I’m a fan of the UniFi and Omada lines, but for your use case, I’d be looking for any AP that could run OpenWRT. That’s a super-powerful Linux-based router OS that meets all your needs and will present a nice web interface for each AP, no controller needed.
Check the project’s site for hardware compatibility, but I’ve had good luck with the GL.iNet travel routers and I bet some of their bigger models would do the trick for you.
If you haven’t already, try using one of those wifi analyzer/ scanner apps. Walk around with it and see where your signal is bad, then maybe try repositioning your existing APs to see if you can improve the signal strength?
Which 2 APs? Have you mapped signal strength across rooms? How many clients? How many other wireless networks sharing a channel with you? 2.4GHz or 5GHz? What are your walls made of?
TP-Link Deco M5 x2. I have not mapped signal strength across rooms (mostly because their locations are hardstuck because of wiring limitations). Usually less than 20 clients (e.g., phones, tablets, a PC or two, IoT devices). Only 2 other networks sharing my channel (lowest available channel usage). 2.4 & 5 GHz. Walls are standard drywall with wood studs.
Do you have separate 2.4GHz and 5GHz SSIDs? If not, you should try that. 80mbps to 5mbps through 4 sheets of drywall is a pretty steep drop for 2.4GHz, and 80mbps is a pretty low throughput for 5GHz AC1300, which your APs support. Are both APs wired? Try disconnecting one and doing speed/signal strength testing in all rooms, then do the same with the other AP in its location. If there is a huge difference, try switching the AP locations. Also, it may be worth checking whether the APs are negotiating a gigabit wired connection to your switch/router.
So they’re mesh repeaters? Every mesh hop is going to basically halve your bandwidth. If you want real speed, each should be a real AP with a wired connection back to the switch.
You are not logged in. However you can subscribe from another Fediverse account, for example Lemmy or Mastodon. To do this, paste the following into the search field of your instance: !selfhosted@lemmy.world
A place to share alternatives to popular online services that can be self-hosted without giving up privacy or locking you into a service you don’t control.
Rules:
Be civil: we’re here to support and learn from one another. Insults won’t be tolerated. Flame wars are frowned upon.
No spam posting.
Posts have to be centered around self-hosting. There are other communities for discussing hardware or home computing. If it’s not obvious why your post topic revolves around selfhosting, please include details to make it clear.
Don’t duplicate the full text of your blog or github here. Just post the link for folks to click.
Submission headline should match the article title (don’t cherry-pick information from the title to fit your agenda).
No trolling.
Resources:
selfh.st Newsletter and index of selfhosted software and apps
I’m a fan of the UniFi and Omada lines, but for your use case, I’d be looking for any AP that could run OpenWRT. That’s a super-powerful Linux-based router OS that meets all your needs and will present a nice web interface for each AP, no controller needed.
Check the project’s site for hardware compatibility, but I’ve had good luck with the GL.iNet travel routers and I bet some of their bigger models would do the trick for you.
Also look at tomato for a router OS as well. I’d suggest the Asus AC1750
Any of the ARM based routers are great though.
https://wiki.freshtomato.org/doku.php/hardware_compatibility
If you haven’t already, try using one of those wifi analyzer/ scanner apps. Walk around with it and see where your signal is bad, then maybe try repositioning your existing APs to see if you can improve the signal strength?
New Lemmy Post: Looking for advice on improving home network setup (https://lemmy.world/post/9267574)
Tagging: #SelfHosted
(Replying in the OP of this thread (NOT THIS BOT!) will appear as a comment in the lemmy discussion.)
I am a FOSS bot. Check my README: https://github.com/db0/lemmy-tagginator/blob/main/README.md
Define “performance is sub-optimal”.
Usually seeing less than 80Mbps and range is poor (e.g., not even getting 5Mbps just two rooms away).
How big is your home? Do you really need multiple APs?
With 2 APs now, I’m usually seeing less than 80Mbps and range is poor (e.g., not even getting 5Mbps just two rooms away).
Which 2 APs? Have you mapped signal strength across rooms? How many clients? How many other wireless networks sharing a channel with you? 2.4GHz or 5GHz? What are your walls made of?
TP-Link Deco M5 x2. I have not mapped signal strength across rooms (mostly because their locations are hardstuck because of wiring limitations). Usually less than 20 clients (e.g., phones, tablets, a PC or two, IoT devices). Only 2 other networks sharing my channel (lowest available channel usage). 2.4 & 5 GHz. Walls are standard drywall with wood studs.
Do you have separate 2.4GHz and 5GHz SSIDs? If not, you should try that. 80mbps to 5mbps through 4 sheets of drywall is a pretty steep drop for 2.4GHz, and 80mbps is a pretty low throughput for 5GHz AC1300, which your APs support. Are both APs wired? Try disconnecting one and doing speed/signal strength testing in all rooms, then do the same with the other AP in its location. If there is a huge difference, try switching the AP locations. Also, it may be worth checking whether the APs are negotiating a gigabit wired connection to your switch/router.
So they’re mesh repeaters? Every mesh hop is going to basically halve your bandwidth. If you want real speed, each should be a real AP with a wired connection back to the switch.