Mesh Wi-Fi 6 System

Now back to some mesh stuff that I also posted yesterday but it was not posted since I had the link in it.

I really need a mesh system as no one unit regardless of brand is going to cover my whole home. Issue is home is large and long and I have smart bulbs outside too as well as cars that need Wifi. I have in the past tried so many Wifi extenders moving things and always something winds up being disconnected and not reconnecting. Finally a friend told me he bought a Google Wifi and it ended his issues so I decided I have tried so many others why not. Out of the gate like this TM gateway the Google is limited but at the least has port forwarding and some basic features. I can only state my results in my home almost 2 years since install and rock solid everything stays connected all the time no issues. It has been used threw the whole pandemic with everyone working from home and the kids taking classes from home no issue. Again your results may vary and the Google Wifi is quite limited in features but seems to work. It is connected to a Comcast modem in bridge mode.

Now my dilemma my neighborhood is contract locked to Comcast we cannot get anyone else. Whole neighborhood has fiber for Verizon but that was 15 years ago and still 10 more years to go till the exclusive contract is up. Can you believe that Verizon laid the fiber 25 years ahead of when they can offer the service. Anyways I don't like Comcast for many reasons, coming data cap that they want you to pay for overage, bundles of services I don't need, high rates as you have to have a bundle as individual services are way overpriced, inconsistent speed.

So with my contract with Comcast coming up I decided to go with my only other option T-M. Now when I decided to order I had no idea it was backordered till mid Sept as my Comcast contract expires in Aug.

I initially assumed I could use bridge mode so no issue with my current mesh but later I found out I was wrong. Now keep in mind I don't even have my unit yet I am just doing research so when I get it I can get it working asap.

At this point seems I will be going with double NAT and see how it goes.

As for placement I have found out many things. First I downloaded an app to my 5g phone for testing. For sure the best signal is by a window with a huge BUT! Did you know that many window screens are made of metal? So that means if you have metal window screens you have a Faraday cage that blocks all signals. My screens are metal and removing them when testing signal almost doubles my signal by the windows. On the T-M site my home shows as Fair 5G and Good LTE this does not sound to encouraging does it. Using the app I could see the tower I am attached to so I would test on that side of the house. I tried all windows and found a second floor window that gave the best signal and speed. Further the top half of that window provides at the least double the download speed. Though I cannot see threw trees using the map I theorize that this window/spot has the best least obstructed line of site to the tower. Moving one window to the right or left drops things more than half. To prepare things I built a shelf on the window to hold the modem when it comes. I ran a cable from that area to where my Google Wifi is so I can patch that right in when it comes.

So lesson is if you want the best speed and connection it will take some time as not every spot is equal and moving just a foot can make a big difference. Windows do seem to be the best location with the screen caveat.

Imp don't forget to check your screens if they are metal remove them as they are blocking your signal for sure. Just look up Faraday cage if you need to see why.