Deco Mesh M5 System Drastically Reduces WiFi Speeds?

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Deco Mesh M5 System Drastically Reduces WiFi Speeds?

This thread has been locked for further replies. You can start a new thread to share your ideas or ask questions.
Deco Mesh M5 System Drastically Reduces WiFi Speeds?
Deco Mesh M5 System Drastically Reduces WiFi Speeds?
2023-08-21 12:19:55
Model: Deco M5  
Hardware Version: V3
Firmware Version: 1.7.1 Build 20230608 Rel. 74023

Hi All,

 

I am a general consumer in the UK & not at all savvy with networking & technology so please bear this in mind. I have 7 Deco M5 Units. I recently upgraded my internet with my ISP Virgin to 1GB & they have provided a Router Hub 5 that is WiFi 6.

 

With this Hub 5, I am getting around 1.1GB speeds at the Router which then drop of to around 550mb - 680mb around the rest of the property. There is one location however at the very far end of the building that gets extremely poor & unreliable - almost unusable WiFu signal.

 

To deal with this, I put the Virgin WiFi 6 Hub 5 Router into Modem mode & connected up all 7 Deco M5's & placed them in the various rooms & locations, including the one that I get very poor speeds at & at this location, I daisy chained each M5 in line so that they offer the best connection speeds.

 

However, I have noticed that on the entire Deco M5 System - ALL the speeds have dropped off dramatically lower than that produced by the Virgin Hub 5 Router. I have a Deco M5 connected right next to the Hub 5 & instead of getting the 1.1GB speeds that the Hub 5 produces, I only get anything between 120mb - 200mb max. The situation is the same at all other locations where the 6 other M5's are placed & the one placed in the room with the poor WiFi, I am only getting 20-30mb speeds max. This is an average of 80-90% drop off in most places & a whopping 97% WiFi drop.

 

I thought a Mesh System was supposed to offer the same fastest & most stable speeds in all rooms where a Mesh unit in placed so why are my Deco M5's performing so very badly compared to the basic Virgin Hub 5 Router? 

 

I am really lost & confused by this - I was expecting super fast, super stable internet throughout the property with the 7 x M5's but instead have got something far worse?

 

The mobile Deco App says "Everything Looks Good" but the system speeds below vary between 4kbps to around 100kbps  (green arrow down) & 11kbps (orange arrow up). The system is set to both 2.4 & 5 Ghz.

 

Should not all the Deco M5's be producing the same if not similar speeds as the Virgin Router? I would be grateful if anyone can please kindly help me identify the problems/issues & how to resolve so I get my M5 Mesh system performing at very best level & not 90% worse.

 

Thank You.

 

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Re:Deco Mesh M5 System Drastically Reduces WiFi Speeds?
2023-08-21 14:27:40 - last edited 2023-08-21 14:41:54

  @Bazzy 

 

I am going to be brutally honest with you. Influenced by marketing materials and claims, you bought the wrong WiFi mesh hardware (Deco M5), have unrealistic expectations of what it can achieve (again, "thanks" to marketing claims you must have seen) and positioned Satellite Deco incorrectly (at least, some of them).

 

I could write a very long post detailing each topic, and if you ask me I will, but I think it'll be just waste of my and your time. Deco M5 will not meet your expectations, no matter what.

I would suggest you pack M5s and send them back. Instead, see what Virgin has to offer with their Router Hub 5. I can't post links here, so google for "Virgin Media offer the fastest wireless speed guarantee, promising 30Mbps in every room with their WiFi Pods." This is the article by Lyndsey Burton, last updated: 22 July 2023.

 

First paragraphs from that article:

 

"Customers who take out Virgin Media's WiFi Max guarantee will be sent up to three WiFi Pods to help improve wireless signal around their home.

The WiFi Max guarantee costs just £8 per month, or is free to some customers, and promises minimum download speeds of 30Mbps in every room, or a £100 bill credit.

This guide looks at how Virgin Media's WiFi Pods work and whether the WiFi Max add-on is worth paying for."

 

Also, note this from the same article:

 

"If after installing three WiFi Pods a customer still doesn't have 30Mbps speeds in every room, Virgin Media will first look at any other possible problems, for example if the Hub needs replacing, and potentially arranging an engineer visit to check the position of the WiFi Pods around the home."

 

Having an engineer visit and tune Virgin WiFi mesh (which is what it is) is the best option you could have.

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Re:Deco Mesh M5 System Drastically Reduces WiFi Speeds?
2023-08-21 16:19:05

  @Alexandre. 

 

Hi,

 

Thanks kindly for the sincerely honest reply & feedback - it seems that the Deco M5's are totally not suitable for a 1GB internet service - it looks like I will just have to now get rid of them - what a waste of time, effort, money & hassle that was.

 

I have an garden outhouse with power that is about 17 metres away from the main house - WiFis is extremely weak there - Tried TP-Link 1200mbps Powerline Adapters - AV1200 with the 3 Ethernet Ports but very, very flaky indeed & most of the time, it comes up with "Self Assigned IP Address". 

 

As, after your input, I will be going back to just using the Virgin Hub 5 WiFi 6 Router (which is fine in the house), what option/solution can you suggest for my garden outhouse please?

 

Many Thanks!

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Re:Deco Mesh M5 System Drastically Reduces WiFi Speeds?
2023-08-22 13:51:45

Bazzy wrote

  @Alexandre. 

 

I have an garden outhouse with power that is about 17 metres away from the main house - WiFis is extremely weak there - Tried TP-Link 1200mbps Powerline Adapters - AV1200 with the 3 Ethernet Ports but very, very flaky indeed & most of the time, it comes up with "Self Assigned IP Address". 

 

What option/solution can you suggest for my garden outhouse please?

  @Bazzy 

 

Sorry, can't help you much with this: my knowledge in this area is limited. I would have suggested powerline adapters, but you tried them already.

 

You may wish to check commercial grade equipment, the one that can blast WiFi on wide outdoor area. See https://www.tp-link.com/en/business-networking/solution/outdoor-wifi/

Start with Omada outdoor WiFi access point from TP-Link. That may be the hardware for you, or it may give you an idea what to look for (similar equipment from different manufacturer).

 

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