Poor/patchy Wi-Fi from M9 setup

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Poor/patchy Wi-Fi from M9 setup

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Poor/patchy Wi-Fi from M9 setup
Poor/patchy Wi-Fi from M9 setup
2024-03-21 10:27:51
Model: Deco M9 Plus  
Hardware Version:
Firmware Version: 1.6.3 (latest)

Hi all,

 

A few months ago we moved to a very old property with thick stone walls and initially connected my 3 M9s with CAT5 running all over the house, which was a rather unsightly trip hazard. Having sorted out the power requirements and cabled the fibre into the roof, a few weeks ago I moved the 3 Decos up into the loft space with two connected direct with CAT 5 and one connected via Powerline. Initially this worked well with wi-fi speeds generally from 150mbps to 220mbps throughout the house from my Wessex Internet service (speed test from the Deco shows 283/121mbps).

 

So all looked well until I had some electrical work carried out in the roof, which needed the power supply off for a few hours. Since then, despite multiple reboots, the wi-fi in much of the house is very patchy with performance changing constantly. It's quite good directly below the Decos, but moving just a few feet away on the ground floor speeds will drop like a stone and often lose connection entirely.

 

Nothing else has changed that I can see from when the performance was excellent through the house, so I'm a bit stumped! Any advice gladly received...

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Re:Poor/patchy Wi-Fi from M9 setup
2024-03-21 10:48:32

  @cognis0 if the M9s are just sitting in the loft pointing downwards they could be sitting directly over wires/joists, is the loft floored or can you see what's maybe blocking the signal? What work did you get done in the house, could a new source of interference have been added like an inverter for solar panels, etc? Could the electrical cable that the powerline adapter is using have been altered/damaged during the works? Could the tradespeople have moved or damaged the Decos? 

XE75 V1.0 3-pack / Wired backhaul / Router mode / UK
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#2
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Re:Poor/patchy Wi-Fi from M9 setup
2024-03-21 12:19:35
Thanks Wrayman. I only had some additional lighting installed, and nothing very near the Decos. Knowing from experience about false cause/effect assumptions it could be nothing to do with the electrical work and it might be my ISP, although this looks to be doubtful and they say that can't test it unless I put back their Asus router.. From what you say, do you think that having the M9s horizontal will produce the best signal below? Cheers,
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#3
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Re:Poor/patchy Wi-Fi from M9 setup
2024-03-21 12:53:53

  @cognis0 I'm not sure what you mean by horizontal but the antennae in the M9 will be configured to send and receive signals in a dome pattern on the side with the LED like my highly technical sketch below. Any signals directly under it will be much weaker, so if the unit is in your loft I would suggest flipping the unit upside down to point into the house and the floors below or better yet, install the M9s on the top-floor ceiling by drilling a small hole to pass the power and ethernet cables through from the loft. This would cut out any interference from physical barriers (wood, plaster or metal) and hopefully get away from any EM interference.

 

XE75 V1.0 3-pack / Wired backhaul / Router mode / UK
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#4
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Re:Poor/patchy Wi-Fi from M9 setup
2024-03-21 16:01:18

  @cognis0 Thanks Wrayman. I'll have a play with re-orienting the units to see if that improves matters. Drilling thru the ceiling is a neat idea I will keep on ice for now..

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Re:Poor/patchy Wi-Fi from M9 setup
2024-03-22 08:27:14

  @cognis0 apologies, I just had a proper look at the M9 Plus in a youtube video and apparently it doesn't have any screw mount holes in the base to ceiling mount it. That might not be a great idea if it's not designed for it but with any luck someone from TP-Link will jump in and try to help if repositioning them doesn't help

 

 

XE75 V1.0 3-pack / Wired backhaul / Router mode / UK
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#6
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Re:Poor/patchy Wi-Fi from M9 setup
2024-03-22 12:20:48

Thanks @Wrayman I think there are some 3rd party bracket things available which I will look for..

I've put the M9 Plus units upside down in the loft and immediately had a much improved speed from the system. But it didn't last long and once again the stability/speed is up and down on all devices like the proverbial....!

As per the guidance, I've disabled the UPNP and SIP ALG features, but little difference.

Hopefully tp-link support will pick this up and provide further help, as I have run out of ideas.

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#7
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Re:Poor/patchy Wi-Fi from M9 setup
2024-03-22 12:45:03

  @cognis0 

 

I am using third-party wall mount holder with one of my M9 Plus, it works just fine for more than 3 years now. It holds M9 Plus tightly in its position.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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#8
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Re:Poor/patchy Wi-Fi from M9 setup
2024-03-22 12:48:18

  @cognis0 glad I could help even a little bit! Just to check, are you in a 2 storey house (ground, first, loft) and are all the Decos in the loft? You might benefit from having a Deco on the ground floor to bridge the connection. It's difficult in stone buildings because the signal can't really travel diagonally, just straight down through the wooden floors like an elevator shaft in your scenario. Fingers crossed you hear back soon

XE75 V1.0 3-pack / Wired backhaul / Router mode / UK
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#9
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Re:Poor/patchy Wi-Fi from M9 setup
2024-03-22 14:57:19

  Thanks again @Wrayman I've taken your advice and attached the M9s to the underside of the 1st floor ceilngs (yes ~ grd, 1st, loft). This is working very well and much improved performance across the house. I was able to do a temporary fix to the ceiling which is working well and it won't be a priority to replace with a proper solution.

Thanks again..

Tony

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#10
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Re:Poor/patchy Wi-Fi from M9 setup
2024-03-22 14:59:30

  @Alexandre. Yes, thanks for that, these were the ones I came across a while ago. I've done a temporary fix which seems to be sound for the time being at least!

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