How a mesh network can keep a smart home running smoothly
James O’Connor
STACK Writer
A smart home can make your life easier, but only if you have the Wi-Fi infrastructure necessary to support it. With a Wi-Fi 7 router and a mesh network, you'll get the best connections possible for smooth and consistent operation.
What is a mesh network?
The more smart home devices you have connected to your Wi-Fi, the more likely you are to need a mesh network.
Mesh networking uses a system of connected nodes or ‘satellites’ that are placed strategically around the home to more effectively spread the Wi-Fi signal and allow easier connection of multiple devices.
If you’re living in a large house, a mesh network may be necessary to reach every room.
Why you might need a mesh network
In a smart home, it's not just the devices you're actively using that need to access the Wi-Fi.
Whether it’s security cameras, washers and dryers, fridges, digital photo frames, or robot vacuums, without a mesh network all of them will be connected to the same router as your TVs, computers, phones, games consoles, and other devices. That’s a lot of pressure for just one router to handle!
Smart home devices can make your life easier, but if you're having connection problems they can feel like another issue that needs fixing. A mesh network allows each device to connect to its closest node, resulting in a stable and more reliable connection.
If you've noticed that some of your devices are simply not holding their connections well, or that the connection falters when everyone is on their own devices, you will likely benefit from a mesh network.
Plus, if you give your kids a dedicated node, they can never again use "bad Internet" as an excuse for not doing their homework.
What is Wi-Fi 7?
Wi-Fi 7 is the latest and highest standard of Wi-Fi technology, succeeding Wi-Fi 6E.
Its greatest benefit is that it handles network congestion much better than previous iterations. If your home is filled with connected devices, and they're all in heavy use – perhaps your kids are gamers and streamers, and they're throttling the internet while you're trying to get some work done – Wi-Fi 7 is the way to go!
It widens each of the available "channels", meaning that each device connected can send and receive data faster. Another new feature, Multi-Link Operation, lets a device send and receive data across multiple channels at once, ultimately improving connectivity across your whole mesh network.
All technical talk aside, the results are simple – stronger, better, faster connections for more devices, with more seamless connections that are less likely to drop out or slow down. It's backwards compatible, too, so it'll work with devices that aren't upgraded to Wi-Fi 7 standard.
How do I access Wi-Fi 7?
You'll need a Wi-Fi 7 compatible router and mesh to access Wi-Fi 7 – if your router was purchased before 2023, you'll likely need to upgrade.
Even if you aren't sure if you need Wi-Fi 7, it's worth looking into as the standard when you next replace your router.
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