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Seeking cost effective options for an access point - Wifi 6, wired with cat 6
I am using a CM700 cable modem and an AX1800 Wifi 6 router (RAX10) and they are working great for me. The router is setup with ODFMA and Smart Connect since that seemed to be recommended (though since we don't have that many devices perhaps we would be better off relying only on the 5G channels?).
My main challenge is to extend coverage into a weak signal zone in the house. I want a wifi 6, wired cat 6 connection to wireless device in that zone, and at a reasonable price for home wifi ( max $150-200?) I have been researching Access Points, Range Extenders, etc and its all a bit of a muddle. I know plenty of people have done this, so:
Are there any options highly recommended other than using a router in AP mode? I am thinking I could just get another AX1800 because it is a good value and compatible. But are people still mostly choosing that option or are there better choices now? (I do not think we need the seamless transitions that mesh offers.)
The language out on the netz is not always so consistent.
Oh so true.
There are for example mesh solutions, access points, and network extenders all available, wired or not wired, and on.
For a Mesh extender to work, it usually has to connect to a router that also does Mesh.That's because the two devices have to talk to one another in the right way. A common approach to Mesh is to buy a bundle of router and satellites (extenders in another guise). Netgear's Orbi range sets out to do that in a simplified way.
I was surprised that Netgear says this can implement mesh with almost any router (not necessarily a "mesh" router). I didn't take advantage of that, but that looked interesting. And we do not need seamless roaming.
A surprise indeed. But if you want to play around you should be able to recover some of those lost features by using the EAX20 as standard extender, with a wifi connection to the router rather than the wired AP connection.
Then check back here for reports on the things you are considering, but remember that people turn up in this community with problems, not compliments. So look at reviews on Amazon, for example.
Re: Seeking cost effective options for an access point - Wifi 6, wired with cat 6
Many thanks for the quick reply. I am looking mostly for recommendations or hands on experience with those kinds of options because there has been a lot of innovation in recent years that are delivering interesting choices to the home market. Even if their product architecture is problematic for some reason I would still love to hear why community members chose it. But I'm keeping an eye on cost and my current needs are basic, though at some point I would likely add some storage to the network.
I did a lot of research before I posted that msg, including checking out those product pages The Netgear product page on range extenders.only lets me apply one criterion: "wifi 6", and it isn't much help. The lowest price on the Orbi product page is $250 for one satellite. Then there are issues that arise about how compatible my AX1800 would be with Orbi satellites, because I am not about to buy an Orbi router and I want more than 2 ethernet ports on my router. We are not doing intense gaming nor do we need that seamless transition feature on Orbi systems. On many interesting products the emphasis is on a wireless connection between router and a range extender or AP and I don't want that connection to be wireless so any possible cable option requires deeper reading. I've started diving into some user manuals on that point.
All that said, if there was some system that had so many new vital features it is looking like a "need to have" architecture in the home market, I would rebuild everything. So until then my core criteria:
1. will work with my current modem-router hardware (CM700 -> AX1800 RAX10)
2. max price point is $150-200
3. ethernet cable communication between current router and the extension device ("range extender"/"access point")
1. will work with my current modem-router hardware (CM700 -> AX1800 RAX10)
Just about any router will work with that combination.
2. max price point is $150-200
You need to check the retail sites for prices. Netgear has no control over that. P{ick what you want and look for the best price.
3. ethernet cable communication between current router and the extension device ("range extender"/"access point")
Wired is access point (AP) mode. Most routers work in AP mode, but they are more expensive than plain extenders and complicate the set up process because two routers on a network is a recipe for confusion. If they knew what they were doing, most people would not put two routers together .
Re: Seeking cost effective options for an access point - Wifi 6, wired with cat 6
In case anyone gets this conversation via a browser search, I wanted to jot down the concluding decision.
I was used to thinking about access points, because I had some familiarity using those in businesses where I work (software eng.). The language out on the netz is not always so consistent. There are for example mesh solutions, access points, and network extenders all available, wired or not wired, and on. So what I found eventually is the EAX20, Netgear "4-Stream WiFi Mesh Extender". It cost me a whopping $80 at my usual Best Buy and 50 feet of ethernet cable for $25. Ironically I don't want to use mesh wifi. The building structure would not be conducive and I'm pro-wiring to avoid some bandwidth degradation.
I set it up using the "access point" option, even though some cool features don't work with that and gave the newly covered area its own SSID. I was surprised that Netgear says this can implement mesh with almost any router (not necessarily a "mesh" router). I didn't take advantage of that, but that looked interesting. And we do not need seamless roaming.
The install was not without hiccups. I followed directions easily enough, but early in the install after getting preliminary work set up with the AP, I could not connect my laptop via wifi to complete the install as directed. The option was to connect via eithernet cable and that worked great.
We are up and running, and it has 4 ports and is WiFi 6 tech. So there it is, though the netz are full of evals like network extender vs. access point vs. mesh solutions, you can actually get something from each of those in one inexpensive product. I took reading 2-3 product manuals to finally scope that out. It isn't for everyone, but it meets our modest needs and building limitations perfectly.
The language out on the netz is not always so consistent.
Oh so true.
There are for example mesh solutions, access points, and network extenders all available, wired or not wired, and on.
For a Mesh extender to work, it usually has to connect to a router that also does Mesh.That's because the two devices have to talk to one another in the right way. A common approach to Mesh is to buy a bundle of router and satellites (extenders in another guise). Netgear's Orbi range sets out to do that in a simplified way.
I was surprised that Netgear says this can implement mesh with almost any router (not necessarily a "mesh" router). I didn't take advantage of that, but that looked interesting. And we do not need seamless roaming.
A surprise indeed. But if you want to play around you should be able to recover some of those lost features by using the EAX20 as standard extender, with a wifi connection to the router rather than the wired AP connection.
Re: Seeking cost effective options for an access point - Wifi 6, wired with cat 6
For a Mesh extender to work, it usually has to connect to a router that also does Mesh.That's because the two devices have to talk to one another in the right way. A common approach to Mesh is to buy a bundle of router and satellites (extenders in another guise). Netgear's Orbi range sets out to do that in a simplified way.
That was my understanding for a long time and I seemed to always see "mesh router" to make the distinction. e.g. "this mesh extender works with your mesh router". However on the EAX20 data sheet it uses this language:
"The NETGEAR AX1800 4-Stream WiFi Mesh Extender give you up to 1.5X better performance than a Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) extender. 4-Stream WiFi with up to 1.8Gbps† provides fast wireless speeds. It works with your existing WiFi router & is ideal for 4K UHD streaming & gaming. Get powerful WiFi where you want it."
And doesn't this bit on the data sheet also sound like mesh?
"One WiFi Name & Smart Roaming
Seamless mesh WiFi throughout the home for all your devices."
So weird! Are they assuming customers all know a mesh router is required to do mesh and are being sloppy with the writing? Or is any existing WiFi router really going to work? In the user manual they do not use the word "mesh" anywhere in the main document text - but only as a page header to identify the product name. They might be implying that their "One WiFi Name" feature is mesh.
But if you want to play around you should be able to recover some of those lost features by using the EAX20 as standard extender, with a wifi connection to the router rather than the wired AP connection.
One goal was to have the router and "extender/access point/whatever" connected via ethernet to the router. Two reasons: 1) I have a house that started as a small house, but then had an addition built. There is a lot of concrete and brick between those parts on each floor level of the house. 2) I would expect that with cable instead of wifi connection there would be less signal degradation at the extender. And using cable I cannot use it as a standard extender. I hope that's right.
One goal was to have the router and "extender/access point/whatever" connected via ethernet to the router. Two reasons: 1) I have a house that started as a small house, but then had an addition built. There is a lot of concrete and brick between those parts on each floor level of the house. 2) I would expect that with cable instead of wifi connection there would be less signal degradation at the extender. And using cable I cannot use it as a standard extender. I hope that's right.
