That’s such a familiar struggle—old homes have so much charm, but those walls are basically wifi kryptonite. I’ve worked with clients who tried mesh too, and it’s always a toss-up whether it’ll play nice with lath and plaster. Tucking cables is honestly a clever workaround. Not the most glamorous, sure, but sometimes function just has to win out. I’ve seen folks paint cables the same color as their baseboards or walls to help them disappear a bit more... not perfect, but it can help if the look is bugging you.
Painting the cables is a solid trick—did that in my last place and it definitely helped them blend in. Ever tried those flat ethernet cables? I ran one under a rug once, wasn’t perfect but beat drilling through 100-year-old plaster. Curious if anyone’s had luck with powerline adapters in these old houses... mine were hit or miss.
Powerline adapters are a real gamble in these old places. I remember working on a brownstone where the wiring was so patchy, half the outlets were on circuits from different decades. The adapters worked great in one room, then totally dropped out in the next. Flat ethernet cables under rugs have saved me more than once, though—especially when folks don’t want to mess with original trim or plaster. Not perfect, but way less hassle than fishing lines through walls that crumble if you look at them wrong.
Totally get where you’re coming from—old wiring is a nightmare for powerline stuff. I’ve had similar luck with flat ethernet cables, especially in houses where the walls are basically historic artifacts. Ever tried mesh Wi-Fi as a backup? Sometimes it’s more reliable, but then you’re dealing with signal loss through thick plaster anyway. It’s always a tradeoff, isn’t it?
Mesh Wi-Fi can help, but yeah, those old plaster walls are brutal for signal. Here’s what I usually suggest when I’m working in older homes: first, map out your dead zones with a phone or laptop—just walk around and see where you get drops. Next, if running new ethernet isn’t an option, try placing mesh nodes in doorways or open spaces instead of tucking them in corners. Sometimes just moving a node a couple feet makes a difference. And don’t forget to test different heights—higher up can sometimes dodge some of that thick wall interference. It’s never perfect, but I’ve seen it help a lot.