Top 5 Best Mesh WiFi For Google fiber

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If you have a decent mesh router, you’ll be able to get fast, dependable internet throughout your house. For us, they are the greatest.

Working and studying from home has become more common in recent years, as has gaming online with pals and phoning loved ones for video conversations on a regular basis. It’s a fantastic opportunity to give your home network an update, and one of the finest moves most people can do is to replace their router to a mesh system.

Especially when you’re connected at range, a mesh router acts more like a team of routers, relaying your wireless data back to the modem more effectively than a single router can. Your network’s maximum speed and range may be achieved across most of your house if not your whole property with the suitable technology running the connection. With a mesh router, you won’t have to deal with the hassle of juggling your connection between your primary network and an extension network as you would with a standard range extender.

Mesh routers from companies like Eero and TP-Link are among the finest we’ve tried, as well as newer models like those from Asus ZenWifi, Netgear Orbi, and Google Nest. Until recently, multipoint mesh router systems cost upwards of $400 or even $500, but today all of these manufacturers and others sell them for less than $300, if not less than $200, including the primary router and the extra satellite extenders. Even if we’d like to spend a little more, rudimentary mesh systems may be had for as low as $20 per device.

1. TP-Link Deco W7200

To build the W7200, we used two identical cylinder-shaped nodes, each measuring 6’6.7” high by 4’1” wide each. If you’re curious about the brand name, they’re stylish, but they’re more modern-looking than Art Deco-inspired, despite the white finish and black top.

There is a tiny LED indication on the front of the base of each node that shines green when the nodes are connected, blinks blue during setup, and glows solid red when there is a problem with connection. There are two gigabit LAN connections and a power connector on the rear of the computer. The reset button is located on the base. The TP-Link Deco X90 and the Asus ZenWiFi AX are more costly devices that enable multi-gigabit connection (XT8). USB ports are also absent.

A Deco X20 or X60 node may be added to the W7200 to enhance its coverage to residences with up to 5,500 square feet. You can get up to 574Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band, 1,201Mbps on a 5-GHz band and 1,802Mbps on a second 5-GHz band, which is a tri-band AX3600. If you link the nodes with Ethernet cables, you may utilise the 1,201Mbps 5GHz band for wired backhaul instead of the conventional wireless backhaul setup.

Five internal antennae are included into each node, which is powered by a 1.5 GHz CPU. Direct-to-client beamforming, WPA3 encryption, 3X3 MU-MIMO data streaming, and OFDMA packet transfers are all supported by this Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) technology. In contrast to the ZenWiFi XT8 and other top-of-the-line Wi-Fi 6 routers, it does not offer the higher-bandwidth 160MHz channel bandwidth.

2. Netgear Orbi AX6000

Home Tri-Band Mesh WiFi 6 System from Netgear upgrades its Orbi mesh networking kits for 802.11ax (aka Wi-Fi 6). The RBK852 is a simpler name to remember. The RBK852 gear, like its predecessors, is massive and has the same towering, round cooling tower appearance that makes them difficult to conceal. As compared to the TP-Link Deco X20 or Google Nest WiFi, the RBR850 router and RBS850 satellite are massive in size.

There are eight non-aimable, non-replaceable smart antennas within each device. Using the Qualcomm Networking Pro 1200 processor, the router and satellite are able to transmit 4X4 streams of data simultaneously. Because of the newest MU-MIMO technology and beamforming, the system can theoretically move 6Gbps worth of data back and forth between devices.

There is 1GB of RAM and 512MB of storage for firmware and settings in the Orbi RBK852’s new Qualcomm Networking Pro 1200 Wi-Fi chip. At a maximum speed of 2GHz, a quad-core CPU powers everything. It’s rated AX6000 by the manufacturer.

Most of our testing using Ixia’s IxChariot networking benchmark software, which replicated a busy Wi-Fi network in my 100-year-old, 3,500-square-foot house, found that the RBK852 set gave outstanding performance overall. Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) and many Wi-Fi 6 routers were easily outperformed by it.

At 50 feet, the Deco X20 claimed the lead with a throughput of 255.4 Mbps, whereas the previous throughput was just 124.4 Mbps. At a distance of 75 feet, the Deco X20 maintained its lead with a throughput of 112.7Mbps, compared to the Orbi RBR850’s 85.9Mbps. The Deco X20 had a range of 95 feet, however it lost contact at 85 feet, 10 feet short of that.

3. Eero Pro 6

It comes with three attractive low-profile Eero Pro 6 nodes that each measure 2.1 by 5.3 by 5.3 inches (HWD), making them much larger than prior Eero versions. As the primary router, one node delivers 2,000 square feet of wireless coverage, with two more nodes providing mesh coverage. As an alternative, you may buy a single node for $229, or a two-pack of nodes for $399.

The nodes include two auto-sensing gigabit LAN ports and a power connector, however they lack USB connection and multi-gigabit capabilities like the Asus ZenWiFi AX XT8’s. Quad-core CPU with 1024MB of RAM, 4GB flash memory and a Bluetooth radio are found within. If you’re looking for an easy way to connect and operate a wide range of smart home devices, the Eero Pro 6 mesh Wi-Fi system is an excellent choice.

As a tri-band AX4200 system, the Eero Pro 6 has a 2.4GHz (2X2) data rate of up to 574Mbps, a 5GHz (2X2) data rate of up to 1,201Mbps, and a secondary 5GHz (4X4) band data rate of up to 2,402Mbps. WPA3 encryption, Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) data transfers, MU-MIMO simultaneous data streaming, and direct-to-client signal beamforming are all supported by this Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) implementation. The only drawback is that it doesn’t have a 160MHz bandwidth option.

4. Nest Wifi

It’s simple to conceal Nest WiFi mesh devices since they appear like huge plastic marshmallows. They may also be placed on a windowsill or a coffee table for easy access. The router has a diameter of 4.3 inches and a height of 3.6 inches. The Point extensions, on the other hand, have a diameter of 4.0 inches and a height of 3.4 inches. In comparison to the equivalent Netgear Orbi devices, which are bigger and over 10 inches tall, both feature shotgun cooling holes in their bases.

Google Home’s growing design language of organic forms with no harsh edges and soft hues makes the Nest WiFi devices suitable for a wide range of home decors. There is just one colour option for the router: flat white, however there are three for the extensions: Mist (a light blue) and Sand (a tan).

For data transfer between the extension and host router, the Google Nest WiFi mesh system employs a dual-band technique rather than Netgear’s Orbi’s dedicated back channel. Is equipped with a proactive band steering mechanism that prioritises data transmission over the least congested channels and favoured extensions. Using beamforming, my two-pack can connect up to 200 devices; each device can connect to up to 100 customers at a time.

As part of Qualcomm’s QCS400 family of processors, the Nest WiFi router and extensions are powered by a 1.4GHz quad-core CPU and two Digital Signal Processors (DSP), while the extensions are equipped with far-field speech pickup. All three of the router’s extensions feature 768MB RAM as well as 512MB of storage capacity for firmware and settings.

When it comes to its automated firmware upgrades, the router employs a Trusted Platform Module (TPM). Software modifications are safe as long as Google has digitally signed them before they are allowed. Only a small number of networking devices are capable of supporting WPA 3 (Wi-Fi Protected Access) security, which is incorporated into the system. WPA 2 is still an option if you like it.

At 15 and 50 feet, the performance of the Nest WiFi declined to 612.0– and 455.1-Mbps, or between 11- and 15 percent ahead of the Orbi RBK50 mesh system. With 478.3Mbps to the Nest’s 455.1Mbps at a distance of 50 feet, the Orbi flipped the script and claimed the lead. The Nest has 394.0Mbps accessible at 100 feet, compared to 315.5Mbps for the Orbi RBK50 system.

5. Asus zenwifi ax (xt8)

When it comes to mesh networks, it’s hard to believe that you can get everything you want from Wi-Fi 6 into a little, rounded package that looks so good you may not want to conceal it.

The ZenWiFi AX may be used as bookends on a shelf, but it cannot be mounted to a wall and no third-party hardware is available for it. If you have access to a 3-D printer and are willing to take the risk, you can create your own plastic bracket for free.

2.4GHz and 5GHz channels are used for data transmission, with the second 5GHz band reserved for data backhaul from satellites to the host. This may help to alleviate network congestion and avoid collisions between data packets. A wired backhaul link may be configured for the devices.

Ixia’s IxChariot benchmark software replicated a busy network in my 100-year-old, 3,500-square-foot house, and the ZenWiFi AX behind the Orbi RBK852 and the TP-Link Deco X20 in our tests. If you’re looking for the greatest Wi-Fi speed, you’ll be hard-pressed to beat the Orbi RBK852 (883.6Mbps) at 15 feet away. This router’s speed was higher than the TP-Link Deco X20’s, which was just 622.1Mbps.

In the 50-foot range, the ZenWiFi AX (136Mbps) edged out the Netgear Orbi RBK852 kit (124.5Mbps), but the TP-Link Deco X20 (255.4Mbps) was the overall winner. Our host router lost communication with the ZenWiFi AX (6.3Mbps) at 75 feet, 15 feet short of the Deco X20’s range.. The Orbi RBK852 and Deco X20, on the other hand, were able to reach speeds of up to 112.7Mbps and 85.9Mbps, respectively.

The mesh kit delivered 421.1Mbps across a wall 20 feet from the host router, but the ZenWiFi AX could only provide a weak signal. Both the Arris SURFboard mAX Pro and the Netgear Orbi RBK852 performed well under the similar circumstances. The ZenWiFi AX (389.3MBps) was again second behind the Netgear Orbi RBK852 when it came to delivering a signal upstairs (670.1Mbps).

While transmitting data, the ZenWiFi AX utilised 15.4 watts of electricity and never became hotter than the skin. There is no power-saving idle mode like the Netgear’s. There is an estimated $35.10 in additional electricity costs compared to the Netgear Orbi RBK852 set’s $24.40 cost. A national average of 13 cents per kilowatt-hour power is used in the study, which assumes equipment are left on all the time.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN BUYING BEST Mesh WiFi FOR GOOGLE FIBER? (BUYING GUIDE)

RANGE

The greater the wireless range, the larger the region covered. If your router has a range of 2000 square feet and the wifi extender you purchased has a range of 2000 square feet, if positioned correctly, you can cover around 5000 square feet of total open space. Make sure to examine the price range before making a final decision.

Although it may not be sufficient for a large home, even a wifi extender with a range of 300 square feet would enough for a studio apartment. A wireless range extender that covers 1000-3000 square feet is ideal. Alternatively, if you need to cover a large area, you may want to look at a mesh wifi system for google fibre, in which you link numerous mesh nodes to one another to create a wireless blanket that can cover the whole region.

SPEED

Single-band and dual-band Wifi extenders are both common. For Google Fiber, dual-band range boosters are more costly, but they give greater speed than single-band boosters. It’s best to go with a dual-band extender if you have a fast Google Fiber internet plan and your ISP-provided router supports 5 GHz band. Otherwise, you’ll be good with just a single 2.4-GHz band extender.