If you have WiFi problems at home, you should remember the term mesh network, because this should make disconnections a thing of the past. TECHBOOK explains what Mesh WiFi is and how the technology works.
Who doesn’t know it: Usually in every apartment and every house there is a room where you have problems with the WLAN reception – be it the kitchen, the bathroom or the basement. But there is a new and modern solution – WLAN mesh.
For a long time, so-called WLAN repeaters were used, especially in large apartments and houses, which pick up the signal from the router one floor below and then spread it further. This sounds good in theory, but in practice the signal transmission does not always work optimally. Because with each repeater, the data throughput decreases. One reason for this is how it works. It only uses a single channel, that of the router. If there are many WLAN-capable devices connected to the network in the household, the reduced data throughput will eventually become noticeable. The data highway in your own household is clogged.
The so-called sticking effect is particularly annoying. This means that although you are on the repeater, you still receive the weak and therefore slow signal from the router. The connection is therefore not lossless and transferred to the receiving device at the best moment.
Also Read: Best WiFi Repeaters for Stable Internet
Mesh always ensures the best WiFi reception
A mesh WLAN radio network helps here. Basically, from the outside, it looks the same as a system with repeaters. Various nodes are also required for mesh WLAN, which distribute the radio network in the apartment or house. The key difference is inside the distributors. The technology for mesh WLAN is completely different than that of repeaters.
While the repeater uses and distributes the router WLAN, a mesh WLAN system sets up its own wireless network in which the nodes can communicate with each other and the software, for example, automatically, depending on the load, between the 2.4 and 5 -Gigahertz frequencies changes so that there is always the best and fastest connection to the receiver. But why is this helpful for a fast connection?
The following situation, which we all know: We move around the apartment with the laptop. In a repeater system, there are often problems at the transfer points. Since each repeater is its own hotspot, each device has its own SSID identifier. So it can happen that the laptop is already much closer to the better placed repeater, but is still dialed into the network of the repeater that is two rooms away. Result: A lame connection because the laptop does not automatically dial into the closer repeater.
This problem does not exist at all with mesh WLAN. Here the first node of the mesh is connected to the router with a network cable. This disables the router system. The mesh WLAN takes over and spans its network in the apartment. The other mesh distributors then serve as access points, as with the repeater, with the crucial difference that all mesh devices are cross-connected to one another and only use a single identifier.
As a result, it no longer matters in which room the laptop is located. Because it is always in just one single WLAN network and always at the node with the best connection. If the internet is then slow, it’s actually the provider’s fault, because the mesh WiFi in your household works without data loss.
Also Read: The 6 Best Mesh Systems
What technical requirements are required?
Another technique also requires certain equipment. In order to use mesh WLAN in your own four walls, the router should be mesh-capable. The well-known Fritzbox from AVM comes with mesh WLAN technology. There are now many other providers whose devices are capable of mesh WLAN.
Depending on the size of the room to be covered, two or three more mesh distributors are required in addition to the router, the so-called master. By the way: Mesh WLAN not only works in your own four walls, but also wonderfully in your own garden.
At this point we come to a major disadvantage: mesh nodes cost significantly more than the usual repeaters. In most cases, however, the higher investment is worth it. Usually, many devices are now connected to the WLAN network in most households. Smooth film enjoyment or a video meeting without picture dropouts then very quickly outweigh the higher acquisition costs.