I currently have a Time Warner “default” cable modem / router for my cable service. It’s a Ubee…I’d have to dig to find the model.
Trying to get on one network and run everything through it to see how it goes, and I just got a warning from Plex that the network didn’t have enough capacity for a 1080p stream.
This router has a couple of TVs (only one of which was being used at the time), 3 computers (Plex server & my desktop in use at the time), 2 iPhones (1 in use at the time), & 2 iPads (1 in use at the time).
I know there are capacity challenges sometimes with networks, especially the default cable company equipment. Would buying pretty much any other router (or a mesh) solve this problem? Or do I need to look for very specific things in order to ensure I get something with enough capacity for my devices?
That’s what I’m going for, yeah. I had a non-mesh system with the Macs and the TVs on the same router (Macs wired, TVs wireless), and everything else on a different one with the Mac/TV router gated into it - but that causes problems for my girlfriend’s Windows laptop for some reason, and it puts my Macs behind a powerline networking link which throttles their network speed to the Internet by quite a bit.
We really need one setup that can handle all of this.
Personally, I gained a lot by ditching the cable co equipment and saved money switching from renting to buying a modem outright. I’ve had great luck with Netgear over time so this is my current setup:
What I’m trying to figure out, more than just whether a mesh is what I need, is whether or not the mesh actually makes the situation better because the router is better, or just because there are more access points.
For example, let’s say I have a dozen devices. My “default” Ubee router seems to be having a problem with that.
If I swap in an Orbi mesh like @adamashlock has, is each unit capable of handling more devices as well as the whole network being more efficient? Or is the main benefit just that I have more units to handle my devices?
This isn’t a huge apartment (800 square feet) - so if a more-centrally-located super-fancy single router would solve the problem, that would be optimal. Or if a mesh is still a benefit, I’d go that route.
A new router as @NiceMarmut suggested may be a good option. We have a slightly larger place, but were noticing some lag and challenges with connection quality. Adding a new Linksys Velop AX4200 helped with the quality. It also has a number of Ethernet ports, so we were able to get rid of the extra hubs.
We connect quite a few devices and needed the mesh system for the space. With 800 square feet, one, well placed node or two Ethernet-connected nodes of a AX model of the Orbi may be a good choice. The Linksys gave us the extra Ethernet ports, for about the same cost and less hubs.
The routers seemed to have improved quite a bit even over the last couple of years. We replaced our Apple routers with Google WiFi three years ago. While that improvement was nice for system management, this one has been more significant in quality of connection.
When I hear apartment I think frequency congestion. How many other wifi networks are visible from your apartment? If too many that may raise the noise floor for the frequencies used.