New house set up

[Burmey]

We’re moving house in a few weeks and I’m trying to sort the Wi-Fi out. 
we will have my smart hub 2 and 3 black discs 

The electrician has put the phone line so it comes into a cupboard in on end of the house (it’s a very wide house)and he’s put two move Ethernet cat 6 sockets in two cupboards - one upstairs and one at the far end of the other side of the house. 

my questions are:

Should the smart hub 2 be situated inside cupboard which is where they have situated it? Should the black disks also be in cupboards, which is where the electrician has put the cat 6 sockets ? And can I mix these black discs (because I don’t think I have enough with just two) with a TP Link access point system?

What issues might this cause? 

 Do I have to turn off the  smart hub 2 to be able to have a successful system? Should I be doing this with the smart hub discs or only if I have the TP Link system added to it. I am very confused at this point. 

[PaddyB]

Hi @Burmey,

Thank you for posting. Do you know what type of Broadband connection will be at the new address? If it's Full Fibre your hub would need to go next to the ONT. 

If it's not Full Fibre and the master socket is in the cupboard, then that would be the best place for the hub. The Black Wifi disks all work wirelessly so there is no need to place them in the cupboards unless you want them out of sight.

The best place for the disks is dotted around the house to maximise the coverage.

Thanks,

Paddy

[Burmey]

Thank you. I don’t think it’s full fibre yet but we’re hoping one day. We get about 68mbps. 

What’s ONT?

will tp link access points work with and alongside the black discs? Or will they confuse things ? 
I’ve always been told that hubs and discs shouldn’t be placed in cupboards because the signal deteriorates. Is that wrong? 

and do I have to turn off the hub wifi in order to have a successful mesh system? 

[licquorice · Accepted solution]

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@Burmey wrote:

Thank you. I don’t think it’s full fibre yet but we’re hoping one day. We get about 68mbps. 

What’s ONT?

Optical modem, if you have full fibre.

will tp link access points work with and alongside the black discs? Or will they confuse things ? 

They will work, but may not be needed
I’ve always been told that hubs and discs shouldn’t be placed in cupboards because the signal deteriorates. Is that wrong? 
Obviously a cupboard isn't the ideal location for a WiFi source.
and do I have to turn off the hub wifi in order to have a successful mesh system? 

No, with the black discs the hub forms part of the mesh.

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[Burmey]

Thank you. Sorry I’ve been away for a few days so only just seen the response . 

is the hub itself ok in a cupboard if it’s part of the mesh of the disc system? Should it ideally be out in the open for maximum wifi strength or don’t the new hubs matter in this way? 

[licquorice]

Clearly any wifi device will be impacted by anything solid impeding the signal, the degree of impact will only be found out by testing.

Builders seem to have an obsession with hiding comms kit away in cupboards, I guess that's the problem with getting sparkies rather than network engineers to do the wiring.

[Burmey]

Thanks . Much appreciated.