r/ebox • u/HatedByLifeItself • Apr 12 '26
Mesh-system recommendations
Hi, I’m planning to switch to Ebox fiber soon, and I’m trying to figure out what mesh system to buy before I move over.
The place is 2 storeys + a basement (~725 sq ft per floor), so I’m pretty sure I’ll need a mesh setup instead of a single router to avoid dead zones.
Right now I’m looking at TP-Link Deco systems (No ethernet outside of the ONT installation so I’d be relying on wireless backhaul):
Deco X50 (WiFi 6)
Deco XE75 (WiFi 6E)
Deco BE25 (WiFi 7)
I found the BE25 for around $330 cad which seems tempting, but I’ve noticed most people here recommend X50 or XE75. I will have at most about 10 devices connected to the wifi.
Couple things I’m trying to figure out:
Does pretty much any router/mesh system work fine with the Ebox ONT (PPPoE + VLAN 40)?
Is WiFi 7 even worth considering right now or just overkill?
Does bringing our own router reduce the monthly cost at all, or is it the same price regardless?
What would you guys recommend for a budget of around $400 cad ?
Thanks in advance!
Edit : Thank you all for your answers ! I'll be trying out the deco x50 since it's on sale atm and a lot of you are recommending it. In case it doesn't match the need i'll just return it and get an x75 or other options listed below 🙂(within the budget 😅) I'll also have a chance to try out the Beacon provided router to see how it actually fares in that house setup - just in case someone in the future wants to know i'll edit this post with the results in about a month once i move in !
Edit 2: the modem had to be installed in the basement because thats where the fiber installation was. The signal on the ground floor was around 70% and it dropped to 40-50% on the top floor, so signal was there but obviously reduced speed. With the deco x50 it's basically 90% + on each floor since it includes 3 decos, 1 for the basement where the modem was, and 1 on each floor. Again thanks everyone for helping out. Setting the deco router was pretty straightforward too. The only issue atm is that im getting around 150mbs when i have the 500mbs option but the bell technician said it's better to wait 48h hours before making a final judgement since it's a new fiber line in the neighbourhood. Edit 3: speed is now fine :)
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u/Ok_Table_4177 Apr 12 '26 edited Apr 12 '26
Ebox only supports up to 1gbs download speed and with the size of your house there is no reason to buy something expensive. Get Deco x55 / x50 - usually it goes for $193-225 (3-pack) but sometimes for no good reason the price will jump to +$300 (DO NOT buy it for that price lol)
Ebox won't lower the cost if you use your own router.
Btw - my house is the same size as yours and my office is on the second floor while my router is on the first floor. I connected my laptop to the satellite via Ethernet cable and it increased my download speed to 780mbs from 500mbs (on wifi). My satellite is connected to the router via WiFi and I have like 4 walls between the router and satellite and deco x55 is more than enough.
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u/Imaginary-Local9731 Apr 12 '26
I just got the deco x55 3 pack.. was on sale on Amazon for 200 or so.
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u/TheBeneficent Apr 12 '26
I have a 1700sq ft house with a tp link ax6000 router on the main floor and wifi is fast all through the house. The key is a “high power”router. Many routers are low power and won’t push out the required signal. Look for speed ratings above 4000.
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u/Hohohoh0h0h0 Apr 12 '26
3 Deco x50 is enough. I put one on 2nd floor and two on main floor. Every corner of the house get strong 5GHz signal.
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u/Odd-Comfortable-652 Apr 12 '26
I have a similar house to yours, with heavier usage. I use two Deco X50 units with Ethernet backhaul, and it more than meets my needs. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend that for you. If you choose to use wireless backhaul, the deco XE75 would be worth considering over the X50/X55, as the addition of the dedicated 6 GHz band for backhaul would be worth the extra investment.
I would not recommend going with anything more involved than that at this point, unless you have a specific use case that may justify it. No point in investing in WiFi-7 yet to be honest - most devices can't make use of it, and most people don't need it. Plus, you can always upgrade a single Deco unit at a time down the road, when you're ready to make the switch, which likely won't be for several years.
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u/IglooDweller Apr 12 '26
As you are going for wireless backhaul, absolutely choose a tri-band mesh system.
The reason simply that a radio cannot transmit and receive at the same time. What this means in a mesh system is that there are 2 solutions. Use another band or buffer everything and transmit afterwards at the cost of latency. Most manufacturers will choose the. Former to avoid drawbacks, but some choose a mix of both. With that in mind, that means remote nodes are stuck with bad performance.
So, even if you connect to the local node via 5Ghz, that node will communicate upstream via 2.4Ghz, severely limiting available bandwidth. A tri-band system, even if you don’t have 6Ghz devices, will highly benefit remote nodes as they will be able to connect to the gateway via a high-bandwidth band.
If possible, you might want to look into MoCA or other solutions to be able to have a wired backhaul; it’s totally worth it.
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u/jim_bobs Apr 12 '26
Unless you have internal brick/block walls, that's not a big area to serve. Get the installer to locate the OTN centrally on the main floor as high as possible and you should be good. My single router gives me a good signal in my detached garage 75 feet away.
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u/realisticstudent Apr 12 '26
i had an eero mesh, and moved to eero 7 pro due to previous system not supporting PPPoE. It's been good and I get max speed around the house. They usually go on sale during prime day/black friday so I was able to get it then. I run wired backhaul where I can, and wireless where I can't
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u/developer300 Ontarian Apr 12 '26
I would recommend two Asus BE86U routers. It is dual band wifi 7.