Mesh networks solved our problems

Over the years, I have visted many help forums for different things related to streaming. One of the most common complaints is people having network issues. Only, they don't realize they're having network issues. They usually blame a service or streamign device. But many times, it's actually network issues.

When someone (usually not me) suggest there's a network issue, many of the people don't like that suggestion. They come up with all kinds of reason why it can't be that, but many times, it's obvious to those with experience that it is exactly that.

Why are people like that? I don't know. Maybe many reasons. But it's how many people are.

Let me tell you about a network issues that it took me a while to solve. Actually, I didn't have the issues. My mother had the issue. I don't know how common this siutation is, but the solution to that problem has solved all kinds of network issues for people I've known over the years.

Her house was built in the 1950s. And the 1960s. And the 1970s. You see, they added on to many times over the years, and in none of that time was the thought of its 21st century layout and accounting for wireless networks considered. Nobody dreamed of such back then.

However, the 21st century did roll around and my mother had network issues. There were spots in rooms where one person was able to use a laptop on her wireless network, and in the same room, sitting in the next chair, another person couldn't keep a stable connection. The house, with it's weird wiring and rewiring and former outside walls that are now on the inside, and so on and so on ... well, was a wireless network nightmare.

So, how did I fix it? I tried several solutions before I found something that really worked.

I got a bigger, more powerful wireless router with access point. That helped a little, but only a little. There were still some dead spots.

WiFi extenders were tried, but didn't really work.

We thought about running network cables and connecting additional hotspots, but didn't, becasue of the expense. That would have worked, but it was really expensive

Finally, I replaced her network setup with a mesh etwork configuration. That cost a little bit of money because a set of three devices was around $300 -- on sale. And, as it turned out, three was not enough. There are now seven of those in that house, but there is good network connectivity in every room.

Google WiFi was the one I tried, and it worked. This isn't to say you must get Google WiFi devices to make your network run properly. I used an Amazon Eero setup in another location, and it worked great. What I'm suggesting is that a mesh network, such as Google WiFi, Amazon Eero, Netgear Orbi, or one of any other such may be the way to go if you are having issues.

Here's how well it worked: After I installed it, the only time she ever mentioned the network was when I asked. She always responded that she hadn't thought about it because it simply worked. And, when family came over, there were no more questions or complaints about her wireless network. Before, she asked me about it often, and visiting family always complained.

In my and my family's experience, a mesh network works well. To my mother, she said "It just works." And it made things much simpler and easier.

My Streaming Life does not, and for years has not, had any network issues related to WiFi. Well, I had a lightning strike damage several pieces of equipment, including some WiFi devices. But I replaced them with another mesh network, a much cheaper one, and everything worked well. It's the way that worked for me.