@Thackers 

 

If every WiFi mesh unit is wired, it makes sense to acquire more lower hierarchy units. That is applicable to Deco and to any other WiFi mesh brand that allows to wire units.

More wired WiFi units you have, better WiFi coverage you'll get. Also, there is network resiliency: if you lose one WiFi mesh unit out of many due to hardware failure, you lose little of WiFi coverage. If, on the other hand, you have just two X90 units and one fails, you lose 50% of WiFi coverage until you can replace failed unit.

 

If you plan to have 500Mbps Internet soon, I would recommend Deco X20 or X60 models. In a year or two you might upgrade to gigabit, and only Deco X-series can provide WiFi speeds closer to that, on WiFi 6.

Deco M5 can deliver 450Mbps maximum on a good day, with averages close to 300Mbps. Wired Deco M9 can do better and could deliver maximum of 600-650Mbps with averages of 350-450Mbps - but, at least where I live, M9 costs same as X20, so makes sense to go with X20 instead. 

 

Check local prices for X20 and X60, and if you find X60 for same or very close price as X20 - go with X60s instead.

 

Even if you wire Deco units - they will keep operating as WiFi mesh. In fact, wiring them is the right way to do if you want maximum WiFi performance. See the following helpful document: General questions about Ethernet Backhaul feature on your Deco

 

If you want to have maximum flexibility with Deco wiring, you will need to run Deco mesh in Access Point mode. By default, it runs in Router mode, so after initial configuration you should switch it to Access Point. See How to set up Deco to work in Access Point mode and What’s the difference between Access Point mode and Router mode on the Deco?

Thanks Alexandre that’s really helpful. So the X60 and x20 would be better options for me than M5 or M9? With regards Backhaul…would been hardwired maximise the bandwidth and speeds for my wifi and is this automatic? Thanks again sir

@alexandre Forgot to ask…In your experience how many units are typically required per floor of a property

  @Thackers 

 

I would recommend X20 or X60s, correct. If you have Ethernet cable in each room where you want to have excellent WiFi, and if you can place Deco there so that it is seen from every corner of the room with no obstacles, X20 will be enough.

 

If wired properly, Deco will use Ethernet backhaul automatically. With wired units, each Satellite Deco will deliver you same WiFi speeds as Main Deco. Main Deco should be at least as good as your current router, which means everywhere you have Deco unit your WiFi speed will be as good as it is now near your current router.

 

It is hard to tell how many Deco units you will need per floor - that depends on location of each unit, what walls are made of, if you need really fast WiFi everywhere or in specific rooms. 

The minimum is one unit per floor. The ideal is Deco unit in every room that has Ethernet cable coming to it. The optimum is somewhere in between. 

 

My recommendation would be to start with deciding in which rooms you need absolutely the best WiFi, and as long as there are at least 1-2 rooms per floor - buy enough Deco units to put in these rooms and wire them.

Then, see if you have satisfactory coverage in all other places of your house. For rooms where WiFi signal is too weak or speed too slow for your taste - buy additional Deco units, one per room, and wire them there, too.

Awesome that’s great So to clarify. 1. Leave virgin router in router mode but turn off wifi. 2. Hard Wire all decos after my cisco network switch in various rooms in house. 3. Set each deco to work in AP mode. 4. All been well Backhaul will work fine and acquire automatically. 5. My cisco network switch shouldn’t conflict Backhaul as I’ll wire 6. all decos after my network switch Best price I’ve found is £340 for X60 x 3 X20 x 3 £230

Awesome that’s great So to clarify. 1. Leave virgin router in router mode but turn off wifi. 2. Hard Wire all decos after my cisco network switch in various rooms in house. 3. Set each deco to work in AP mode. 4. All been well Backhaul will work fine and acquire automatically. 5. My cisco network switch shouldn’t conflict Backhaul as I’ll wire 6. all decos after my network switch Best price I’ve found is £340 for X60 x 3 X20 x 3 £230

  @Thackers 

 

Thackers wrote

So to clarify.

1. Leave virgin router in router mode but turn off wifi.

2. Hard Wire all decos after my cisco network switch in various rooms in house.

3. Set each deco to work in AP mode.

4. All been well Backhaul will work fine and acquire automatically. 

 

This is correct. With one minor correction: in step 3, you only need to set Deco mesh in Access Point mode. Just one configuration change in Deco app. You would not need to reconfigure each Deco unit individually, if that is what you meant. Here is configuration page from Deco app where you will make this change: