A Mesh WiFi system is only worth it if you have the budget, your home is multi-level, large, and you rely mostly on wireless Internet. Otherwise, you can get away with other alternatives to boost your WiFi or Internet connection.
A mesh WiFi system is not the best solution for you if you rely on wired connectivity and speed. But it is a great solution if you need to make sure to get rid of wireless signal dead zones and drops. If you need strong WiFi and don’t mind the potential expense, then mesh systems are a worthwhile upgrade.
Mesh WiFi can be a great way to make sure your connection isn’t interrupted. But that said, you don’t need a mesh network to make sure of that.
Mesh Networking vs Traditional WiFi Router
A mesh router is not automatically better than the traditional WiFi router your Internet service provider (ISP) gave you. It’s easy to think that, but which is better depends on situation and preference. Here are pros and cons to help determine if mesh is worth it for you:
Pros of a traditional router
- Price: A traditional router setup is a more affordable than mesh. You can still end up paying a good amount for a premium router, but there are definitely affordable devices.
- Easy setup: Traditional routers are a plug and play situation that takes minutes.
- Speed from wires: While traditional routers deliver wire, they have the capability to create an Ethernet connection for big bandwidth activities like online gaming or video streaming.
- Separate devices: You can easily create a separate guest network with a secondary router. With mesh it is not that easy.
Cons of a traditional router
- Coverage: Compared to a mesh network, depending on your home, you may not get strong cover to every corner with just a router. However, you can use different WiFi booster devices with your traditional router to blanket your home.
Pros of a Mesh Network
- Better coverage: The purpose of mesh networking is to cover every inch of your home in strong WiFi. With each new node, you get more signal strength around your home.
- Reliable connections: With more WiFi signal coverage, your connection is stronger and more reliable.
- More controllability: Most mesh networks can be controlled from an app on your phone. Opposed to traditional routers where you have to go into your network settings to tweak limited configurations, a mesh mobile app lets you do things like monitor network traffic, reboot, or turn off the Internet entirely.
Cons of a Mesh Network
- Expensive: You have to invest in a mesh router and at least one satellite node, but likely more.
- Not as easy to setup: Setting up a mesh network is multiple steps. For each node you add, you need a power outlet. You also need to be okay having them dotted around your property.
- Speed: More coverage doesn’t necessarily mean faster speeds. With a lot of mesh networks, you may get the same speed you would with a traditional router.
One isn’t necessarily better than the other. Hopefully with this list you can decide which is best for you.
Looking for more resources about Mesh WiFi? Check out Hitron’s Learn page for more.