Home network

You mean a wireless access point?

Yes wireless access point. Sorry I’m a bit new to all this and don’t really know what I’m doing

1: Look for Wireless Access Points that do Wi-Fi6 (802.11ax)

2: Said Wireless Access Points will most likely be powered over the Ethernet (PoE) so once you have decided which ones you want, then understand their PoE wattage, or use a local power brick

3: You will typically have all the Ethernet cables from your AP's coming back to a central point, where you will connect them to an Ethernet LAN switch. Ideally with 1Gb PoE ( at the Wattage you need) ports

4: The AP's will need a device to act as a controller for them. Sometimes this could be a router, Draytek as an example have routers that will control a number of AP's. Or it might be a Cloud (internet) based controller, Meraki as an example.

OR...

You could go with a wireless mesh network, some mesh AP's have the ability to work either wireless or wired (via Ethernet) Netgear RB series for example.

Wireless access point is the boy. Loads of options but they basically plug into an ethernet (network) cable which goes back to your router (main box that your service provider sent you with all the lights on it).

Depending on who your internet provider is, the easiest option may be to check with them and use the kit they re-sell. They're all much of a muchness anyway so you might as well have only one bum to kick if anything goes wrong or you need tech support.

The key bit most folks miss when setting up extra access points is to use the same WiFi name AND password on both your main router and access point. This should let you drift between devices seamlessly - it's much smoother than your phone/ipad/laptop flip flopping between connections.

The key bit most folks miss when setting up extra access points is to use the same WiFi name AND password on both your main router and access point. This should let you drift between devices seamlessly – it’s much smoother than your phone/ipad/laptop flip flopping between connections.

Bit old school all that. As the previous poster mentions you want a mesh network which does all that for you, plus if the mesh boxes don't have wired access to your main internet access box they'll talk to each other to find the one/s that do. (You can also do the 'reverse' and hang a wired switch off the back of one of the mesh wifi boxes, then connect wired connections to that switch for internet access via the mesh) I use the the BT Whole Home in a mixture of wired and standalone, mainly because they're OK and were pretty cheap.

Just Google 'Mesh Wifi' and go from there. Mesh access point powered over ethernet would be really nice, but quite niche and probably expensive.

PoE also kind of pointless for this application in a new build where you can just stick a plug next to the ethernet port. Google WiFi nodes can use ethernet as backhaul (the full fat nodes not the points that have a nest mini in them).

My god.

The short answer is, you need a twenty quid AP.

The long answer involves a lot of questions. Wi-Fi for what? What are you doing with it? What devices, what functionality? What speed is the Internet connection into the house? Cat6, mesh networks, gigabit switches, PoE, dot11ax... Come now, you're browsing STW and getting your email, aren't you.

If money was no object, I'd mesh it. You've got a prime cabled backhaul which is ripe for it. But really, is that necessary?

Sounds like you've already done it, but If the cabling accesses are still open, worth doubling / tripling up on cables in certain locations, ie, near a tv/home cinema/office desk area, etc, as often there might be 2 or 3 devices in same place, which can then have their own ethernet link back to the router, avoiding the need for a further a small router or Wireless AP needing to be placed on the end of a single ethernet cable.
Also would suggest cabling out to garage and roof/soffit locations, which would be really useful for future cctv installs.
Using a router which also has Poe ports gives you more options, particularly for powering remote access points and cameras which may be required in the future.
I cabled my own house this way, albeit nearly 20 years ago, as i preferred to be less reliant on wifi where possible, for security, and because we've got a lot of walls with aluminium faced insulation, which does create wifi dead zones...
As my network works pretty well, ive not had to look at modernising, though there do seem to be some good new home networking products available these days, as others have suggested.

Twenty years ago, Windows XP had just been released.

If you're running cable then as you say I'd want to double up for redundancy in case one fails and I kind of wish that this place was cabled. I have thick internal walls in a large house and getting to the corners of the building has proven to be a nightmare especially with cheap IoT devices. But wired Ethernet is increasingly going the way of rotary telephones as Wi-Fi tech improves.

10gb says otherwise. C'mon, you gotta flex that bandwidth!

@toomba the answers are in.

I can only offer riffs on what’s been suggested.

The easiest ‘I’m no hardcore STW network admin’ approach would be to get a MESH-enabled router. Then some ‘nodes’ that can use wired ‘backhaul’ to connect to each other for where you want WiFi.

AX/WiFi6 is the current ‘best’ but there’s no need for that unless you have modern AX-enabled devices. AC is sufficient for most folks.

If MESH isn’t for you then whether you go for PoE or power bricks depends on where your Ethernet ports are (up high, or low down) and how close they are to power outlets. Low down and close to power outlet? No need for PoE. Otherwise, PoE will be neater.

MESH helps because it makes fiddling with the settings easy - change it for the wireless network overall rather than one device at a time.

‘Nodes’ because some systems have 1 router and then different devices for the other wireless points. Whereas some (ASUS for example) use routers but as ‘slaves’ to the primary router.

Which MESH? Dozens of threads on that here and lots of opinions. Expect to buy into one system, find it wanting, and then buy at least one more before settling 😏

Want to do it cheap? You don’t need MESH. You don’t even need AC. Just get some old routers. Give them all the same SSID (network name) and password as each other. Plug them into the Ethernet ports, give them power, and then change the settings of all but the primary one so they act as access points.

Expect to buy into one system, find it wanting, and then buy at least one more before settling 😏

I'm in this post and I don't like it.

Might be overkill for what you want but I’m in the same situation (new build with spotty wifi in a couple of places) and I’ve gone with these..

https://www.broadbandbuyer.com/products/40070-ubiquiti-u6-iw/

fits neatly on the wall, replacing your Ethernet faceplate and gives you a 4 port switch (1 of which is PoE) in addition to AX wifi.

As I said might be overkill but I have a complete Ubiquiti network setup with a central 24 port PoE managed switch that directly powers access points on the ceiling, these additional ones, little 5 port switched behind TV’s, cameras, doorbell etc.

Having it all on PoE is more convenient than just having a socket next to the port as it allows you to remotely manage the whole network, cold boot devices etc. as well as mount devices in places where there isn’t easy power.. I.E middle of the ceiling, o I’ve the garage door etc.

#edit : oh and another benefit of PoE is if you put the PoE source (the rack switch in my case) on a decent UPS then your network continues to work in a power cut, how long depends on how big a UPS you get but for just the network infrastructure I get about an hour of network/internet before the UPS gives out.

As above, mesh is the way to go and I'm a fan of overkill rather than buying the cheapest solution available.  Home wifi is one of those problems you can definitely solve by spending a bit more and connectivity is so much part of our lives that it should really just work at home and work well without having to piss around.

A ubiquiti setup is already too much if you are asking on here (although it would be fantastic) but any good brand mesh system that allows you to do the backhaul using your own cabling would be absolutely perfect.  I'm using Netgear Orbi but I suspect the Google mesh would be great if you are happy using Google products.

I installed a mesh network to resolve a weak connection in one of the rooms. Difference was night and day. Signal strength went from poor to near perfect. Cost about £80.

Thanks for all your suggestions help and advice. Will get Fort Bill done this weekend then get spending and get out internet sorted out.
Appreciate it guys

The key bit most folks miss when setting up extra access points is to use the same WiFi name AND password on both your main router and access point.

I think most modern WAPs (certainly Draytek ones) can be set up as mesh using the wired connection, so they’ll clone the mesh root router/WAP.

If I'm not too late, stay away from the Synology Networking kit. For the price I found it disappointing in use. Now using Ubiquity kit which is all the networking I'm ever going to need. (Well at least until 2027!)