@Meadeiator 

Hi All,

The 1.0.14 Build 20231124 Rel. 32537 has finally and hopefully fixed the issues on my side (DECO BE85 v1). More than 4 months waiting for a fix, I will now unplug the Ethernet cable 

I will continue to test.

Raphaël

  @awdhaan try to download the apps from third-party app stores I know the app store called null48, you can find there iOS app in IPA form, taking a look will be so helpful for you. 

As a current owner of a 2nd-generation Eero mesh system, I have been very happy with the brand.  It has consistently delivered reliable wireless internet across my home with no issues whatsoever.  

However, the WiFi 5 technology is now 6 years old and I had set my sights on upgrading and future-proofing my wireless mesh network.

For months, I waited for the TP-LINK BE85 or BE95 to go on sale.  Despite the mixed reviews these mesh units have received online, I thought it would be worth the chance to see if it improved my home network.  On Amazon Prime Day, the price of the BE85 3-pack dropped to $799, which was the perfect opportunity for me to finally grab these.

Within 10 hours, I set up and then returned the TP-LINK BE85 mesh system

THE GOOD

Installation was a breeze and took under 15 minutes for all three units. The app does a great job of guiding you through the setup. As soon as you have the main unit connected, the other two are already programmed to connect. Essentially, they become plug-and-play.

Each Deco unit is rock solid in construction. It has 2x10Gbps and 2x2.5Gbps ports. This is great to have should I ever consider upgrading to a 2GB Internet service, which is not likely, but still futureproofing. The Decos also has a USB port to connect and network an external drive, which I found to be one of the most compelling features.

After installation and network connection, I put the mesh unit in AP mode as two of the units had backhaul ethernet connections.

I have a 1GB Internet feed

I was elated to see significant wireless speed increases across my entire home with no dead spots. My speed increased to an average of 200mbps per location I tested. When I was within 6 feet of one of the wired Decos I would get a 600mbps connection (compared to 312mbps with the Eero). Further away from the nodes, I would see wireless speeds of 250mbps (compared to 54mbps with the Eero).

I should note here that, according to the Deco app, I believe everything was connected to the 2.4Ghz/5 Ghz network so I don't even know if my devices were taking advantage of WiFi 6 or WiFi 7. Since I used the same SSID and password of my Eero mesh, almost everything immediately connected to the new network.

THE BAD

My five Nest cameras disconnected. Surprisingly, my Ring cameras remained connected. I am pretty confident I could have manually removed and then added each of the Nest cameras to the new mesh network, but that is a huge hassle given the fact it can't be done through the Nest app. I have to get up on a ladder and rescan the QR code on each camera which is a major, major hassle. I would have done it, however, if not for the next issue...

My devices were constantly disconnecting and then reconnecting to the network for 10 hours post-installation. This included my iPhone, my laptops, and my Amazon devices.

I did extensive Google research and played around with some recommended changes in the Deco app. This included turning off roaming and manually telling each connected client to disconnect from the mesh network, none of which helped.  Mind you, these were all TP-LINK support recommendations.  I even updated the firmware.

I did come across something that made me decide I needed to return this Deco mesh system...

Countless -- and I mean countless complaints on Reddit and other message boards about network instability with many of the TP-LINK Deco mesh systems.

Don't believe me? Google, "TP-LINK DECO DISCONNECTS" and you will be horrified with the results that you find.

These things are essentially trash. For so many people to have the same mesh network instability that I am currently experiencing, tells me that this is a highly unreliable brand. And, sure, there are many positive reviews on Amazon (as well as bad ones), and generally only people who have issues with their products end up posting a bad review --- but it's still very obvious to me that this is not a reliable product. Many posts I read indicated that customers who returned their TP-LINK looked to move to Eero.

CONCLUSION

I am back on my old Eero system. Everything is working fine, albeit I'm back to slower wireless speeds, which for the moment, is okay.

I would consider upgrading to the Eero Pro 6+ mesh units (at around $300 for a 3-pack on sale), but I am not certain they will give me significant gains as the more powerful Deco units did.

Then there's the Eero Pro 7 Max. It will probably come down to $1k for a 3-pack soon, but it's not getting very good reviews.

I may just have to suck it up and remain with my 2nd generation Eero mesh system until better hardware gets released.