Home network setup advice

[iichigoz]

Hi all, I have attached my home floor plan. Anyone can advise what's the best way to setup a reliable network? Probably looking at just WiFi. The rooms has no network ports.

Cross is where my ONT is and I need reliable connections in the rooms. Huge thanks.

 

[xiaofan]

Hi all, I have attached my home floor plan. Anyone can advise what's the best way to setup a reliable network? Probably looking at just WiFi. The rooms has no network ports.

Cross is where my ONT is and I need reliable connections in the rooms. Huge thanks.

Budget? When you have no LAN ports in the rooms, you may have to pay more, or lower expectations.

Which ISP plan?

 

[BBCWatcher]

The rooms has no network ports.

Any “legacy” TV coax connectors or even RJ11 phone connectors by any chance?

 

[Apparatus]

If you don't require LAN ports in your rooms then it's a simple setup using WiFi only. Your house layout is great for WiFi

If you are on 10G you just need 1x TP-LINK Deco BE85 will do

 

[iichigoz]

Thanks for the reply guys. For certain reasons, I can't access the rj11 ports. There are no tv coax connectors as well. I'm on singtel. Just the 1gb plan.

Do I just need a single router? The last time I had that the last rm had very weak signals. The rm nearest to the living rm has 2 computers and 1 printer. What router should I get? Budget not really an issue but I don't need top of the line tech.

 

[Apparatus]

Thanks for the reply guys. For certain reasons, I can't access the rj11 ports. There are no tv coax connectors as well. I'm on singtel. Just the 1gb plan.

Do I just need a single router? The last time I had that the last rm had very weak signals. The rm nearest to the living rm has 2 computers and 1 printer. What router should I get? Budget not really an issue but I don't need top of the line tech.

Did you put your router next to the ONT the last time i.e. in the living room? If yes, then the last room will receive weak signal because signal needs to penetrate 2 walls

 

[iichigoz]

Did you put your router next to the ONT the last time i.e. in the living room? If yes, then the last room will receive weak signal because signal needs to penetrate 2 walls

Haha yes. Do you suggest that I run a cable from the ONT to the router and put it nearer to the wall? Or what might be a smarter option?

 

[Apparatus]

Haha yes. Do you suggest that I run a cable from the ONT to the router and put it nearer to the wall? Or what might be a smarter option?

Place the router at the blue cross indicated. Mount it on the ceiling or on the cross beam if there's one using brackets. Run a RJ45 CAT 6 cable from the ONT to it. Since it's only a single cable you can get the smallest plastic trunking from the neighborhood hardware shop to run it. Buy the one with no double-sided tape and buy your own 3M 3.3Kg double-sided tape and paste it. The trunking that comes with double-sided tape is foam type which can be difficult to remove the sticky foam the next time if you remove the trunking.

Things to note

Make sure there's NO wardrobe or high bookself behind the walls where the wifi signal is penetrating. They can block the wifi signal

If your router comes with external antennas orientate the antennas accordingly to receive the best signals

With internal antennas (ie. router is cylindrical shape) place it lying down on the supporting brackets. Test which position gives the best wifi signals

Can get the C brackets and plastic trunking below

 

[BBCWatcher]

Also try using a narrower channel if you’re disappointed with the signal strength and coverage. Wireless routers and access points generally default to the highest channel width they support, but that‘s often not a good choice.

 

[iichigoz]

Place the router at the blue cross indicated. Mount it on the ceiling or on the cross beam if there's one using brackets. Run a RJ45 CAT 6 cable from the ONT to it. Since it's only a single cable you can get the smallest plastic trunking from the neighborhood hardware shop to run it. Buy the one with no double-sided tape and buy your own 3M 3.3Kg double-sided tape and paste it. The trunking that comes with double-sided tape is foam type which can be difficult to remove the sticky foam the next time if you remove the trunking.

Things to note

Make sure there's NO wardrobe or high bookself behind the walls where the wifi signal is penetrating. They can block the wifi signal

If your router comes with external antennas orientate the antennas accordingly to receive the best signals

With internal antennas (ie. router is cylindrical shape) place it lying down on the supporting brackets. Test which position gives the best wifi signals

Can get the C brackets and plastic trunking below

Thanks for the advice. Maybe trouble you to also recommend me a router to get?

 

[Apparatus]

Thanks for the advice. Maybe trouble you to also recommend me a router to get?

Since you are on 1G then forget those routers with 2.5G/5G/10G LAN ports

Are you using 6GHz devices? If no, then forget those WiFi 6E/7 routers

So, you only left with dual-band WiFi 6 routers.

1) TP-LINK Archer AX73 - Dual Band router

Processor 1.5GHz

AX5400
5 GHz: 4804 Mbps (802.11ax, HE160)
2.4 GHz: 574 Mbps (802.11ax)

https://www.tp-link.com/sg/home-networking/wifi-router/archer-ax73/#specifications

2) ASUS RT-AX88U - Dual Band router

Processor 1.8GHz

AX6000
WiFi 6 (802.11ax) (2.4GHz) : up to 1148 Mbps
WiFi 6 (802.11ax) (5GHz) : up to 4804 Mbps

https://www.asus.com/sg/networking-iot-servers/wifi-routers/asus-gaming-routers/rt-ax88u/techspec/

3) ASUS RT-AX89X - Dual Band router

Processor 2.2GHz

AX6000
WiFi 6 (802.11ax) (2.4GHz) : up to 1148 Mbps
WiFi 6 (802.11ax) (5GHz) : up to 4804 Mbps

https://www.asus.com/sg/networking-iot-servers/wifi-routers/asus-gaming-routers/rt-ax89x/techspec/

Speed-wise both ASUS routers are the same but the ASUS RT-AX89X comes with a more powerful processor. The ASUS RT-AX89X also comes with 10G ports provided you don't mind not using them


In short, ASUS routers are better performers in 2.4G than those of TP-LINK and with more powerful processors. ASUS RT-AX89X's processor being the strongest of all


Notes

For pricings check out at Shopee/Lazada/SL SQ

Those mentioned routers look big size so to mount on the ceiling you will need more C brackets

TP-LINK has OneMesh and ASUS has AiMesh for node addition to expand coverage if signal is insufficient

Read reviews on the net before buying

 

[iichigoz]

Since you are on 1G then forget those routers with 2.5G/5G/10G LAN ports

Are you using 6GHz devices? If no, then forget those WiFi 6E/7 routers

So, you only left with tri-band WiFi 6 routers with 2.4G/5GHz-1/5GHz-2. 5GHz-2 is use for wireless backhaul. Better than those with dual-band in your case since you want wireless.

TP-LINK Archer AX90 AX6600 Tri-Band Gigabit Wi-Fi 6 Router is a good one but it's an EOL router. EOL means no more firmware upgrades

Shopee Singapore still selling it for $300.14

https://shopee.sg/TP-LINK-ARCHER-AX...d2&xptdk=8ecabff6-74bd-4e3f-b521-ab82eb6092d2

I'll probably just get what you recommend. What does wireless backhaul means?

 

[Apparatus]

I'll probably just get what you recommend. What does wireless backhaul means?

Forget that post you quoted. I'm updating the same post again.

 

[BBCWatcher]

I might be a bit contrarian here, but *if* you’re going to all the trouble of running wires then maybe it’s worth skipping the consumer grade wireless routers (or wireless access points) and getting something higher grade that’s more likely to get many years of timely security updates.

Singtel is ONR-based, I think. So an access point is really all you need, especially if you want to avoid double NATs. Maybe a Ubiquiti U6+ or Aruba A22? (Anyone have any current favorites? How’s Ruckus?)

If you want to avoid running wires then I think you still have a few good options:

• Powerline bridging is still available, mostly from TP-Link. For example, you could put one wireless access point in the bedroom next to the living room for whole home coverage and make the hop from your Singtel ONR to that WAP using a pair of powerline adapters. Powerline-based network bridging isn’t as reliable as coax (typically MoCA) or phone line (G.hn 2.0) bridging — find those RJ11 jacks if you can — but it can work.
• Get a good quality WAP that has two 5 GHz radios. Position it near your Singtel ONR, set one of the radios to 20 MHz wide Channel 165 (the “slower but farther” radio), set the other 5 GHz radio to 80 MHz width (the “faster but nearer” radio), set the 2.4 GHz radio to 20 MHz wide Channel 1 or Channel 13 (depending on your neighbors — NEVER use 40 MHz wide channels on 2.4 GHz; that’s just rude), and see how it goes. For example, the Netgear WAX630 can do this, but it’s a bit pricey. Any others?
• Of course there are lots of options involving 2 wireless access points with a wireless connection between them. But you don’t necessarily need to start with that option.

 

[iichigoz]

Forget that post you quoted. I'm updating the same post again.

Thanks for the detailed info. My mum is quite against me sticking plastic trunking and drilling holes for the c brackets so I have to go fully wireless. Is it possible for me to get a router to be placed beside the ONT and another extender or whatever we call it to be placed at the blue cross. I have a shelf there. Should I go for a dual mesh setup? If so what should I get?

 

[iichigoz]

I might be a bit contrarian here, but *if* you’re going to all the trouble of running wires then maybe it’s worth skipping the consumer grade wireless routers (or wireless access points) and getting something higher grade that’s more likely to get many years of timely security updates.

Singtel is ONR-based, I think. So an access point is really all you need, especially if you want to avoid double NATs. Maybe a Ubiquiti U6+ or Aruba A22? (Anyone have any current favorites? How’s Ruckus?)

If you want to avoid running wires then I think you still have a few good options:

• Powerline bridging is still available, mostly from TP-Link. For example, you could put one wireless access point in the bedroom next to the living room for whole home coverage and make the hop from your Singtel ONR to that WAP using a pair of powerline adapters. Powerline-based network bridging isn’t as reliable as coax (typically MoCA) or phone line (G.hn 2.0) bridging — find those RJ11 jacks if you can — but it can work.
• Get a good quality WAP that has two 5 GHz radios. Position it near your Singtel ONR, set one of the radios to 20 MHz wide Channel 165 (the “slower but farther” radio), set the other 5 GHz radio to 80 MHz width (the “faster but nearer” radio), set the 2.4 GHz radio to 20 MHz wide Channel 1 or Channel 13 (depending on your neighbors — NEVER use 40 MHz wide channels on 2.4 GHz; that’s just rude), and see how it goes. For example, the Netgear WAX630 can do this, but it’s a bit pricey. Any others?
• Of course there are lots of options involving 2 wireless access points with a wireless connection between them. But you don’t necessarily need to start with that option.

I was actually thinking of a 2 wireless access points with a wireless connection between them. I was using a powerline option previously but it's kind of troublesome to setup and troublesome. It isn't very reliable as well. I'm just not sure what device to get now since my router kicked the bucket and I wanted to simplify my setup.

 

[xiaofan]

I was actually thinking of a 2 wireless access points with a wireless connection between them. I was using a powerline option previously but it's kind of troublesome to setup and troublesome. It isn't very reliable as well. I'm just not sure what device to get now since my router kicked the bucket and I wanted to simplify my setup.

Budget?

Singtel 1Gbps plan? Using ONT or ONR?

 

[Apparatus]

Thanks for the detailed info. My mum is quite against me sticking plastic trunking and drilling holes for the c brackets so I have to go fully wireless. Is it possible for me to get a router to be placed beside the ONT and another extender or whatever we call it to be placed at the blue cross. I have a shelf there. Should I go for a dual mesh setup? If so what should I get?

In that case you go for mesh routers

One can put beside the ONT in the hall and the other at the desired location and connect them using wireless backhaul

Backhaul is the connection between the primary router and its node(s). It can be wired or wireless

Fronthaul is between the node(s) and your wireless end use devices

 

[iichigoz]

Budget?

Singtel 1Gbps plan? Using ONT or ONR?

Yes singtel 1 gbps using ONT. Not gaming or anything. Just streaming videos and doing work.

 

[iichigoz]

In that case you go for mesh routers

One can put beside the ONT in the hall and the other at the desired location and connect them using wireless backhaul

Will the Asus aimesh be suitable? Which one will be good ah?