Boost Wi-Fi vs competing mesh systems.

[RyDawg]

I am looking to add a mesh Wi-Fi system to my home since the fibre is fixed to one end of my house and the wireless signal range won’t reach the other end. I see Telus has a new system called boost Wi-Fi, and for $120 for two nodes, the price seems competitive since some other systems charge more for that for just a single node, and Telus also claims the sigal is better than Google Wi-Fi. However, I would like some real user comparisons before I jump in and buy a new mesh Wi-Fi system. If a few people who have tried both Boost Wi-Fi and a competing mesh system tell me which of the two works better, and what competing system they used to compare, that would be great.

[NFtoBC]

I have used both Boost and Google Mesh. Both were easy to set up, and worked well, however, the difference for me was the Boost system extends the Actiontec network, whereas the Google devices were on their own subnet. This meant my hardwired devices did not easily connect to my wireless ones, and I needed to add additional switches, etc. to get my network devices talking to one another.

Remember, with any mesh network, it is bes to have the primary point at the centre of your topology to reduce the number of hops. Can you run Ethernet to a central point in your house?

[giantbrownguy]

I’ve had Boost for a couple of months and am very happy. I never used a competing system. I have the actiontec in my garage, with one boost and the other at the opposite end of my house and upstairs, connected by Ethernet. Even on wifi it worked but on Ethernet, it is great.

[xl]

I have the Boost system to give  me coverage to the back yard and Google Wifi coverage on the front yard.  The T3200m is generally sufficient for inside the home, but the mesh allows the yards to have coverage when I'm outside.

I am using 2 Boost nodes and 3 Google nodes.

• I think the extra node gives Google better coverage.
• I can't really say one is faster than others because my main goal is coverage.  I think I have more devices connected Boost system (ie surveillance cameras) so I can't do an effective test.
• Boost offers hidden SSID's, but many recommend not using that feature

[RyDawg]

Cool, I think I will try the boost Wi-Fi. However, I also want to know, on the second node, can you use the Ethernet port to connect a wired device to the wireless network?

[NFtoBC]

Yes, you can connnect an Ethernet device, or devices through a switch, to the second Boist unit.