Phew, That information is WAY above my knowledge base as is just about any items posted lately. Mesh routers? Gateways? PPPoE? WMR\WMRPro? Based on convoās Iāve seen (and can understand) Iām sure my place would be in much better shape (faster) if I knew what all this meant and/or if I knew how to connect mesh routers to my network, The topics lately are making my head spin.
Just thought I would throw that out there.
It can get complicated, thatās for sure. Iām mostly a novice when it comes to a lot of it myself. Iāve done port forwarding and other things, but I donāt dig deep into it. For the average user though, it can be set it and forget it if it works well, without needing a degree in networking.
As far as mesh routers (I have an Eero pro mesh system) You can basically think of it as a paired system of 2 or more routers that extend the range seamlessly. Usually, they come as a system and you have a main router connected to your internet providers modem and then you place the additional ones around your home, like on each floor, or halfway across your house, etc, to eliminate dead spots further away from your main router. Unlike range extenders, they extend the range from the main point seamlessly without having to think about connecting to a specific one. As you move around your house, the devices connect to the best one and can switch to each mesh point seamlessly, without you needing to do anything. With a mesh system, you only see the one name (SSID)of your WIFI network wherever you are in the āmeshā. Simple range extenders on the other hand usually connect to your router and rebroadcast it with a new name like adding an EXT suffix to the SSID. For example, if your network name is MYHOUSE, a range extender might rebroadcast it as MYHOUSE_EXT and itās not seamless. A good mesh system also doesnāt reduce speed if youāre connected to one of the mesh routers, where an extender often cuts the speed in half if youāre connected to the extender.
As far as setup goes, Simple Mesh systems are super easy. You typically just connect the main one to your modem and then decide where to plug in the others based on distance or dead spots in your home. I donāt have the Wyze mesh, but on mine, I just use the app to add as many points as I like and they just plug into outlets where I want them. Once set up, they act as one big network, with one SSID name and all my devices just connect to whichever they need to as if I had just one single router. Some Mesh system setups can be done with ethernet cables instead of connecting each one via WIFI. Thatās where PPPoE (Point to Point Protocol over ethernet) comes inā¦ I think. I donāt get into that, but if I understand it correctly, the multiple points in the mesh system are connected by ethernet cables instead of WIFI.
Personally for my mesh system. I have 3 total. two in my house and one outside, protected from the weather in my gazebo to give me good WIFI coverage out in my backyard and around the outside of my home. All are WIFI connected to each other except for the main one which is connected to my cable modem with an ethernet cable. It works great for me and I get pretty much full speed anywhere in or outside around my house.
The Wyze Mesh Router is actually quite easy to setup and run out of the box with default settings. And, like most routers, only if you need the Advanced Settings will you have to turn them on and configure them. If you donāt know what those are or what they do, most likely you donāt need them for your network. They will be there for you turn on and configure if you ever need them.
GREAT info. Iām on fiber and donāt have a router per se, (they call it something else), but from what I gathered from your reply, IF the mesh will work on my system, I would have to plug 1 mesh router into that āboxā and then I can have others as needed, where needed. Is that correct?
Tim
Yea you probably have a modem router access point combo. That box probably has a ābypass modeā or something to allow you to disable its router and access point functionality, so it can simply be used as a modem and the mesh system will handle the rest.
There should be a few Ethernet ports on the back of your box, one of them can be used for the mesh systems ārootā node, and the other nodes will connect wirelessly
So Iām hearing that there is some work to be done on my current ārouterā before I can hook up the mesh routers(?)
Looking at it, yes there are 2 phone and four ethernet ports. It also has a WPS button however, I donāt see anything resembling bypass, etc.
My Fiber ISP box (Optical Network Terminal or Gateway) is not an āall in oneā box. It doesnāt supply WiFi routing. I donāt have to configure that since there isnāt WiFi already on the box.
When you plug a Wyze Mesh Router into one of the LAN Ethernet Ports on the Fiber Box and set it up, you will essentially have two WiFi networks. One being broadcast and managed by the Fiber Box and one being broadcast and managed by the Wyze Mesh Router (may even be more if you have seperate SSID for each band).
In order to shut down the WiFi network on the Fiber ISP box, you will need HTML Admin access to the configuration of that box accessed thru itās IP address on the network (commonly 192.168.0.1, ā¦1.1ā¦ or ā¦2.1) or thru an app they provide. You will need to check with your ISP on their policy and procedures on config modifications if it is their box. You may be paying monthly for that WiFi box.
Continuing the discussion from Connect with Wyze Mesh Router - 11/15/22:
Iām wondering if I could attach the WYZE Mesh Router to my existing Netgear Orbi WiFi 6 Mesh Router via en Ethernet cable and configure it exclusively for my WYSE smart devices. I have so many devices in my house that I think that Iāve gone over my limit of devices attached to my router.
I have the same issue. Sure wish I was smarter regarding this stuff.
I would not recommend having 2 mesh networks in close proximity of each other (the same house). If you need more routing power, either get more orbi nodes or remove them entirely and get Wyze nodes. Mixing 2 will only cause more interference and add complexity to your network
There are 2 options. You can use the Wyze routers in āBridge Modeā to basically act like an extender, or you can do as you were thinking. I did this in the past and it did help with the ātoo many devicesā issues. Things to be aware of thoughā¦having multiple different routers can actually cause some signal interference. You can reduce this issue by making sure to have the different routers using a different āChannelā so they arenāt interfering with each other as much.
I have a friend who was running a gaming router dedicated to his gaming and streaming and computer devices, and the Wyze router dedicated to their IoT devices and it worked just fine for them.
But in general I agree with IEatBeansā¦generally itās better to have a single Mesh router and just get adequate nodes for it to divide up the devices per router so no one router is too strained. That usually resolves issues.
Not sure Iād agree, but I donāt have any mesh systems. I DO have multiple wifi routers: main, IOT (Wyze and other devices) and one dedicated for some permanent guests. I also have my main router as wired only with multiple subnets for the other wifi hotspots/routers.
That part of the comment was specifically limited to multiple mesh routers though. 
As I said above, I have used multiple different routers at the same time in the past, including almost exactly what you do (Main, IoT, etc).
Usually, if someone has a good enough Mesh network, there is no need for another system though. For example, even if someone wanted to have multiple SSIDās, a lot of routers will allow you to create VLANs so that you can either use device isolation on every device (usually Guest networks do this), or have separate SSIDās to have GROUP isolation (ie: one VLAN specific for IoT devices, which can all see each other, but canāt connect to other VLANās/SSID grouped devices). In that case, the majority of people donāt really ever need more than 1 mesh network system. If you have more devices, you just get another mesh node, and alter the RSSI (dBm) roaming rate to ensure enough devices use that node. At that point I donāt see much a reason to have multiple routers for 99% of users unless theyāre specifically having different routers using different VPNās or something, because any else can just be configured differently for the different VLAN when needed which is already pretending as if it is a different router. 
At least thatās been my experience. I am by no means advanced networking certified. I had a SOME training for it in a tech school, but I didnāt intend for it to be my focus, so I can certainly be schooled and convinced differently on the benefits of multiple routers over a Mesh or VLAN, and I have certainly come to respect your insights in particular, so I am sure there are very valid reasons such as multiple subnets like you mentioned to segment and allocate addresses efficiently.
(I should mention, I donāt believe the Wyze Mesh routers allow for more SSIDs besides the main and guest at this time, so half of what I said above doesnāt apply to the Wyze routers anyway, and a person could certainly benefit from another router in some cases while it doesnāt do VLANsā¦but there are some that DO. I like being able to have at least 3 SSIDās as a minimum, though 4 would be better.)
I currently have over 160 smart devices in my home fighting with each other to connect to my Netgear Orbi WiFi 6 Router. Netgear claims maximum capacity is only 100 so that is why I was considering adding a WYZE Mesh router.
So by node, do you mean adding another Orbi mesh satellite? And if so, will that enable me to effectively run all of my devices.
The number of devices that can be concurrently supported depends on the model of the unit you have installed.
The Orbi Pro WiFi 6 Mesh System, for example, can simultaneously support up to 512 clients and allows 100+ concurrent client users per unit.
The number of stable concurrent connections, however, depends on a host of use factors you have in your network topology.
Have you consulted Netgear support for the specifications for your unit or the Netgear Community for answers?
Yeah, Iām sure they have it locked down since they donāt want folks messing around with their gear or system. That said, will I be able to buy one mesh router, hook it up to thei box, and have a separate āsystemā or input by just plugging it in?
As others have done, I suggest replacing their box with a purchased box altogether. I do not recommend daisy chaining or overlapping seperate mesh networks
Gotcha. Thanks. I hope I can do that.
The USB port for video storage was the primary reason I purchased the PRO over the standard mesh router system - as it was mentioned in the promo video.
Iām hoping that there isnāt much more of a delay on rolling this feature out.