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Networks TP Link VR2100 vs VR2800 - I want to mesh it up

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by Retro~Burn, 12 Oct 2020.

  1. Retro~Burn

    Retro~Burn Electronically Debauched Fiend

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    I've just ordered a replacement VR2800 router as my old one soon stopped powering up after using the light switch set off the trip switch. However, I've just noticed the VR2100 which was released this year. You can see a comparison between the two here.

    Unless I'm missing something. The key distinctions seems to be:

    1) The VR2800 has 2167Mbps on 5GHz and 600Mbps on 2.4GHz whereas the VR2100 has 1733 Mbps on 5 GHz and 300 Mbps on 2.4 GHz.
    2) The VR2100 has support for TP Link's 'One Mesh' networking whilst the VR2800 doesn't.
    3) The VR2100 has Super VDSL (VDSL2 Profile 35b) with speeds up to 350Mbps whilst the VR2800 has just the standard VDSL up to 100Mbps.

    The only other obvious difference is the price as the VR2800 is more expensive which suggests it's more powerful? Both have 4×4 MU-MIMO so the two can handle a lot of fast connections.

    At the moment we only get just over 40Mbps download so we won't be be able to take advantage of the Super VDSL but it's good future proofing. I'm also keen to switch to a mesh network but the VR2800 doesn't support it (I'd rather not use an extender again).

    Can anyone advise if it's best sticking to the VR2800 in the hope TP Link release a firmware to support OneMesh? Or time to switch the VR2100 and take advantage of the new features?
     
  2. Guest-44432

    Guest-44432 Guest

    I have the VR900, the VR2800 is superior here.

    I guess it really depends if you really need Onemesh?
    I much prefer choosing the network band that devices connect to, to keep things less congested.
    5GHz for PC and 4K Firestick, everything else is on 2.4GHz.
     
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  3. Retro~Burn

    Retro~Burn Electronically Debauched Fiend

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    Thanks @true_gamer. The VR900 is more similar to the VR2800 than the VR2100. The VR2100 uses a MediaTek chipset whilst the VR900 and VR2800 use Broadcom chipsets which is more powerful: TP Link forums.

    Mesh would be my preferred setup but I'm willing to stick to using an extender. As I don't want to compromise on performance. Apparently the VR2100 has issues with longer/noisier lines. Since we only get 40Mbps we must be further from the nearest node (cabinet?).
     
  4. Guest-44432

    Guest-44432 Guest

    If you're having issues with dropping out in certain spots, then you are best to use an extender/repeater, as I can't see how OneMesh would fix this problem.

    Have you tried turning up the channel and channel width on both 2.4GHz and 5GHz?

    This is how I have overcome any drop outs.

    [​IMG]
     
  5. Retro~Burn

    Retro~Burn Electronically Debauched Fiend

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    Thanks @true_gamer. I'll stick with using an extender for now. I'll probably purchase a newer more powerful model in due course. If the difference between an extender and mesh is that one uses a separate SSID whilst the other extends the main Wi-Fi. Would mesh still not get rid of no spots?

    I do have the Netspot and WiFi Analyzer apps for checking which Wi-Fi channels are over-subscribed and which are free. Although the issue pretty much is home Wi-Fi networks are set to automatic so they'll continually change channels. But I'll check it for a few days and see which channels remain free.
     

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