New home setup or stick with powerline

[kurosagi01]

Hello all, so a bit of context of my home network setup in a 2 storey house and the net is used for work and for leisure:
Broadband(in a under stair cupboard) ->ethernet to Wifi router (Asus RT-AC86U) in kitchen which is next to the under stair cupboard
Wifi router ethernet ports:
Wifi band
2.5ghz is primarily used for my doorbell + outside camera
5ghz is primarily for devices that support it which is phones,tablet and PS5

Port 1 -> directly to the living room
Port 2 -> the main powerline adapter, the power line shares it connection to 2 rooms

Powerline:
Room 1 -> Almost directly above the kitchen/main powerline adapter, mainly for my personal PC(no wifi) as my macbook pro has decent Wi-fi
Room 2 -> Also similarly above the kitchen but further away, mainly for my partner personal PC and work. Both have option to use Wi-fi

So the dilemma, I had to replace the main and room 1 powerline adapter as the board itself seem to have gone to duff after 2 years.
The one in room 2 had finally gave in so I have to give the one in room 1 to room 2 to use.

Do I just buy another powerline adapter or consider changing the whole setup over to Wifi mesh?
If I do change over I was thinking something like the Asus Zen Wifi XT8 or if the price is worth it the XT9 or even the ROG GT6, they are all twin packs.
So 1 router will go in the kitchen to do the same thing excluding it connecting to a powerline adapter.
Router 2 will act as a node and it will go in Room 1, then devices in Room 2 can go wireless since they have the option to or if I want to do wired connected from Room 1 to Room 2 I could do it.

Edit:
I have just checked that I could get another Asus RT-AC86U and use it as a node as well which is another option?

 

[Bill_Bright]

I personally feel powerline adaptors are the last option, after direct Ethernet connection, then 5GHz and 2.4GHz. I note the ceiling in the basement of my 60 year old house crashing down one day was the best thing that ever happened. Once the dust settled, I realized that was the perfect opportunity to wire my whole house with Ethernet. If you can go wired, it is a pain, but worth it in the long run.

Wifi router (Asus RT-AC86U) in kitchen which is next to the under stair cupboard

This may be much of your problem. Kitchens have lots of barriers like walls, cabinets (including metal pots and pans in those cabinets), counters, etc. They also have big reflective metal objects like refrigerators, dishwashers, microwave ovens, and regular ovens. Kitchens also have lots of objects that can generate EMI/RFI like microwave ovens, refrigerator compressor motors, dishwasher motors, blenders, mixers and more. None of those are good for good wifi propagation or reception.

And if this wireless router is located inside a cabinet because someone thinks they are ugly, that is even worse - not just because even wood blocks some of the signal, but because there's no air circulation in the cabinet to allow the heat to escape. Even if the heat buildup is not excessive, extended periods of very warm operating environments can decrease longevity of electronics.

So I would take the wireless router out of the kitchen. In the typical home, the best place to locate the wireless router is in the open in a central location. Higher is better than lower since radio waves tend to fall towards Earth. You want as few barriers (walls, floors, and ceilings) between the router and the distant devices as possible. Take note of the barrier composition (wallboard vs concrete block, for example). And the contents of the walls. Metal pipes and electrical wiring can degrade the signal too.

Note the 5GHz band is great for but limited to short distances only. And generally best when the wireless device is in the same room or no more than one barrier apart. Devices further out should be using the 2.4GHz band. If you are using 5GHz for your distant devices, that may be much of your problem. If you live in a crowded wifi neighborhood (in or near a large apartment complex), you may need to change your 2.4GHz channel. Check your router manual for that.

The RT-AC86U is a fine wireless router. Unless you live in a HUGE house, with lots of concrete walls, it should provide thorough coverage on its own, if centrally located. Since it has external antennas simply reorienting them may help too. Or, as noted earlier switching to 2.4GHz. If you have distant laptops or PCs using wireless, using a different wifi adapter may help - one with external antennas you can adjust. This USB adapter for laptops has received good reviews, including one from a trusted friend and fellow technician. And there are many, easy to install PCIe adapters with external antennas that work great for distant PCs too.

If relocating your wireless router is not possible, or does not help, then I would go with a mesh system over powerline.

Oh, and if your broadband modem is enclosed in a cupboard, let it out! These devices need to breath. Fortunately, the modem (unless integrated with the WAP - wireless access point) doesn't have to be centrally located. "In theory", the maximum Ethernet cable length between modem and router can be 100 meters. But in reality, shorter is better. Mine are 15 inches apart.

 

[kurosagi01]

The modem/broadband sits inside the cupboard and acting as a modem only so I don't think there any issue with that.
The only thing I haven't done is put the AC86U itself in higher position in the kitchen since it sits on a "bottom" shelve on a storage/shoe cabinet but it does sit furthest away from any of the kitchen devices that could generate RFD like fridge/freezers, hobs etc.
I have been meaning to install some type of upper shelving where the shoe cabinet is but I haven't got around to it.
The inside of the house itself is mainly plasterboard since its a new build, I would love to do a super long ethernet from the router/modem to the rooms upstairs but my partner won't allow me drilling walls or even run it under the floor. Maybe i'll look into doing that if we do decide to redo the carpets + flooring.

I think i'm going to try and install a Intel AX210 M.2 wifi as its "cheaper" than me buying another pair of powerline adapter for room 1.
Me being a dummy I didn't pick a motherboard in my new PC that has a Wifi card already, the Macbook pro is getting double the speed than my PC when it was connected via powerline.
If the other powerline fails then I will probably invest in a Wifi mesh system instead.

 

[Bill_Bright]

The modem/broadband sits inside the cupboard and acting as a modem only so I don't think there any issue with that.

It still may get warm if closed in.

Me being a dummy I didn't pick a motherboard in my new PC that has a Wifi card already

Personally, I prefer to use my own card so IMO, you were smart.

 

[kurosagi01]

It still may get warm if closed in.


Personally, I prefer to use my own card so IMO, you were smart.

The cupboard is always opened slightly for the cat to use her litter tray, forgot to mention that when you was talking about heat concern.

Well i'll be giving the M.2 AX210 a try anyway, the "cheapest" option and hopefully provide better speed and consistent connection like what I had with powerline.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Please keep us posted.

 

[kurosagi01]

Please keep us posted.

Well changing from powerline to wireless on my PC was quite a surprise.
Went from around 150-200mbps downspeed on powerline to around 300-400mbps downspeed.

I have even plugged my partner's wifi antenna and renenabled wifi again on her PC in the other room as she had to re-download Expedition 33 as steam just killed itself for no reason.
Again around 150mbps downspeed to around 200-250mbps.
Perhaps I will eventually switch to a Wifi mesh system.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Great. That is some significant improvement.

Frankly, I am not surprised you saw improvement over powerline. As I noted above, IMO, that is a last option.

Thanks for the update.

 

[Harlow]

I would love to do a super long ethernet from the router/modem to the rooms upstairs but my partner won't allow me drilling walls or even run it under the floor.

I've run a 30m (100ft) 10Gig OM3 fiber optic cable down the side of my stairs, into the kitchen, under the fridge freezers and on to the other downstairs rooms. I couldn't be bothered to lift floorboards and drill holes. I think the cyan cable looks quite pretty, but perhaps you could choose orange instead. There might even be an option with white sleeving to blend in with skirting boards.

Maybe i'll look into doing that if we do decide to redo the carpets + flooring.

I adopted this approach many years ago when moving house and installed a 'wired' burglar alarm system to sensors on ground floor doors and windows. WiFi alarms weren't available at the time. Whenever possible, I tucked wires away out of sight under carpets. With a bit of effort, you should be able to lift up one edge of each carpet. Watch out for the sharp spikes.