By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
TechgoonduTechgoondu
  • Audio-visual
  • Enterprise
    • Software
    • Cybersecurity
  • Gaming
  • Imaging
  • Internet
  • Media
  • Mobile
    • Cellphones
    • Tablets
  • PC
  • Telecom
Search
© 2023 Goondu Media Pte Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Goondu DIY: Setting up the best mesh network at home
Share
Aa
TechgoonduTechgoondu
Aa
  • Audio-visual
  • Enterprise
  • Gaming
  • Imaging
  • Internet
  • Media
  • Mobile
  • PC
  • Telecom
Search
  • Audio-visual
  • Enterprise
    • Software
    • Cybersecurity
  • Gaming
  • Imaging
  • Internet
  • Media
  • Mobile
    • Cellphones
    • Tablets
  • PC
  • Telecom
Follow US
© 2023 Goondu Media Pte Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Techgoondu > Blog > Internet > Goondu DIY: Setting up the best mesh network at home
Internet

Goondu DIY: Setting up the best mesh network at home

Wilson Wong
Last updated: October 26, 2017 at 8:03 AM
Wilson Wong Published October 26, 2017
9 Min Read
SHARE
TP-Link’s Deco mesh wireless kit. PHOTO: Handout

Spotty wireless connections at home are a pain for many users in dense cities such as Singapore or Hong Kong.

One way to overcome this in the past was to buy a router that sported lots of antenna and more powerful transmission power to get past the walls.

That doesn’t always solve the problem, so today, the increasingly popular alternative is to go for mesh networking.

Essentially, this means planting more interconnected wireless nodes around your place so you get optimal coverage. Instead of simply increasing the speed wirelessly, which you can’t enjoy if a signal is poor, the idea is to improve the signal and coverage. This brings a more practical boost to performance.

Even better is the roaming feature. This means you can seamlessly walk from the bedroom to the living room and stay connected, without having to log in again to another Wi-Fi network, as you had to do in the past with separate repeaters or Wi-Fi access points.

So how do these mesh networking nodes talk to each other? As these nodes are also routers, most of them have both 2.4GHz and 5GHz channels to link with mobile devices and to each other.

Some manufacturers would use the 5GHz channel to communicate to each other wirelessly as a “trunk connection” using the fastest speed possible to deliver data to the other mobile devices in different parts of the network.

To maximise the data throughput rate between the nodes, placing the nodes at the most effective spots in the house is very important. You want them to connect at 5GHz, which has more bandwidth.

When setting things up at home, one good tool to have is the free app called WiFi Heatmap. It helps to illustrate areas in your home that have the strongest connection at 5GHz, so you know where to place your nodes in the mesh network.

Here are the steps I took:

1. Set up your main node

To get started, you need to set up your main node. This is the one that connects to the fibre broadband modem to get on the Internet.

For this exercise, I used TP-Link’s S$459 Deco M5 kit. I fired up the Deco app and followed the instruction to set up the first node. For most users, this will be placed close to the fibre modem and fibre point.

Once the Wi-Fi network is set up with the first node, check the speed of the connection using the 5GHz frequency channel. You can see this easily by accessing the Wi-Fi setting page and clicking on the network name.

 

2. Check the heat map at home

I then fired up the WiFi Heat Map app to find a good place for my second node. If you have a wired connection at home, you can simply bypass this and hook that up. For those who are going wireless all the way, you want to aim for a good 5GHz link.

You can draw out your apartment’s layout. Or as I did, download from the Internet. In Singapore, it’s not uncommon for a real estate agent to have uploaded the layout of the same apartment you live in.

With this image in the heat map app, I could have a better idea of the Wi-Fi signal strength of each node. I then choose 5GHz for the wireless link and selected my Wi-Fi network name and mapped out the coverage in my home.

In my case, I started at the living room, which is in one corner of my apartment. When I reached each location on the map, I tapped on the screen and locked the signal strength of the Wi-Fi router at that location.

 

3. Pick a spot for your second node

From there, I walked to all corners of my flat and poked on the screen corresponding to the location in the flat. The app takes the signal strength from the router and reflects that on the map.

Do this for the various spots at home and you’ll soon have an idea of the coverage. The more spots you go, the more accurate the heat map. With this information, I get a clearer idea on where to place the second node.

I just had to find a place near a power point that is within the green zone with great coverage from the first node. Good thing my desktop PC is within the green zone, so and I proceeded to add a second node to the mesh network using the TP-Link app.

3. Repeat to hook out other nodes

I then repeated the previous steps to install a third node. Do I go for a more central location? Yeah okay, but this meant it could reach the confines of my master bedroom but only just.

I decided to place the third node in the master bedroom at the furthest corner from the second node which was in the yellow zone of the Wi-Fi coverage.

I did all the required steps but TP-Link app told me that the location was not ideal and I had to change it. I settled instead on the bedside console, which was nearer to the bedroom door, where the signal was stronger. I was ready to roll!

4. Test the connection

The last step is to verify how good the connection. You can do this with a quick speed test with the Speedtest app. Some other mesh wireless kits, such as Google’s Wifi, have a test built in as well.

Remember, you will want to get a good 5GHz connection on your phone or laptop to try this. Of course, if this is not possible, you have to fall back to older 2.4GHz link, which can be more congested sometimes if your neighbours are also on it.

A disclaimer

Not all homes are are built the same. The building material of the walls and doors, the design and layout of the place, along with the location of your fibre point, will determine where to place your nodes.

For example, if you have a two-storey terrace house, you may want to place one node on each floor, perhaps close to the stairwell, so the signal can travel upwards, unhindered.

Of course, there’s nothing like a proper wired connection. The ideal is to have each room connected with Ethernet cables, so you can have the best link.

You can supplement this with a mesh networking kit too. Just connect each node to the wired link so you have a good trunk connection and still enjoy solid wireless links on mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets.

Even with the slower powerline connections, which make use of the electricity cables embedded in your walls to transmit data, the wired connection can prove more stable. In real-world tests, say, file downloads, the speed can be similar to what you get on a mesh networking kit like the Deco.

Still, there’s no denying the improvement that a mesh networking kit can offer. Unlike the past, where you are simply boosting your Wi-Fi signal in a contest of wills with your neighbour, now you are identifying your blind spots at home and casting a “light” in them. That’s a smarter way.

 

You Might Also Like

Foodpanda to use Gogoro electric scooters in battery swapping trial with Cycle & Carriage

Give a royal wave and avoid munchies during video calls, say etiquette experts Debrett’s

New media with old media problems, as Facebook looks to paid subscriptions

Q&A: Ella, a robot barista, served over 100,000 cups of coffee in Singapore in 2022, say its creators

StarHub offers 10Gbps fibre broadband in nationwide trial across Singapore

TAGGED: diy, Heat map, mesh networking, Mesh Wi-Fi, networking, Wi-Fi

Sign up for the TG newsletter

Never miss anything again. Get the latest news and analysis in your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.
Wilson Wong October 26, 2017
Share this Article
Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Whatsapp LinkedIn Copy Link Print
Share
By Wilson Wong
Follow:
Wilson is a self-taught photographer whose passion started with his father’s old Canon L Rangefinder camera. He now leads the 12,000+ strong Singapore Photography & Imaging Network group. His photos have won acclaim from Nikon and Fujifilm, and are featured in various books and exhibitions.
Previous Article Goondu review: Huawei Mate 10 Pro
Next Article Singapore public sector websites move to AWS
2 Comments
  • Melvin says:
    November 21, 2021 at 3:42 pm

    Hi

    Possible to advise where did you get the wifi heat map app? i tried looking for it on the app store to no avail.

    Reply
    • Wilson Wong says:
      November 25, 2021 at 1:23 pm

      Hi Melvin. Yes the article is a bit old. You can get the latest apps by googling “wifi heatmapper” or “wifi heat map”

      I got one here that I currently use

      https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ua.com.wifisolutions.wifiheatmap

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Stay Connected

Facebook Like
Twitter Follow

Latest News

Foodpanda to use Gogoro electric scooters in battery swapping trial with Cycle & Carriage
Enterprise Internet March 23, 2023
RedCap: A new cellular IoT technology for the 5G era
Enterprise Software Telecom March 23, 2023
Sony Playstation VR2 review: An immersive experience awaits
Gaming March 21, 2023
Debate on computational photography misses what’s real, what’s lived outside a frame
Cellphones Imaging Mobile Software March 19, 2023
//

Techgoondu.com is published by Goondu Media Pte Ltd, a company registered and based in Singapore.

.

Started in June 2008 by technology journalists and ex-journalists in Singapore who share a common love for all things geeky and digital, the site now includes segments on personal computing, enterprise IT and Internet culture.

banner banner
Everyday DIY
PC needs fixing? Get your hands on with the latest tech tips
READ ON
banner banner
Leaders Q&A
What tomorrow looks like to those at the leading edge today
FIND OUT
banner banner
Advertise with us
Discover unique access and impact with TG custom content
SHOW ME

 

 

POWERED BY READYSPACE
The Techgoondu website is powered by and managed by Readyspace Web Hosting.

TechgoonduTechgoondu
Follow US

© 2023 Goondu Media Pte Ltd. All Rights Reserved | Privacy | Terms of Use | Advertise | About Us | Contact

Join Us!

Never miss anything again. Get the latest news and analysis in your inbox.

Zero spam, Unsubscribe at any time.
 

Loading Comments...
 

    Welcome Back!

    Sign in to your account

    Lost your password?