WTB: Cost effective network/wifi solution for large house (ideally secondhand), any suggestions?

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neon

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#323146 30-Oct-2025 18:56

Im moving into a large house and im trying to plan a bit ahead of time on what i can do to get networking/wifi setup in a cost effective way. I would very much appreciate some ideas and suggestions :)

Requirements:

Large house, so lot of floor areas to cover and lot of walls in the way. So i would ideally want sort of a mesh setup.
I have a lot of "smart home" gear (like a LOT), so it should be able to support large number of IOT type of devices. Ideally would be good to isolate them into a seperate network if it allows.
I may not be able to do ethernet (maybe too costly initially but will definitely consider it), so ideally a good wifi mesh setup without needing ethernet would be ideal.
Will have gigabit internet, lot of media streaming, inhouse media server, wifi cameras etc. So decent amount of traffic going through.
We play games, but not competitive at all. Wifi should be fiiine, but will definitely try to get wiring done if its feasible for sure.
Preferably wifi 6 or 7.
Ideally not too expensive, ideally a secondhand solution would be preferable.

So, ive been using a tplink deco x50/x55 (wifi 6) setup for the longest time. But their network management features, and stupid restrictions on the app has been driving me nuts. Im hoping to see if there is a significantly better solution that can be had for a cheaper price? The deco's have been ok, but they dont have the best connectivity/speed unless you run ethernet to each deco. For context, you can find deco x50/x55 for around $50-100 each secondhand if you arnt in a rush - so probably around $300-400 to kit out the house with say 4 units.

One option i was considering was to see if something like Fritzbox, their interface implies that they support some form of a mesh setup (i have 1 fritzbox that came with my previous 2dg connection, i just dont have a 2nd to try the mesh just yet). Old fritzbox routers can be had for fairly cheap on trademe/marketplace sometimes (ive seen fritzbox 7530/7590 for around $50/unit on tm/marketplace, so likely $200 to kit out the house with 4 units). Any thoughts on something like this, or something else entirely?

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#3429388 30-Oct-2025 20:32

Honestly, for a large house you really need wifi access points which are hard-wired back to a central point. This eliminates any issues from RF interference that wireless mesh systems can suffer from.

As for your smart home devices and keeping everything segregated nicely, as well as being somewhat budget friendly, I reccomend a complete Unifi setup by Ubiquiti.

Sure it's not the cheapest, however it's very simple to get up & running, and there's a huge amount of resources available to help you configure VLANs & firewall rules as well as your general wifi in order to give you the an extremely stable home network. You're also free to purchase the exact hardware that suits your environment & requirements. They offer a wide range of routers, switches, access points, and cameras etc if you want to go down that path in the future.

I've personally been running a Unifi setup at home & my parent's place for a few years now without any issues at all. I'm able to monitor & update my parent's network without them needing to know a thing about their setup. It just works as far as they're concerned. And they're located in the other island to myself.

So to reiterate my point, go for a Unifi setup & pay the extra cost up front compared to a consumer product & you'll soon forget about the price tag once it's all up & running nicely. To save on costs, there is plenty available on the second-hand market.

mrgsm021

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#3429417 31-Oct-2025 08:19

If you are looking at a mesh solution due to cost or feasibility issue with cabling, then definitely look at something with tri-band mesh so that one of those band can be used for dedicated wireless backhaul linking all the mesh nodes with the remaining two bands for wifi bandwidth.

I see you mentioned wifi 6 or 7 - do you have wifi 7 compatible devices? If not then no point getting wifi 7, there are still connectivity/compatibilty issues with IoT devices on wifi 7, even if it's on 2.4ghz band which most of them are.

You are unlikely to find any mesh solution that have more network management features such as setting up vlan etc.

Your best bet is either -

go with Unifi as suggested above with a router/gateway with 2 or 3 access points which means you shell out for Ethernet cabling for these as well, or
get a decent prosumer router such from Mikrotik, Grandstream or even TP Link ER series and have Deco X50/X55 (despite being dual band only) sitting behind the router running in access point mode.

Personally I've been running a Mikrotik HEX router with Asus WiFi 6 mesh nodes in access point mode, coverage has been excellent.

Asteros

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#3429419 31-Oct-2025 08:29

From experience, Unifi is not professional grade. It is prosumer level. I don't think it will fit into your budget either.

Scotdownunder

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#3429421 31-Oct-2025 08:58

Since hard wired ethernet is far and away the best solution, what is the access to loft and underfloor spaces (if not concrete) ? For my 240 sqm home which had OTN access in the middle of the house I ran three cables through the loft to the lounge (at one end) and a large room (at the other end) and one to a bedroom / office. GigE Switches / Routers at these ends feed the local AV systems and provide local WiFi.

It’s a good bit of work but only has to be done once done and gives complete WiFi coverage and local GigE access in the important locations.

Best of luck with a solution that works for you. 😀

cddt

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#3429587 31-Oct-2025 12:19

It depends what you mean by "large" house.

As already mentioned, with the requirements you have shared, it would make sense to invest a bit of time in at least getting a couple of cables to appropriate spots for APs.

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richms

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#3429594 31-Oct-2025 12:34

IME the mesh on the fritz gear is so bad that it makes the asus one look brilliant in comparison.

Option 1:

Look at used wifi 5 (802.11ac) unifi gear - people are offloading it for cheap, _really_ cheap.

You will do better with good coverage of that than a few 6 or 7 APs, the IOT stuff will be on the 2.4GHz so still 802.11n modes (wifi 4)

Then add in some new stuff as budget allows in the areas you find you need higher speeds.

Option 2:

mesh gear gets returned all the time to retailers from people who cant work it and think its broken or just expect unreasonable things from it. Look for "reconditioned" stuff - Again, it can go for very cheap for what it is.

Richard rich.ms

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neon

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#3429596 31-Oct-2025 12:40

So let me answer some of the questions first.

Ofcorse ethernet would be the best option. Ofcorse i will consider it. Im trying to find a solution that could work decent if ethernet is not an option (cost and practicality). And if i can make ethernet happen, the solution would just work that much better. Concrete frame and awkward shape of the house i believe would make ethernet less likely and more expensive (but i will definitely get someone in to give me a quote/idea once i move in). Im simply looking for a non ethernet solution here (if i have or can get ethernet at a reasonable price, then i wouldnt need to start this discussion). That said, if there are good contacts for people who do wiring in auckland, i would be interested! But back on topic! :D

The house is about 200sqm (so not huge), but the shape of it, the location of the ont vs where studies are located means there would be quite a distance (and many walls) between ONT and where heavy usage happens. Trust me, awkward shaped house.

@mehrts, thanks for the unify suggestion. Im fully aware unifi reputation (both good and bad), and i know its pretty solid. But its more than i can justify at this stage. Ofcorse it would be a good solution, but im looking for a cheaper solution. Maybe one day i will consider it, but not today.

@mrgsm021, thanks for the suggestions. Do tri band mesh work that much better? Maybe i should look for some secondhand tri band mesh solution to see if there are any cheap options. Thanks for the suggestions on using a better prosumer router + deco as access points. But the limiting factor will still be decos mesh coverage, so all i get is better network features and not really better coverage (which is not bad - i will definitely consider it for sure!).

richms

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#3429599 31-Oct-2025 12:45

neon:

@mrgsm021, thanks for the suggestions. Do tri band mesh work that much better? Maybe i should look for some secondhand tri band mesh solution to see if there are any cheap options. Thanks for the suggestions on using a better prosumer router + deco as access points. But the limiting factor will still be decos mesh coverage, so all i get is better network features and not really better coverage (which is not bad - i will definitely consider it for sure!).

Tri-band helps immensely, you don't really have the hidden node problem inside a house, but the double up on the same radio will at best give you half the thruput, but more often it will be about a quarter to a repeated wireless device on a mesh node than you can pull from the ethernet port of that mesh node so only relying on it for backhaul.

IMO anything without triband is just a rizzed up wifi repeater. And we all know how people feel about those.

Richard rich.ms

mrgsm021

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#3429690 31-Oct-2025 15:40

As richms mentioned above, triband definitely makes a difference for mesh setup, especially where Ethernet cabling isn't in place for the backhaul.

Using dual band mesh for wireless backhaul is a disaster and will most likely result in subsequent post here on Geekzone complaining about the internet speed on wireless devices.

mentalinc

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#3429698 31-Oct-2025 15:54

Large?

Can you share the square meter - and is it all flat, 2 story, split levels etc?

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neon

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#3429701 31-Oct-2025 16:03

TY on the triband clarification. My deco's are not tri band, so maybe that explains why my past experiance havent been that great. I will look to see if there are any tri band mesh systems i can find cheaply secondhand. Does anyone have any thoughts/suggestions on something thats fairly cheap to be had on secondhand market?

mentalinc:

Large?

Can you share the square meter - and is it all flat, 2 story, split levels etc?

Mentioned in an earlier msg. around 200sqm. 2 story. awkward shape (not a simple box, sort of a U shape). Many many walls and concrete between ONT to office/studies.

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toejam316

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#3429741 31-Oct-2025 21:07

Echoing the above with one alteration - use Grandstream's wireless gear. It's really affordable and very, very solid. I replaced my old Unifi AC HD with a Grandstream GWN7672 Wifi 7 Access Point and it's fantastic. Admittedly I don't have any Wifi 7 hardware at the moment, but the 6 and 6E performance, really good. It also supports meshing until you can install proper Ethernet backhaul.

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KiwiSurfer

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#3429770 31-Oct-2025 22:58

OP you said in your title you're open to second hand. I know unifi gear can be quite expensive new, but older/cheaper unifi gear you can get off Trade Me et al are still pretty good. Don't bother chasing after Wifi 6/7 gear -- especially given you've got a budget as any extra money you spend chasing after wifi 6/7 is really just money down the drain. Even older wifi gear can be OK if it's got 5GHz at least.

If you just get one or two cheap used unifi gear to start with, you can then assess how well they perform and work out how best to expand your wifi network. Unifi supports both wired and wireless backhaul so you could start with wireless backhaul and when the budget allows upgrade later to wired (though I'd strongly recommend finding a way to get wired backhaul in the first place).

Another option could be to look into used Orbi gear. I got a nice tri-band 3-set off Trade me for cheap and it's worked well for us. It also offers both wired and wireless backhaul. Funnily enough a lot of the newer Orbi gear is /not/ tri-band capable so if you end up going the wireless backhaul route then old cheap tri-band Orbis connected via wireless backhaul may be a nice starting point.

Another point I noted from your post is you have gigabit internet. Why bother if you're going to cheap out on the wifi? I'd drop your internet plan and use the savings towards better wifi gear. Otherwise you're just paying for gigabit you can't use cos your wireless setup can't even deliver half that.

neon

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#3429775 1-Nov-2025 01:36

toejam316:

Echoing the above with one alteration - use Grandstream's wireless gear. It's really affordable and very, very solid. I replaced my old Unifi AC HD with a Grandstream GWN7672 Wifi 7 Access Point and it's fantastic. Admittedly I don't have any Wifi 7 hardware at the moment, but the 6 and 6E performance, really good. It also supports meshing until you can install proper Ethernet backhaul.

Not familiar with Grandstream, but looks interesting. I will do some research. Thank you for the suggestion. I will also keep an eye on for any secondhand options for these as well :)

KiwiSurfer:

OP you said in your title you're open to second hand. I know unifi gear can be quite expensive new, but older/cheaper unifi gear you can get off Trade Me et al are still pretty good. Don't bother chasing after Wifi 6/7 gear -- especially given you've got a budget as any extra money you spend chasing after wifi 6/7 is really just money down the drain. Even older wifi gear can be OK if it's got 5GHz at least.

If you just get one or two cheap used unifi gear to start with, you can then assess how well they perform and work out how best to expand your wifi network. Unifi supports both wired and wireless backhaul so you could start with wireless backhaul and when the budget allows upgrade later to wired (though I'd strongly recommend finding a way to get wired backhaul in the first place).

Another option could be to look into used Orbi gear. I got a nice tri-band 3-set off Trade me for cheap and it's worked well for us. It also offers both wired and wireless backhaul. Funnily enough a lot of the newer Orbi gear is /not/ tri-band capable so if you end up going the wireless backhaul route then old cheap tri-band Orbis connected via wireless backhaul may be a nice starting point.

Another point I noted from your post is you have gigabit internet. Why bother if you're going to cheap out on the wifi? I'd drop your internet plan and use the savings towards better wifi gear. Otherwise you're just paying for gigabit you can't use cos your wireless setup can't even deliver half that.

Absolutely, i would actually prefer to buy a secondhand kit/solution and save a bit. There are definitely cheaper older unifi gear in the secondhand market, is that actually going to be better than the deco x50/x55s? Your approach is what im thinking too, to initially get a wireless backhaul going and potentially improve it with wired if/when feasible. I would rather not need to change the gear again and again, and im just trying to see what options i have in terms of the gear.

Oh TY for the tri band orbi kits. I will definitely keep an eye on them, that sounds promising if i can find a cheaper secondhand set!

As for gigabit, despite wanting a good wifi coverage since i cant run cable to the other side of the house (atleast not yet), dont assume i cant saturate the gigabit connection haha. But yes, i will definitely lower the connection if im not using the full speeds for sure, but thats a decision for another day.

Also anyone tried setting up a mesh with a some OpenWrt routers? Wonder if there are some not so expensive routers i can get secondhand that would be compatible with OpenWrt.

richms

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#3429789 1-Nov-2025 10:25

Also if you do get cheaper dual radio stuff, you can set it up so the mesh stuff only meshes, and then plug accesspoints of your choosing into their ethernet ports to distribute to end devices. just use opposite ends of the 5GHz for the mesh and the devices, and be sure to seperate them by a reasonable distance so they are not crapping over each others radios.

A few friends in the US have got some incredibly cheap mesh sets from woot and used those as the backhaul around their properties and for nothing else on them and that works fine with just 2 radios until you start doing multiple hops. Even the triband stuff doesnt do that well and I suspect there will be some 4 or 5 radio ones coming out with 6GHz to better do multihop meshing.

Richard rich.ms

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