Mesh Systems for Starlink?

We often see on the various Facebook groups people recommending ‘Mesh’ solutions to increase the WiFi signal strength around your property, especially with the poor quality of the Starlink supplied router. Most of these comments come from TV ariel installers who have become self-proclaimed Starlink installers, and whilst they may be able to install the physical equipment to a sufficient standard, we often find that they do not have the technical knowledge and understanding of WiFi technologies. We absolutely hate ‘Mesh’ systems and in this blog we’ll tell you why.

An example of a 'Mesh' system sold by TP-Link.

A ‘Mesh’ network utilises several wireless ‘nodes’ that act as a relay point, receiving data and then re-transmitting it to other devices. This in theory, allows the data to ‘hop’ from one node to the next, therefore increasing WiFi coverage. A common example of a ‘Mesh’ network is the TP Link Deco system which retails on Amazon for around £399 depending on the model purchased.

The cons of these ‘Mesh’ networks is that by the way they are designed, wireless backhaul means that nodes share and split the available bandwidth to work amongst themselves, and as such this causes more latency (simple terms: lag) which can have a severe impact on real-time applications such as gaming, streaming and video calls (think Zoom, Teams, Facetime etc).

You’ll also have to make sure that the node is placed somewhere that already has a strong single, otherwise nodes will often fall offline and you’ll likely experience reliability issues and buffering when using high bandwidth applications. In some more serious cases, you can loose connection completely.

A much better solution to extending coverage and capacity around your property are hardwired access points. We use enterprise-level access points which are precision engineered to provide impressive performance, with capacity for over 500+ devices, 160m2 of coverage and up to 2.5Gb ethernet backhaul, enabling a data rate of 8.6 Gbps on the 5Ghz band. This would be completely impossible with a ‘Mesh’ system which often cap data rates at between 300 Mbps to 600 Mbps.

Interestingly, wired access points are generally much cheaper than ‘Mesh’ systems too. Whilst there can be additional costs involved with the installation of ethernet cabling, in most cases, these access points can be plugged directly in to your existing router to enable a high-performance WiFi experience straight away.

Still not convinced? Get in touch and we can arrange a free demonstration of our hardwired access points.