Speed Up Your Internet with Mesh Wi-Fi

Article Summary

Mesh Wi-Fi can improve the speed and range of your business' internet connection and if you have the budget, is by far a better option over a Wi-Fi repeater or Wi-Fi extender because: 

• It is not affected by physical barriers (e.g., walls)
• It's easy to manage
• You'll have fewer network outages
• It automatically configures your devices so you'll always be on the fastest connection

If your business uses Wi-Fi, you probably know there are dead spots in the office where you lose connection, either because of the layout of your establishment (a.k.a there are walls in the way) or the router itself just doesn’t have enough range.

If you are constantly dealing with the frustration of dead spots, you may be looking for some solutions that’ll take your business Wi-Fi signal further, literally. You may have a solution in one of the following:

• Wi-Fi repeater
• Wi-Fi extender
• Mesh network

The order they are listed in is no coincidence, either. While they all extend your Wi-Fi signal, there are a few but significant differences between them. 

Wi-Fi Repeater

A Wi-Fi repeater is a device that grabs the signal coming from your router and broadcasts it further, giving you a stronger signal where you usually have slow wireless signal, or don’t have signal at all. While it sounds convenient in theory, it comes with a few potential problems: 

• Slows internet speeds: A Wi-Fi repeater gives those dead zones some Wi-Fi juice, but it cuts your internet speed in half as it shares the same bandwidth as the router.
• Disrupted by walls: If your office has multiple rooms or is on multiple floors, your signal may still be patchy even with the addition of the repeater.

Another downfall for a Wi-Fi router is the fact that it isn’t secure, so your business could face the dangers of a cyber-attack. While the router the Wi-Fi repeater is connected to is most likely secure and provides a secure network, the repeater is not, leaving room for potential unwelcome issues.

Wi-Fi Extender

A Wi-Fi extender is slightly different than a Wi-Fi repeater. Instead of just repeating the router’s signal, a Wi-Fi extender device uses the router’s cable connection, as well as the wireless signal, to extend coverage to the spotty areas, or where your Wi-Fi network couldn’t reach at all.

The main benefit of a Wi-Fi extender over the Wi-Fi repeater is that walls don’t interfere with its ability to extend your Wi-Fi coverage. This is thanks to the fact that the Wi-Fi extender utilizes both the cable connection and wireless signal, giving you a higher chance of successfully improving your Wi-Fi signal throughout your office.

The Wi-Fi extender does come with a few inconveniences, however:

• You’ll need to manually connect to either your router or your Wi-Fi extender from your devices.
• Your devices won’t automatically connect to the closest or faster extender or router. You’ll need to connect to either one manually and figure out which one is more stable and faster.

Wi-Fi extenders seem helpful in theory, but in an age where we want everything instantly, having to switch back and forth between routers and extenders for a better speed may seem like a bit of a drag. 

Mesh Wi-Fi

Out of the 3 Wi-Fi improving options, mesh Wi-Fi provides the strongest and most reliable signal and is most likely to improve the signal throughout your office. A mesh Wi-Fi, or mesh network, is a system of connected and strategically placed nodes that carry your Wi-Fi signal further than your stand-alone router would.

While Wi-Fi repeaters and extenders connect to a main hub, with all connections going through that main single hub, with a mesh network, all nodes communicate and interact with each other, without having to go through one main hub.

To build a mesh Wi-Fi network, multiple nodes are required. Depending on the size of your office or place of business, you can have two or more nodes and only one of them will be physically connected to the modem, while the rest of the nodes communicate with each other wirelessly.

The more nodes you use, the bigger your Wi-Fi range gets. However, too many nodes may cause bandwidth loss and therefore, slower speeds. The newly created network is a lot easier to manage as well, as the mesh nodes communicate with each other and can be managed at once, as opposed to Wi-Fi extenders, for example, which would need separate management.

Advantages of Mesh Wi-Fi

There are many advantages to using a mesh network over trying your luck with a Wi-Fi extender or repeater.

Consistent Internet Speeds

The Wi-Fi signal created by these mesh nodes either does not compromise the internet speed, or barely slows it down (at the edges of the network range), unlike with Wi-Fi repeaters which can severely alter the speed.

Easy to Manage

Nodes are more easily manageable because they form a system you can manage as a whole, instead of having to manage each individual node.

Less Network Outages

Having multiple nodes means that your network will continue running even if something were to happen to one of them. The rest of the nodes will pick up the slack and your business can keep running without interruption.

Get the Best Internet Speeds

Mesh nodes are smart. They all communicate with each other and can distinguish which one of them would give off the best and fastest connection. So regardless of where you are throughout your office, you can always count on your devices getting the best connection.

Automatic Integration

If you decide to add new nodes to the network to extend your range even further, the already existing nodes will automatically integrate the new nodes into the mesh, without you having to do anything.

Disadvantages of Mesh Wi-Fi

As is expected with most things, such convenience and efficacy comes at a price, and mesh Wi-Fi is no exception.

Cost

Depending on what brand of mesh nodes you decide upon, prices can get up to $200 per individual unit. Most companies, however, do sell packages of mesh nodes, usually 2 or 3 nodes, saving you some money instead of having to buy one node at a time. Since you usually need 2 or more nodes, trying to improve your Wi-Fi signal could get pretty costly.

Incompatible Brands

Also, all the nodes you purchase have to be the same; same brand, style, and system. A mesh network will not work if you have 2 nodes from one brand and 2 from another, as they will not be able to communicate with one another. Each brand uses a different system, so if you decide you want new nodes, you’ll have to replace all of them. 

While the cost of a mesh network could maybe be a stretch for a regular home, mesh Wi-Fi could come in very handy and be beneficial in a business setting or for businesses whose guests use Wi-Fi, as long as you are willing to invest in these devices.