Mesh Wi-Fi vendors are increasingly keeping antennas inside their routers, and the decision is as much about economics as engineering. Engadget reports that while external antennas maximize raw range, mesh systems are designed to repeat signals and fill coverage gaps, so the farthest device a node typically talks to is another node, not a distant phone or laptop.
Internal antennas also support seamless roaming. Because they tend to be omnidirectional, they help nodes detect nearby devices and hand off connections without dropping bandwidth. External antennas, by contrast, can be misaligned or broken, introducing risks that make little sense for a product meant to be scattered around the home.
On the business side, external antennas require more parts and materials. The per-unit cost is small, but across millions of units it adds up. Internal antennas also allow the minimalist designs shoppers expect from mesh systems—an important selling point when households need two or three units sitting in plain view. In this case, the source argues, manufacturers are not cutting corners; they are making a better product for the category.