Wireless access wall plate

330d

I am looking at getting these wireless access wall plate - https://www.ebuyer.com/791688-tp-link-omada-eap115-wall-wireless-n-wall-plate-access-point-eap115-wall?utm_term=&utm_campaign=PLAs||Networking||Wireless||Med&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=4863007528&hsa_cam=9521593646&hsa_grp=97590700776&hsa_ad=421883308987&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=pla-889411106861&hsa_kw=&hsa_mt=&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gclid=CjwKCAjwyIKJBhBPEiwAu7zll6_q1EvISKqJZDWI9IOi9FU61Svks6QyVNV3769KTCbxEIexThnmUxoC0scQAvD_BwE

I am looking at getting a couple downstairs and one upstairs.

Regarding how they work, do they just extend the existing network or do they have there own network username and password? 

And secondly, if I have a few around my house, do they auto connect to the best Available? 

For example, I am in my conservatory and it's connected to that on my tablet. If I go upstairs, will it connect to the one upstairs or will it stay connected to the wireless point in the conservatory?

tacpot12

They extend the existing ethernet network by creating one or more new wireless networks, but have you noticed that they require Power over Ethernet (PoE) from your Switch/Router?

330d

tacpot12 said:

They extend the existing ethernet network by creating one or more new wireless networks, but have you noticed that they require Power over Ethernet (PoE) from your Switch/Router?

Yes I'm aware of it needing PoE.

Little disappointed about it creating it's own network. If I have 3 of them then I will have 4 wireless networks in my house which is seems a bit of an overkill.

tacpot12

You will be able to create one wireless network that spans all the wall plates. To get one network throughout the whole house, you will probably need to turn the WiFi off on the router, and may need another wall plate if this results in a dead-spot, but they are relatively cheap and with three in the house, you may be get complete coverage. 

[Deleted User]

The best setup for you depends on whether your priority is maintaining a good connection when wandering around the house in which case a purpose built mesh network will suit or whether you want stronger wifi for devices in different rooms that don't move around much - in that case separate SSID's for each access point might be better.

There is nothing to stop you setting all Wifi access points to the same SSID and password in your home network so all access points appear as the same WiFi network.

However some issues with this type of setup:

1. Client devices (ie phones, latpops etc) decide when to roam between network points and sometimes don't roam as you expect and are "sticky" to the previous access point. A proper mesh network can "suggest" that the clients roam and even go as far as forcibly disconnecting and re-connecting them for more advanced versions.

2.Using different Wifi technologies can make roaming harder - so these faceplates are 802.11n, if your main router is 802.11ac then device might still prefer the higher spec access point and refuse to roam when you expect. You also won't get seamless roaming - ie moving around the house on a video call will see that interrupted if the client changes access point to a different protocol.

3. Choice of wifi channels - separate to the SSID and password, you may have a choice of channels for each access point to use, if they are all on the same channel then they all share the same bandwidth and having these 802.11n faceplates will take up more airtime than and 802.11ac access points which could slow things down and additionally they could interfere with each other, ideally set different channels out for different areas of the house.

So having different SSID's for each access point can be convenient sometimes so you can force your device to use whatever access point you prefer if they are not roaming as you expect.

Either way, don't expect a seamless experience with mix and match wifi access points.