Bluesound Node2i and wifi frustrations: Mesh!


Much as I've enjoyed the convenience of the Node2i and ability to surf not only my own library but pretty much the world's music, one of the MOST frustrating things for me has been its propensity to lose connectivity. Hardwiring pretty much is a non-starter in this home as the cable and router need to be where they are(upstairs) and the Node2i needs to be where it is(downstairs). And at opposite corners of our home no less. I tried using a wifi extender, and even ugraded that, to no avail. I still would get annoying drop-outs. Pretty darned frustrating when you want to enjoy Friday evening cocktails with the missus and the music suddenly quits. Grrr...
I had upgraded our router a couple months ago from our 6 year old ASUS to a new ASUS RT-AX86U. That helped a but not enough. So yesterday I had a mental lightbulb come on and remembered that the RT-AX86U also supports AiMesh. Amazon to the rescue... I got it last night and just finished setting it up this morning, which was very, very easy. I went ahead and installed the new ASUS RP-AC1900 in my hifi cabinet and ran some Cat5 from it to the Node2i and voila! No more drop outs.
Using the ASUS router admin utility I checked and the signal and it's rock solid. Sounds good too! Placebo? Maybe. Or maybe it's that I'm a much happier camper and not have to worry about when the music is going to quit anymore.
There are plenty of other brands out there that support Mesh technology, ASUS isn't your only option. But from even from just early results, I really recommend looking into upgrading your wifi to Mesh if you're having issues.

Happy listening.
128x128musicfan2349

Showing 4 responses by lalitk

I have been using a trio of Google Mesh in my 3-story home. No more WiFi dead zone, drop outs or spotty coverage. Most people don’t realize a router just can’t provide enough coverage, at least consistently to all devices if you live in a multi-story home. What I really like about Google Mesh is on the fly device prioritization based on your usage in the app. Upon installing the Mesh, my jaw dropped when I noticed how many devices (32 to be exact) vying for the WiFi bandwidth :-)
@musicfan2349,

Great move on buying the Border Patrol DAC to get the best sound out of Node 2i. I’m not clear on why you need long CAT8 cable if you’re using a mesh router. If you worried about EMI/RFI interferences from mesh, I suggest you use Stillpoints ERS cloth to treat the mesh. My Apple router (treated with ERS) is only 4 feet away from my streamer in my main system. 
https://www.tweekgeek.com/stillpoints-ers/
+1, jetter.
Supra CAT 8 is a worthy upgrade for Node 2i. If you find this cable overkill then it seems streaming is not your focus :-) If you use Node 2i for background music then please don’t waste your money on Supra.

PS: I would not use powerline network adaptors, that’s the absolute worst thing for your streaming.
@musicfzn2349,

That’s great to hear! Now sit back and enjoy the best of digital and analog :-)