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If you have a larger home and want to take advantage of everything the modern internet has to offer, you can’t afford to sacrifice performance. This is where the best mesh Wi-Fi network systems come in, delivering a strong signal throughout your home that goes far beyond what most standalone routers can do.
Rather than broadcasting your Wi-Fi signal from a single point, a mesh Wi-Fi system consists of multiple units that work together, each acting as its own wireless access point, ensuring that you get the speed you need for streaming, surfing, and gaming no matter where you are in your home. For anyone with a larger living space, the best mesh Wi-Fi network systems should be at the top of their list, but because most of these systems can also grow with you, they’re also great long-term investments. Continue reading for a list of the best systems for even the biggest and busiest connected homes.
Best Overall: Netgear Orbi Whole Home Wi-Fi System
Among mesh Wi-Fi systems, Netgear’s Orbi (Check latest price on Amazon) strikes an almost perfect balance of performance, price, and features. For the most part, this makes it an easy choice as the mesh system. Orbi can provide fast and stable Wi-Fi over a 5,000-square-foot area with just two units, and this range can be extended even further by simply adding more satellite units.
Orbi, according to Netgear, can deliver at least 150Mbps anywhere in your home, which we saw in our testing. This means you won’t have to worry about buffering Netflix 4K UHD streams or stuttering Zoom calls throughout your home. Orbi achieves this by designating one of its three Wi-Fi bands as a backhaul channel, ensuring maximum bandwidth between the main router and the satellite units. This means that whether your devices are closer to the main router or one of the satellite units, you’ll get the same great wireless performance.
This makes each unit’s generous collection of four Gigabit Ethernet ports even more useful. You can wire in a smart TV or game console at a satellite unit and get the same performance as if you plugged it directly into the main router because the 5GHz backhaul channel offers 1.7Gbps of bandwidth. Each unit also has a USB 2.0 port for sharing printers around the house, as well as advanced security and parental controls provided by Netgear’s and Circle’s partnership with Disney.
Wireless Spec: 802.11ac | Security: NETGEAR Armor, WPA2, Guest Wi-Fi Secure Access, Circle with Disney | Standard/Speed: AC3000 | Bands: Tri-band | MU-MIMO: Yes | Beamforming: Yes | Wired Ports: 4
The Deco X20 (Check latest price on Amazon) is another TP-Link router that has recently gained a reputation for being surprisingly affordable Wi-Fi 6 routers. This small but powerful mesh system is a great way to get started with Wi-Fi 6 technology without breaking the bank.
While the X20 doesn’t have the same blazing speed as the more expensive options on our list, it’s no slouch when it comes to range, with three units easily handling homes up to 5,800 square feet. Although it lacks the extra 5GHz backhaul channel found on more advanced mesh Wi-Fi systems, the dual-band AX1800 Wi-Fi 6 support provides a comfortable 1.8Mbps of bandwidth. This means it won’t perform as well on busy and heavily congested home networks—those with a dozen or more devices gaming, video calling, and streaming in 4K—but it should suffice for smaller families’ online needs.
The Deco X20 is also simple to set up, thanks to TP-Deco Link’s app, which can get even the most novice home networking users up and running in a matter of minutes. It also comes with TP-new Link’s HomeCare security suite, which is powered by Trend Micro and includes anti-malware features and parental controls to keep your home network safe from intruders and your children away from the internet’s darker corners. There are two Gigabit Ethernet ports on each unit, but no USB ports for sharing external storage devices.
Wireless Spec: 802.11ax | Security: HomeCare, WPA3 | Standard/Speed: AX1800 | Bands: Dual-band | MU-MIMO: Yes | Beamforming: Yes | Wired Ports: 2
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Best Range: Linksys Velop AX4200 Tri-Band Mesh Wi-Fi 6 System (MX12600)
When it comes to getting the most range out of your mesh Wi-Fi system, Linksys’ Velop MX12600 (Check latest price on Amazon) offers the best value, with three fully Wi-Fi 6 capable mesh units for less than most other systems charge for only two. This means affordable, solid, and dependable coverage for homes up to 8,100 square feet.
The Velop’s three identical AX4200 Wi-Fi 6 stations let you designate one as the primary router for your broadband connection, while the other two can be placed wherever you need the best and strongest coverage in your home. The Velop system also employs a dynamic backhaul channel, which allows the system to determine whether one of the three Wi-Fi bands should be used to transport traffic between mesh stations or made available to your Wi-Fi clients. Each unit also has four Gigabit Ethernet ports, allowing you to hardwire non-Wi-Fi devices or anything else that requires the fastest connection possible. Thanks to a high-speed USB 3.2 port on the back of each unit you can also connect multiple hard drives or other storage devices for sharing files or even streaming media.
The system is also simple to set up thanks to Linksys’ mobile app, which guides you through the process of getting the first unit online and then connecting the other two into a single mesh network. Although the initial configuration will require the use of the mobile app, once the mesh has been configured, you can manage the system using the more traditional web interface. The MX12600 system includes all of the basic networking features you’d expect from a modern router, such as basic QoS device prioritization and some fairly basic parental controls. These features should be sufficient for most typical users, but those looking for advanced features like a built-in VPN server or online malware protection should look elsewhere.
Wireless Spec: 802.11ax | Security: WPA3 | Standard/Speed: AX4200 | Bands: Tri-band | MU-MIMO: Yes | Beamforming: Yes | Wired Ports: 4
Netgear’s Orbi is already our top pick for the best mesh Wi-Fi system overall, thanks to its excellent coverage, solid performance, and simple configuration. If you want to stay ahead of the curve by investing in cutting-edge high-speed Wi-Fi technology, the AX6000 Wi-Fi 6 version (Check latest price on Amazon), which provides incredible performance and coverage for even the largest and busiest homes, is the way to go.
It’s one of the fastest mesh network solutions available, even when you have a lot of devices on your network, thanks to its use of Wi-Fi 6 802.11ax technology; the much higher network capacity offered by Wi-Fi 6 means it can easily handle up to 100 devices without breaking a sweat. The Orbi system also maintains impressive speeds even at the edges of its range, so you’ll be able to enjoy consistently fast speeds throughout your home with 6Gbps of total bandwidth. Two satellite units provide 5,000 square feet of Wi-Fi coverage, which can be expanded up to five times.
Netgear has also included four Gigabit Ethernet ports on each station, allowing you to connect devices such as game consoles for optimal performance. This higher-end model’s main router also has a 2.5Gbps WAN port, ensuring that you’re ready for the fastest home broadband connections. The only flaw in Netgear’s Wi-Fi 6 Orbi solution is that, for whatever reason, the company decided to leave out the USB ports found on the lower-end model. Power users may also be disappointed by the lack of advanced configuration settings compared to other Wi-Fi 6 routers, but if you don’t want to make any compromises on getting the best performance possible, even if it means sacrificing some network management features, this is the mesh system for you.
Wireless Spec: 802.11ax | Security: WPA3 | Standard/Speed: AX6000 | Bands: Tri-band | MU-MIMO: Yes | Beamforming: Yes | Wired Ports: 4
Eero, unlike many other mesh Wi-Fi systems, allows you to mix and match three different types of units. The more powerful Eero Pro stations provide fast tri-band Wi-Fi, whereas the more affordable standard Eero units only provide dual-band coverage. There are also two Gigabit Ethernet ports on each one for connecting network devices that require a wired connection. Eero Beacons, which plug into any wall outlet to add an extra 1,000–1,500 square feet of wireless coverage, can also be placed more discreetly around your home. While the Beacons don’t have any wired Ethernet ports, they can also be used as night lights in your home.
One of the most appealing aspects of Eero’s system is that there is no practical limit to the number of units you can add to create the ideal mesh network for your needs. While three Eero Pro units will cover 6,000 square feet, you can expand your coverage by simply purchasing more Eero units as your needs change. A small annual subscription fee for the Eero Secure feature provides a comprehensive set of parental and malware controls. Unfortunately, as good as Eero’s system is, it’s also one of the few routers that doesn’t support the PPPoE protocol, which can be a dealbreaker unless you’re willing to put it behind another router.
Wireless Spec: 802.11ac | Security: Eero Secure, WPA3 | Standard/Speed: AC2200 | Bands: Tri-band/Dual-band | MU-MIMO: Yes | Beamforming: Yes | Wired Ports: 2
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The Final Word
Netgear’s Orbi offers the best combination of performance, reliability, and advanced features at a price that’s fair for what you get. TP-Deco Link’s X20, on the other hand, is a great way to get your feet wet in the sea of Wi-Fi 6 mesh technology at an affordable price.
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