Seems to be a OzBargain favourite lately.
"Buy One Tenda MW3 3 Pack Get One MW3 Single Pack for Free" I believe bonus pack will be shipped together without redemption like previous deals.
Cheapest I've seen it so if you're looking to jump on this but missed previous deals, now's the chance.
Order over $200 for Free Delivery.
DAD20OFF
Code is in the post - "DAD20OFF" in checkout.
Nice deal - I've found it really effective for getting a good consistent signal to smart devices throughout the house, although it's not ideal for really intensive things like a video call. Plugging into a node mitigates most of that, going directly to my source router if close enough gives a better result.
^ Super helpful comment. I was tempted by these, but I need to use Zoom.
Depends on how much you have going on otherwise? I've usually got TV streaming for the kids during the day, wife also working etc. Also it's dodgy when I'm trying to get a fair distance away, which is a jump of a couple of nodes. Also, my NBN is fairly average. I would say it's definitely worth a shot at this price, at the very least it will be better than if you didn't have it.
To be honest the zoom comment doesn't entirely make sense, it's likely that they have the mesh nodes set too far apart from each other or have too many smart devices causing wifi interference.
I basically have the shitty version of these and I go through one extension node and then through an entire floor in my house to get wifi to my desktop and it only marginally affects my ping (less than 5ms) speed is fine, I can't use 5.8gHz due to the distance though.
Too many smart devices might be my issue. They're everywhere…
@pdtmathieson: Quick test.
Open terminal or cmd.
ping <enter router IP> /t
omit the /t if you're on a mac.
This will run a continuous ping to your router. If you notice packet loss, or it drops out etc then the issue is between you and your wireless device.
ping 1.1.1.1 (cloudflare's IP) /t or no /t if mac will continuously ping cloudflare, from here run a speedtest and see if your pings spike or drop out.
Elevation is normal,but if you manage bandwidth you can keep this low. Under maximum load my pings are still <10ms to cloudflare and have dropped my maximum speeds below the minimum attainable and manage the traffic accordingly. (however I'm in IT and this is a somewhat complicated process).
Very high pings are going to result in instability or poor video call quality, lag etc etc.
This will work out whether you're just not managing bandwidth correctly (1.1.1.1 test) or if you aren't communicating back to your router (ping of router IP).
Once you work this out, you can mess around with positioning and work out what the best for reliability is - Or start managing your local networks traffic (you'll probably need a new router)
My experience with MW3 over the past year has been the opppsite. No problem with Zoom or Teams, very smooth even with 2 meetings at the same time.
I suggest you play with your setup, play with the distance between your nodes, it might be too close that your laptop/mobile is switching between the two constantly. Or your office/desk where you Zoom/Teams meets might be located in between the nodes and that's why the switching is cutting out your meetings.
I've been with Superloop 100-250 plan over the past year. Also it might be worth upgrading your NBN plan if the above don't solve your issue.
As my above comment, it's usually when the signal is jumping a few nodes. It's doing exercise classes outside that is killing me, but I know the host has terrible connection too. Altogether shit storm haha. NBN could be better as well.
Yes, your case is not ideal. Maybe in the first instance, try to reduce your node count, and spread out the nodes out more. It might be counter-intuitive, but they need a minimum distance of 10m apart.
@assailantsky: You can also mix models with these too, so if you need a bigger, meaner one at the ethernet, you can do that. Might give you another option for repositioning them and spreading them out.
250 plan won't help with these units, they only have a 100mbps Ethernet port so if you are exclusively using the wifi then paying extra for 250 is a waste and actually lowered your speed due to less upload on those plans.
I have MW6 now before upgrading to 250 :P
I was referring pdtmathieson's NBN, they might be on a lower tier (i.e. 25) or an average provider. In those cases, no mesh setup would help with speed or dropouts.
definitely get this, no drops out from my mobile anymore. Have wifi in alot of the rooms which i didnt before. Can also have wifi outside now. only used 1 node as well.
Noob question
How does this compare to the Asus Zenwifi CT8 AC3000 Mesh Wi-Fi Router which is 3x more expensive ?
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/645996#comment-10923261
I have got a RT-AX86U but not sure which Mesh Wifi suits the router better.
Thanks
These have a 100mbps LAN port so if you have a 250mps or 1000mbps connection you should get the more expensive units. No problem for those of us stuck on FTTN :(
Your AX86U only does MESH with other ASUS routers, this would not Mesh with your current set up.
The AX86U is a WIFI 6 router, the CT8 that you mentioned is not (its AC). XT8 is the WIFI 6 version of the CT8, which is even more expensive. I got it on sale for $688 a couple of months ago.
MESH will still work with a mix of WIFI 6 and AC, AFAIK - but just be mindful of that. Your current router is really good, if it was me I would pair it with routers with similar performance.
I'm running the XT8 here at home with 2 nodes, I'm a heavy user and its been great. I work from home so this investment was a no brainer
MW3 vs CT8 and RT-AX86U is not a fair comparison.
MW3 is limited to 100Mbps with basic functionality and is good enough for most nbn users.
CT8 is Gigabit with the option to go all out with tweaking the settings and has more RAM and a faster clocked CPU. Any Asus router listed as AiMesh compatible can be used with the RT-AX86U. AiMesh works best when paired with another RT-AX86U.
Keep in mind these will max out at 100mb on Internet connection due to not supporting gigabit. But for the price they are a great mesh system
Interesting… seems like they are misleading on their page. If you scroll down a bit they mention gigabit speeds.
Also as per detailed specs (this changes as per distance obviously)
Data Rate 5GHz: Up to 867Mbps
2.4GHz: Up to 300Mbps
It's a 100Mbps WAN port, so you are limited. One easy fix is buy 1 MW6/9/X for the WAN connection (higher models have gigabit ports), then the rest of MW3s in your mesh should get whatever speed the NBN provider can provide via WIFI. However, in the above setup, if you plug into the MW3 via ethernet, you'll still only get 100 Mbps max.
2.4ghz will max out around 100mbps in real world usage but the uplink on the 5ghz being limited by the 100mbps Ethernet will definitely limit the speed to other wired devices.
Almost Gigabit between wireless devices bit only 100 to wired which means your internet is capped at 100.
Now if only my NBN could do that kind of speed (or even half that speed)! ;)
Worth getting vs deco M5? Been waiting for a while for the m5 to go on sale.
Internet max speed is only 50mbps.
Yes, if you think you will be on a NBN plan that's 100mbps or less for the next few years. In another few years, WIFI6 mesh should be the norm, no point spending extra on m5 when the MW3 does what you need.
Thanks. Heard some people had reliability issues with the tenda but seems a lot are ok with it as well
When I first set mine up, one of the nodes didn't update. Not sure why, but when I tried to do the firmware update it wouldn't go. Maybe it was acting as the master node. But I was getting some dropouts. Until I plugged a different node into ethernet and managed to do the firmware update on the last unit. Then it has been great since.
If anyone is buying this in brisbane I would buy one for 30 bucks off you if you only want 3
If you're having trouble getting wifi around the house, look into powerline adaptors. They basically turn your electrical wiring into Ethernet cables, so you don't have to try figure out the best way to position a bunch of routers everywhere. Any spare powerpoint will get a strong signal
They've been great in a large townhouse with solid, wifi blocking floors. Basically just plug in a couple of small power adaptors, one hooked up to the main router, the other 3 floors below and transmitting its own wifi.
Honestly don't know why mesh is the more popular option within the same power circuit
Yeah I loved PLA. Been using for a while with stuff like my old Chromecast. Works effortlessly. Although i bought the MW3 from one of the deals recently as i needed better wireless connectivity for home schooling. The signal strength had doubled and so has the speed in my son's room with the MW3.
If anyone in Melbourne SE is getting this, could I just buy 1 off you? I have 3 of these and need another 1 to make our home internet "perfect" for home schooling.
Purchased for $100 a month ago after battling with powerline kit and 3 routers on bridge mode. One of the routers died so thought I would opt for another solution.
I have a single story house but the modem is in the garage and at the back of my house where my entertainment and home office is I would get fluctuating Wi-Fi signal with the bridged routers. Powerline kit offered better signal and I got 100Mb down, 37Mb up most places in the house.
With the Tenda MW3 after turning the Wi-Fi off on my modem/router and only using the Tenda in DHCP mode I get round 95/37 when close to nodes and 83/30 even in the further part of the house. Using bridged mode on the Tenda and DHCP on the router wouldn't record an upload speed. I saw similar results on forums both ways so just needed to find what worked with my modem.
So your problem is that you don't get any upload (internet) if you have MW3 (Bridge mode) + DHCP (router) + Modem?
Where's the down/upload speed recorded? Via Tenda app? It won't record speed in bridge mode.
Modem/Router - DHCP, Tenda - Bridged
Via Speedtest upload is just 0. Also should have mentioned I would get dropouts with the Tenda in bridge mode when gaming on PS5 (plugged into the node).
I would have preferred to set it up this way as I wouldn't have to mess with alot of settings.
No issues with the Tenda taking care of the Wifi and DHCP and the Modem/Router just being used as a modem.
I had a similar problem as you, where my MW3 has no upload on speed test or have dropouts. I mistakenly thought I was in Bridge mode for MW3 (yes I had both my router and MW3 on DHCP…). You could try to reset all MW3 nodes and set them to bridge mode again from fresh just to make sure the setting sticks. Also, if your router allows, you should try to fix the IP of each of MW3 nodes, to try to prevent drop outs.
I had this '0 Upload on speedtest' issue too.
However it was with my Windows 10 PC that was Ethernet'd to the TPG (netcomm) router.
My other devices (android) speedtest'd just fine tho.
What I noticed was… when the Upload test ran… it would just hang and show 0.
The weird part is when I checked the windows TASK MANAGER > Performance > Ethernet….
It would show the SEND speed being Saturated !?!?!???
Its like its trying to send something, but speedtest just doesnt register anything for some reason.
I thought it was a Windows issue, since my android devices speedtest without issues (the devices are on the MW3.
I might try disconnecting the MW3 (currently in Bridge mode), and see if that helps.
Another weird issue I have is my Galaxy S21 has trouble getting an IP address sometimes.
Restarting all the MW3 nodes doesnt help. I have to restart the TPG (netcomm) router.
None of the other android devices have issues strangely.
I might try disabling the auto-reboot on the MW3s, and maybe set IP Reservations for the MW3 nodes.
My parents place needs a 4th Google WiFi (gen 1) point. If I Was to change the mesh to this, is there any thing I should consider beforehand?
Nope just plug and play. Works great as I have setup the same thing for my mum.
OOS :(
These M3 are awesome. Got 3 units 9 momths ago and they have WIFI covers my townhouse perfectly and I found it extremely easy to set up
One connected to my Telstra NBN router of which its WIFI is turned off.
One in the study and it is also physically connected to a NAS
One in the lounge and connects to all TV and smart devices
Is it for pros and gamers? Probably not? Not sure about it latency if you need to rely on this to play online game very competitively.
Facetime / Zoom / Team calls have no lagging at all.
If you still have corners that doesn't get good wifi this will solve your problem.
Some tips for advance set up
- Turn off Modem/router wifi (less interference)
- Allow DHCP from modem/router (one less thing thes MW does and let them just do their best at repeating signal)
- Use MW in bridge-mode (so it doesn't create another subnet, this you will be able to connect to a NAS even if it is connected to the modem/router)
Optional set up
- Allow MW to auto reset every night to keep things fresh
- There is a lan port in each of these and you can connect anything to the 2nd and 3rd MW directly (as the 1st device will use this port to connect to the modem/router
Hope these helps
Given the 100mbps limitation on the port, is it worthwhile to use these to replace the 2.4 GHZ subnetwork on my dual band router? Meaning, turning off the 2.4 in my router but keep the 5GHz on to access 100mbps+ speeds for devices that support it?
@ Freeslave_44
Yes you could, but you will then have Two 5ghz WLANs.
Coz you cant disable any of the radios on the MW3.
@itbargainhunter
You mean the WAN port on the 2nd and 3rd nodes ?
oos already, too quick!
Dang! Maybe shoulda purchased this instead of Deco M5…
Don't worry about it. A Deco M5 has the benefits of a higher spec and faster clocked CPU, more RAM, Gigabit ports, faster Wi-Fi and VLAN ID support for ISPs that use it.
There's only two people in the household, we got a 2 bedroom apartment and we have a 50/20 nbn connection.
Do you reckon still there's still benefit on going for deco m5?
MW3 is suitable for 50/20. Did you get FTTN, FTTB, FTTC, FTTP, HFC? Who is the ISP?
@Twix: HFC. Currently with mate communicate atm on 100/20 but thinking of moving to aussie broadband on 50/20
@kgree92: HFC is capable of Gigabit and 250Mbps.
Deco has Gigabit ports and can be plugged into the nbn NTD with all the ISPs.
MW3 can't do anything over 100Mbps and can't be plugged into nbn NTD with ISPs that require VLAN ID (Dodo, TPG, iinet, Internode). If you went with the MW3 on a higher plan you need a new router.
Do U really need a mesh setup in a 2 bedder apartment ?
Unless the place is particularly big, any decent WiFi router should do the trick.
@wildchill: Yea thought that too. Apartment is double brick (seems to affect connection) and this deco m5 was only for $170. I was looking around and saw routers were around $100, so I thought why not add $70 just for future proofing.
But then, I didnt know about this tenda…
Any code? Its showing up $111 for me