There are many different brands, models, and designs of mesh routers. So much so, that it can be daunting to enter the world of mesh routers for the first time.
But in some ways that’s just the illusion of choice. When you remove the plastic casings from these routers, what you’ll find inside is usually one of a small handful of chipset brands and models. The real question is what this means for you and the next router upgrade on your shopping list.
Router Brands Look Different, But Their Brains Often Don’t
It’s what you have inside that counts.
So what exactly is a “chipset” in this context? It really is just as its name indicates. It is the set of microchips that performs the processing and provides the logic for a given router. You may see routers from Eero, TP-Link, ASUS, etc. on a store shelf, but these companies don’t actually make the hardware inside these machines.
They do some of the design work and specify the things they want or need for a given model, but like the Android smartphone industry, the SoC (System-on-a-Chip) is purchased off-the-shelf and built into the router.
Three Companies Quietly Power Most of the Consumer Wi-Fi Industry
For most consumer mesh systems, the brain comes from one of three vendors
So who actually makes these chipsets? For the most part, the chipset inside your router was manufactured by Qualcomm, Broadcom, or MediaTek. Intel and Realtek are also in there somewhere, but they are minor players in comparison.
Qualcomm is the most dominant player here and sells more than just chips. You can purchase complete network platforms and pre-built designs if you are an enterprise customer. Smartphone fans already know this name, because in the Android world Qualcomm Snapdragon Series SoCs are the performance kings of each generation.
Broadcom is another titan of the networking world and you’ll find its SoCs in flagship or high-end routers, but the company is a major supplier of networking silicon across the board.
MediaTek was primarily known for making SoCs for tablets and smartphones, particularly in the budget segmentbut it has also become much more competitive in the networking space. If you’re looking for one of the most affordable Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 7 systems, chances are it’s based on the MediaTek platform.
9/10
- Brand
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Unifi
- Range
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1,750 square feet
The Unifi Dream Router 7 is a complete networking device that offers NVR capabilities, fully managed switching, an integrated firewall, VLANs, and more. With four 2.5G Ethernet ports (one with PoE+) and one 10G SFP+ port, the Unifi Dream Router 7 also features dual WAN capabilities in case you have two ISP connections. It includes a 64GB microSD card for IP camera storage, but can be upgraded for more storage if needed. With Wi-Fi 7, you can achieve a theoretical network speed of up to 5.7 Gbps when using the 10G SFP+ port, or 2.5 Gbps when using Ethernet.
Many “different” routers start life with the same reference design
The similarities don’t end at the chipset
Companies such as Qualcomm and Broadcom also produce complete reference platforms including circuit board designs, firmware development kits, antenna guidance, and software. Manufacturers can take these designs, customize them, and bring a finished product to market much faster than starting from scratch.
For this reason, two mesh systems from completely different companies can have almost identical specifications on paper. They are most likely based on the same reference design. This is no different from a company like NVIDIA, a GPU manufacturerproviding a reference design to your board partners, who can then use it as a starting point for the final product.
Manufacturers can add more RAM or flash storage, improve cooling, redesign antennas, or modify industrial design. They can also choose higher quality components or reduce costs to achieve a lower price. However, the core of each router from a hardware perspective is virtually identical.
Software matters more than silicon
Coding your way to greatness
If hardware is often similar, why do some mesh systems get rave reviews while others frustrate their owners? The answer is, of course, software, or perhaps to be more precise I should say “firmware.”
Either way, this is where individual manufacturers can really differentiate themselves. After all, your computer can be amazing or terrible to use, depending on whether you like the operating system or the applications you have on it. All without changing the hardware in any way.
Likewise, the software experience when using a TP-Link mesh router will be quite different than that of a Eero It doesn’t matter what’s under the hood.
In addition to the UX (user experience) aspect, there are also advantages in the engineering aspect. You may find that one company does a much better job at QoS (quality of service) than another, or that the way VPN support is handled varies greatly.
Don’t buy a logo – buy the implementation
Knowing that many mesh systems share common hardware shouldn’t deter you from purchasing one. If anything, it helps explain why reading reviews is so important.
It breaks the illusion that what sets these systems apart has anything to do with the core hardware. Everyone buys from the same limited set of options in a catalog somewhere. Instead, what really matters is firmware quality, long-term software support, update rate, feature set, and real-world performance. If two companies start out on equal footing, what ultimately matters is what they do differently after things go south.
