Wi-Fi node placement question 

Wi-Fi Optimization
1

I’m trying to figure out the best way to upgrade the Wi-Fi in my house.

Right now I have three older Wi-Fi 5 nodes. One is the main router and gets internet from an outdoor 5G receiver through Ethernet. A second node is in the same living room, only a couple meters away, and I use it mainly as a bridge for the TV, console, media box, and a few other devices through LAN ports. My PC is wired to the main router. The third node is upstairs.

Now I’m thinking about upgrading to three newer Wi-Fi 7 nodes. One would replace the main router. I’m also wondering if I should keep some of the old Wi-Fi 5 nodes for remote areas, like the garage, yard, or maybe a small outbuilding.

My main question is about the living room. Is it bad to have a second node only 2 meters from the main router? I don’t have enough LAN ports on the main router, and it’s not practical to run a bunch of cables through the wall to the TV/console area.

Would that second node interfere with the main router’s Wi-Fi to the rest of the house? And if I connect the two nearby nodes with Ethernet instead of letting them talk wirelessly, does that make the situation better?

Also, is it worth “wasting” one of the new Wi-Fi 7 nodes in the same room just to feed the TV/console/media box by LAN, or should I save the newer node for better coverage deeper in the house and keep using the old node as a wired bridge?

Main usage is TV, console, PC, upstairs TV/console, laptop in the kitchen, and maybe Wi-Fi in the yard for a laptop and robotic mower. I don’t care that much about phone signal because my phone has unlimited mobile data anyway.

Sorry if this is basic. I’m just trying not to buy new gear and place it badly.

2

Honestly, the best advice anyone can give you on a forum is: spend a little on a proper network planning app before you buy more hardware or start drilling holes. NetSpot is a great option for this. In Planning Mode, you can load or draw your actual floor plan, set wall materials, place virtual access points, choose equipment models, and even adjust antenna angles. That matters because your house layout, wall types, stairs, garage position, and outdoor area will affect coverage way more than generic “put one node upstairs” advice.

3

If you can run one Ethernet cable from the main router to the TV/console area, do that. A second node 2 meters away isn’t automatically a disaster, but if it’s connecting back to the main router over Wi-Fi, then your “wired” TV and console are still really going through a wireless hop. That can be okay for streaming, but it’s not ideal for gaming or anything latency-sensitive. If you connect that second node with Ethernet, the situation gets much better. At that point it’s basically acting like a wired AP/switch near your entertainment setup. That said, if the only problem is “not enough LAN ports”, a small Ethernet switch might be cleaner than burning a whole Wi-Fi 7 node in the same room.

4

@SignalHunter95 Good point about planning before buying. I’ll try mapping the house in NetSpot first and see where the newer nodes actually make sense instead of just placing them wherever it feels convenient.