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Using 2 separate Wi-Fi Mesh system - will there be interferences ?
Hello,
I currently have a Eero mesh wifi system associated with a modem from a current internet provider (Telmex in Mexico). The Eero system was bought in 2019 (so not the Eero 6 system). It works well so far.
The current provider normally provide 500mbs signal but in most cases it stays within the 50-150mbs range. I had frequent internet outage with them, but when the service is back to normal, it has an excellent speed.
Since Telmex is unreliable, I want to be able to shift from one provider to another whenever possible to get the best speed. Therefore I bought StarLink and I want to keep Telmex.
I am considering buying Netgear RBK852 Orbi AX6000 to be plugged into the Starlink modem while keepng the Eero system active in case I want to shift from one provider to the other.
Can someone tell me if there is a risk of interferences when using these 2 systems (Eero and Netgear) ? If this is the case, what could be the solution to avoid such interferences ?
Re: Using 2 separate Wi-Fi Mesh system - will there be interferences ?
Just personally.....
I would tend to avoid having two local networks in the house because of the hassle of changing devices from one network to the other (and back again, and again, and again...) What would be the signal, "it's time to switch"?? Devices on one network will not communicate easily with devices on the other. Say the printer is on eero, but the computer has been switched to Starlink. How do you print? This would interfere with all sorts of common applications. Something as simple as Chromecasting a video. "oops. phone on eero. Chromecast on Starlink."
I would examine connecting a WAN Load Balancing router, both Internet Service Providers (Telmex and Starlink) and use it to balance the internet load across both services. Here's a description of how it works: https://help.ui.com/hc/en-us/articles/205145990-EdgeRouter-WAN-Load-Balancing Ubiquiti is a popular brand, but may be in short supply. Trendnet TWG-431BR is another. TP-Link ER605 V2 is really inexpensive ($59US on Amazon). I've had really good luck with TP-Link. For $59US, I would probably buy it and "see what happens." If it's a dud, either send it back to Amazon or take a hammer and reduce it to tiny bits.
At first, I would simply connect the existing eero network to the Load Balancing Switch. One network in the house. One WiFi system.
Replacing the existing eero WiFi system is (to me) a separate topic. Of the 40 devices currently on my network, precisely two support WiFi6 (802.11ax) What benefit will the other 38 devices gain from upgrading the router to WiFi6? (hint: not much) And, of course, the RBK852 does not support WiFi6E (6GHz) which I have zero devices that support.
What about coverage? The RBK852 might provide greater WiFi coverage than the eero. (But, so might a newer eero.)
Re: Using 2 separate Wi-Fi Mesh system - will there be interferences ?
What is the size of the home in Sq FT?
As long as you use far appart channels on 2.4 and 5Ghz between the two systems and placement of the units from each other is far apart as well. 30 feet to begin with.
Re: Using 2 separate Wi-Fi Mesh system - will there be interferences ?
The house is a rectangle with 30 ft large and 105 ft long (about 3,100 sqfts). The problem is that all rooms are one after the other in an alignment.
The two modens (Starlink and the other one) are in a same room with 2-3 ft apart. I cant really displace the Startlink. It has been already configured that way. Placing it in another room will be quite complicated in terms of linking it to the antenna on the roof.
May be the solution would be to install an ethernet hub with a switch which give me the choice of using the Netgear Orbi 6000 either with Starlink or with the other modem. Would that work ?
Of course, it would mean to get rid of the Eero system...
Re: Using 2 separate Wi-Fi Mesh system - will there be interferences ?
Just personally.....
I would tend to avoid having two local networks in the house because of the hassle of changing devices from one network to the other (and back again, and again, and again...) What would be the signal, "it's time to switch"?? Devices on one network will not communicate easily with devices on the other. Say the printer is on eero, but the computer has been switched to Starlink. How do you print? This would interfere with all sorts of common applications. Something as simple as Chromecasting a video. "oops. phone on eero. Chromecast on Starlink."
I would examine connecting a WAN Load Balancing router, both Internet Service Providers (Telmex and Starlink) and use it to balance the internet load across both services. Here's a description of how it works: https://help.ui.com/hc/en-us/articles/205145990-EdgeRouter-WAN-Load-Balancing Ubiquiti is a popular brand, but may be in short supply. Trendnet TWG-431BR is another. TP-Link ER605 V2 is really inexpensive ($59US on Amazon). I've had really good luck with TP-Link. For $59US, I would probably buy it and "see what happens." If it's a dud, either send it back to Amazon or take a hammer and reduce it to tiny bits.
At first, I would simply connect the existing eero network to the Load Balancing Switch. One network in the house. One WiFi system.
Replacing the existing eero WiFi system is (to me) a separate topic. Of the 40 devices currently on my network, precisely two support WiFi6 (802.11ax) What benefit will the other 38 devices gain from upgrading the router to WiFi6? (hint: not much) And, of course, the RBK852 does not support WiFi6E (6GHz) which I have zero devices that support.
What about coverage? The RBK852 might provide greater WiFi coverage than the eero. (But, so might a newer eero.)
Re: Using 2 separate Wi-Fi Mesh system - will there be interferences ?
...and a third one for the garage which is 15m distant from the router and separated by a thick concrete wall 3 meters tall. Is that true for the 3rd unit ?
Re: Using 2 separate Wi-Fi Mesh system - will there be interferences ?
Interesting comment. Thanks.
If I understand, this system of balancing signals from 2 modems (from 2 separate internet serice providers) means that :
1. Connecting the two modems to that box.
2. Connecting the Orbi to the output port of the box to receive the signal from either of the 2 modems
3. The box would determine which of the 2 has better speed and connect automatically between one to the other one which will have a higher speed. And then we will have a single network for all devices which will be the network created by the Orbi. Is that correct?
However, we could determine the priority on either faster speed download or faster speed upload. Would if be possible to make this choice.
This system seems to be fairly complex and for a person like me with limited knowledge on network settings, that could be a nightmare. What do you think ?
Re: Using 2 separate Wi-Fi Mesh system - will there be interferences ?
Oops. I send my reply to another person and not you. So I am sending it again from this post to avoid confusion with
Interesting comment. Thanks.
If I understand, this system of balancing signals from 2 modems (from 2 separate internet serice providers) means that :
1. Connecting the two modems to that box.
2. Connecting the Orbi to the output port of the box to receive the signal from either of the 2 modems
3. The box would determine which of the 2 has better speed and connect automatically between one to the other one which will have a higher speed. And then we will have a single network for all devices which will be the network created by the Orbi. Is that correct?
However, we could determine the priority on either faster speed download or faster speed upload. Would if be possible to make this choice.
This system seems to be fairly complex and for a person like me with limited knowledge on network settings, that could be a nightmare. What do you think ?
This system seems to be fairly complex and for a person like me with limited knowledge on network settings, that could be a nightmare. What do you think ?
Chapter 7 shows an example of balancing two ISP connections, and load balancing is mentioned several times. In terms of a user manual, this one seems more detailed than the typical Netgear user manual (my two cents).
If you read through this, feel slightly dizzy, and have no teenager in the house, it might be a stretch.
