Switch off mesh, or mesh off switch?

Forums › LAN (ethernet/Wifi/routers/Bluetooth) › Switch off mesh, or mesh off switch?

Kookoo

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#324171 9-Mar-2026 10:04

I've got a cheap 5-port unmanaged switch and a 3-port mesh AP sitting next to each other next to a LAN port wired to the router that manages the home network.

Question - does it matter what I hang off what, from performance perspective? Router -> Switch -> AP or Router -> AP -> Switch?

Hello, Ground!

tangerz

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#3468065 9-Mar-2026 10:52

Do all just have gigabit ports? Will you be connecting any other equipment to the switch? If so, then probably Router -> Switch -> AP may work best. If not, is there any need for the switch?

Kookoo

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#3468088 9-Mar-2026 12:14

tangerz:

Do all just have gigabit ports? Will you be connecting any other equipment to the switch? If so, then probably Router -> Switch -> AP may work best. If not, is there any need for the switch?

All have just gigabit ports. I have 4 Ethernet devices at that location, so there will be equipment to be plugged into the switch in addition to the AP.

Hello, Ground!

tangerz

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#3468089 9-Mar-2026 12:30

Kookoo:

tangerz:

Do all just have gigabit ports? Will you be connecting any other equipment to the switch? If so, then probably Router -> Switch -> AP may work best. If not, is there any need for the switch?

All have just gigabit ports. I have 4 Ethernet devices at that location, so there will be equipment to be plugged into the switch in addition to the AP.

So, Router -> Switch -> AP is probably the way to go as it removes one layer of switching from connected devices, (as the AP is essentially a 3-port switch).

Kookoo

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#3468093 9-Mar-2026 12:59

tangerz:

So, Router -> Switch -> AP is probably the way to go as it removes one layer of switching from connected devices, (as the AP is essentially a 3-port switch).

Awesome, thanks for the advice!

Hello, Ground!

richms

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#3468118 9-Mar-2026 15:09

Some meshes use a vlan for the guest network over the wire. This may not pass thru the switch depending on how the non managed switch chip is set up.

Richard rich.ms

freitasm

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#3468127 9-Mar-2026 15:33

richms:

Some meshes use a vlan for the guest network over the wire. This may not pass thru the switch depending on how the non managed switch chip is set up.

Came here to say this. Also, if you use multiple VLANs, a non-managed switch will caus problems, the same as above. In this case, the only way around would be to use a managed switch with some mangled configuration to allow the VLAN to passthrough.

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tangerz

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#3468148 9-Mar-2026 16:20

I guess OP if as above ^^ is true, then run the switch off the AP. It probably won't make much difference performance wise anyway...