Recommendation for HDB Network Setup

[BTSoul]

Hi everyone, I will be moving in to a resale HDB flat and would like to seek budget recommendations on routers to get for my home wifi setup.

I'm quite a light user and so will most likely sign up for a 1gpbs M1 plan.

Floor plan of my apartment:

Will most likely convert my 3 tel line to ethernet points as well.
Would appreciate suggestions for budget/cost-efficient setup for wifi for all the bedrooms and living room since my heaviest bandwidth usage is probably just streaming 4k on one TV.

Do I need a mesh node in every room?
Someone gave me an Archer AX73 as they didn't want to use their free M1 router so I most likely will get another when I sign up a fibre plan, unless it's recommended to get the ASUS model?
Not sure if 2x AX73 is sufficient for the whole house or I need to buy extra APs/Mesh Nodes?

EDIT: Read quite a few threads saying that the free routers ISP gave are bad, is it really recommended to buy own routers instead?


Thanks in advance!

 

[Apparatus]

Make sure the LAN cables use CAT 6a/7 for your future use

You can have a mesh node in each room connected using ethernet backhaul

My suggestion for use if you install mesh nodes with wireless backhual. The nodes must be in line-of-sight with the router and the device

 

[sadboy]

I'd like to add that not all telephone points can be converted for network usage. Some of the older flats aren’t using network cables for the telephone point, so please take note. If the flat is 5-8 years old, you should be safe.

If you're using network backhaul for your mesh system, I believe the first node should be near the DB box area. This would cover the WiFi signal for the living room, kitchen, room 3, and the suggested study.

Another second node can be installed in the main bedroom, which will cover the area of room 2&3.

A two-node mesh is a good start. Having a mesh unit in each room seems to be too much WiFi signal overlapping, which may cause interference in theory.

Since promotions are always changing, you can check out what mesh options are available when you sign up with M1.

 

[BTSoul]

Thanks both for the suggestions, appreciate it

The house is about 9 years old, so I'm guessing it's laid with CAT 6 cables for the telephone points by default, will be confirming with an electrician/handyman

I would not be rewiring the cables for now since won't be doing any major reno, and I'm okay to stick with CAT6 at the moment as 500mbps has always been more than sufficient for my usage

I most likely want to go with wired backhaul since I think it will be quite hard to place the wireless nodes at optimal positions and given that I don't have powerpoints along the walkway, however I guess I can also engage electrician to install some there if I really want

@sadboy I actually came up with the same thinking as you to place one node at db box and one node at master bedroom since a TV will be there and I will be using my laptop mainly in the master bedroom, only concern is whether br3 signal will be weak

Anyone else has any suggestions please feel free to contribute!

 

[sadboy]

I believe currently for bedroom 3, you don’t have to worry as I believe under a good WiFi environment (subject to surrounding WiFi signals), the 2.4GHz signal from the DB area should reach bedroom 3. Based on your floor plan, the walls are not in bold black (structural walls), usually indicating they are regular walls. For new flats, the regular walls can be quite weak (mine cracked when I drilled the other side of the regular wall) from my personal experience. Once again, this is subjective to each building.

If you're okay to spend more for a 3-node mesh, then you can go for it to ensure you have a good WiFi signal for video calls. Otherwise, I think you can just add a third node at a later stage if the signal has issues there.