Hello
Disclaimer: I am running Roon on a CAT5 ethernet network, so no issues here.
I start having issues with my wifi repeaters, extending Wifi through the home for wireless connectivity.
E.g. I use iPad as Remote controle.
The wifi repeaters start to fail, no clue why but it is what it is so I will replace them.
To be complete, I have 1 repeater on the 1st floor, configured really as wireless repeater, but barely used.
On the 2nd floor, my wifi repeater is connected to the wired ethernet, to provide full wireless connectivity (and causing the problems).
I try to figure out if I should go to a Wifi mesh solution ( Netgear Orbi or Nighthawk, Linksys Velop, …), or just go for a simple repeater as I have now.
i am finding a mixed bag of professional and user reviews on the Wifi mesh network solutions, going from excellent to creating nothing than problems.
I really would appreciate honest feedback with people actually using it with Roon, as Roon is known to be demanding on network requirements. If it works great with Roon, it sure wil handle all other applications.
So thanks in advance for your experiences and/or recommendations
Dirk
I recently moved off the (no longer supported) Apple WiFi solution and went with Linksys Velop Mesh.
Velop set up quite easily, but nodes tended to drop out with annoying frequency. I was ready to pitch it, but it seems to have settled in… no more dropped nodes.
Unfortunately, the eero product family is not available in Belgium. Probably to do with electrical certification (together with France ur power plugs qre different then e.g. in Germany and Italy)
Not a specific recommendation as my mesh is a UK specific mesh by our biggest telecom provider.
However, I have tried extenders and Power line kit with roon and had endless troubles. Hardware failure, reboots needed, devices not bring picked up etc. Then I looked at my Sonos system which throughout all of this has worked faultlessly due to its own mesh WiFi and …
The mesh system has made a massive difference, remotes attach instantly, UI is responsive.
So, in principle mesh is very good indeed. Now it’s down to product choice and buying from a supplier with an excellent returns policy.
I am using a Netgear ORBI RBK53S system with Roon. 4 Ethernet endpoints, and 1 wireless endpoint which connects to an ORBI Satellite that is using wireless backhaul to the ORBI Router.
My reason for moving to a mesh system had nothing to do with Roon, and I was hesitant to go with this solution due to many bad user reviews, but as I was buying it from Costco, I knew I could return it if I couldn’t make it work.
I was convinced it would be a challenge to get Roon working properly, but it just plain worked as advertised from the get-go, and I have not had a single Roon issue in the two months I have been using it.
Just another data point : I am extremely happy with my Ubiquiti Amplifi set. Set-and-forget, I have never ever had a single problem or reason to touch the device again in the past two years.
Was reluctant to spend so much money, especially since I already had a lot of bad experiences with various expensive routers, power line adapters and extenders. But I never regretted my decision. Reliablility, especially with Roon, was completely unexpected. Even in the park, some +75 meters away from the router, I still have proper connection.
Just be sure that you don’t enclosure the first router in a small cabinet. You don’t need to anyway, as it is a small and pretty looking device anyway . All routers suffer when enclosed in a small space.
Ah. One things that these can NOT do, is accept wired ethernet. So, perhaps these are not your best option for your second floor. Although I do not expect trouble with their WiFi backbone; it’s working well through 2 thick reinforced concrete floors in my case.
I have used all Netgear for my solutions as well. I have a tri-band Netgear router that is set to Smart Connect, and then use two Netgear EX8000 extenders for a wider connection throughout my home. No issues with Wi-Fi coverage at all with this setup. Disclaimer - I do have the two extenders hard wired back to the router and was fortunate enough to be able to fish wires to where they are located.
I mention these tri-band products however because what I understand from the setup is that if I did NOT enable the Smart Connect and had all three wireless channels visible, that I could set up the extender to use one of the 5Ghz channels exclusively for transfer back and forth to the router, leaving a full 5Ghz and the 2.4Ghz channels available for connected devices. So, no reduction in bandwidth for the extender in wireless mode.
Other mesh products can be configured the same way, but, this way has worked for me. The router and the extenders are all set to the same SSID and passcode so as I travel throughout my property the signal just jumps from one to the other.
Also, one other thing, the newer routers now use beamforming (at least Netgear does) which, in theory, figures out where the connected device is (your wireless device) and concentrates the signal in that direction instead of just uniformingly every direction. Not sure if that would help you by doing the new router of that type.
As my most urgent need was to get wifi back up at 2nd floor level, I have bought a Linksys RE7000 (AC1900+) Range Extender.
However, I did install it as an acces point (using my lan wired connection) and not as a repeater.
From all the responses here, I retain the Netgear ORBI RBK53S as the solution I will take a serious look at . I will investigate also the Netgear Nighthawk family as this supports the new Wifi 6 standards.
I suggest that you take a look at Ubiquiti UniFi. It is extraordinarily extensible. The UI, unlike Roon, gets frequent updates and gets better and better. Unlike Roon, you can also control your network remotely.
If you are at all handy and can pull Ethernet, I suggest that you take a look at the in-wall AP’s. They fit in a single gang electrical box. Once installed they blend right in.
I have a fully wired and wifi house with Unifi…I have it also installed at several clients and manage remote units of wifi at a friends and a family location. Even a simple setup with maybe an AC Pro or AC Mesh is not that difficult and many tutorials on YouTube too
Im a pretty heavy user and have a house on 2 levels with lots of concrete and wired security glass internal doors that dont pass wifi at all well hence so many AP’s .
. All routers suffer when enclosed in a small space.
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