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A little bit of help required

A little bit of help required

A little bit of help required
A little bit of help required
2025-01-08 19:48:40 - last edited 2025-01-09 19:40:37
Tags: #Network Connectivity #Installation

Many years ago, I started with a mesh network of 3 Deco M9 Plus units, and everything was fine. Then last year I thought I would introduce some new hardware  - Deco XE75 Pro units - in to the network, with the aim of gradually retiring the M9 Plus units.

 

Bottom line - things have not gone well, with the network being flakier than an Alaskan snow storm at random intervals.

 

The network is currently configured with a Deco XE75 Pro as the main unit, and the 3 M9 Plus units as satellites.

 

What happens at random is that the M9 Plus LEDs change from green to flashing red, and a while later, the XE75 Pro LED changes from green to solid red. And yet I still have wifi connectivity albeit, I suspect, only via the M9 Plus units. I have an idea what the problem might be, but I would appreciate some feedback.

 

Both the XE75 Pro, and one of the M9 Plus units have Ethernet cable connection to the router.

 

So the question is - given that the XE75 Pro is the main unit in the mesh network, do I unplug the Ethernet cable from the adjacent M9 Plus unit, before rebooting the whole network?

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#1
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Re:A little bit of help required-Solution
2025-01-09 12:31:23 - last edited 2025-01-09 19:40:37

  @retired_user 

 

See my post on this subject. M series do not play well with X series. I have tried for months to get them to work, they just don't and after a year I gave up trying. Of course TP-Link will never admit this as the tagline is that they all work together. Sorry, but they just do not.

 

https://community.tp-link.com/en/home/forum/topic/733584?replyId=1466196

 

You would have been better off buying 6 cheaper X series nodes (even 6 x X10) or do what I have done and go Eero.

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Re:A little bit of help required
2025-01-09 02:54:59

  @retired_user 

 

Hi, thanks for posting question here.

May I confirm your exact network topology?  How are the four Deco units connected to each other?

It seems that you connect Deco XE75 Pro and one Deco M9 Plus to your main router at the same time via Ethernet cables?

If you want the Deco network work as wireless router mode, the connection above is incorrect. 

You may refer to this guide to check: General questions about Ethernet Backhaul feature on your Deco

 

Check Out the Latest Posts: Archer GE550 - BE9300 Tri-Band Wi-Fi 7 Gaming Router EasyMesh Is Available When Wi-Fi Routers Work in AP Mode as A Controller. Archer BE550 New Software Enhances System Stability and Optimizes MLO Network Stability. TL-WA3001 Supports EasyMesh, Speed Limit, Guest Network in AP Mode and/or Multi-SSID Mode.
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#2
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Re:A little bit of help required
2025-01-09 09:08:04

  @Marvin_S Hi Marvin,

Thanks for your prompt reply.

 

To reiterate:

 

  1. The XE75 Pro is connected in AP mode to the router via Ethernet cable
  2. One M9 Plus is connected in AP mode to the router via Ethernet cable
  3. The other two M9 Plus units are connected in AP mode by wireless backhaul, i.e. no Ethernet connection

 

Personally, I think that only the XE75 Pro  - which is designated as Main in the mesh network by the Deco app - should be connected by Ethernet cable to the router, and the 3 M9 Plus units should be connected by wireless backhaul, i.e. no Ethernet connection.

 

What I was in need of is confirmation of this supposition. I will check out the link in your reply, and get back to you.

 

Once again, thank for replying.

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#3
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Re:A little bit of help required-Solution
2025-01-09 12:31:23 - last edited 2025-01-09 19:40:37

  @retired_user 

 

See my post on this subject. M series do not play well with X series. I have tried for months to get them to work, they just don't and after a year I gave up trying. Of course TP-Link will never admit this as the tagline is that they all work together. Sorry, but they just do not.

 

https://community.tp-link.com/en/home/forum/topic/733584?replyId=1466196

 

You would have been better off buying 6 cheaper X series nodes (even 6 x X10) or do what I have done and go Eero.

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#4
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Re:A little bit of help required
2025-01-09 13:59:51

  @SteveWex 

Thank you for your reply. Thank you for the post link. Most enlightening.

 

My orginal intent was to create a new network with 3 XE75 Pro units, and sunset the M9 Plus network. Then I read the bit about mixing devices, and added an XE75 Pro unit to the M9 Plus network. From there the rest is a history of woe.

 

I'll tinker a bit more, starting with having only the XE75 Pro unit connected to the router, and see what happens. I'm hoping to make it through to spring before I set up an XE75 Pro only mesh network. Beyond that, I'll take your advice and, come the summer, shell out for a different brand.

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Re:A little bit of help required
2025-01-09 19:38:56

  @SteveWex 

Addendum to my earlier reply.

 

This afternoon things went from bad to worse, with 2 out of the 3 M9 Plus units going off line. So I bit the bullet and rebooted the XE75 Pro unit. At the same time, I removed the Ethernet cable connection to the router from the adjacent M9 Plus unit, before rebooting that as well.

 

Very quickly, all 4 units in the mesh network showed solid green.

 

Four hours later, and everything is still green across the board.

 

Now cynical me says that it is only a matter of time before things degrade back to red.

 

That having been said, I still intending to follow through, based on your advice.

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