Home Networking – Buyers Guide

Choosing the best possible networking tech solution for your home should be determined by the number of household internet users, the online priorities of your household and how much hands-on customisation and control you need.

Mesh is increasingly leading the conversation when it comes to current preferred networking solutions. Mesh routers offer outstanding ease of use, they’re intuitive, secure and have excellent signal coverage.

There also remains a strong demand for powerful non-mesh routers as well. High quality AX WiFi 6 routers provide users outstanding customisation and flexibility. Most AX Routers enable you to have manual control over your frequencies allowing you to adjust usage and to create VPN networks.

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Mesh Routers

Mesh AX networking offers you the most intuitive, low maintenance, all-encompassing, networking option for your family.

Modern households, whether they be a flatting rental situation with multiple people, or a family, or a small work-from-home business, have a variety of online behaviours and competing internet usage needs.

The beauty of a mesh network is that with a high quality two, three, or four mesh router pack you will easily achieve high speed, very reliable, full residence coverage with no dead zones. Not only will this be require minimal set-up, you’ll also benefit from built-in AI assistance that will streamline network allocation on your behalf. Each mesh node operates like a router and for a typical suburban household a three pack will allow you to position each node around the perimeter of your house.

Mesh routers are designed with intuitive AI that monitors and fine-tunes your bandwidth based on the typical usage behaviour of specific devices in your household. A few months after purchase, a mesh router with AI capability will ensure that your bandwidth is being utilised with maximum efficiency, on all devices in your household, during peak usage times.

As is also the case with non-mesh routers, mesh offers you a high degree of parental control capability. This means that via app, parents can monitor and control the online behaviour of their children: websites visited, apps used, search history and time online. Parental control features also allow you to block specific websites and disable specific household devices.

Check out our range of Mesh Routers

WiFi 6 & AC Routers (Non Mesh)

When you buy a WiFi Smart 6 Router instead of a mesh router you gain access to a higher level of management features. The large majority of smart routers will provide you the excellent coverage range, parental controls functionality and the security features that you get with a high-quality mesh router.

You will also gain the ability to set-up advanced functions like creating Virtual Private Networks (VPN).

It's easier to manage congestion and interference on WiFi channels with a smart router, as there is a higher level of control for those who need to fine-tune their channels. Other smart router advanced functions include using link aggregation to create double bandwidth and the option of using ethernet cables to provide an unbreakable signal.

Check out our range of WiFi 6 & AC Routers (Non Mesh)

Modem-Router

Modem-routers are useful for those who don’t have a fibre connection and are on ADSL or VDSL instead. You will still need a modem-router for internet connection. However, households that have access to the fibre network will only need a router. Most New Zealand homes have access to fibre.

Check out our range of Modem-Routers

Powerline Adaptors

If you are after a low-cost way of extending your internet coverage with zero signal degradation, and extremely easy installation, then powerline adaptors are an excellent option.

Powerline adaptors use the existing copper wiring in your home, meaning zero installation is needed. As the data is travelling along wire cable, the signal can’t be impeded by any obstacles and the data transfer is extremely fast. Powerline adaptors operate at much longer distances than range extenders.

Installation is accomplished by plugging one powerline adaptor into a wall socket near your router, which you then connect via ethernet cable, and a second one plugged into the wall socket in another room where you want signal. It’ll provide a WiFi connection where there hasn’t been one previously.

Powerline adaptors are extremely fast, reliable and easy to set up. You can use multiple powerline adaptors around your house to get full coverage, depending on how large your home is.

Check out our range of Powerline Adaptors

Range Extenders

Range extenders boost your connection range wirelessly. Unlike powerline adaptors, there is signal degradation which can be significant if you ‘piggyback’ from extender to extender. However, range extenders are very easy to connect to your router, there are many to choose from and they are very affordable.

Check out our range of Range Extenders

Additional things to look out for

Parental controls

A multi-layered approach that allows you to set up a profile for each of your children – use the app to select the device(s) that belong to each child and then choose keyword filtering. You also have the ability to choose specific times when usage is allowed

Dual Band or Tri Band frequencies

Dual Band: operates on two separate networks - 2.4 gigahertz which reaches long distance and bounces off surfaces better and 5 gigahertz which provides faster but shorter signal

Tri Band: gives your router an additional 5 gigahertz band that processes 'backhaul' which does the bulk of your processing and allows the other two frequencies to remain free of congestion

Battery life

As a rule of thumb, watching high-definition videos and playing games will deplete your battery life far quicker than checking your emails and the news. Tip: If your device is more than four years old, it would be best to upgrade to a newer model

Mesh routers

Mesh routers monitor and adjust all frequency bands intuitively on your behalf

Security features

Increasingly our routers, whether mesh or non mesh, have home security features included - anti piracy and virus protection with regular updates

Nodes

The more nodes (Mesh, Powerline Adaptors, Extenders), the bigger the coverage area.