Trying to decide between a few mesh WiFi options for my home. Does anyone have any experience with the Linksys Velop, Orbi, or Google WiFi? I have a 2-story, 3k sq ft home. I'm most likely getting the 3 unit model because of where I would place the units. I'm ok with overkill and just want the best and most reliable They all seem to have around the same ratings and reviews so if anyone has tried any of these, I'd appreciate any feedback.

Im a big fan of my Eero system so far. Once I got everything placed properly it's been rock solid. Complete coverage across my entire (long) flat, with some coverage upstairs on my roof deck as bonus.

I've got the Google and have been very happy with it.

I bought the Samsung smart home mesh system (to expand my smart things footprijt.) And was pretty disappointed in it.

You don't have a lot of the flexibility or option s that you have with the Google system

Oh great....another option to consider. Ha. I just looked it up and it has similar ratings as well and he price point on all of them is very similar. What made you choose that one over the others?

Were there any options you like on this one that others have? Again, it seems like they are all similar. Aside from the massive size of the orbi's. The Eero seems like it's the same size as the google WiFi. Did you consider that one too?

NastyNate said:

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Were there any options you like on this one that others have? Again, it seems like they are all similar. Aside from the massive size of the orbi's. The Eero seems like it's the same size as the google WiFi. Did you consider that one too?

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I took a bit of an unscientific route in this, mostly because they all seemed to have similar ratings.

I haven't liked linksys products in the past, so skipped that option.
I have a personal distrust of google, so tend to avoid them when possible. Definitely will become skynet, so why make it easier for them?
I hadnt heard much of orbi, so no opinion there.

One of the strongest selling points for me was the easiness of the setup. They use an app that lets you control everything as well as monitoring all devices (including ones you don't recognize) that are using the network. Maybe the others have that as well, and id wager that they're all pretty similar otherwise. Which doesn't help you at all...

I am pleased with my Linksys VELOP

Appreciate the info. I'm pretty sure I'm going to go the unscientific route as well. They are all just too similar to identify anything I like over the other. The features you listed seem to be consistent across all of them. The Orbi is one of the newest I think but I don't really want something as big as they are on a tv stand or table. The linksys routers are similar as well so it might be between the google and the Eero. Thanks again.

I've noticed the velop 2-pack is on sale at Best Buy for 249. I might just try it for the heck of it. I'm thinking that my home layout will need the 3-pack but it might be worth trying. Not too happy about the tower look though.

I have the Orbi setup, and so far, outside of one bad Firmware update, it's been nice. Great coverage, consistent speeds, and no drops when streaming.

Plus you can handle the backhaul connection for the mesh 2 ways, first as with the others you have the wireless mesh but it's on a separate band at 5Ghz. It has 3 bands for wireless transfer, 2.4Ghz for users, 5Ghz for users, and then a separate 5Ghz for the actual mesh connection, some of these don't separate the user and the mesh backhaul traffic which can cause speed issues. In addition to wireless backhaul connections you can use an full wired ethernet backhaul to connect the access points. I don't know of any others that allow you to do both, and I love versatility.

Some of the security optikns, channel selection, guest Network setup, qos, stuff like that.

I bought the Google cause it was know sale.

I bought the Samsung because i was having trouble getting my smart things to make the jump between my house any my garage.

Thanks for the responses. I might just buy the best deal and go from there. I can return and try the next one if it doesn't work out.

We have the Google WiFi mesh setup at our house. Probably had it for about a year if not longer. No complaints here as it's worked great. And we can pause or disable WiFi to certain devices. This comes in handy when the kids get too sucked into their tablets.

Costco currently has the google 4 pack WiFi for $279

jaggiemaggie said:

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Costco currently has the google 4 pack WiFi for $279

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Awesome deal

Love my Google. Massive improvements and we are all Apple devices.

I bought the Orbi on prime day, no complaints.

I hadn't seen the Costco deal for the google WiFi. That might make my decision for me then. I wanted to wait until black Friday to check out the best deals but the WiFi dead spots in my house are really pissing me off.

Just remember that you can't mix them (if what I'm reading is correct; thinking about eventually replacing our home wifi).

NastyNate said:

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Does anyone have any experience with the Linksys Velop, Orbi, or Google WiFi?

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Here's a great article about mesh systems.

In order of speed and price:
Netgear Orbi (RB53) at AC3000
Linksys Velop at AC2200
Google Wifi at AC1200

If your internet connection is slower than 200 Mbps, I'd go with Google Wifi. But if it's faster, go with something else.

Team Orbi

I've had the TP link Deco mesh system for a few months and have been pleased with it. I tried extenders previously and they were all junk. I got the Deco at Sam's for $200. It has three modules and was easy to setup and has provided great coverage.

I have the Google mesh with four stations and it's been very reliable. We also bought one of the below from Amazon for each station and that's made it a lot less "unsightly" as my wife likes to say. They just hang there on the wall and are more or less out of sight and out of mind. There's one in our bedroom and I thought the light ring might be a problem but you can turn the ring off which was perfect.



Dot Genie Google WiFi Outlet Holder

I just moved my Google set up to my girlfriend's house and had to call their tech support because I couldn't get one to connect.

That was the most pleasant customer service call I have had. Quick pick up and helpful.

Thanks for the article. My speed is right at 200mbps. I have only Spectrum and GVTC available where I live so, unfortunately, I have Spectrum right now. My hope is that Google Fiber makes it way out to me (far north SA) but that seems years away at present speed. I purchased the google WiFi from Costco yesterday that another poster mentioned so I guess I'll see how that works out. I like that it has the 4 nodes.

I've had good luck with my orbi

Good to know on the customer service. I'm always willing to pay more and be a loyal customer if I get good customer service.

I have the Orbi - able to stream with no issues, even have signal strength in the backyard inside the storage shed.

I have the original Velop 3-unit system. Aside from some early issues with the app and setup (beta testing) it has been 100% rock solid. Great performance. I consistently test with Speedtest 385mbit/38mbit on my 400/40 cable modem connection with 18 other devices on the network.

On thing that has been a life saver is that devices connected via Ethernet to the remote PODs are extended on the network as if they were just on the switch connected to the main device. I have a camera in our nursery that was absolutely horrible on WiFi; it would consistently lose connection and reset it's own configuration, to the point where it was going out three times a week. Only that device, and even on my older WNDR3700 WiFi I setup to test if it was the Velop.

I moved a node in that room, connected it's Ethernet port to the node and it's on the network and works perfectly since then. That has just about been worth the price of entry for me.

Nobody uses Ubiquity products? I stumbled onto them recently and have them installed in mine and two of my relative's houses. We've all been very happy. They are professional quality but good prices. Very flexible and controllable.

Zero issues with my Google setup and I've been running it for a couple of years. I wasn't that impressed with the Orbi setup that I put in at my parents house. They've had issues with it dropping signal and needing to be reset.

Furthermore, when I bought that system I expected it to have a primary point and two satellites like my google system. It only came with the primary and one satellite and I ended up needing two satellites. The third station was almost as expensive as the original package. I think the third satellite was about $200, which is kind of pricey and put me way over the cost of my google system to get the same coverage.

msaggie98 said:

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Nobody uses Ubiquity products? I stumbled onto them recently and have them installed in mine and two of my relative's houses. We've all been very happy. They are professional quality but good prices. Very flexible and controllable.

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I use the Ubiquiti products professionally all of the time. I don't think I've had a single customer/business have a problem and I think I have had two APs have problems, and Ubiquiti was incredible in doing the HW replacement. I think it might be a bit much for a non-IT person to run for their house, but if you've got the budget and knowledge to do the initial setup, they're hard to go wrong with!

I've used their routers, APs, phones and video systems before. The only thing that hasn't been a great experience was the VoIP phones; they were kind hastily designed I think. Even then, it was still a decent and competent VoIP/SIP phone, just nothing real special.

Ubiquiti was my response as well. Their mesh system isn't noticeably different on cost from the consumer grade stuff and the quality is night and day.

That's great for live-streaming your latest kill.