Hub 4 and mesh

[LGD123]

Hi All,

We've been upgraded to the Hub 4 in last few months.  Previously I've had TPlink powerlines to extend Wifi through house, and have also used a different router with hub in modem mode, all of which have done somewhat well but always fail at some point.  Powerline with wifi has just died (>10 year old) and router now not configuring so I need a new system.

I'd like to get Mesh as we have a long kitchen and its on a different circuit to rest of house, so powerlines don't work.  Hub right at front of house and can't move it, cabling would be difficult. Quite tall house too, so think might need 3 points but not really sure.

If I was looking at spending £200 ish - can be flexible - what would you recommend?  Would prefer easiest to set up as although I am somewhat techie my husband is not...

Thanks!

[zarf2007]

Take a look at the ASUS AX86U router, put the hub 4 in modem mode and use it as your main router. You can add to it to form a mesh network which is what I was planning but the WiFi is so good I didn’t need to. Buy from Amazon and try for 30 days to see if it suits.

[DJ_Shadow1966]

Hello

Have a look at https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing-accessories/networking/whole-home-wi-fi-systems/tp-link-deco... for the prices very reasonable I  have help a friend set these up and he was on 500mbps and now he gets it pretty much through out his full house.

Regards Mike

[LGD123]

thanks I've tried a pretty good router previously, but has never been able to get to back of my kitchen which is where TV is...

[Andrew-G]

Most TP-Link mesh systems are usually good value and work well  if buying an 802.11ac setup - M4, M5, M9 are all sound buys (avoid the E4 as that's too stripped back to allow decent speeds).  I'm using a Deco M4, and it's been an excellent investment, and shopping around you can usually pick up a three pack for £100-130 (currently 130, likely to be down to 100 for a 3 pack in the new year).  Asus and Netgear mesh systems are generally excellent and offer much more control over advanced configuration compared to TP-Link products, but more costly.  As a personal view, Amazon/Eero and Google/Nest mesh products are usually expensive for what they offer and depending on your views may have privacy concerns.   

If the budget allows, go for a Wifi 6 standard mesh (also known as 802.11ax), this will offer even better performance but these are invariably more expensive, and you may not notice the improved performance unless you're a demanding wifi user (lots of devices, larger property, need maximum speed everywhere).  If you're going for Wifi 6, then TP-Link don't have a price advantage, and you can get the Asus Zen Wifi AX Mini 3 pack for a "mere" £250, or a two unit Netgear AX mesh for around £225.  

Be aware that most mesh systems only have a couple of ethernet ports on each unit, so if you're currently using more than one ethernet port on the hub you'd need to buy a fifteen quid ethernet switch that acts like a port replicator to fit downstream of the primary mesh unit, or configure your mesh system in "access point" mode.  

[LGD123]

Thanks that’s a super helpful answer. 

[ChrizK]

Hi, hopefully you don't mind me using this topic, as I believe my questions are closely related.

I recently changed from Sky to Virgin, and found that I could not change the network address range to suit my static device.  I thought I was being clever using my Orbi Mesh with DHCP enabled using the 192.168.1 range.  This has worked absolutely fine in most regards, but my NAS is on 192.168.0 due to location with the Hub4, and all my devices are on 192.168.1.  All my devices happily co-exist and can access the internet, however, I couldn't reach my IP cameras from the NAS.  The Synology forum considered double NATting to be causing the problem (despite a traceroot appearing to successfully hit the Orbi router, but fail to proceed).  I then moved the cameras to the same 192.168.0 network.

Anyway ...I have decided to bite the bullet and remove 192.168.1. to resolve other issues such as https being inaccessible (which I think is DNS related).

I am now considering either changing the Orbi to AP Mode, or the Hub4 to Modem mode, and was wondering which option is best.

To complicate things, I have just had my fairly new Tapo TC70 IP camera replaced under warranty as it kept losing the Wifi connection.  The replacement is suffering the same problem, and the first suggested fix is to change the DNS on the router to Google 8.8.8.8 (I have no idea if that has any merit).  I now find that it is yet another administrative task that is blocked on the Hub4.  This makes me think I should change it to Modem mode and have the flexibility of Orbi networking.  However, I have Gig1, and so I am wondering what the potential impact would be?

When answering this, can you consider that I would like to use the Ethernet ports on the Hub4 (I don't really want another power socket being used).  Again, due to the number of sockets being used in the Hub4 area, the Orbi is attached via Powerline (Devolo) in another room.  To reiterate, I am wondering if I can still use the Hub4 Ethernet ports if it is in Modem mode (I am guessing it doesn't matter 'which side' of the router it is, and is just another device on the LAN)?

Out of interest, could you also theoretically answer if the Hub4 Ethernet port would have as much bandwidth as the Hub4 Wifi, or perhaps, could it be better?  I guess the Hub4 doesn't have Mesh capability with my Orbi backend, so it is just a question out of interest.

Bearing all the above in mind, could you give your thoughts on which 'could' be better; Modem (Hub4)+Orbi Router, or Hub4+AP Mode(Orbi)?

I fully appreciate that I am currently using (old) Powerline which will further reduce bandwidth (and probably greatly).  For this reason, I may also have to reconsider plugging it in directly to the Hub4.

Many Thanks