Hi

We need to extend the range of Wi-Fi on our current 2866Lac router. What Draytek Wi-Fi range extenders would you recommend to go with 2866Lac? Are Mesh AP better?

Thanks

Regards

Mesh would be better, as it allows smooth access. You'd probably need to switch off WiFi on the Draytek and just use the mesh. However, I have no experience of Draytek's range extenders, so it's better if others contribute here. You should also read some comments on this forum regarding the mesh 'upgrade' on Drayteks before you make any decisions.

I'm using Devolo Magic 1 to extend my WiFi and as a mesh system, but remember that powerline adapters can interfere with VDSL signal if you're on VDSL (I've found that Magic 1 is better at mitigating interference than Magic 2; plus, Devolo also communicates with my Fritzbox using the TR-064 protocol to mitigate the negative impact of powerline adapters on the quality of the connection).

edinburgh wrote:
I'm using Devolo Magic 1 to extend my WiFi and as a mesh system, but remember that powerline adapters can interfere with VDSL signal if you're on VDSL

Personally I'm not enamoured by Draytek's "Mesh" - there's a post of mine somewhere in here detailing my experiences. I don't use it any more

I arrived at my Brother-in-law's one day, to find him tearing his hair out, trying to get the (pricey) Devolo stuff to work. Being an ex IT professional, I was able to use my ability to enter a Zen-like state of calm, while dealing with misbehaving equipment

(It turned out that it had partitioned itself into two separate Meshes - which couldn't see oneanother ... starting again from scratch, was the answer). I have to say I was impressed with the end result though - he has a voluminous Edwardian 'villa' and the Wifi was always very poor. It isn't now

Regarding the potential interference issues: I could understand there might be a problem, if these two sets of signals ever find themselves in close proximity. As Devolo say , it might just a matter of keeping them physically separated (otherwise, they claim to have some magical solution :wink: ). (It's not a problem I've encountered, so can't comment further...)

Yes, Devolo can sometimes be a pain to set up. However, once you've done it properly, it's rock solid and offers a very good WiFi range. A warranty, usually just by replacement, is a plus. I've been using Devolo adapters for a over a decade now and they're very good.

I don't know how much there's potential for interference because of the overlapping frequencies between powerline adapters and VDSL signal. From my experience, connecting Devolo Magic 1 didn't result in issues, but Develo Mesh (which is rebranded Magic 2) caused lots of errors upon plugging and unplugging an adapter, and even dropped connections. I don't know though if it was because of the adapter being faulty (I had bought it from/sold by Amazon in the 'like new' condition, but was clearly a return, unlike my Magic 1). Also, my tel. line is some distance to the powerline cable, but I've read when it criss-crosses it, it doesn't matter.

One thing that struck me is that some experienced Openreach engineers (unexperienced ones don't know much at all about this area) jump into conclusions about the negative impact of powerline adapters on VDSL signal. It may be the case for some cheap ones. In our case, to prove that the fault was external and that powerline was a red herring, I ended up disconnecting powerline adapters each time Openreach came here. (I had tested with and without Devolo so knew it wasn't them.)

Devolo uses Dynamic Interference Mitigation (https://www.devolo.co.uk/about-devolo/press/en-devolo-optimises-the-interaction-between-vdsl-and-powerline-communication) with compatible routers (Fritzbox). Indeed, in Devolo, there's an option that says: 'DSL router is DIM compatible: yes' but getting anything out of Devolo to find out how this DIM works is a challenge. I looked through the logs on Devolo and there are some queries to the router about SNR etc. but after I wrote to Devolo again asking for clarification, they released a new firmware update that encrypts logs with a password.

(Thankfully I have an adapter that I'm not using and that has automatic firmware update switched off, so I still have access to unencrypted logs. Will post some if anyone's interested.)