Advice on wifi in a well wired apartment

[Klas Mellbourn]

My family lives in a six room apartment that is 114 square meters. Many of the walls are fairly thick.

I have previously used a system of a router and several WAPs that I set up myself using old routers. Now I want to upgrade to better performance and coverage in all parts of the apartment. I have 1Gbps WAN access.

I am a technical person, so a user friendly GUI is not important. Price is not a big issue either. I mainly want performance. But quick handoff between WAPs is also important. Home automation would be a bonus.


I have considered a WiFi system like the Netgear Orbi RBK50. However, as I understand it, the strength of such systems is to have a single router that connects wirelessly with satellites.

But something that is perhaps a bit special is that I have already set up wired ethernet connections in all rooms, so it would be a waste to require satellites to connect wirelessly.


If I want maximum performance, what is my best alternative?

Currently smallbuildernets highest ranked router is NETGEAR Nighthawk X4S Smart WiFi Gaming Router (R7800). Should I just get a couple of those and set up one as a router and the others as WAPs?

Or should I get a WiFi system like Netgear Orbi RBK50 anyway? Are WiFi systems inherently better at handling satellites and handoff?

 

[Ford Prefect]

...your best option would be to leave SoHo equipment and go for Ubiquiti unifi APs, like the UAP-AC or UAP-AC-lite....although being enterprise grade items, they are not expensive.
As you already have ethernet in the rooms, go for a POE Switch to power the AP(s).
Handoff between APs is controled by setting the signal strength required for a client connection. If the signal to a client goes below threshold, the AP will kick/drop it and the client would naturally select the best (nearest) AP.
The APs are set-up by using a central controller software (java based). In order to just use them as APs, you will only have to fire it up once. For other features, like a hotspot it is required to run 24x7, but it can run from a NAS or RPi or from a thing calles "cloud-stick".

But for a flat of 114 sqm, maybe even one will do.
I swapped my ASUS AC68U for a UPA-AC-LR and it covers two stories high, of 120 sqm each.

 

[Klas Mellbourn]

...
I swapped my ASUS AC68U for a UPA-AC-LR and it covers two stories high, of 120 sqm each.

The UPA-AC-LR is not listed in the ranking on smallnetbuilders. Are you saying it is better than NETGEAR Nighthawk X4S Smart WiFi Gaming Router?

 

[Ford Prefect]

I was only referring to the wireless range these things cover...these are not Routers, these are Access Points, nothing else.
The UAP-AC-LR (sorry, typo above is the long range variant, see: https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wir...iti-ac-pro-and-ac-lite-access-points-reviewed.
Obviously you need a router/firewall for your internet access...but any suitable to serve with your provider will do....or keep the one you have and disable wireless to save some electricity.

 

[Klas Mellbourn]

Thanks for the link to the review. However, as I read the chart, the throughput on the Ubiquity isn't the best of the routers tested. And the routers tested doesn't even include the otherwise highly ranked Netgear R7800.

Wouldn't I get better results with two or three Netgear R7800 (with one in router mode and the others in WAP)?
Or are routers that are not specifically oriented towards cooperation bad at handoff and related challenges?

 

[thiggins]

When using multiple access points, range isn't a primary consideration. In fact, you don't want a lot of overlap among APs. This causes clients to not transition smoothly among APs.