Three 5 G Home Broadband wifi mesh options

[Mario121]

Hello - can anyone help. There's a plethora of Wifi mesh systems out there and it's all confusing e.g. dual band or tri-band; 5 or 6; which make: etc.

Put simply my current 5G router/modem supplied by Three simply doesn't extend across the whole of the house and it's range is therefore restrictive. I want to put a wifi mesh in place but need some advice on what others have fitted and how easy it was to set-up...and does it work? Does the 5G Router/modem supplied by Three work with these mesh units; will it make a difference if i have tri-band or dual band; is '6' relevant for this router; etc.

PS - trying to get information from Three is a waste of time - the chatbot is useless; the chat with humans doesn't seem to work; the 'phone is never answered/engaged?; there's nothing on the website.

Thanks

[PeteG]

Hello, Mario121.

Welcome to the Three Community. 

Most Mesh systems should work with your Three 5G Hub. There's a lot to choose from out there, and the price is quite varied too. I guess it all depends on what you want or need in terms of a home network. 

Dual band systems are systems that use both the 2.4ghz and 5ghz band simultaneously, and is usually good enough for most jobs. A tri band system will give you more speed/bandwidth, as 1 of the bands is typically used as a dedicated backhaul for the Point to Point connections, freeing up the other 2 bands on the Points for devices to use. 

I'm unsure if you're reference to "6" is in relation to WiFi 6, or 6Ghz frequencies. WiFi 6 would usually refer to dual band and tri band routers or mesh points that have 2.4 and 5Ghz frequencies. The 6Ghz frequency shows up on devices that have WiFi 6E or WiFi 7.  

It's hard to know what's right for you as your network will have needs that differ from others. If you go with something Tri Band  with WiFi 6 (2.4 and 5ghz), it'll be quite balance between performance and price, and will give you the advantage of a dedicated backhaul that links points together, and then you'll get the full benefit of your bands for other devices to use. One of the Linksys Velop Mesh series would be a good example. 

If you'd like to future proof yourself a bit, and get a bit more bandwidth (on compatible devices at least), you can move up to a Wifi 6E system as well. This usually adds a fair bit to the price, but if you're thinking long term, having the 6Ghz band on your network now means you won't need to upgrade it in a few years time. Something like the Nest WiFi Pro, or the Lynksys Velop Pro would be good examples here. 

Hope that's helpful.