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Switching Deco X60 to "Wireless Router" Mode Makes Connectivity Unstable

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Switching Deco X60 to "Wireless Router" Mode Makes Connectivity Unstable

This thread has been locked for further replies. You can start a new thread to share your ideas or ask questions.
Switching Deco X60 to "Wireless Router" Mode Makes Connectivity Unstable
Switching Deco X60 to "Wireless Router" Mode Makes Connectivity Unstable
2021-10-06 17:47:23 - last edited 2021-10-11 15:53:02
Model: Deco X60  
Hardware Version:
Firmware Version: 1.5 Build 20210121 Rel. 54042

I have AT&T as my Internet provider. They provide a combination modem/wifi router (BGW210-700). I have disabled the wifi radios on this device. Connected to that device, via ethernet cable, is my primary Deco X60. The other two X60's in my mesh network are wirelessly connected to the main Deco.

 

Previously, I had my Decos in "Access Point" operation mode. However, I want to enable parental controls which are only available in "Wireless Router" mode, so I switched to that mode. After doing so, most of my devices (and I have a LOT) reconnected. However, there were some that refused to connect, even after fully resetting them. Worse, there are some devices which connect, but then disconnect, repeatedly. I don't know why this is happening as the wireless protocol should be identical no matter which mode the device is in. It's pretty frustrating. I'd like to stay in this mode since its the only way that I can enable parental controls, but if I can't find a way to have reliable wifi, then I guess I'll have to switch back to AP mode.

 

Does anyone have any ideas on how to fix this, or what I should be looking for?

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2 Accepted Solutions
Re:Switching Deco X60 to "Wireless Router" Mode Makes Connectivity Unstable-Solution
2021-10-08 10:04:13 - last edited 2021-10-11 15:53:06

@tony_in_DNC 

Hi, except for the wireless protocol, after changing to the wireless router, Deco would assign a new IP range for the clients, which might also be relevant.

Have you ever tried to reset Deco X60 and set it up from the beginning?

And if you have many smart home devices, it is suggested to separate 2.4ghz from 5ghz:

--leave the main network for 5ghz only.

--enable the guest network for 2.4ghz only.

Deco Monthly Recap- Check What's Currently Going on With Deco KidShield Test Recruitment, Share Your Ideas With us! Wi-Fi Schedule Ideas Wanted!
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#2
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Re:Switching Deco X60 to "Wireless Router" Mode Makes Connectivity Unstable-Solution
2021-10-11 15:51:43 - last edited 2021-10-11 15:53:02

@TP-Link 

 

Thanks for the advice about splitting the network with 5GHz for main network and 2.4GHz for guest network. That was a key to solving my issues as having multiple networks using the same frequencies caused interference, especially when the additional APs in the mesh network were also using these same frequencies for backhaul. These are things that I did to fix the problems:

 

1. Switched main network to 5GHz only

2. Switched guest network to 2.4GHz only

3. Put all IoT (smart home) devices on guest network

4. Configured guest network to use ONLY the following security encryption protocol: WPA2-PSK [AES].  No other protocol would work and allow all devices to connect. This is the only one which worked and finally switching to this one allowed everything to connect.

5. Connected 2nd and 3rd access point to main access point using ethernet backhaul. This required a bunch of reconfiguring of my network and running a new ethernet cable. The instructions for this are in another post in this forum. Check it out here: https://community.tp-link.com/en/home/forum/topic/98898

 

After doing all of those things, my network is stable with no device drop-offs. It was WAY harder than it should have been, but that's not really TP-Link's fault. The information in these forums is great but when you're dealing with a bunch of IoT devices, there are MANY variables to work out.

 

Hopefully this info helps others who might be having the same issues that I did.

Recommended Solution
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#3
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2 Reply
Re:Switching Deco X60 to "Wireless Router" Mode Makes Connectivity Unstable-Solution
2021-10-08 10:04:13 - last edited 2021-10-11 15:53:06

@tony_in_DNC 

Hi, except for the wireless protocol, after changing to the wireless router, Deco would assign a new IP range for the clients, which might also be relevant.

Have you ever tried to reset Deco X60 and set it up from the beginning?

And if you have many smart home devices, it is suggested to separate 2.4ghz from 5ghz:

--leave the main network for 5ghz only.

--enable the guest network for 2.4ghz only.

Deco Monthly Recap- Check What's Currently Going on With Deco KidShield Test Recruitment, Share Your Ideas With us! Wi-Fi Schedule Ideas Wanted!
Recommended Solution
  1  
  1  
#2
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Re:Switching Deco X60 to "Wireless Router" Mode Makes Connectivity Unstable-Solution
2021-10-11 15:51:43 - last edited 2021-10-11 15:53:02

@TP-Link 

 

Thanks for the advice about splitting the network with 5GHz for main network and 2.4GHz for guest network. That was a key to solving my issues as having multiple networks using the same frequencies caused interference, especially when the additional APs in the mesh network were also using these same frequencies for backhaul. These are things that I did to fix the problems:

 

1. Switched main network to 5GHz only

2. Switched guest network to 2.4GHz only

3. Put all IoT (smart home) devices on guest network

4. Configured guest network to use ONLY the following security encryption protocol: WPA2-PSK [AES].  No other protocol would work and allow all devices to connect. This is the only one which worked and finally switching to this one allowed everything to connect.

5. Connected 2nd and 3rd access point to main access point using ethernet backhaul. This required a bunch of reconfiguring of my network and running a new ethernet cable. The instructions for this are in another post in this forum. Check it out here: https://community.tp-link.com/en/home/forum/topic/98898

 

After doing all of those things, my network is stable with no device drop-offs. It was WAY harder than it should have been, but that's not really TP-Link's fault. The information in these forums is great but when you're dealing with a bunch of IoT devices, there are MANY variables to work out.

 

Hopefully this info helps others who might be having the same issues that I did.

Recommended Solution
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#3
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