Need assistance with resetting your home network setup?
Need assistance with resetting your home network setup?
Hey everyone! I’m getting this job of updating the wiring in my house. Right now there’s nothing set up yet, so I’ll have to make some quick fixes. We’re still using powerline adapters which aren’t working perfectly, and our Wi-Fi is a bit unreliable even with two access points—one on the top floor and one in the basement. There are two power users, two regular users, plus two TVs and a NAS that would really benefit from a solid Gigabit connection.
My original idea was to run Cat6 cables to every location we can reach (at least one per floor), swap out the weak router my ISP gave me for a better model, and use the ISP box as a bridge or modem. I’d also add an access point or switch on each floor and use powerline where the cables aren’t possible.
What should I keep in mind to make sure everyone gets a good connection? What router should I choose? What features are important? Should I consider a mesh network like the one mentioned in some videos? Would setting all my SSIDs and passwords the same give similar results? Any tips on access points or other things I should worry about? Thanks a lot for your help!
I’d prefer a mesh setup since overlapping networks sharing the same SSID can create problems. My Google Wi-Fi experience has been solid—three access points working well together. I connect them via a cable for backhaul and consistently get strong signals throughout my home. The Linksys system is also expected to perform well but comes at a higher cost. The main drawback with Google Wi-Fi is its limited advanced settings; if you want fine control over things like packet size or channel width, a more feature-rich solution would be better.
Thanks for the update! I ended up purchasing three ASUS routers just before you did. So yeah, I’m going with a mesh configuration. The routers are already set up nicely, which is great. It’s a bit confusing how plugging into one router via Ethernet and then configuring it as a node through router.asus.com redirects traffic to the router instead of the newly set node. The wiring was a mess too—my cable turned out solid core and didn’t match the RJ45 connectors, so I’m likely using free-floating jacks on the ground floor. The builder did his best to seal every gap in the walls, which meant I had to remove half the roof to lay the cable across. Still, if a project faces so many hiccups, it might just be part of the fun. As enthusiasts, we should embrace that kind of challenge!