Wifi booster vs mesh - Sky Q/Virgin BB

[arun1uk]

Hi all,
I've used the search function, but can't quite find a suitable scenario. We've moved into a new home that has solid walls, impacting our WiFi signal strength.

We had Sky bb, coupled with Sky Q, which was great in boosting signal throughout the house. We can't get adequate speed in the new place, so had to switch to Virgin bb.

I'm looking to understand what people have done in this situation to boost signal strength, whilst maintaining speed. I realise with Virgin bb, we can't use the Sky Q boxes as boosters/mesh.

I've bought a Netgear EX6410, which is ok but still struggling with speed and signal in far away rooms. I'm thinking about putting the Hub in modem mode and going mesh, but I have 4 devices I like to connect via ethernet to the super hub 3 (Sky Q, TV, AV receiver, NAS) and most Mesh systems only have 2 Ethernet points.

No gaming, just the usual stuff; surfing, TV streaming, music, 2x work laptops during the day on video calls. I don't want to go down the hardwired Ethernet throughout the house route - there must be a wireless method!

Anyone had similar issues? Options?
Thanks in advance

Edited by arun1uk on Friday 30th July 06:59

[xeny]

arun1uk said:

Hi all,


I've bought a Netgear EX6410, which is ok but still struggling with speed and signal in far away rooms. I'm thinking about putting the Hub in modem mode and going mesh, but I have 4 devices I like to connect via ethernet to the super hub 3 (Sky Q, TV, AV receiver, NAS) and most Mesh systems only have 2 Ethernet points.

Edited by arun1uk on Friday 30th July 06:59

How about leave the superhub in router mode (so you can use the ethernet ports on it) and pick one of the mesh devices that can run in bridge mode?

Alternatively, 8 port gigabit switches are <£20.

If the building is really RF unfriendly, you may want to consider running some ethernet cables and using wired backhaul for at least some of the mesh nodes.

[Gren]

I put my Virgin hub in modem modem, hooked it up to a Google Nest mesh router and then hung a Netgear switch off that to get me a few more ports. Only downside (apart from cost) is 3 boxes on my desk rather than the one Virgin box but so worth it,

[sparkyhx]

If you can afford it, Mesh all the way.

FYI Some mesh only replace the 'wifi' part of the router and leave the router to handle network traffic and modem duties. e.g. BT ones |& Tenda?, in which case the ethernet ports on the router are still available and if still not enough, just get a switch - cheap as chips. These are much easier to set up and usually cheaper. I chose the BT ones, cos at the time, the router I had (ISP provided) couldnt be put into bridge mode (i.e. Modem Only).

Edited by sparkyhx on Friday 30th July 09:35