Mesh WiFi Systems: Seamless Connectivity for Your Home
A mesh WiFi system provides an internet connection throughout your entire home, regardless of where your router is. It’s ideal for eliminating dead spots and providing seamless connectivity. Should you ditch your old router and modernize your internet setup?
What Are Mesh WiFi Systems?
Mesh WiFi systems are wireless networks where mesh satellites — also known as nodes — are placed throughout a building to extend an internet connection. They’re ideal for larger homes since they can counteract dead spots and improve connection speed.
What’s the difference between mesh WiFi and standard WiFi? A regular router provides a central point of connectivity — all traffic requests funnel through it. The farther away you are from it, the weaker the signal gets.
On the other hand, mesh systems provide multiple points of connectivity throughout your home. The combination of the primary router and nodes lets your devices switch to whichever signal is the strongest. This way, you don’t have to worry about a weak internet connection.
How Does a Mesh WiFi System Work?
A mesh WiFi system includes one or more nodes and a primary router. The router connects to the internet and the nodes. They relay data to each other until they reach the end user. They sit in multiple rooms, providing seamless, overlapping coverage throughout your home.
Depending on your internet setup and home’s layout, the primary router can have a wireless or wired connection to the nodes. This link is called a backhaul — it’s what allows the network to interact with the subnetworks.
The Difference Between Mesh WiFi and Range Extenders
A range extender extends your internet connection to other points in your home. It listens to every data packet and rebroadcasts them. In other words, it can only repeat a signal, blindly relaying traffic back to the primary router.
Since range extenders must rebroadcast data, they don’t eliminate dead spots. More importantly, they impact your internet speed because they take up a lot of bandwidth. They can also be frustrating since you have to manually switch between networks as you move.
On the other hand, the nodes within a mesh WiFi system are all aware of each other and wirelessly forward traffic around the network. Since they’re all on the same network, your device can seamlessly switch between whichever is strongest.
What Are the Benefits of Mesh WiFi?
Mesh WiFi systems have multiple benefits.
- Eliminates Every Dead Spot
Mesh WiFi systems eliminate dead spots, providing consistent signal strength throughout the home. They’re more reliable than a traditional system because they ensure your coverage overlaps. Best of all, they let your devices automatically switch as you move between nodes.
- Streamlines Network Management
Mesh Wifi lets you manage your network using apps on your phone. Unlike most regular systems, you don’t have to physically interact with your primary router to adjust your network settings. Just tap a few buttons on your screen from anywhere in your house.
- Provides Consistent Connectivity
A mesh WiFi system is self-healing. If the connection between two nodes starts providing a weak signal or drops out entirely, your other nodes will compensate for it. You don’t have to worry about dead zones appearing — even temporarily.
Is a Mesh WiFi System Right for You?
Since you can customize the number of nodes you use in your Mesh WiFi system, it can scale to meet your needs. This technology is versatile, so it works with homes of all sizes and layouts. You can get overlapping connections no matter how large or complex your rooms are.
Another thing to consider when deciding whether a mesh WiFi system is right for you is its ability to support multiple devices. It can handle all your smart devices and keep them running by compensating for weak signals. Connectivity is vital for smart home technology.