Why does my mesh WiFi keep disconnecting? Common causes and fixes

First, work out whether it is the mesh or the internet

A mesh system has two jobs. It has to get the internet from your modem, and it has to carry it between its own units. Either one can drop out, and from the couch they look the same. Telling the two apart is the first thing a WiFi technician checks on site, and you can do it yourself.

1. 1

   Plug in with a cable

   Connect a laptop to the main mesh unit, or straight to the modem, with a network cable and turn the laptop's WiFi off.

2. 2

   Use it for a while

   Stream something, or leave a video call running, through the time of day the dropouts normally happen.

3. 3

   Read the result

   If the cable drops out too, the problem is your internet service. If the cable is steady while the WiFi drops, the problem is the mesh.

Check your speed first Run it on a cable at the router, then on WiFi in the room that drops out. The two numbers tell you which side the problem is on.

Common mesh WiFi problems at a glance

Match what you are seeing to the likely cause, then jump to it. Every cause here is covered in full below.

Common mesh WiFi problems at a glance

What you see	Likely cause	Where to look
Drops in the same rooms every time, fine near the main unit	The units cannot hear each other	Reason 2
A restart fixes it for a day or two	A unit that hangs; the restart is not the fix	Reason 1
Weak everywhere in a big house or one with solid walls	A weak WiFi signal	Reason 3
Devices keep hopping between two networks	The modem’s own WiFi is still on	Reason 4
Everything slows down in the evening	Network congestion	Reason 5
The laptop on a cable drops out too	An outage at your provider	Reason 6
It looks like WiFi, but a cable is kinked or loose	A damaged network cable	Reason 7
One older gadget keeps dropping, everything else is fine	A device on the older WiFi band	Older devices

What a mesh node is, and how mesh works

A mesh WiFi system is a set of units, called nodes, that work together to make one WiFi network. One node plugs into your modem or NBN box and acts as the hub. The others, often called satellites, sit around the home.

Your phone or laptop connects to whichever node is strongest, and moves to the next one as you walk through the house without you doing anything. That is the difference from an old-style range extender, which makes a second network and leaves your phone clinging to the wrong one.

The part people do not see is the link between the nodes. Every satellite has to get its internet from another node, and unless you have joined them with a cable, it does that over WiFi as well. That link is called the backhaul. A satellite is only ever as good as its backhaul.

Common reasons your mesh WiFi keeps disconnecting

1. It needs a restart

Start with the easy one. A restart clears a hung unit and makes every node reconnect cleanly.

• Unplug the modem and all the mesh units from power.
• Wait about 60 seconds.
• Plug the modem in first and let it come up fully, then the main mesh unit, then the satellites.

If a restart fixes it for a day or two and the dropouts come back, the restart is not the fix. Keep reading.

2. The units cannot hear each other

This is the one we find most often, and the live version of this post did not mention it. The satellite in the back room shows full bars on your phone, because your phone is right beside it. But the satellite itself is hanging on to a weak signal from the main unit two walls and a slab away. So it drops, reconnects, and drops again, and takes everything connected to it along for the ride.

Signs that this is your problem:

• The dropouts happen in the same rooms every time.
• It is fine near the main unit and bad at the far end.
• A satellite’s light changes colour or flashes when it drops.
• The mesh app shows a satellite’s connection as weak or fair.

The fix is to move the satellite closer to the main unit, to roughly halfway between the main unit and the room you are trying to cover. It feels wrong to move the unit away from the room with the problem. It works because a strong link to a unit one room back beats a weak link to a unit in the same room.

How are your units joined?

Linked by WiFi Linked by cable

12345

1. 1Modem
2. 2Unit 1
3. 3Unit 2
4. 4Solid wall
5. 5Unit 3

• Linked by WiFi. Each unit gets its connection from the one before it, and the link weakens with every wall. Unit 3, behind the solid wall, hangs on to a weak link, drops, and takes its devices with it.
• Linked by cable. Every unit gets a full-strength connection, however many walls are in the way, and nothing drops.

3. A weak WiFi signal

A weak signal between a node and your device causes dropouts too, especially in a larger home or one with solid walls.

• Put the main unit in the open. Central, up off the floor, and not inside a cupboard or behind the TV.
• Keep units away from interference. Cordless phones, baby monitors and microwaves can all disrupt WiFi.
• Mind what is in between. Brick, concrete, tiles, mirrors and foil insulation all block WiFi far more than plasterboard does.

4. The modem’s own WiFi is still on

If the mesh plugs into a modem that is also broadcasting its own WiFi, you have two networks in the same house competing on the same channels, and some devices will keep hopping between them. Turn the WiFi off on the modem and let the mesh do the wireless, or set the modem and the mesh up the way the mesh maker’s instructions say for your type of connection. Your provider can tell you how to turn off the WiFi on a modem they supplied.

5. Network congestion

Congestion is when the household is asking for more than the connection can deliver. It usually shows up as everything slowing down in the evening rather than as clean dropouts, but a struggling unit can drop devices.

• Check your plan. A plan that suited two people may not suit a house full of streaming and video calls.
• Spread out the heavy jobs. Big downloads and backups can run overnight.
• Use the mesh’s priority settings. Most systems let you put a work laptop ahead of everything else.

6. Outages at your provider

Sometimes the mesh is fine and the internet behind it is dropping. This is what the cable test at the top of this page is for. If your devices show WiFi and load nothing at all, that is WiFi connected without internet, and when the cable drops out too and your provider cannot find the fault, an internet technician can test the service.

• Keep a log. Write down the time of each dropout for a few days. A pattern is what gets a fault taken seriously.
• Check the modem and the NBN box. If their lights change when the internet drops, it is the service, not the mesh. See what the NBN box lights mean.

7. Damaged network cables

A cable that is kinked, chewed or half out of its socket will cause dropouts that look just like a WiFi fault.

• Inspect the cables between the NBN box, the modem and the main mesh unit.
• Push every plug in until it clicks, and replace any cable with a broken clip or visible damage.

More things to try

Restart your devices and keep everything updated

Restart the phone or laptop that is dropping, and install its updates. Then open the mesh app and update the mesh units themselves. Mesh makers fix dropout bugs in updates more often than you would expect.

Stop devices switching between networks

A device that knows two networks, say the mesh and the modem’s old WiFi, or a neighbour’s guest network, may keep jumping between them. Forget the networks you no longer use, so the device only knows the mesh.

Check for older devices

Some older gadgets, particularly smart plugs, cameras and printers, only work on the older and slower of the two WiFi bands and can struggle on a mesh that blends both under one name. If one device keeps dropping while everything else is fine, look at that device. Many mesh apps have a setting made for exactly this.

Put the units in the right places

Mesh units work best when each one can see the next without too much in between.

• One unit beside the modem, in the open.
• Each satellite about halfway to the area it serves, not in the dead spot itself.
• On a different floor, try to place the satellite roughly above or below the main unit rather than at the far corner.
• Avoid the floor, cupboards, and the top of the fridge.

Deco, Google, Orbi or Linksys: does the brand matter?

For dropouts, much less than people hope. Whether the units are TP-Link Deco, Google, Orbi or Linksys, they all work the same way and they drop out for the same reasons on this page: the link between the units, placement, interference and the service behind them. Changing brand without changing where the units sit, or how they are joined, usually moves the problem rather than fixing it.

What does differ between models is how well they cope with a hard house.

What to look for in a mesh system

If you are buying one, or wondering whether yours is up to the job, these are the things that matter. We are not going to tell you which box to buy or what it costs. Models and prices change every few months, and the right one depends on your house.

• Network ports on every unit. So you can join the units with a cable, now or later. This matters more than anything else on the box.
• A separate band for the link between units. Usually sold as tri-band. It gives the units their own channel to talk to each other, which helps most when you cannot run a cable.
• Enough units for the house, and no more. Two well-placed units beat four badly placed ones.
• An app that shows each unit’s connection. You want to be able to see which satellite is struggling.
• Outdoor units, if you need the yard. An indoor unit pointed at a window is not the same thing. For a granny flat or a shed, a cable to a unit out there is the dependable answer.

If yours is new and has never been right, help at home with the setup covers the mesh, the WiFi and the devices on it.

When a mesh is the wrong answer

Mesh is good at spreading WiFi through an ordinary home. It is not magic. A double-brick house, a long house with the modem at one end, two storeys with a concrete slab between them, or a building out the back can all beat a wireless mesh, however many units you add.

In those homes the answer is usually a cable: either to join the mesh units, or to put a wired WiFi point where it is needed. If you have been offered powerline adapters instead, powerline adapters against mesh WiFi says when they help. If a range extender is what you have now, whether WiFi extenders really work explains why they tend to disappoint, and how to boost a mesh WiFi signal covers placement in more detail.