Routers and mesh systems, 4G specifically

[cheb]

Is there any advantage in having them all the parts of a network made by the same manufacturer?

In short: I've an EE 4G sim card and the router they supply is a bit rubbish, it can't take an external aerial for starters. I've borrowed a Huawie router and even without an external aerial it's much better. It's wire linked to a TP Link repeater and all seems to work fine.

I should buy another router and return the borrowed one soonish, is it worth buying a TP Link router or doesn't it matter? Also are any makes much better than others?

[Mussels]

There are usually benefits to buying the same brands. I have a Techicolour router with a Technicolor mesh repeater that work well together with ethernet backhaul. They use the Easymesh standard so I bought a TP-Link Easymesh unit with an ethernet connection, first thing I found is the ethernet can't be used for backhaul and the second thing was they don't mesh together properly. It seemed to work but the Easymesh manager on the router listed all wifi connections the TP-Link device as LAN connections.
In the end I configured the TP-Link mesh device as a standalone access point with the same SSID details, it works but is still disappointing.

[Count Steer]

Edit: Oops...missed the 4G bit.

Others may be interested though.

Funnily enuff there was an article on whether to swap out your ISP router for a 3rd party one in this month's Which? The answer seems to be 'probably yes' unless you have a BT Smart Hub 2 or a Sky Max Hub.

For routers they recommend Linksys Hydra Pro 6 (£170) or Asus RT-AX57 (£90). The TP-Link Archer AX12 (£55) is OK but the coverage isn't as good as the other 2 and it struggles more as distance increases.

(The best is the Amazon EERO Max 7.....£510 )

Mesh systems: TP-Link Deco XE75 Pro 6E (3 pack £523) is but so is the Linksys Atlas 6 MX2003-KE (3 pack £250)...'a superb option'.

BT offering at £290 is 'not bad'.

There's some info on extenders too if you need it.

[Mussels]

If you use a mesh system you can switch off the router wifi and just use it as a 4g modem, no need to buy a new one. If your TP-Link repeater is part of their mesh system then a couple more of those may be your answer.
Moving the Wifi part away from the 4g part might improve your connection as well.