Mesh WiFi for the UK?

Devices & Integrations
#1

Hi All,

I wanted to install a mesh wifi in my house to replace a system that uses two separate wifi routers to create a LAN network and two wifi zones. I’ve also been looking at various smart devices, primarily heating and lighting so i finally decided to go with Smartthings.

When i first started looking i could get a set with 3 hubs at a reasonable price and they had two LAN ports so that Ethernet could be used for backhaul and i would also be able to connect a gaming PC to one of them to use ethernet.

Now that i’m ready to get started the sets are out of stock on Amazon and suppliers that do have them are charging at least 50% more so i decided to buy the hubs individually and i bought two from ebay.

The two i bought so far only have one LAN port so i can’t daisy chain them together for ethernet backhaul and also i can’t connect a gaming PC to the one at the end of the chain. I could go down the route of using simple switches or splitters but am i going to hit other problems?

Have i bought the wrong devices to use to create a mesh wifi network and use as a network for smart devices.

The devices i have are
M/N : IM6001 - V3P22
and
M/N : IM6001-V3P02

Thanks.

#2

I hate to say it but, yes, those won’t meet your stated needs as they aren’t Wifi routers. To accomplish what you want, you need SmartThings Wifi units which as you noted have two ethernet ports.

1 Like
#3

Thanks for your reply. It’s typical I tried to save some money and wasted a load in the process.

How do I know if I’m getting exactly the right thing? I assume it’s by the model number.

Is this correct?

Samsung IM6001-V3P NEW SmartThings Hub Wireless Connect Smart Devices White

Or do I have to buy the 3 pack?

Thanks
Kevin

#4

You can buy a single pack…

But it’s cheaper to buy the 3-pack if you need three AP’s.

The above is the combination WiFi Mesh Router + SmartThings hub all-in-one.

Personally, I would keep my Router/WiFi system separate from my Home Automation Hub.

3 Likes
#5

If you want one that can create a Wi-Fi mesh network, it will need to have “Wi-Fi“ in the product name.

Also, there are two generations of the Wi-Fi mesh product. Make sure you get the one that uses plume, that is the current generation. you do not want the first generation. (The first generation isn’t even listed in the following article.)

The first generation did not have plume. You can tell the difference because the first generation had only one word, “Samsung” on the cover, and the current generation has both “Samsung” and “SmartThings.”

1st generation: (Samsung Connect Home)

image
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2nd generation: (SmartThings WiFi)

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All of that said, like @ogiewon I prefer to use a more robust Wi-Fi mesh router. Plume itself is good software, but you’re pretty limited with what you can do with this model.

3 Likes
#6

Thanks for your replies, after a day of wifi drop outs i’ve been reading again about what to go for but all i get on the various review sites are the same product descriptions written by marketing people and they don’t give much technical detail that i can work with.

May be someone on here can give me some worthwhile advice.

My house is L shaped and large because it also has a granny annex, wifi is a problem because all internal walls are solid 9" brick including the upstairs and in the lofts.

I have attached a house layout and network diagram. Reception at each end of the house is sketchy or non existent if the wind’s in the wrong direction. Both PC’s are used for gaming so currently have hard wired LAN from the TP-link network.

My plan was to use a MESH system with the existing LAN cables (nightmare to move) for backhaul and connecting the PC’s, if the units only have 2 Ethernet ports i would add a switch or splitter where needed. I need at least 3 network devices, possibly 4.

I now have a Drayton Wiser multi-zone heating kit which will need to run from the WIFI network and it would be useful if it integrated with whatever Smart home system i use - I still prefer Smartthings and i now have two V3 hubs bought second hand but i will sell one.

I was attracted to Smartthings WIFI because it also has Z wave and Zigbee and the wired backhaul, i also have several Samsung devices including a tablet.

So any suggestions on a MESH wifi system? Ideally below £200 but i could go as high as £300 if it’s really necessary.

The final point, if i did want Smartthings wifi where can i buy it? All i seem to find are the hubs, on Amazon a single wifi unit is £230 ! What’s the RRP?

Thanks for any help offered.

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#7

Tagging @sidjohn1 , he might have some thoughts, although I don’t know if he’s familiar with what’s available in the UK. Hopefully some of the community members from the UK will chime in as well.

(I’ve changed your topic title to specify the UK as the device selection does vary by region, so it’s best to state that upfront.)

1 Like
#8

You have a challenging environment to work with for any product. 2.4 ghz wont handle brick well and 5ghz will handle brick even worse. The first thing I’d check is to make sure your not stepping on your own WIFI feet. If your linksys in on channel 1 or 6 and tp link in on channel 6 or 11 And both are not using 6 then you are pretty covered there.

As far as mesh wifi goes Netgear orbi is solid and has a wired backhaul that you’d want to use because the standard 5ghz backhaul wont get you very far. Because it’s a mesh system you get centralized management but it’s more money than you stated you want to spend.
If you are ok with running some extra cables the TP Link A5 is a solid, inexpensive device. If you added 2 more or the even cheaper c50(no need to be fancy), one to each each room with flakey wifi, gave them all the same ssid and passcode and wired them to your linksys. Then setup the 2.4ghz manually to be from bottom to top to left 6,1,11,6. You’ll also want to ensure all of your TPlinks are in AP mode not router mode or it will cause lots of other problems on your network. It will be more difficult to manage but w/ 2x TP-Link c50, a switch, and some cable you should be able to get more stable wifi for under £100 and create your own WiFi mesh.

1 Like
#9

Danger Will Robinson! (Or Danger @bikergonebald )
44vy5g
I have not been able to find any indication there is a version of the Samsung Connect or Smartthings Wifi MESH system for Europe and the UK.

You should instead look at the following all of which are officially and legally available in the UK. (In no particular order.)

  • Google Nest WiFi
  • Amazon eero Pro
  • LinkSys Velop
  • Ubiquiti AmpliFi
  • NetGear Orbi
#10

Hi Sidjohn, Big thanks for your help.
Just checking with my wifi scanner I have my linksys currently on 40, (that’s 5ghz right?) i tried that recently in case my 2.4’s were conflicting. TP link is on 13. (2.4ghz) but i’m also picking up from neighbours channels 6, 10, 11, 1, 1, 1, 11, 11, 6, 1, 6, 1, 11 and again another 6.
Where my desk is i get my wifi’s at -66dBm(linksys) and -92dBm(TP-link), the neighbours are coming in between 0dBm and -81 to -92 dBm. A big house next door is divided to flats.

If i add more TP link in AP mode all with the same SSID will devices easily switch to the best signal as they move around the house or hold on to the one they started with for as long as possible? I had the two routers set similar to that previously although it’s quite possible i did it wrong / badly. When someone was using facetime and walked around the house it didn’t switch between points. Now i have their devices set to automatically connect only to the point closest to their rooms.

I might have a way to get a cable closer to where my desk is and that would cover one of the upstairs parts of the house. We have 3 upstairs, it’s a really old house that used to be farm buildings.

I’ll search the web again with your device recommendations in mind.

Thanks again.

#11

Most devices will failover from AP to AP somewhere in between these 2 options.

If this is the case and not a typo, that is a VERY strong signal. What ever channel you see a 0dbm ssid on avoid it! If you have a neighbor pushing a signal that strong through walls it’s prob an illegal very high powered device or your linksys detecting itself.
https://www.metageek.com/training/resources/wifi-signal-strength-basics.html

One of the reasons the mesh systems are so much more expensive is that they track device signal strength across all AP’s in the mesh and are far more aggressive about disassociating a device from a weak AP and re-associating the device with a better AP. They can also minimize interruption of the data stream as you switch from AP, to AP. If youre goal is to stream video or game w/o interruption As you move across your entire space, mesh is the best/only option. If you want cheep coverage across your entire space and dont mind minor interruptions as devices transition across AP’s at the devices discretion, then add some cheep AP’s. Keeping the SSID and passcodes the same across AP’s just makes it easier to manage.

#12

The V Home by Vodafone versions of the SmartThings hub sold in the EU and UK do offer a Wi-Fi mesh version, and you do sometimes see those on eBay. A few community members have it. They don’t have Plume support, though.

#13

I just ran the scan again using my iPhone and that Wi-Fi is still there 0dbm on channel 1. It looks like it’s a BT device going by the SSID name.

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