The importance of being able to select channels manually is necessary when the deco devices all select the same channel anf then 6 devices fight for access to the network.

Deco labs tells me that i need to select another.network because there is a lot of wifi interferrance on the deco mesh network because i. Some areas the networks overlap and cause congestion.

There are only one deco network and it is tripping over its own feet.  The other nwifi network is set on a different channel and works fine.  But looking at the deco labs i can see all 6mdecos fighting on the same channel.

I cannot move them further apart as then they loose signal drom the master other decos.

Also if one deco looses connections the network totally stops working or becomes unstable.

@shadowen 

It is a fundamental mis-underdstanding of a "mesh" network to think that each member node is "fighting" on the same channel.  It is an intrinsic property of a mesh that all nodes are on the same channel (within each band, such as 2.4GHz).  It is precisely because the nodes are all on the same channel that client devices can seamlessly move around the region of the mesh without "dropping out".

That is why you'll probably never see a mesh system which allows one to choose a different channel (in the same band) for each node.  It would be nice to select the "mesh-wide" channel ... but that would apply to all the nodes in the mesh.

@Dan_C. Hi Dan, So what to do when one finds itself on a cluttered network?

@Marvin101 

Sell the TP-link stuff to someone who lives in a remote area and buy yourself some decent stuff from another brand that does NOT think their customers are a bunch of retards.

@IanPH Hahaha (lol, but it's not funny though;) i am seriously thinking to sell this crap and invest in something better.... The only problem is that i would need to scam some, good hearted, person to buy from me thinking they finally get a good home network... but wait.... that exactly what TP-link did with me (us) :P

I can imagine the TP-link support is also frustrated because they get allot of complains and can't solve they just the messenger... Nevertheless 

@IanPH Any affordable suggestion?

@Hami I hear the google stuff is really good. I understand you are able to control the channel on it  as well. But again, another big financial investment...

I am able to set my ISP router wifi channel. This router also has a wifi scanner and will automatically change the channel if it detects too much congestion. Funny, when I use the network optimization tool on the deco app I can see these devices pickup the exact same channels as my ISP router everytime! If I disable the ISP wifi and rescan, guess what, the next most congested/used wifi channel is picked up by the deco device. 

As a work around, I will enable the ISP wifi, manually select the least busy channel (truthfully, the ISP router does a great job of doing this automatically) perfrom a network optimization scan. The deco will pickup the ISP wifi channels (as mentioned above). I then disable the ISP wifi and don't touch anything until I start experiencing issues again. (typically after a power failure) It sucks, it's a lot of work, but it is the only thing that seems to work for me.

On a side note, I'm having many other issues with the deco m9's. My smart devices (doorbell, speakers, thermostat, lights, etc.) are all delayed in receiving commands on the deco wifi network. I've done a lot of investigation, with each manufacturer, as well as good old google... It seems to be a pretty common issue across the entire TP-Link wireless device offering.

I've been waiting on TP Link support to setup a remote troubleshooting session with me for more than 2 weeks. Support is not very responsive, or helpful.

For me never again will I invest in a TP Link product for my home.

Hi TP-Link,

Just had the same problem as I read on all 31 PAGES of complaints about not being able to set detailed configurations in the DECO systems...

When will you start acting like a caring company and make a software update available for people who NEED it...

In my case the indoors TP-Link Deco M9 system with 5 units chose the same channel as the Wifi outdoors (outdoor access points) resulting in our video surveillance system totally going offline since the Deco had "the loudest voice" and just blew the older AP's away... As a result we are missing 2 days of surveillance video... This surely cannot be the meaning of your engineers...

While the initial MASTER Deco might not encounter all the networks that the final mesh may encounter you still should account for these situations.... easiest solution... give us the possibility to choose our own settings!

On a seperate note your app stinks.... look at the ASUS zen if you are lost.... it should at least have a tablet mode and support for the visually impaired amongst us...

Come on Cisco... YOU CAN DO BETTER than this!

@Kewl_one wait until you ask for support. They only work their local hours, Indonesia or Cambodia I believe. They use "free" Remote Desktop software which they cannot always get to work. I sat waiting for hours into the middle of the night (EST). In the end nothing resolved, support call never completed. They mo longer respond to email. Absolute joke of a company!!!

like you many of my home devices are effected. Cameras, entertainment devices, thermostat. 
 

As far as I am concerned TP Link products are not ready for home use! And their support is non existent. 

Add another vote to allow end user to change channel.  There wouldn't be 31+ pages of customers bitching about your garbage product if the "automatic" configuration worked properly.  I spend more time power cycling these things than actually surfing the Internet.  My Deco P9's are in AP point mode because I have a firewall.  I see in the forums that people are recommending flipping them to router mode.  This is not a solution.