My current Airport extreme is 10 years old and probably not up to the current demands.

We have both Apple computers and PCs as well as Apple phones and Androids all in the same house. The kicker is that the house is a one level that is really spread out. Right now the router is in the center of the house but it is about 75 feet in either direction to the opposite ends of the house. Also the house has a metal roof that is fairly low due to the house being all one level. The metal roof interferes with the cell signal and also the wifi. We have to use wifi calling when we are inside.

I currently have a repeater in our bedroom - appx 75 feet away - as the signal was not strong enough back there to hold a phone call. I also have a repeater in my detached garage which is about 120 feet from the router. I get decent speed - 30-40 mbps - at all locations but sometimes have trouble with the phone switching over to the stronger signal when moving through the house/yard.

I am thinking about one of the new Mesh systems but know little about them. I am reluctant to buy anything from Google, but have looked at the Linksys and the Netgear Orbi. Neither of them sounds like they are without faults.

So I can either get one of the Mesh setups or just buy a newer, better router and continue to use my extenders? Decisions, decisions....Any advice will be appreciated!

Why are you reluctant to buy from Google? Theirs probably get any security updates first before Linksys or Netgear.

Placement is everything (for coverage - your described issue) either MESH or multiple AP's.
The issue IS your design and installation NOT what brand/model albeit you will no doubt hear that hear from the lay-crowd.

I have a netgear orbi, with one satellite.
It works very well

Last one I bought was the Amplifi by Ubiquiti. It's simple, it works, it gives you great coverage. Most importantly, you really don't have to screw around with it, it just works. I got the base with 2 remote APs and I'm pleased that after screwing around with tech and security patches and a thousand other crappy things to do with computers all day, I come home and everything does just work.

Guess I'm just old school (although I have installed two MESH WiFi systems for friends), but I still prefer CAT wired AP's. A wired AP mounted to the ceiling on either side of your home (strategically placed to best maximize its capabilities, as noted above) would likely cure your WiFi issues and provide exceptional service. And so long as you have a pair of gigabit ports available on your Airport Extreme (I know littel to nothing about Apple products), you can plug your AP's into it. Assuming you're not adverse to running cable, TP Link and Ubiquiti are probably your go to's for WAP's.

In scenarios where extended coverage is needed if one would think of the AP's as "speakers".
If you wanted sound throughout the house would you want speakers in each listening area or a big-honkin' speaker in one room turned up real loud?

Ideally you want a "conversation" where the client and the host (AP) talk in equal volumes {sic}.

In the case for Mesh > installation is much easier as there are fewer lines to run and configure.
Mesh units communicate with each other at an installation-ease advantage but does have a performance cost.

Multiple AP's is what we use in businesses and high end homes.

You will get much better throughput, coverage and overall performance with multiple AP's.

Mesh communicates with each other and are subject to radio-frequency limitations but if you have enough then they can be quite adequate with a lot less installation/configuration hassles.

Even though the subject of this thread is basically coverage keep in mind that the client aka laptop/phone/desktop/tv/device also plays an equal part.

I have supported multiple brands albeit mostly EnGenius but there are plenty of high quality products but I recommend focus on the installation/planning first then pick the appropriate product to do that job.

I could run a Cat5 in the crawl space to the bedroom to put an AP back there, but to get it to the detached garage would be about 150 feet of cable - would it still work with a run that long?

quote:

Originally posted by Bluecobra:
I could run a Cat5 in the crawl space to the badroom to put an AP back there, but to get it to the detached garage would be about 150 feet of cable - would it still work with a run that long?

Ethernet cable specification support to 328 feet, so 150 is not a problem.

quote:

Originally posted by btgoanna:
I have a netgear orbi, with one satellite.
It works very well

I have an Orbi as well, with two satellites. In a house with plaster/wire mesh walls, it works well. Much simpler install than my old router with range extender.

I have the Google MESH network with three nodes. It is great. Hell, they already know everything about me, WHY NOT!!

RMD

This goes against almost everything I've ever said about routers and modems. From the beginning I was against provider provided modem and router combo's.

In april I wanted a new modem from comcast. I believe the shielding had deteriorated and when the furnace for the house kicked on the cable signal and connection would flutter.

The sent me an all in one dual band phone/modem/router. I was upset, I specifically asked for the phone and modem model only.

Turns out the wifi signal is stronger then my 300 dollar asus router and I no longer need to use the extender for the bedroom areas of the house and moved it to outside so the ipads now work in the garden.

I have kept my mouth shut about this because since day one, I've been telling people to ditch their modem router combo and buy their own router.

And the temperamental connection was just a result of some coax that was not securely connected at the slitter.

I recently purchased and installed an eero system in my house. One eero and two beacons. Best wifi I've had in my home.

Well nobody wants to walk around with a 50 foot cable tethered to a hub, so wifi has to be the option.

I'm looking at the Mesh stuff myself, Costco has a 4 pod Google system for $299, Amazon has a 3 pod for $259.

Part of me doesn't want any more Google in my life than I already have, the Netgear Orbi has a higher throughput speed than the Google, and a two pod system will run a good sized home.

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:
I'm looking at the Mesh stuff myself, Costco has a 4 pod Google system for $299, Amazon has a 3 pod for $259.

Part of me doesn't want any more Google in my life than I already have, the Netgear Orbi has a higher throughput speed than the Google, and a two pod system will run a good sized home.

Don't forget to check out the TP Link DECO system. I snagged out of these three pod setups for less than $200 off an Amazon sale and installed it in a neighbor's home. It works really well and is super easy to configure. There are a number of good YouTube videos if you want more info.

quote:

Originally posted by rduckwor:
I have the Google MESH network with three nodes. It is great. Hell, they already know everything about me, WHY NOT!!

RMD

Google mesh network is life changing. I would buy it 10 times over. Love it.

My wife is an IT professional and very security conscious. Since Apple stopped supporting and making their own routers we went to the google Wifi mesh network and we both love it. I get WiFi all the way out to the back fence line in our back yard. Can check the status of our WiFi from anywhere and can see all devices connected and their activity at the same time. Highly recommended.

Just my 2c...
I have 2 ASUS RT-AC68P's, one is a router and the other is an AP that is wired. I setup them up as WDS so the signal hands off from one to the other and it works very well. MESH uses WiFi connect each other and by definition you will get 1/2 the speed at the AP points as it has to use the same channel to contact the mother ship. You can use use a wired backbone to connect the points as that is what I am doing. On 2.4Ghz i'm getting 50 or so Mbits/s all over the house.

If you can bury an outdoor rated Cat5e or 6 line in some PVC (think irrigation type stuff) you will have solid unbreakable connections.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/..._distribution_system

I also have the Orbi with 2 satellites. I have the main unit in my office with a satellite in my detached garage and one on the far side of my house. I get terrific coverage in my 2.5 acre yard when I mow and listen to tunes.

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
Multiple AP's is what we use in businesses and high end homes.

This is my setup, as well. I tried an Ubiquiti, but did not like the fact that you had to run a controller for it. I now use 2 EnGenius AP's, both cabled directly to the main network switch. One is in the "great room", center of the house and mounted up about 10 feet on the wall. This provides good coverage anywhere in the house. I also have an outdoor model for the RV pad (we had conduit run out there when the house was built, about a 225 ft run). I retired my AEBS to AP-only use and put it on the wall next to my computer work area.
 
As smschulz mentions, hard-wired AP's are the way to go, providing no loss like that experienced with retransmitting the Wi-Fi signal with an "extender", which shares the radio signal. Each hard-wired AP has its own channel while still using the same SSID. Run cable to each AP if it is at all physically possible.
 
And while an ethernet run is limited to 100 meters, you can extend that by inserting a switch in the run.