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Mesh Wifi for Smaller electronic's store

I'm working in a smaller electronics store where we are gonna get up a wifi network that covers the entire building (Approximately 1000 Square meters). We have been looking at the consumer mesh wifi systems and wanting to setup one of thoose, but can't really decide on which one would be the better choice for us. I have been trying to check out reviews and youtube clips but don't really find any that match out use for the system.

 

We are going to digitalize more of the paperwork and suck so there will be mroe equipment that we want to connect to the network. Will eventually be Tablets with the salesmen to make purchases out on the floor. We also wanna be able to demo the network for customers.

 

So we are looking for a system that can run Guest network to show customers, and a seperate network to connect our equipment to everythhing else. Preferably it should be able to control with a phone/tablet through an App. We want the ap's to run one seamless network without us having to switch between the, to get the best signal to the devices. 

 

I made an extremely good model of the building to show how it looks. Don't mind the details ;) The internet comes in to us from the "wc" part of the building where we also have changerooms and diningroom. we still want sme coverage in that area so best I think would be to have the main unit somewhere close there and spread the other to cover the rest of the building. 

 

And finally, since we are part of a bigger business we would prefer to use the brands we sell in the store. Unfortunately we don't have many of the brands out on the market, but the ones we have are Linksys, Asus and Google wifi. (Looking only on Mesh systems here). If there is a really good options besides the 3 brands I we have in our stores it can be considered to use that instead.

 

Appreciate any input on how we could make this work perfectly! 

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15 minutes ago, Rolingspark said:

-snip-

Yeah, I would run really say to run some Ethernet cables and set up a few Ubiquiti AC-Pro APs. The UniFi controller is some really powerful stuff.

If you can't do that, then Ubiquiti's Amplifi mesh system works as well.

I'm personally not a fan of mesh systems in general though. I would just do it right with running Ethernet cable.

ASUS and Google Mesh are solid options as well though.

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If you want it to be consumer friendly and show them how easy it is I believe the Google one would be the best option. The last time I used the asus system (granted this was over 2 years ago I believe) it was easy to set up but required some knowledge and they didn't have a dedicated app (yet).
I believe the google mesh system has it's own app, and knowning google you can probably set it up with 1 or two clicks if you are a noob consumer who only cares for having wifi.

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11 hours ago, Rolingspark said:

I'm working in a smaller electronics store where we are gonna get up a wifi network that covers the entire building (Approximately 1000 Square meters). We have been looking at the consumer mesh wifi systems and wanting to setup one of thoose, but can't really decide on which one would be the better choice for us. I have been trying to check out reviews and youtube clips but don't really find any that match out use for the system.

 

And finally, since we are part of a bigger business we would prefer to use the brands we sell in the store. Unfortunately we don't have many of the brands out on the market, but the ones we have are Linksys, Asus and Google wifi. (Looking only on Mesh systems here). If there is a really good options besides the 3 brands I we have in our stores it can be considered to use that instead.

 

Appreciate any input on how we could make this work perfectly! 

10 hours ago, scottyseng said:

Yeah, I would run really say to run some Ethernet cables and set up a few Ubiquiti AC-Pro APs. The UniFi controller is some really powerful stuff.
If you can't do that, then Ubiquiti's Amplifi mesh system works as well.

 

I'm personally not a fan of mesh systems in general though. I would just do it right with running Ethernet cable.
ASUS and Google Mesh are solid options as well though.

Ubiquiti or bust, if it's for business use. As much as I understand why you want to demo the consumer grade stuff in store, I cannot stress enough how important it is to use the right gear for the job. Just because a minivan can tow a large fishing board does not mean it ever should. You don't see car dealerships driving around the lot towing boats with sedans, minivans, or even SUVs as a demonstration of what they can do because they darn well know that you should buy a truck. Same goes for technology - demo the consumer products on a smaller scale in the store, and use Ubituiti AP's for the actual business.

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Have checked out ubiquiti too and yes it seems nice. Talked to another company that uses the equipment on 3 different buildings and controlling them all from anywhere. Sounds pretty damn solid. 

Have only tested Netgears Orbi and the app but felt the app was lackluster. (Forgot that we also have Netgear to chose from). 

I personally think that what you say about Ubiquiti is the way to go! Just have to convince the boss to agree to it. :P

 

Making a little demo network in the store with Google Wifi is easy, could implement Demo of Google home on it too. Not super big here in Sweden yet though but why not.

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13 hours ago, Rolingspark said:

Have checked out ubiquiti too and yes it seems nice. Talked to another company that uses the equipment on 3 different buildings and controlling them all from anywhere. Sounds pretty damn solid. 

Have only tested Netgears Orbi and the app but felt the app was lackluster. (Forgot that we also have Netgear to chose from). 

I personally think that what you say about Ubiquiti is the way to go! Just have to convince the boss to agree to it. :P

 

Making a little demo network in the store with Google Wifi is easy, could implement Demo of Google home on it too. Not super big here in Sweden yet though but why not.

Convince that boss! Heck, have him phone me and I'll tell him to JUST DO IT! Haha. And same here regarding Google WiFi in Canada - we're well behind any of the smart home / voice products that the USA has had for years, and they're even farther behind what Japan has had since the mid 2000's. Google WiFi and other mesh systems are definitely simplistic, but that's one reason I don't like to recommend them to even the most basic of users.

 

For example, Mom & Dad might like the easy setup and managing the network from the app, but as soon as anyone needs to setup static IP's or port forwarding, good luck. I'm sure it's possible to do with these smart WiFi systems, but it's probably buried in some Advanced Settings menu or abstracted because "consumers would never need this feature."

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8 minutes ago, kirashi said:

For example, Mom & Dad might like the easy setup and managing the network from the app, but as soon as anyone needs to setup static IP's or port forwarding, good luck. I'm sure it's possible to do with these smart WiFi systems, but it's probably buried in some Advanced Settings menu or abstracted because "consumers would never need this feature."

So from a business perspective this is good ;), you can sell them a service contract with it. If they need anything special changed they can have a mechanic from your shop come by to fix the things for you. You can have them pay yearly for this service. You could probably set up a remote access to these systems so you can actually set these options for them without going there. and else you could have the travel costs be still charged to these customers (a lot of service contract exclude travel costs in other busnisses).
So I'd say that's good for the company ;).

Ofcourse personally I wouldn't recommend it also, but on the other hand I see so many people who nowadays have soundbars and other devices which they configure trough apps in their houses and a lot of the times they have no idea how to actually do this. I've been to many (older) people who bought a TV and bought a soundbar with it because the shop said that would improve the sound. And when being there I noticed the soundbar just wasn't connect and wasn't producing any sound. They these people where convinced it sounded better, even if I turned off the power of the soundbar they would say the sound was worse now, and only after I had them lay their ears on the speaker to hear for them self there wasn't actually any sound coming from it they noticed it and believed me ... which often resulted in me fixing their soundbar and a few weeks later they updated the app or something and their settings where lost or they turned of the soundbar which made it forget the setting and they where back at square one without noticing. 
So this shows again how people are not informed about the technique they have. I wouldn't be suprised if there are people who have a mesh solution from google where actually only 1 AP is beaming and all others are doing noting at all.

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I will probably make Ubiquiti happen here! Since we have 120+ units in the store that are up as demo and we want them connected to internet to demo them fully. And our own equipment also will be running on through the network. Linksys Velop can take 32 units per Node what I have read and that will make it really annoying since all the demos are stacked together in one place. So having real and good equipment must be so much smoother after the setup than any other Consumer grade equipment. And I can ofcourse go and visit that other company and check their infrastructure they have with the UniFi!

 

Thanks a lot for the input on this! @kirashi and @Levisallanon

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