I’m looking to replace my old Netgear Nighthawk with a new router. Currently my house does have some dead zones which we make up for using a powerline. But the powerline isn’t always stable and we have to switch wifi networks depending on where we are in the house.

My question is, is it better to get a mesh network or a standard router with either range extenders (ex: TP-Link OneMesh) or mesh features (ex: Asus AiMesh)? I couldn’t really find any article that listed the differences between mesh routers and standard routers with extendable features. They only compare mesh routers with standard routers.

More info:

Preferably, I would like to go with the standard router for the higher speeds and extra ports but I’m afraid that won’t solve our dead zone issues. Also, buying two or three standard routers is way more expensive than a mesh network with multiple satellites.

Speed and signal strength are important for me since both I and my brother WFH and do online gaming. Unfortunately, the home office (where the router is) and bedrooms (where we game and where my brother works) are on opposite sides of the house. Another note is that when the garage opens, my brother loses signal in his room for some reason. I haven’t experienced that despite being closer to the garage than him