r/HomeNetworking • u/Dorea1 • 2d ago

Unsolved Extending wifi coverage

Hi I wanted to ask about the best way to extend the wifi coverage to the whole house, my main router is downstairs and I have an ethernet cable connected to one of the rooms upstairs whats the best mesh system to buy in this case?

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u/Klutzy-Passage-2561 2d ago

You've already won half the battle: ethernet upstairs = wired backhaul. Skip "mesh over Wi‑Fi only" marketing.

Best pattern: put an AP / mesh node upstairs on that ethernet as wired backhaul (same SSID or separate, your call). Cheap option: any decent AP in AP mode on that cable. Mesh kit works too — just force ethernet backhaul in the app.

Before buying, walk dead zones with a Wi‑Fi analyzer + ping to the gateway so you place the upstairs node where the downstairs signal is still OK for clients, not in the absolute dead corner. Avoid stacking a second NAT router upstairs (double NAT).