Mesh setups are definitely a solid move, especially in older houses. I went with an Eero system after battling my own Wi-Fi gremlins—my place is from the '50s, and I swear the walls are lined with lead or something. Anyway, mesh helped a ton, but I also found that placement matters more than you'd think. Took me a weekend of trial and error to get it right, but now even the basement gets decent coverage...mostly. Still get the occasional hiccup, but way better than before.
"placement matters more than you'd think"
Definitely true. I ended up moving one of my mesh nodes into the attic—sounds weird, but it cleared up dead spots upstairs. Old houses are quirky; sometimes the best spot isn't obvious at first.
Yeah, attic placement can be surprisingly effective. I had a similar experience when I put one of my mesh points in the basement ceiling—seemed counterintuitive at first, but it boosted coverage on the main floor dramatically. Old plaster walls and weird layouts make signal paths unpredictable. Sometimes you just gotta experiment a bit and see what sticks... or connects, I guess.
"Old plaster walls and weird layouts make signal paths unpredictable."
Yeah, plaster walls are notorious for messing with Wi-Fi signals—especially if there's metal mesh or lath behind them. Did you notice any difference depending on what material was in your basement ceiling? I've found concrete or brick can sometimes bounce signals around unpredictably too. It's funny how the spots you'd least expect end up being the best placements... guess that's just part of the charm (or frustration?) of older homes.
I ran into something similar when I redid my basement. Thought concrete ceilings would kill the signal completely, but weirdly enough, it bounced around and gave me decent coverage in random corners. Older houses definitely keep you guessing...
