I am looking for a wifi mesh system to improve the coverage in my home. I looked around and found a cheap solution with decent reviews, the Halo 50G by Mercusys (TP Link). I am not a fan of super cheap, super easy to use “magical” solutions, and within minutes of connecting just the access point I was seeing calls to the likes of google, facebook, amazon, etc in my network coming from the device. Not ideal.

I also found that Ubiquiti and Netgear may be the best options out there, but the prices I found are north of 600€ and I can not afford to pay that much right now.

So, my question is: Is there any wifi mesh system that is not using my network against me and does not empty my wallet? I am based in Europe and would like something under 200€ if possible, and ready to buy from the shelf.

Thank you for reading and for any recommendation.

    • pHr34kY@lemmy.world
      11·
      2 days ago

      This is what I did. Flashed OpenWRT on all devices and enabled the 802.11r stuff. My “mesh” is just multiple APs connected by ethernet and fast BSSID handover.

      802.11s is a mesh where it’s all done over Wifi. 802.11r uses ethernet for comms between APs.

    • Thermos4737@sopuli.xyzOP
      42·
      2 days ago

      I considered OpenWRT at first, but right now I do not have the time, or the will, to start learning about the project. It sure looks like something I will probably do in the future, but as of now I just need a commercially available solution.

      • BaumGeist@lemmy.ml
        1·
        13 hours ago

        Openwrt is just as easy to use as any commercial solution, the one difference is that it doesn’t come pre-installed on most hardware. Find the right hardware, and installation can literally be as easy as running a single command from the command line.

        If you’re trying to avoid reading documentation and messing around in settings, good luck finding a privacy-respecting commercial solution with secure defaults that’s still simpler than openwrt’s LuCI. And I mean that, good luck. Plwase share if you find something that works for you.