I got 99 problems but my WiFi ain't one

Cable if possible or maybe a wifi point to point link:
https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/store/wifi-links/wifi-point-to-point-links/

Or you may get lucky with a powerline extender (or you may not given there is a fair bit of extraneous circuits).

I've got a couple of Deco M4 as a mesh in my flat.

I want to have WiFi in the garage. Borrowed a friend's powerline extender to check if it worked - seemed fine.

I'm thinking of getting some Deco M9 to add to the mesh, with one as the main node and the other M9 in the garage.

As far as I can tell this should work well and I'll also end up with more decos inside the house, improving the mesh coverage further.

However, a more traditional powerline extension kit is considerably cheaper. But it has the downside of creating a different network name in the garage.

Am I missing anything here? Seems like a trade-off between having one continuous mesh network against saving money.

If you configure both Deco networks with the same SSID and password your devices will connect to them both fine, I think.

Can anyone confirm?

You'll still have to manage the two meshes separately, but hey ho, how often do you need to do that?

Hmm, I assumed that using an M9 as the main node would create one mesh that used two means of communication (power line backhaul for m9-m9, WiFi backhaul for m9-m4)

I've used deco with powerline as backhaul and it worked reasonable well to create a faster mesh- the powerline adapters weren't super stable and I think I had to fiddle with the mode the decos connected in to improve stability (AP vs modem? but I can't remember which sorry!)

I've also tried powerline with same SSID and password and it doesn't work t anywhere near as well as mesh - your device will hang on to a very weak signal rather than connect to the new network with same SSID and password automatically.

I'd fork out for the deco for sure unless the garage is far enough away you will lose connection to the main house network and your devices will just reconnect to what is available.

Anyone got a Linksys Velop AX5400 unit or two for sale? Can be the Community Fibre branded ones.

A slight adjunct to working Wi-Fi, but what’s the forum approved VPN?

I know of Nord and Surfshark, but are they any good and/or are there better alternatives?

I use Proton as part of their full package - VPN, email, cloud storage, password manager, etc.

But I'm no expert and I'm probably about to be informed why that's a terrible idea.

It depends a bit what you want it for and how much effort you want to put in. I run OpenVPN on my router at home which means I can VPN back to home. Useful for access to things on my LAN or being 'in the UK' when I'm on holiday and want to watch the Olympics with the not at all biased BBC angle.

It also gives me the 'protection from evil' that Nord/SurfShark think is necessary but I think is bullshit so I don't actually do that.

Since it goes to home my daughter can use it when at Uni with a tiny hardware box (GL-MT300N-V2) to Netflix on the family account. Probably, I've tested but not done it for real yet.

Thanks both.

I want it for the most basic things, really. To pretend I’m in the UK when I’m not (for example to use my Discovery+ subscription and watch the Vuelta) and to - possibly - have the benefit of cheaper flights etc by trying different locations.

Any added security it brings is an added bonus.

Effort-wise: little to none, if I’m being totally honest.

Location switching is a doddle on Proton and I've not yet had any problems using different locations to access netflix/prime/disney+.

Anyone got any spare Linksys Velop MX/AX units up for grabs?

Looking to extend my Community Fibre supplied unit cheaply before splurging for a Unifi system later down the line.

I got a few from a bloke on Facebook marketplace, just round the corner from me. There are quite a few on there, last time I looked

Eg https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1152300315872722/?ref=search

Perfect, thanks!

Will have a look - thanks.

I recently had fibre installed, so finally started making use of the 20 (seriously) ethernet ports throughout the house (thanks prev owner).

I have deco setup via ethernet backhaul,which means I've gone from 20 to 500 in my office, whoop.

But I've got one big problem, devices just refuse to pick the best signal. I can be stood next to a node and it will still connect to the node across the other side of the house. To the point where I have setup a separate office network to avoid devices connecting to it. The problem still persists with the others but I don't fancy running 3 separate networks.

Am I doing it wrong? Is deco a bit shit?

Are there any client steering options on the router? I've got Linksys ones which have the option.
Turn it on if it's there and test it

My home mesh developed a fault on Thursday. I have a community fibre modem linked to a switch. From the switch I have a Google Nest mesh router in the living room for the house wifi, and a Linksys Velop mesh router in the loft which is wired to a Linksys node in my garden studio..
On Thursday the Linksys mesh dropped.
If I plug it directly into the community fibre modem it works fine. So I thought it was the switch. I’ve just replaced the switch and have the same issue. Both meshes work fine if connected direct to the modem. The Google works through the switch but the Linksys doesn’t. Nothing in the setup has changed do I’m not sure what the issue is.
I know very little about these things so simple speak please!

Modem straight into the router please. Connect the switch to that

No change - Google works, Linksys doesn’t.

Just had Community Fibre installed today, moving from a ‘normal’ 75MB Vodafone connection which was fine, sometimes flaky. But holy cow. Going to a gigabit connection is like seeing light for the first time. It’s £1 a month cheaper as well. Amazing.

Are you trying to use them both at the same time?

I'm no expert but pretty sure you run into issues with two routers at once

They’re both broadcasting at the same time yes. And both networks have the same name - which I know isn’t recommended. But it’s been working fine for 2 years so I don’t know why it’s suddenly shit itself.

Right but you can't really expect it to continue working. Perhaps there has been some policy update somewhere that blocks it for security reasons.

The next thing I would try is giving the networks different names. Modern devices shouldn't have too many problems with jumping from one to the other.

Edit: are you running two routing devices on the wired network? All bets are off then.