How to Position Mesh Wi-Fi Nodes in Your Home

Start partway toward the weak room

It's tempting to put a node right where the Wi-Fi is worst. We'd put it partway there instead, because the node needs a strong link back to the rest of the mesh, and a weak link can slow down every device connected to that node. Google's placement advice (opens in a new tab) is to go about halfway toward the area you want covered, no more than two rooms from your router or another point.

There are two wireless links in play: your device to the node, and the node back to the mesh. That second link is the backhaul. The bars on your phone only show the first one, so check the node's own connection too.

One room, one device or the whole house?

• Several devices struggle in the same room. Start with the node that covers that room.
• One device struggles while another next to it works fine. Check which node it's connected to if your app shows that, since a device can stay on a farther node even when a closer one has a better signal. Turn its Wi-Fi off and back on, then repeat the task before you move anything.
• Everything slows down at once. Run your mesh system's internet test and check your internet provider's status first, because moving a node might not help if the problem is the service coming into your home.

A speed test on your phone includes the phone's own Wi-Fi link. The router's internet test and a router-to-node test each measure a different piece of the path, so keep those results apart. A fast result at the router is good news about the connection coming in, but the far room still needs its own test.

Find an open spot with a safe outlet

Try a stable surface out in the open, not in a cabinet, and away from metal furniture, large appliances and thick walls between nodes. eero's placement guidance (opens in a new tab) says walls of brick, stone and metal are hard for Wi-Fi to get through, so those barriers can matter more than the distance on a floor plan. If you have a TP-Link Deco, keep it away from microwaves, Bluetooth devices and USB 3.0 devices too, following TP-Link's placement tips (opens in a new tab).

Across floors, compare an open spot near the stairs with another spot closer to the weak room, because neither one is automatically best. Linksys suggests keeping nodes within two rooms or one floor of each other. If there's no safe outlet halfway, try a closer outlet instead.

Keep the node and its own power adapter dry and ventilated, and keep cords out of walkways. Don't use damaged equipment or stretch a cable to reach a perfect spot. Leave the router's fiber or coax connection where it is while you try node positions.

Check the node's connection in your app

Each system shows the node's connection in a different place, so find yours below. The eero row is the odd one out, because its scan rates your devices' connections rather than the link between eeros.

If your app looks different, work out which link it's measuring before you act on the rating. No node rating at all? Use the same-device comparison below instead of your phone's bars.

Move one node, then repeat the same task

1. In the problem spot, use the phone or laptop you normally use and try the same video, call or other task that struggles. Note which node it's connected to if your app shows that.
2. Write down the node's connection rating if your app has one, then pick one spot that's closer or has fewer obstacles.
3. Move only that node, plug it back in and wait until the app or its status light shows it's online again. Leave the router and the other nodes where they are.
4. Check the rating again. If it's still weak, try somewhere closer before you move it any farther into the weak area.
5. Go back to the problem spot with the same device and repeat the same task with about the same household use. Check which node it's using again if you can.
6. Try a room that worked before. Keep the new spot only if the problem room improved and that room is still fine. Otherwise put the node back and try another spot.

If the rating improves but the task doesn't, try the same device right next to the node and then back in the problem spot. That separates the device's own connection from the node's link back to the mesh. If one device is still the only one struggling, stop moving nodes and look at that device.

Try Ethernet you already have before buying another node

If your system supports it, an Ethernet cable can carry the node's backhaul instead of Wi-Fi. The node still needs a useful spot for the wireless devices around it, so check your exact hardware and wiring first.

On Google systems, Nest Wifi Pro, Nest Wifi routers and Google Wifi can use Ethernet in Google's supported wired setups (opens in a new tab). A Nest Wifi point has no Ethernet ports, and Nest Wifi Pro only meshes with other Nest Wifi Pro units, so check the exact model name before you plan around a cable.

Use a cable route that's already there and safe for this test, and leave new in-wall runs to a network cabling installer. We'd move the nodes you have before buying another. Google's own order is to move points first and consider adding more if weak areas remain, and it warns that more than 5 routers or points in one mesh can hurt performance.

If moving doesn't fix it, contact your mesh system's support before you buy another node. Tell them the node models, the spots you tried, the ratings you saw and the task that still fails. That gives them a far better starting point than signal bars.