July 23, 2020
Working at home is nice and comfy but a flaky internet connection can make everyone go crazy. So this morning I took the spare routers that you get from recontracting your ISP plans to reproduce a 4g internet experience at home. It's super fast and convenient because every device switches to the best access point on its own. No more manually switching to different bands when you're close to the router and when you're not. It really feels like 4g at home, but with 4x faster download speeds and 11x upload speeds anywhere you sit or sleep.
There are many ways to improve network connectivity at home. I considered two methods, using mesh networks and using access points and using access points is the better option for me.
Imagine Karen throwing a stack of loose change to Bob, who is standing 10 meters away from her. When Bob catches the money, half of it has flown away and he's left with coins. He takes what's left and mints more of the same coins to throw to Kevin who is standing 10 meters away from him. This is mesh networking.
In another scenario, Karen calls a courier, maybe Singpost, to deliver the stack of money to Bob. It's an unregistered post. 9 out of 10 times, Mr Courier accidentally pokes a hole in the packet and coins fall out. After receiving the mail and without checking if anything's missing, Bob throws the money to Kevin. This is wireless access point.
There are benefits to using mesh networks like not needing ethernet ports and devices being cheaper. But they come with a performance cost.
One single network vs multiple networks in one house.
Don't settle for anything less than 4 bars.