Wireless Options for Average UK House to replace existing mesh router

Netgear Orbi seems to be a constant favorite of reviewers and a well known consumer testing magazine just named it as the top performer in their tests of mesh systems.

My neighbor installed his Orbi system about a year ago.....a "main" unit and a "satellite" and he reports that the system has been flawless while providing better coverage than his previous AirPort Extremes could muster. But......he has the Orbi units connected together using Ethernet.

Strongly recommend that you consider adding Ethernet cabling no matter what brand you might try. There is still nothing that beats the speed and reliability of a wired connection between wireless access points in my opinion.

Running the cable was the single best investment that I have ever made in terms of performance improvement......far better than any new router, extender, or computer purchases.

Asus AiMesh (RT88 & RT86)

Ah, you have lots of router experience I see.

I have tested out lots of brands. And 100% agree with the comment about Netgear firmware.

This is a bit of ramble because I doubt we are going to shine a lot more light on what you already know.

I have used Asus models you had and my current main router is RT-AC88U on Merlin. I used an older 68U to test the mesh and overall can say it worked but unimpressed even with ethernet backhaul. In fact the Asus worked better in AP mode which does need ethernet.

As commented.. I don't think any mesh system works great if it is an add on to regular wireless router. It really needs to be built ground up as mesh product. And to use separate wireless backhaul rather than trying to mix connectivity and backhaul into one wireless chip which causes massive slowdown.

Asus have released AX models for mesh. The products are pretty raw and although bug fixes will happen in due time and Asus is great in keeping their firmware updated, I would not jump onto the bleeding edge unless you are prepared to bleed out.

I do think your best bet is keeping the Synology as main router. If it still has 5ghz problems when not running mesh perhaps Synology can replace it. 2600 is both fairly old now and is expensive unit and should have decent warranty. But the router features are excellent (much like the NAS).

Then Netgear Orbi but purely as wireless AP. At some point ethernet can be installed for backhaul.. and that will certainly improve things.

I did also setup Ubiquiti with Unifi UAP. It is a great system. The learning curve is pretty steep. But having got over that, I hit a roadblock in USG router having issues with my ISP. I was forced to rethink the whole thing because I did not want to use command line configurations. I lost a bit of money but in the end, realised it was beyond my needs and if I wasn't around nobody else could ever understand how to fix it.

That has made me rethink also using simpler AP units so it was not necessary to get a controller.

I found TP-Link has a range of pro APs. When I say pro I mean better than domestic.. EAP225 and EAP245. They are fairly cheap.. and although it looks like it needs ceiling mount they can be easily mounted in other places. The have a full gui onboard. You don't need a TP-Link router or anything else to use them.. and they are better than most. Certainly the signal / coverage is excellent. What you miss is ethernet ports.. which is also why I prefer the Netgear Orbi higher models RBK40 or 50 since running AP at desk level you may as well have the switch combined. A few ports makes it a lot more useful.

I do find Netgear a bit behind in Apple compatibility. Have been working through issues with M1 and M2 LTE routers and a lot of issues seem to be Netgear poor handling of bonjour.

Ethernet though.. at least it is dependable, reliable, fast and you can use cheap as chips wireless routers as AP.

End ramble

I have replaced with two other router setups but never been fully satisfied.

What was your other mesh system? Just so we don't suggest stuff you already tried.

Interesting your issues with the synology.

Is the 5ghz actually dropping out on the whole network or just one or two of the satellites?

I have the RT2600AC and it has never had drop outs. Have you checked with Synology that you don't just have a faulty unit?

I really don't want to go down the router of a professional coming in an fitting a wired network and access points in our home

I think you mean route.. rather than router .. but wired is definitely the way to go. No mesh system for the moment even gets close.

The problem with Synology is it is mesh add on. I also run Asus which works very well.. and also has mesh add-on.. AiMesh. It works but without wiring it is still not up to the standard of the full wireless backhaul systems like Netgear Orbi. It is usually top dog in the tests. The RBK50 has been on the market for a while. There are better models now and lots of lesser ones.. but if you want to go mesh.. then proper ground up design mesh. Unfortunately the router side is not even close to the synology. I would be inclined to keep the synology as your main router and just use the Orbi for AP duties.

In the end the cost of doing all this .. means it would have been cheaper to wire it properly with Cat6 in the first place. Even if you simply run a single connection from downstairs to upstairs or along a thin long house to a secondary point. Perhaps even a third.. not many houses will need more than 3 points to cover them.

We get a most 380Mbps download and 40Mbps upload (tested on my iMac with wired Cat 7 but where the two smaller mesh routers are downstairs, this is more likely between 30-80Mbps using wireless 5Ghz network and within fairly close proximity of them.

With wired Ethernet connections to the access points, you could expect 5 GHz to perform on a par with the Ethernet connected iMac. Would likely solve the "drop" problems as well.

Personally.....based on experience...... I would never try to send a signal from the main router to access points over wireless, but it is your call.

I'm still using 3 AirPort Extremes all connected together via Ethernet here at the house. On a 300 Mbps Internet connection service, I get close to 300 Mbps speeds just about anywhere in the house except the bathrooms, which are heavy on tile and mirrors.

Unfortunately, relatives want to visit just to use the wireless.