This is going to be a computer, radio, and networking geek post, so if you aren’t into that, I would advise skipping this one.
We have been having issues with various items around the house randomly disconnecting from the network: the pool controller, some SONOS speakers, various other things. I downloaded a WiFi analyzer app for my phone, and the radio spectrum in 2.4 ghz was a royal mess. My neighbors are all running with a channel width of 40 mHz, and the spectrum was just overloaded.
I decided to do something about that. The problem is that the DECO mesh system I was running with didn’t allow channel or width selection, the system automatically picked it. You would tell the system to select a new channel, it would pick one, then the other devices in the area would change channels, and you would be right back to getting overloaded. I needed something that would allow more control. Most consumer level WiFi doesn’t allow that much control.
Enter the Omada Prosumer line by TP-Link. (Yes, I know there are others like Ubiquiti, but this is the one I went with.) I bought a new Gigabit POE switch, an OC220 controller, an indoor access point, and an outdoor one. I set up the 2.4 ghz so the indoor AP was on Channel 1, the outdoor AP on channel 11. This dodges most of the interference I was seeing.
I put the entire home network on a VPN router, then cleaned up the network while I was at it- most of the fixed devices are now on hardwired Ethernet. That required doing some attic work to run a few cables. I set up separate SSID’s for each band (2.4ghz, 5ghz, 6ghz) and a guest SSID that is blocked from interacting with anything other than Internet access.
Then I migrated all of the devices in the house to the new SSID’s. There were about 80 devices, and this is what took the longest. Cell phones, tablets, computers, and televisions are on 5 gHz or are wired, everything else is down on 2.4 gHz.
The new networking path looks like this: incoming Internet-> Mocha Filter-> Modem -> VPN Router -> POE Gigabit Switch-> APs, devices
Then I shut down the old DECO system. It turns out most of the radio interference was two of my neighbors, my two powerwalls (which each broadcast their own SSIDs), and a bunch of devices in my house, including the mesh network itself.
Now my system is clean, and I am dominating the spectrum while on my property. Inside the house, my signal is -35dB, and outside all four corners of the property are at -50dB or better. Of course, channel 1 is best inside, and channel 11 is best outside, but that’s by design.
I did a speed test on the new setup, and I am right at 500 Mbps everywhere in the house now. Overall, it took the past two days to get all of that done. There is a reunion luncheon of retired firefighters from my old department today, so I am off to go see the guys I haven’t seen in a few years. They have a luncheon every month on a Thurssday, but I haven’t been able to make it to one in since before COVID. It seems I was always working on Thursdays. Now I will be able to make time for things like that.
4 Comments
J J · February 19, 2026 at 8:16 am
Cool post. I would say a very high percentage of households are running on default settings for their WiFi with no idea that everyone else in the neighborhood is as well. Dozens of networks potentially all on the same or adjacent channels, wondering why they don’t get the kind of performance their equipment is capable of delivering.
Then there’s the equally clueless business owners who are experiencing issues on their WiFi without knowing that every business around them are using the same channels. We use Ubiquity products for our customers so we can show them all of the networks competing for bandwidth and try to get them to understand that today’s clear channels may be next month’s overloaded ones. Have to stay diligent.
Dan D. · February 19, 2026 at 9:00 am
I’ll see you geek and raise you 5.
This is why 802.15.4 is the future over wireless, with TDMA even on spread spectrum with clear channel assessment implemented. The luxury of store-and-forward packet switching over fiber/copper has to be mitigated in a different way in the time domain to avoid collisions and maintain a high QoS. Fortunately 15ppm clock sources are the norm these days at less than $1 since that is what is required for accurately scheduling time slots in the future.
Henry · February 19, 2026 at 9:29 am
Nicely done. The thought of migrating to a different mesh router system and having to re-establish all the current devices to it is discouraging, so for the moment I’m sticking with the existing Orbi setup. But the satellite unit is already acting flaky, so I know a replacement is inevitable, and I plan to make the switch once The People’s Telephone Company here completes the transition to fiber (expected by summer). Thanks for the tip about Omada.
JimmyPx · February 19, 2026 at 9:38 am
Good job, your Wifi setup is very similar to mine and I also have TP-Link which I love, rock solid.