Best Mesh Network for a Long House?

[Jon_T]

Which is the best Orbi config for me?

My house is long... around 90' long. And the base station needs to be located at the far end due to some wiring constraints. Connection is ~60M, so speed is not extreme, but I want to make sure I can get that everywhere in the house. There are about 8 walls to contend with, from one end of the house to the other. 

Your recommendations?

Thanks!

[CrimpOn]

It might be useful to gather some additional data

1. Have you already purchased an Orbi?

    If not, the RBR50/RBS50 are likely to give more coverage than the other models.

    They have separate antennas for the backhaul and more powerful radios.

2. Just to confirm: it is physically difficult to install ethernet cables from the base station to other parts of the house?
    (One of the things I regret about my two-story house is the difficulty in running ethernet cables.

      In my old one-story on a foundation, I would get filthy dirty, but it was almost trivial to pull wires from anyplace to any other place.)

3. Have you ever considered PowerLine?

    Depending on how the house is wired, people report surprising performance out of Powerline.

    If, for example, you lucked out and your current base location and someplace more central are on the exact same circuit,

    you could move the base station to be more central.  (Of course, PowerLine is another can of worms and cost.)

4. What is the construction of those 8 walls?  (drywall?  No brick? No walls of solid metal appliances?  big fish tanks, etc.?)

    WiFi can get through 3-4 drywalls without too much loss.

5. Do you have an existing 5G router?

    If so, when you move a 5G device away from the router, how far do you get before the WiFi signal weakens?

Without more information, my guess is the recommendation would be one RBR50 base router and two RBS50 satellites, the middle one about 30-40 feet away and the far one about 30-40 feet from the first using Orbi's "Daisy Chain" feature.

[Jon_T]

Hi Crimp On,

Thanks for the response! Answers to your questions below. 

1. Have you already purchased an Orbi?  ==> No

2. Just to confirm: it is physically difficult to install ethernet cables from the base station to other parts of the house? ==> Not easy...
   

3. Have you ever considered PowerLine? ==> Yes. I am using powerline now. But my current DSL is slow, so it's not really being tested. But it works. What is the powerline "can of worms" to be wary of? 

4. What is the construction of those 8 walls?  (drywall?  No brick? No walls of solid metal appliances?  big fish tanks, etc.?) ==> Regular 'ol drywall.

5. Do you have an existing 5G router? ==> No

Powerline would seem reasonable, but I gather there are issues to be aware of? From a cost standpoint, it's less than the RBK50 + satellite. 

Thanks, 

- Jon

[CrimpOn]

Thanks for the information.  Please understand, I have absolutely no knowledge of other brands of mesh networks (Goodle, Velop, eero, etc.)  I personally have a Netgear Orbi with one base router and one satellite in my (modest) 2,100 sq. ft. two story house.  What I LOVE about the Orbi is it being "seamless".  Devices (that move) connect to the router or satellite as appropriate.  I get more coverage than I had before with my Netgear Nighthawk router located upstairs in the corner of the house (where the Spectrum cable comes in).  However, the Orbi is not perfect.  (This community forum is full of frustrated and angry users.  It seems forums for other brands have similar problems.)  For example, some of my WiFi security cameras did not connect as well as I wanted at 5G.  (I should confess that maybe I was too hasty to make this conclusion, but "what's done is done.")

So, I used some TP-Link TL-PA9020P PowerLine adapters (<$100) to connect the Orbi to that old Nighthawk that I relocated to the garage.  (Frankly, I'm not all that interested in changing things to see if that was a good move or not.  The cameras work now, and I've moved on to other issues.)  I also moved my TiVo Mini from MoCA (coax) to PowerLine because I wanted to remove some coax cable.

PowerLine is weird.  All sorts of things affect how well PowerLine works.  (Being on different circuit breakers. The actual brand of circuit breakers.  AFCI breakers. How long the wire distance is. etc. etc. etc.)  Just like installing a mesh WiFi is not, "plug it in and all is happy", installing PowerLine is not all sweetness and light, either.  Right now, I seem to get 1GB between my router and the Tivo Mini in the bedroom (same circuit, short distance - WOW!).  And, I get just over 100MB between the router and that Nighthawk in the garage. (different circuits, three times as far.  Not as impressive, but "enough")

There are numerous ways to provision WiFi in a 90 ft. long house.  (a) Do you care that it's all one network with seamless hand-off as devices move around?  This argues for Orbi, Google, eero, Velop, etc.  (b)  Do you know how to install extenders that operate over the electrical wiring? (That could be a ton less costly.)

If you are a Costco or Amazon member and have the budget, I suggest purchasing a Netgear Orbi AC3000 Tri-band Wi-Fi system (one router and two satellites for $339.99 @ Costco) a Velop 4-pack for ($399.99 @ Costco), or a Google 4-pack for ($299 @ Costco).  Both Amazon and Costco have excellent return policies.  (Personally, I am VERY HAPPY with my Netgear Orbi and know nothing about the others.)  I would start out with the base unit and put the first satellite somewhere about 30-40ft away.  If that seems to work, I would put the second satellite about 30-40 feet from the first so that the second satellite is not more than 30-40 ft. away from the other end.  If this "works for you", get on with life.  If you are not happy, box it all up and return it.

Geez.  You asked a simple question and I haven't done much to help.  PLEASE.... this forum depends on people telling us "how it comes out."  Whatever you decide to do, please post a response and let us know.

[FURRYe38]

30 feet is recommended in between router and satellite(s) to begin with depending upon building materials.

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@Jon_T wrote:

Which is the best Orbi config for me?

My house is long... around 90' long. And the base station needs to be located at the far end due to some wiring constraints. Connection is ~60M, so speed is not extreme, but I want to make sure I can get that everywhere in the house. There are about 8 walls to contend with, from one end of the house to the other. 

Your recommendations?

Thanks!

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