstairs in terms of bandwidth/speeds, and if so, what router is best for 1GB broadband, and how do I configure it to work with my existing router ?
I hope I have explained this correctly, but please feel free to ask me any questions for clarification.
Re: NETGEAR Wifi 6 Router (RAX10) | AX1800 and best Mesh Router ?
@thegeezer9999 wrote: Hi, thanks for reply but I really wanted advice as to which would give better performance :- Use the wifi signal from router located downstairs ? Put an additional RAX10 router upstairs - you suggested AP mode - what is that ? Put a netgear mesh router upstairs ?
What is better "performance"?
If the wifi from your RAX10 gives good coverage upstairs, then you may not need anything.
If you need something upstairs that feeds more wifi clients, and more rooms, then you could see if a wifi extender will do the job. This can connect to wifi from the the RAX10 downstairs and spread the wifi.
You can't user a second RAX10 as a wifi extender. It does not offer extender/repeater mode.
Netgear has a range of extenders that includes some that it bills as Mesh extenders. These are designed to work with an existing router. Many will also have an AP option if you can wire back to the router.
The suggestion that you use access (AP) point mode depends on being able to wire the second RAX10 to the first one. Can you do that?
Using a Mesh routerupstairs will also need a wired connection to your RAX10.
You can't user a second RAX10 as a wifi extender. It does not offer extender/repeater mode.
Your reply did not respond to the question from @plemans
What accounts do you think you need that cost $?
That was in response to the bit in your first message:
but this requires an additional network so double cost since needs two accounts.
You don't need two accounts.
The key question is the ability to wire the upstairs device to the main router.
You can't just pile router on router for various reasons. And anything you add to the RAX10 may not give you a Mesh network. That depends on the extender and router talking to each other to manage the handover of wifi devices as they move around the place.
If you want a truly Mesh system, then you might do better to ditch the RAX10 and replace it with the Orbi system as @plemans suggests or go for one of the MKXX router and satellite bundles.
Re: NETGEAR Wifi 6 Router (RAX10) | AX1800 and best Mesh Router ?
Hi, thanks for reply but I really wanted advice as to which would give better performance :- Use the wifi signal from router located downstairs ? Put an additional RAX10 router upstairs - you suggested AP mode - what is that ? Put a netgear mesh router upstairs ?
Re: NETGEAR Wifi 6 Router (RAX10) | AX1800 and best Mesh Router ?
@thegeezer9999 wrote: Hi, thanks for reply but I really wanted advice as to which would give better performance :- Use the wifi signal from router located downstairs ? Put an additional RAX10 router upstairs - you suggested AP mode - what is that ? Put a netgear mesh router upstairs ?
What is better "performance"?
If the wifi from your RAX10 gives good coverage upstairs, then you may not need anything.
If you need something upstairs that feeds more wifi clients, and more rooms, then you could see if a wifi extender will do the job. This can connect to wifi from the the RAX10 downstairs and spread the wifi.
You can't user a second RAX10 as a wifi extender. It does not offer extender/repeater mode.
Netgear has a range of extenders that includes some that it bills as Mesh extenders. These are designed to work with an existing router. Many will also have an AP option if you can wire back to the router.
The suggestion that you use access (AP) point mode depends on being able to wire the second RAX10 to the first one. Can you do that?
Using a Mesh routerupstairs will also need a wired connection to your RAX10.
You can't user a second RAX10 as a wifi extender. It does not offer extender/repeater mode.
Your reply did not respond to the question from @plemans
What accounts do you think you need that cost $?
That was in response to the bit in your first message:
but this requires an additional network so double cost since needs two accounts.
You don't need two accounts.
The key question is the ability to wire the upstairs device to the main router.
You can't just pile router on router for various reasons. And anything you add to the RAX10 may not give you a Mesh network. That depends on the extender and router talking to each other to manage the handover of wifi devices as they move around the place.
If you want a truly Mesh system, then you might do better to ditch the RAX10 and replace it with the Orbi system as @plemans suggests or go for one of the MKXX router and satellite bundles.
Re: NETGEAR Wifi 6 Router (RAX10) | AX1800 and best Mesh Router ?
Firstly my apologies to @plemans if I did fully respond, no disrespect was intended I assure you. I hope I can answer you fully.
What is better "performance"?
What was meant by this was would better performance be achieved by the use of a single router downstairs, or by use of either a wifi extender or wired mesh router to service upstairs - so if you were upstairs, which would give the better performance ? I think you have answered this - if you can wire up mesh router upstairs from the AX10 downstairs, OR if you use a router with wifi extender upstairs, either of these should give a better performance.
My final question is on recommendations for an upstairs router. Can I buy a good router for upstairs which I can initially configure as a wifi extender, but which once I can wire up an ethernet cable to the downstairs AX10, convert into a mesh router ? This would be ideal, and I would take any recommendations on the second router. If this is not possible, I would like to buy a wifi extender which will work with the AX10 downstairs, and again take recommendations.
I hope this is clear, but if not I will be happy to answer any questions.
Thank you to both of you for the help and advice provided up to now.
My final question is on recommendations for an upstairs router. Can I buy a good router for upstairs which I can initially configure as a wifi extender, but which once I can wire up an ethernet cable to the downstairs AX10, convert into a mesh router ?
There is no such thing. (See above.) None of Netgear's modern Mesh routers offers extender, wireless bridge or repeater mode.
They can often work in access point mode, wiredto a modem/router.
One way to bridge the gap without running a separate Ethernet cable could be to use Powerline Ethernet to use your mains circuit as a stand in for a wired connection. But that depends on the quality of your mains circuit.
If this is not possible, I would like to buy a wifi extender which will work with the AX10 downstairs, and again take recommendations.
Re: NETGEAR Wifi 6 Router (RAX10) | AX1800 and best Mesh Router ?
Wanted to say thanks again. I marked latest responder as accept because it allowed me to know where to start my research. I marked the first as KUDOS as it allowed me to phrase follow up question correctly. I decided to ditch RAX10 and research best fit for new MESH routers set up, which I will initially use the dedicated wifi channel as backbone, but move to wiring them up as soon as I can get ethernet cable in place. Excellent knowledge and friendliness on this forum !!!
