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Mesh for B818

magpie21

Casual Member
Hi all
Great forum here!!
I'm just in the process of moving house and upon trying to move my current ISP (SKY) have discovered that the new house isn't of a fast broadband line so looks like 4G broadband is my only option. The last few days have been a steep learning curve as I've looked into this but from reading the forum, using cellmapper and a bit of research EE looks to be the best coverage for the new place and the popular B818 router the one to buy.

My next question though is around extending the wifi range. the new house is a bungalow which is long rather than wide so I'm going to need some sort of extended. Does anyone have a reccomendation on a mesh system to use with the B818? This seems to be the one question I can't quite find a good answer to.

Thanks in advance for the help
Cheers
 
I use the BT Whole Home and have done for the last few years. I've found it excellent. I have the mid range one but I'm sure the others are fine. There was a lot less choice when I bought mine and have used it with loads of different routers (4G and VDSL)

Tbh I suspect they are all pretty good and it just depends on what you want to spend.

I would suggest that you don't bother with one with an inclusive router as it will probably cost more and you'll probably always have your own. So a "dumb" mesh system with no internal router simply just gets plugged into whatever router you have now or in the future (4G, 5G, Fttc)
 
@magpie21 can you pull Ethernet cables? If yes, then you can use any AP.
 
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Ok thanks, so I need to get an Ethernet cable to connect to the mesh? Sorry if this is really basic!!
 
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It sounds like the best thing you need is a BT Whole Home. Doesn't need any config, you just plug it in and away you go.
 
Ok thanks, so I need to get an Ethernet cable to connect to the mesh? Sorry if this is really basic!!
They will most likely come with one
 
Hi all
Great forum here!!
I'm just in the process of moving house and upon trying to move my current ISP (SKY) have discovered that the new house isn't of a fast broadband line so looks like 4G broadband is my only option. The last few days have been a steep learning curve as I've looked into this but from reading the forum, using cellmapper and a bit of research EE looks to be the best coverage for the new place and the popular B818 router the one to buy.

My next question though is around extending the wifi range. the new house is a bungalow which is long rather than wide so I'm going to need some sort of extended. Does anyone have a reccomendation on a mesh system to use with the B818? This seems to be the one question I can't quite find a good answer to.

Thanks in advance for the help
Cheers
I would agree with others re the BT Whole Home, having tried everything else.

I got the dual band version, three units, and yes you do get an ethernet cable included, all units have a socket, so the far one has a switch for the tv and satellite boxes.
However there is now a tri-band version, more expensive but if you are in a congested area, may be better.
Only gripe, only got channels 36-48, when there are other channels available up to 64 in the lower 5Ghz band.
Chose this solution as its not a router, so sits on the lan, before my router/firewall.

Occasionally have lost connectivity, I put that down to other users on the 2.5/5G low bands.
 
Thanks all, I got the Whole home premium but im struggling to get it to connect. The primary disc is connected by ethernet to the B818 router but after a few minutes turns red and the system doesn't work. Bt Technical have been useless so considering sending it back and trying another system unless anyone has any suggestions?
Thanks
 
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Thanks all, I got the Whole home premium but im struggling to get it to connect. The primary disc is connected by ethernet to the B818 router but after a few minutes turns red and the system doesn't work. Bt Technical have been useless so considering sending it back and trying another system unless anyone has any suggestions?
Thanks
It may be worth returning the Whole Home Premium and instead get the regular Whole Home WiFi. I use the regular kit and it's rock solid with the current firmware but I've seen lots of reports of the Premium being flakey.

Having said that, there are a few things to check. Is the primary disc connected to the B818 LAN/WAN port or the LAN port? If the former, make sure you set it to LAN only as the B818 can get confused and think the disc is actually providing a WAN connection (used to happen to me if the 4G signal dropped briefly). Also, make sure you disable the WiFi on the B818, or at least make sure it's on a different channel to the BT discs.
 
It may be worth returning the Whole Home Premium and instead get the regular Whole Home WiFi. I use the regular kit and it's rock solid with the current firmware but I've seen lots of reports of the Premium being flakey.

Having said that, there are a few things to check. Is the primary disc connected to the B818 LAN/WAN port or the LAN port? If the former, make sure you set it to LAN only as the B818 can get confused and think the disc is actually providing a WAN connection (used to happen to me if the 4G signal dropped briefly). Also, make sure you disable the WiFi on the B818, or at least make sure it's on a different channel to the BT discs.
I bet you it is the ethernet "LAN only" setting on your B818 mentioned above by @GaryW . Your basically telling the router to spit Internet out into the mesh system. I think it's set by default to expect to be provided an internet connection through the LAN port (odd I know).

And yes, again, switch off your wifi on the B818 to reduce unnecessary interference.
 
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