@Stalha 

 

TP-Link charges more for Deco X50 because it supports newer WiFi protocol: WiFi 6. Deco S4 only goes as far as WiFi 5.

 

WiFi 6, at least in theory, should deliver faster speeds, but that only becomes relevant if you have very fast Internet connection from your ISP: gigabit or more, and you really, really need very fast WiFi speeds. 

WiFi 5 that Deco S4 supports should be fast enough for most households.

 

Wireless networking gear is hit and miss: it may just work, or you may find that for some reason it does not meet your expectations. You would not know until you try. My recommendation is to get Deco set from the retailer with 2-4 weeks return policy. If you plan to put new Deco mesh in use right away, it would not take more than a week or two to figure it is works for you.

 

I would also suggest to check prices for 3-pack Deco M9 Plus. M9 Plus has form factor that allows it to blend in any environment, comparing to tower-like S4 and X50. You can also wall mount or ceiling mount Deco M9 Plus, using third party wall mount holders. Just like S4, M9 Plus supports WiFi 5 but not WiFi 6.

 

If you prefer S4, I would recommend to check prices for similar Deco model M4 (or M4R). There are no meaningful differences for regular household between S4 and M4, so just get one that is sold for less.

 

Note that Deco mesh management is exclusively done through an app on smartphone. Your household Deco mesh will not have configuration and management web interface that you can access from PC. Having smartphone is a must for initial configuration and setup of Deco mesh.

  @Alexandre. Thank you for your timely response and advice.

 

Which gives the M9 Plus a 56% rating saying although straightforward to set up with good quality coverage, it was too expensive, and the sensitive power input could cause unintentional rebooting.

 

What's the difference between the X50 and the X20 (71% 170GBP)? What does an AI-Driven Mesh add?

 

What's the difference between the X50 AX3000 and the X50 AC13000 (145GBP) apart from the shape?

 

 

  @Stalha 

 

You are correct that M9 is more expensive, but I am going to disagree with "sensitive power input." I have two M9 Plus for more than 2 years, unless you start tripping over cables (which is never good) there is nothing "sensitive" with M9 Plus input. The power cord plugs tightly to Deco unit.

For me, I was ready to pay premium for M9 Plus form factor. I have narrow corridor and this corridor is the best location for Satellite Deco. I needed flat unit I can wall mount and out of all other WiFi mesh systems I researched only TP-Link offered that with Deco M9 Plus and M5. 

Your needs may be different, of course.

 

Also, what is the speed of your Internet connection, the one provided by ISP? If I know that, I may be able to tune my recommendations.

 

Answering your other questions.

 

1. What's the difference between the X50 and the X20?

 

Deco X20 is positioned as budget WiFi6 mesh device from TP-Link. Deco X50 is mid-range WiFi6 device from TP-Link. It is worth to note, there is also Deco X90, which is top of the line WiFi6 device.

Also, X20 has two Ethernet ports and X50 has three. For some people that makes the difference.

 

2. What does an AI-Driven Mesh add?

 

Ignore that, it is just marketing talk.

 

3. What's the difference between the X50 AX3000 and the X50 AC13000.

 

I can only find X50 AC3000 on TP-Link web site. Where did you found X50 AC13000?

  @Alexandre. 

I'm currently with Which recommended Zen broadband on their FFTP 100 package promising minimum 50mbs with their Fritz 7530 MC router.

 

M5 AC1300 (sorry, I wrote X50 13000) is on UK Amazon.

 

Also, what is the range for one of these nodes? I want to install a Ring bell at the entry gate of the studio flat at the back of the property.

 

I had formerly been using the TP Link PA4010. Tenant via Fritz app reports:

=====================
Summary:
=====================
Course of measurement
Measured with: iPhone
Start: 19 August 2023 at 11:24:39
End: 19 August 2023 at 11:25:07
Duration: 27 seconds
Lost connections: 0
Access point: Network device

------------------------------------
Latency throughout Measurement:
------------------------------------
If you measure for longer than 59 seconds, the latency is also displayed as a histogram.
Total latency measurements: 26
Average: 10 ms
Maximum: 68 ms
Minimum: 2 ms
Packet loss: 3%

------------------------------------
Rate in Mbit/s:
------------------------------------
Average: 217.3 Mbit/s
Maximum: 219.5 Mbit/s
Minimum: 210.2 Mbit/s

------------------------------------
Connection:
------------------------------------

------------------------------------
TP-Link_E4FC
------------------------------------
Access point: Network device
Wi-Fi network: TP-Link_E4FC
MAC address: 1C:3B:F3:ED:E4:FC

 

 

The studio flat is an extension to the original property, so despite the same electrical metre, the difference in the wiring makes the PA4010 less effective.

 

Thank you so much for your detailed advice. This is really a great service.

 

 

  @Stalha 

 

It is recommended to place WiFi nodes not more than 10 meters apart, and having walls between them will reduce maximum allowed distance. The maximum distance from device connected to WiFi node should be about the same. Unfortunately, it is hard to tell if Ring can reliably connect to Deco WiFi until you try.

 

If your Internet speed is under 100Mbps, you do not need WiFi6 capable Deco mesh. Note that with every iteration of WiFi protocol speeds are faster, but distance is lower and sensitivity to radio interference is higher. WiFi 5 protocol is more than enough for such Internet speed that you have, so do not consider Deco X-series (X20, X50, X90) which support WiFi6. You'll be paying extra money for something you don't need.

 

Among all other Deco models, considering your Internet speeds, choose from one of the following:

 

1. Deco E4 - the most budget friendly. Except, its Internet speed is limited by 100Mbps, good for what you have now, but if in the next few years you plan to upgrade your Internet link to faster speeds, E4 will be your bottleneck. If you don't have such plans, 3-unit Deco E4 is often on sale. 

 

2. Deco M4 or S4.

 

3. Deco M5. If 3-unit Deco M5 set price is not out of your budget, I would recommend it. That Deco model has most of features comparing to all other Deco models. You might not need them, but if you do - this is the one you should get. Two features may be of interest to you:

A) You can limit Guest Network bandwidth with M5 (not with E4, S4 or M4!). If your tenant happened to be an Internet hog, you can let them connect to Guest Network and can configure it to provide, say, 25Mbps speed. Leaving the rest of bandwidth for you.

B) Ring and some other similar devices are sometimes notoriously bad when using WiFi mesh. They might not connect, or keep dropping connection. This is especially bad for older versions of such devices. If your Ring supports WiFi5 protocol, most likely it should be fine. If it only runs on WiFi 2.4GHz, you might have issues with it connecting to Deco mesh.

There are workarounds that may work for E4/M4/S4 to stabilize Ring device connection, but for M5 specifically TP-Link offers what they call IoT network, which is tuned for devices such as Ring bell or security camera.

 

--------------------

If you are not sure and budget is tight, start with E4 or M4/S4, and in case of problems with Ring or other issues return that Deco set and buy M5 set instead. If your budget allows it, just get 3-unit set of Deco M5 from the beginning.

  @Stalha 

 

One more thing: do you know you can connect Deco units through powerline adapters you have? This may bring WiFi to farther distances and could be handy if WiFi signal from Deco can't penetrate walls or other obstacles to your tenant place. Just connect Deco to powerline adapter at tenant's place and there you will have strong WiFi signal.

Thank you for timely responses and detailed advice. I have ordered a refurbished S4 from Amazon for 85GBP 1 year warranty.