Mesh (LAN) stops working when WAN drops

Mesh (LAN) stops working when WAN drops

Mesh (LAN) stops working when WAN drops
Mesh (LAN) stops working when WAN drops
2024-07-12 22:09:45 - last edited 2024-07-12 22:26:32
Model: Deco M5  
Hardware Version: V1
Firmware Version: 1.7.4 Build 20231222 Rel 63684

Hi. I hope this isn't covered elsewhere; I did search before posting. If it does please be kind and link me up :)

 

Sorry folks. Just after posting I found this. https://community.tp-link.com/en/home/forum/topic/273992?sortDir=DESC&page=1

 

The issue has been around for a LONG time, there has been no fix provided by TP-Link and there are a LOT of very angry ex-customers who have replaced their haedware with another brand. Bottom line, don't buy TP-Link hardware.

 

I'll leave the following here for posterity so I can remind myself of TP-Link non-support if I ever get tempted to buy their products again. I'm told TP-Link don't monitor these forums anyway.

 

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Ever since I've had the M5 mesh, over 3 years every time the Internet drops (happens a lot here) the Deco mesh stops working, i.e. the LAN drops out and Deco lights are solid red.

 

I'm sure I read some where that this was a design flaw in the Decos, something to do with them not knowing where the upstream and downstream are. I have read somewhere that TP-Link engineers had created a temporary patch that could be installed to fix the issue.

 

The issue occurred again today and make my blood pressure rise.  I get around the issue by connecting all of my Wifi devices to the router's Wifi network and unplug my Ethernet devices from the decos around the building and plug them into the back of the router. usually by the time I finish shutting everything down, moving it, starting it up the WAN has come back online. I then shut everything down, move it back, start it up and cross my fingers that the Internet connection doesn't drop again for awhile.

 

All I want is for the Mesh to keep working when the Internet connection to the router drops. Am I asking too much?

[ I tested a Friend's Orbi and it doesn't care whether the Internet drops, it just keeps working. Maybe that's the answer? ]

 

So can I ask the community, is it just me or is this a known issue across all Decos, M5s only, other?

 

If it is a wide issue, can I please get linked up with some details about why it's an issue and what TP-Link engineers are doing to fix ot?

 

Any other information about the alleged patch would help. TP-Link CS claim there is no patch available and seem reluctant or unwilling to help.

 

Thanks for reading.

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Re:Mesh (LAN) stops working when WAN drops
2024-07-13 07:00:32

@Sus_Deco The more irritating part is that it shows that the feature request has been "accepted", but no update on which device will get it first

Just a M4 (2-pack) user who regrets buying it
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Re:Mesh (LAN) stops working when WAN drops
2024-07-13 07:05:23

  @Sus_Deco 

 

Deco M5 is end of life now so I doubt any new features will be added to the model.

BT Full fibre 500, 1x X60 V3.2 in router mode and 1 x XE75Pro V2.
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Re:Mesh (LAN) stops working when WAN drops
2024-07-13 12:56:32 - last edited 2024-07-13 19:33:58

  @Sus_Deco 

 

If you need WiFi mesh that stays up during Internet outage, go with different brand.

 

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

 

You need Internet to install Deco mesh. You need Internet to manage Deco mesh with Deco app. There is no Web management UI for Deco mesh.

 

Looking at this and other design decisions, it becomes clear that keeping Deco mesh up without Internet was not considered a necessity. Deco mesh original concept, which is reflected in their M-series (such as M4, M5, M9 Plus), is to have simple to use WiFi mesh for typical household without much knowledge of networking.

 

Deco mesh design concept is "it should just work." There are no pages after pagers of configuration parameters you could tweak. There is not even ability to set WiFi channel.

Each Ethernet port is WAN/LAN autosensing, while on many routers it is only port 1 and the rest are LAN.

I can keep going, but you should get an idea by now.

 

When Internet in my "typical household" goes down, and I run Deco mesh with M5s and M9s, my household members don't ask why they can't print on networking printer or why scheduled Windows PC backup to NAS failed.

They will be concerned with TV not working (it is TV over IP), landline phone down (it is VoIP), YouTube videos not playing. The youngest member of my household will be asking why she can't watch cartoons on her tablet.

When Internet is down, I can power off all Deco and rest of networking gear at my house and nobody will notice the difference.

 

 

With time and new Deco models, original Deco mesh design concepts become diluted: you have more settings to configure, Deco mesh becomes more tunable (which is not always a good thing).

Still, considering its underlying original code and probably some TP-Link Deco senior software developers still sticking to original design concepts where they can, if you need WiFi mesh where you are in charge and which can run as an insulated from Internet island, consider different WiFi mesh brand.

 

 

As for me, while I've chosen Deco brand of WiFi mesh almost by coin toss, it is proven to be a good choice.

The primary criteria of WiFi mesh success for my household is I no longer hear complaints about WiFi issues. Had plenty before I bought Deco.

I bought my Deco mesh in October 2020. I plan to keep my M5s/M9s way longer than I anticipated, until either their hardware fails and I can't buy M5/M9 as a replacement, or I get device in my household which needs at least WiFi6 and can't run on WiFi5 and 2.4GHz. 

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