On how Wifi Mesh Systems work

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Currently looking into buying a router for my home as it was recommended after multiple issues with my wifi disconnecting and dropping in certain areas of the home except right next to the router (expected). So I did some digging and discovered the Mesh System. I don’t understand how it increases the signal at all, especially since I just learnt that bandwidth is limited so you can only go as fast as the 5gHz or 2.5 will allow?

Would very much appreciate a cool lesson on how mesh system and its nodes work so I can have better wifi connections lol

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3 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

> I don’t understand how it increases the signal at all, especially since I just learnt that bandwidth is limited so you can only go as fast as the 5gHz or 2.5 will allow?

The term to know here is *backhaul.* It refers to the communication channel between the “main” router (the one connected to your modem) and the “nodes” (the smaller routers that make up the actual ‘mesh’).

Cheaper mesh systems will use the same Wifi bands for backhaul as they do for talking to your devices which, as you say, reduces performance.

More expensive systems will perform the backhaul on a dedicated Wifi band that *only* does the backhaul, meaning that it’s not taking away from the 2.5 and 5GHz bands used for talking to your devices. Some systems can also use a physical Ethernet cable for backhaul, which is even better, but less convenient to set up because you have to run a physical cable.

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