@BendalfTheGrey 

 

Here is basic difference between P, M, and X products:

 

Deco X products - WiFi6 and WiFi5 support

Deco M products - WiFi 5 support

Deco P products - WiFi 5 support and powerline option for backhaul (connectivity between Deco units). For powerline, see General Questions about the Powerline or PLC Backhaul Feature of Deco

 

Think of Deco P products as M products such as Deco M5 or M9, bundled with Ethernet powerline adapter.

 

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The recommendation on what set of Deco is better will depend on picture of house layout (with concrete walls shown on it), with location of RJ45 ports on each floor, and areas  marked where mobile devices will be using WiFi from Deco the most.

If you can share that info, you may get proper recommendation.

 

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Side note.

 

Powerline connectivity should only be used as a last resort. It requires good electric wiring with little interference. A single dimmable desk lamp could very negatively impact powerline connectivity between Deco units.

Also, as a Deco user you do not have control over how powerline capable Deco units will connect to each other. If you have just pair, they'll obviously try to establish link between each other if they can see each other through the powerline. With 3 or more, it is not possible to tell. TP-Link recommends making Deco P9 Main Deco, then other powerline capable units will try to connect to it. That may or may not work depending on electric wiring.

 

It might make sense to just get full set of Deco M5 or M9 (6 you said) and separately standard powerline adapters, as many as you may need, which could give you more control over M5/M9 connectivity through electric wiring. Unfortunately, not every powerline adapter is compatible with Deco backhaul communication protocol, according to this forum. I have a pair of older model powerline adapters, tested with M5 I have and they do work together. They should work with M9, too. If you are interested, I can share my powerline adapter brand and model.

@Alexandre. 

 

Thanks a lot! That is super helpful.

 

Here is a quick plan of the house. First floor on the left (2000sqf), second floor on the right (1500sqf). The 2 black walls are reinforced.

 

Is it helpful?

 

Thanks again

 

@BendalfTheGrey 

 

I think you should be able to get good WiFi coverage in this house with just Deco M9 Plus units. Can you clarify few things for me, so that I can recommend placement of Deco units?

Also, if you have decided where to put them, just share and I will review.

 

Questions:

 

(1) Fibre Optic - will there be ISP modem, or ISP (modem+router)?

 

(3) Switch - this is standard gigabit networking switch, right? If it is, does it have free Ethernet ports that can be used?

 

(3) Switch, it is connected to (1) Fibre Optic, right?

 

(3) Switch - all RJ45 you have shown on that picture, they all connect to this switch, right?

 

 

Also, in regard to Deco mesh: do you plan using Deco mesh for just WiFi coverage, or you need other functions TP-Link advertizes for Deco, such as parental controls, QoS, antivirus?

@Alexandre. 

 

Thanks again!!!! You rock!

 

About the location, so far, I didn't thought about it. To be honest, if the solution is to install 9 devices, I'll put 9. I really need to get the best possible wifi coverage.

 

(1) Fibre Optic - will there be ISP modem, or ISP (modem+router)?

There is one device > Huawei echolife eg8145v5 (from the ISP. Can't change it)

 

(3) Switch - this is standard gigabit networking switch, right? If it is, does it have free Ethernet ports that can be used?

Yes, it is a standard networking switch but not gigabit. I was thinking about buying the ls1008g from TP Link (the brand is the most available in the country where I live ;)). If I take this one, I'll have 4 available slots.

 

(3) Switch, it is connected to (1) Fibre Optic, right?

It's connected to the modem via RJ45 (with gigabit LAN cable) yes

 

(3) Switch - all RJ45 you have shown on that picture, they all connect to this switch, right?

Exactly. With the same RJ45 LAN cable.

 

And finally, so far I'm just thinking about using it to get the best Mesh wifi network. Parental control and other options are probably great but they are only nice to have.

 

Thanks again Alezandre

@BendalfTheGrey 

 

Few notes before I share my recommendations on Deco units deployment.

 

Huawei echolife eg8145v5 is ISP Router. I checked its specs on the Internet, and it is not just modem, which is good. The simple way to check is to look at number of Ethernet ports device has, if it is more than one - it is Router for sure. This model, according to picture I found on Internet, has four. Make sure you double check it, the distinction between Router and Modem is important.

Main Deco will be connected to one of Router Ethernet ports, switch to another one, and you can use other two for wired devices if you need to. For example, if you have Smart TV nearby, it would make sense to wire it to that Router.

 

TP-Link LS1008g switch should work. According to TP-Link Support, it is recommended to use TP-Link switches with Deco mesh. 

 

From what you said about why you need Deco mesh, I recommend you run in it Access Point mode. In Access Point mode you should get the best WiFi performance and maximum flexibility in how you can connect Deco units to Ethernet.

After you configured first Deco, which will become your Main Deco and must be connected by Ethernet to Router, configure Deco mesh to run in Access Point mode according to this document: How to set up your Deco in Access Point mode

After that, you can keep adding rest of Deco units to your Deco mesh.

 

When your Deco mesh is up and running, it is recommended to turn off WiFi on ISP Router. It will keep managing your network, while Deco mesh will be providing WiFi signal.

 

Now, deployment recommendation. You will need six M9 Plus units. Here is what I came with:

 

 

 

 

I have rotated your picture, and also on that picture placed Deco units. MD stays for Main Deco, SD1 through 5 stays for Satellite Deco 1 through 5.

 

On that picture:

 

First Floor

Main Deco - connected to (1) Huawei echolife eg8145v5

Satellite Deco 1 - connected to (3) Ethernet switch

Satellite Deco 2 - wirelessly connected to Main Deco

 

Second Floor

Satellite Deco 3 - connected to (4) RJ45

Satellite Deco 4 - connected to (5) RJ45

Satellite Deco 5 - wirelessly connected to Satellite Deco 3

 

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I am not completely sure what would be the best position for Satellite Deco 5, so I draw red square around locations you should try to see which gives best WiFi coverage to the right side of the second floor.

 

In current firmware version for Deco M9 Plus, which is firmware 1.5, it is not possible to manually specify to where Satellite Deco will be connected wirelessly. Which means, Satellite Deco 5 might connect to the different Deco and quality of Internet speed for mobile devices connected to Satellite Deco 5 could be degraded.

If that happens, you can either wait for firmware 1.6 which will let you you can configure to where Satellite Deco connects, or try workarounds. Leave that for the next step, after the deployment, if it'll become necessary. 

 

In Deco app, for each Satellite Deco you can see which Deco it connects to, and with what signal quality. Here is example from one of my Satellite Deco M9 Plus connected wirelessly:

 

 

My M9 Plus Satellite Deco is connected to Deco I named Living Room, and signal between them is very good. To have good quality of Internet, each Satellite Deco connected wirelessly should have good level of signal in Signal Source, like on this picture. If it is Yellow or Red, you must move that Deco closer to one it is wirelessly connected to.

 

 

@BendalfTheGrey 

 

One more thing came to mind. It is about what Deco model to use. If you are OK with WiFi5 only, Deco M9 Plus is the best choice. If you want WiFi6 support, which may be necessary if your Internet speed is gigabit and there are wirelessly connected devices demanding high speed such as professional desktop used by software developer, then you should consider X68 (if it is available in your region) or X90.

 

Any other Deco models won't work for you, so choose between one of these three: M9 Plus, X68, X90. Same number of units will be required, same deployment locations. Whatever Deco model you choose, you should buy all units of the same model.

@Alexandre. 

 

That is amazing! Thanks, A LOT!!!!

 

X90 and M9 Plus seem both great.

 

I only have two more questions:

 

1. Does the added value of the X90/Wifi 6 justify the price difference? (6xM9Plus = 600€ / 6xX90 = 1500€)
2. When you say you "recommend your run it Access Point Mode" > Is it working like a Mesh network? What I really want here is to have only one Wifi network all around. My house is actually covered by seven differents wifi, and I truly hate this setup :)

 

Thanks a lot in advance for your great help.

@BendalfTheGrey 

 

1. I am always reluctant to recommend X90s, because they are crazy expensive. For my house, I considered X90, but went with M9 Plus. 

 

You may need X90 if your Internet connection is gigabit and maximum possible Internet speed is what you must have through the house, no matter cost. For example, if you are a professional software developer working from home, or content creator who uploads huge media files to the Internet on regular basis.

 

For a common household, X90 could be an overkill. 

 

2.  In Access Point mode, Deco operates as no bells and whistles WiFi mesh. It'll give you maximum possible speeds with minimum headaches. For my house, I went with Access Point mode and left my ISP router (with WiFi turned off) manage home network. I have same SSID all over the house, with seamless transfer between Deco units, and I have four Deco units.

In one of my WiFi mesh tests I took Microsoft tablet, started to stream YouTube 4K content on it, while tablet was connected to the Deco in the finished basement. Then, I walked to first floor and upstairs to bedrooms on second floor. During my walk, tablet switched between three Deco units. With no interruption in YouTube streaming.

This is, of course, an expected outcome, but such simple test can show true benefit of a WiFi mesh such as Deco. 

 

See this document: What’s the difference between Access Point mode and Router mode on the Deco?

@Alexandre. 

Thanks. I'll keep you updated as soon as I start the setup.

Have a great day.

@BendalfTheGrey 

 

I finally received a message from the only store where I live.

 

They only have this in stock :

• AX6000 / X90 > 2 devices
• AX3000 / X60 > 2 devices
• AX1800 / X20 > 2 devices
• AC1300 / M5 > 2 devices

 

Nothing more (And they can't re-stocking).

 

Is there any setup that may work with this?

 

If you can help me on this, it will be super super helpful once again.