Wireless router mode or Access Point mode for second router?

[Muscless]

I'm not a fan of AiMesh, I prefer to select the router I connect to myself.

What are the pros and cons of having my second router in Wireless router mode vs Access Point mode?

What turns me off Access Point mode is that I can't see the IP address from what I'm told unless I download Device Discovery. On reading the forum, I hear Access Point mode is more stable?

 

[ColinTaylor]

What turns me off Access Point mode is that I can't see the IP address from what I'm told unless I download Device Discovery.

Yes you can see its IP address. If you configure the AP as a DHCP client it shows up just like any other DHCP client. More typically though you would configure it with a fixed IP address, either statically, or manually through a DHCP reservation. In either case you know what the IP address is because you defined it.

 

[CaptainSTX]

I'm not a fan of AiMesh, I prefer to select the router I connect to myself.

What are the pros and cons of having my second router in Wireless router mode vs Access Point mode?

What turns me off Access Point mode is that I can't see the IP address from what I'm told unless I download Device Discovery. On reading the forum, I hear Access Point mode is more stable?

I have been experimenting with Mesh for the past several months and after using APs for ten years and I am coming to the conclusion that Mesh is more marketing hype than benefit. Clients don't always seem to pick the correct router or mesh node to connect to and if you are using the same SSID on both radios then when the device connects or stays connected to a more distant radio it may end up switching to 2.4 Ghz band which may reduce the potential throughput. While there are numerous router and mesh settings that can get around some of these challenges it probably is just as easy to manually assign specific devices to specific SSIDs on either the router or AP and be done with it.

If you can afford/need commercial grade APs with their more sophisticated controllers, then that is probably the best solution if you have lots of mobile devices moving around your space though I have no personal experience with this type of setup.

IMHO currently consumer grade routers and nodes work maybe at best OK in a mesh setup.