I just moved into a new house and my Sky provided router doesn't have enough umph to get through all the solid brick walls (it also only has 2 lan ports for unknown reasons). To avoid running lots of cat 5e/6 I was thinking mesh WiFi might fit the bill. Have briefly looked at Google WiFi which seems a nice compromise of price, simplicity, aesthetics and providing ethernet ports for youview box, pc and basic nas. Speed isn't super important as long as it can exceed the broadband speed (70 Mb). Any issues known about Google WiFi or better alternatives (probably only need two points so an access point might be enough but mesh seems the way forward)
I would first replace the router and see if you need a second. I seem to buy a new TP-Link router every time I visit China and they have an option for setting them up as a wifi extender. I picked up a TL-WDR7300 AC2100 gigabyte router for 25 quid. They are in Chinese though but if you can get one online or a friend to bring you a pair they are a great value.
I had a devil of a time sorting out the wifi/network in my new house. The BT Smart Hub 5 Wifi simply didn't cut it, I tried powerline networking (TP Link AV2000's) but apparently the crappy Bovis wiring does not like powerline network kit and I got random dropouts. The best solution for me was the Netgear Orbi (RBR50 & RBR50S models). There is one in the hallway connected to the BT Smart Hub, and the satellite is in the living room on the middle floor. It has a dedicated Wifi connection between the router and the satellite and both provide Wifi. The signal easily covers a 3 floor house and even up into the loft. The satellite also has 3 Ethernet ports as well. I have had that for over 6 months and it has been working perfectly.
I'm currently using some ancient devolo 200mb homeplugs to give my pc connectivity but the speed is only around 30mb (only quick testing). Its a bungalow with easy loft access so running cat 5e to the office is an option and already have a 4 port switch to connect nas / pc / access point. I've seen the WiFi homeplugs which could be an option also. Too many options!
Well odd story for you guys. I bought some Aztech Powerline adapters but was struggling to get them talking to each other. Odd I thought, tried a few resets still no luck. Then all of sudden I am online, but wait, the router isn't even turned on or plugged in! I ping 192.168.0.1 and I get a sky router but this isn't my sky router. Seems somehow I have connected to a neighbours powerline network and can see (via there skyhub homepage) there connect skyhd box, jvc tv etc etc. I'm now in the middle of downloading a large utility to change the default network ID of the adapters I bought but I was quite impressed that I managed to connect to a powerline network outside my own home - even if its causing me headache!
The frequency that the powerline adapters communicate on is high enough to not be filtered out by electricity meters at each property. It's surprisingly common in flats, terraced and semi-detached housing.
And there's a reason that I will never go near powerline adapters... Scary how insecure they appear to be...
That, and I mean c'mon. This is a device that is specifically designed to inject bucket-loads of RFI into your mains, aka that massive antenna that snakes through your whole house (and possibly some of your neighbours')
That's the thing, I'm detached from the neighbours! Changed the network ID to something hard to guess so not really insecure now (plus neighbours would have to be tech savvy)
I guess I'm less worried about someone plugging in near my house than a remote exploit of my generic sky router