#home-automation - January 2024 | Slack Archive

Happy New Year, folks! I’m circling back to this thread to update on my fiber+mesh status…and to share my tears of joy and pain as i cry into my beer. 😅

Phase 1: The Install
Fiber install went well. The installer was going to put the router in the garage but knowing how bad the transmission is through the walls, I opted to have it installed in my kitchen. I encountered strong feedback from the Mrs on that one but its since become part of the landscape and no one notices it.

I kept my DSL router in place and migrated clients to the fiber network over the next month, starting with things that folks wouldn’t notice but might appreciate with faster network like smart TVs. I wanted to wait to move personal devices over until i had a mesh in place.

Phase 2: The Mesh
I waited about 25 days from install to buy a mesh solution. I saw the need for it because the devices further away from the router (upstairs and in garage) were indeed experiencing slower speeds.

I really wanted the UniFi Express but they were out of stock until who knows when so I opted for the TP Link AX4300 Pro.

I picked it up on New Years day from Best Buy. Nice kit and was super easy to install. I got three APs with one placed downstairs, one upstairs, and one in the garage. At that point I started migrating all clients from the DSL router and the fiber router to the mesh network.

I renamed the fiber router’s SSID and adopted the legacy name and password for the mesh network’s SSID. Some advice suggested turning the fiber router’s wifi off but I wanted to still be able to connect to it wirelessly. Using the legacy SSID name made the migration of most clients fairly easy. A few devices didn’t like the switch and needed to be manually moved over. The devices in the garage took more time because they were on an entirely different SSID which was being provided by a network extender and another wifi router and SSID.

The most yak-shaving move was the Ring doorbell. Changing the wifi requires an access code from the back of the device and I didn’t make a record of it during the install. So i had to remove it (after finding my Ring toolkit (which i did save)), capture the information, and then go back to the app to change the wifi network.

I finished my migration last night and I’m happy with the way things are working.

Then this morning I woke to find that the UniFi Express is back in stock.
😭 🍺

Phase 3: Moving On
I’m trying to make myself feel better about the situation by knowing my network is way faster than it used to be and the TP Link solution is a good one. I also decommissioned two wifi routers and the power-line network extender i was using to get signal into the garage. In the end, everyone in the house is happy with their streaming and all is well.
🥹 🍺 .