Replacing Q mesh for TV and wifi

[ceejaysix]

Thanks again Mae.

I've now set the 5Ghz-2 channel as dedicated wireless backhaul on 160Mhz band. All my nodes now show as 'Great' (one or two before would drop in and out of 'Good'). I don't have the UNII-4 option - not sure if that's US-specific or because it's in AP mode (which has removed a lot of the features). In a quick 5 minute watch it did still drop the sound a couple of times though for a second.

The setup wizard ran through a single XT12 (which became the router) and set everything up across all six devices automatically, so (given it's working and the network map looks sensible) it presumably set the nodes as such. The router is just ethernetted to the SR203 - I don't think we have an ONT, we have Superfast and can't get anything faster to the property, I think this is just FTTC and it comes in via the phone line?

Everything's working with it in AP mode, would it be better back in Wireless Mesh / AiMesh router mode (which is the default)? Put it in AP as the threads I read about setting up a replacement mesh rather than using the Q mesh all mentioned this.

[mae-3]

@ceejaysix 

For superfast broadband via the telephone line, you would need a VDSL2 modem to operate the Asus mesh in router mode.

[mae-3]

@ceejaysix

The UNII-4 option is 5.9GHz I think those frequency plans are permitted in the UK, we have bands A, B and C (band C isn't available on Asus wireless routers even though allowed in the UK). on 5Ghz spectrum plan and, 6Ghz spectrum plan 4 channels at 160Mhz width. channels 100-140 are DFS radar is primary use and home wireless secondary on 5Ghz band A top section 80Mhz is DFS and band B is all DFS (100-140). The bottom section of band A 5Ghz is channel 36 and is used by everyone and their dog primarily uses home wireless.

The 6GHz spectrum plan is excellent because nobody uses it yet or very few use that part of the spectrum plan and all 160Mjhz width channels are allocated to home wireless as a primary user. 6Ghz clients like iPad Pro M2 & MacBook M3 can use 6Ghz plan, and quite a few expensive Android phones, top end. The ET12 Pro on its backhaul can use a 6Ghz wireless plan.

[ceejaysix]

Okay I've given up on the XT12s and they're going back, couldn't get rid of the brief sound drop-outs on the minis, and on the mini that's hooked to a projector those slight drops were enough to make the projector think it had lost signal and flash to its own splash screen regularly, so unwatchable.

So temporarily back on the Q mesh. I'm going to try ET12s instead as suggested, but on the working assumption that will have the same issue, thinking of alternatives...

Minibox connections aside, the Asus mesh was leaps and bounds ahead of the Q mesh for all other devices. So thinking I'll let the Q mesh run the TV but put nothing else through that, and have 2 or 3 Asus XT/ET12s providing WiFi for all other devices. Hopefully give the Q network a better chance of holding up for the telly due to no other devices demanding bandwidth, and get better WiFi performance for other devices.

To be clear, no Ethernet between Asus and Q devices (other than between SR203 and Asus router to provide web access for the Asus mesh) - two separate networks.

So my question is what settings should I apply for the Q networking this case?

1. SSID broadcast - presumably disable this as no devices other than the Q devices will be on this, and they will only be linking for TV streaming rather than also providing wifi access points, and that's handled automatically by the Q system rather than needing SSID to be broadcast?

2. Access point - disable? On same basis as above.

3. WPS - doesn't matter, leave enabled to make connecting Q devices easier?

4. WiFi settings (hidden menu on all mini boxes and main Q box) - can be off? Or do you need to leave this on for the minis to be able to join the Q mesh (ie. Does this setting only control providing an access point, or does it also control the link for the Q TV streaming)?

 Will the Q devices still create their own network for Sky streaming with these settings? (Clearly I'll use a different SSID for the Q network for TV to the Asus network for all other devices' web access).

Would it also be better to disable 2.4Ghz on Asus and 5Ghz on Sky (or vice versa) so that each network operates in completely different bands? Or lock the Asus network to specific channels (don't think you have that flexibility with the Q mesh)? Or just leaves both networks to figure it out on auto?

 Thanks

 Chris

[mae-3]

@ceejaysix 

The ET12 Pros should communicate over the complete 2.4Ghz/5Ghz/6Ghz spectrum, leave it on automatic and let it sort itself out across the backbone (router) and manually on each mesh node for 2.4Ghz/5Ghz. The mesh nodes can be set manually if one wishes on the required channels for 5Ghz & 2.4Ghz locally in each area to serve the clients.

I'd turn off the Sky Q mesh completely and wire the Sky Q boxes to Asus's mesh nodes as required.

[mae-3]

@ceejaysix 

And don't go 160Mhz wide on 5Ghz it should be 80Mhz wide on that wireless band, 160Mhz on 6Ghz (default) and 20Mhz or 40Mhz on 2,4Ghz band on Asus router. The 2.4Ghz on secondary mesh nodes I go 20Mhz maximum on them on the 2,4Ghz wireless band or even switch off the 2.4Ghz on mesh nodes, and the main Asus router 2.4Ghz is likely to cover all the areas.

[ceejaysix]

Thanks Mae - that's exactly what I did with the XTs and will try with the ETs, but my post was regarding what to try next if I have the same issues with the ETs.

 So proposing two separate networks, Q running TV only and Asus providing wifi for everything else.

 My questions were around the settings needed on Q to give the best chance of this working...ie. what settings do I need on the Q network to allow it to mesh wirelessly with the Q devices but not have any other devices on it, and is it a good idea to run Q on a single band and Asus on another or just let them both do their own auto?

[mae-3]

@ceejaysix 

If you are going to use both wireless meshes which isn't a good idea then Sky Mesh will only go on channel 36 manual 5Ghz and 2.4Ghz, the choice of the channels should be different on each mesh for 2.4Ghz.

I say pick a clear channel for 2.4Ghz best you can on Sky Q mesh, and put the Asus on 2.4Ghz wide right at the other end of the spectrum, eg: Sky 2.4Ghz on channel 1 and Asus wide 40Mhz on channel 9. The Asus Pro ET12 Pro use the 6Ghz band for backhaul and that is clear airspace. 5Ghz uses DFS channel 100 at 80Mhz and the closest mesh node away from that channel up the spectrum, eg: channel 124 as an example. One will need to play around with the 5Ghz band to cover the areas and for the least interference to the Sky Q Mesh and other Asus mesh nodes.

[ceejaysix]

Thanks Mae, that's really helpful. Appreciate two meshes isn't ideal, hopefully the ET12s ethernetted to each Sky node will work, but just trying to come up with another potential solution if I have the same problems as I did with the XT12s (glitchy sound).

Could you advise as to the basic settings on the SR203 / Q boxes (see my questions above) to allow the Sky mesh to be active (for passing Q streams only to Sky devices) but not visible to other devices?

[ceejaysix]

For future reference in case anyone else has a similar question and finds this thread:

I had similar issues with the ET12s to the XT12s - slight drops in sound, survivable but irritating on TVs but unworkable on the projector as the drops would cause it to flick to the splash screen. In fact it was worse on the ET12s than the XTs, suggesting that in fact the XTs are better for a pure wireless network (as my original research between the two options suggested).

I was about to rip them out to return, but on a whim flicked the AiMesh to Router mode rather than AP mode. Everything I've researched suggests they needed to be in AP mode, but voila, in Router mode (with the SR203 ethernetted to the primary ET12) Sky works with flawless picture and sound across all nodes, and wifi speeds are much better across the house. Problem almost solved.

Why almost...? On nodes which connect to other nodes (as opposed to the primary ET12 router) the miniboxes seem to have a hard time connecting to the main Q box. To illustrate, the primary ET12 is hooked to the SR203 and sits in the hallway. The main Q box is in the lounge and the ET12 with it connects directly to the hall. The kitchen and guest bedroom nodes also connect to the primary ET12 in the hall and work fine. The movie room and the master bedroom by default daisy-chain to the kitchen ET12. These are the two that struggle.

By struggle, I mean they sit on the 'cannot connect to Sky Q box' screen for a long time (several minutes) but eventually hooking up, then last an hour or two, then drop again (I'm guessing whenever the AiMesh optimises its mesh connections). Work fine when connected, but rarely can I turn them on and they just work without a long wait.

If I force them to connect to the primary ET12 in the hall (rather than their preferred daisy-chain via the kitchen node) the Sky works fine, every time. Internet speeds are well down as the connection is much weaker (so if I'm gaming in the movie room, I flick it back to its preferred connection to the kitchen node for proper web speed as I don't need the Sky, then force it back to connecting to the hall when I want the Sky).

So it's a slight annoyance, but still way better than the native Sky mesh. If anyone has any suggestions around getting the daisy-chained nodes to 'see' the main Q box more reliably, they'd be great to hear?? - but generally I'm happy to have a solution (albeit not a cheap one) that doesn't involve trying to chase ethernet cables throughout a building that isn't exactly easy to do that through neatly.