Sorry, I do not have the hardware version handy. Unit was purchased in 2022 and has been rock solid ever since. Unit is on the same UPS as my file server and ethernet switch.

 

How it's setup:

 

• WAN is PPPoE with simple user/pass auth + the ISP requires a VLAN for some reason - that is setup correctly in the TP-Link router
• LAN is DHCP with a few reservations for some of the smart devices I own like smart lights, robovac, a pair of security cameras and my file server
• The Deco unit is the DHCP server
• The only port forwarding or NAT routing setup are simple port forwards for stuff like Plex, this is done through uPnP and should be irrelevant here
• Unit is on UPS but nevertheless... rock solid - until yesterday

 

At 4PM precisely yesterday my whole residential LAN and Wi-Fi networks went dark. Nothing. No Wi-Fi, no DHCP. I could not connect to the main unit with the app since there was no Wi-Fi network available. It "felt" like the TP-Link Deco was simply dead.

 

I went in my LAN room at home to check visually and the TP-Link Deco was showing a red LED. Reboot the unit - comes back up - connects to fiber optics modem (a transceiver from fiber to ethernet really from the ISP) the LED went green and then the LED immediately went red again, still no Wi-Fi to connect into the main unit to check. 

 

I Called the ISP figuring they might have an outage (missing the point - see below in bold), they had me connect their supplied router (Nokia Beacon 6) and the connection, wi-fi and DHCP came up and I could connect to the internet. But of course none of my customizations were present. i.e. my DHCP pool, the DHCP reservations, NAT routing or port forwarding, none of that is present on the Nokia because I only ever used it the first day when the technician from the ISP came to install it.

 

Also in retrospect, the fact that there was no Wi-Fi or DHCP - both of which should stay active despite not having a connection to WAN - should've alerted me that the issue was with the TP-Link Deco router.

 

In the end, after hanging up with the ISP whose time I had wasted for no reason - I decided to try connecting the TP-Link Deco again, only this time it immediately connected green LED and it's been working normally eversince.

 

But this worries me. I need my internet connection to work. I can't be without it for long periods of time.

 

Questions:

 

• Was there a widespread "cloud" outage of the TP-Link Deco line? (After several searches I can surmise that no, there wasn't)
• I see that my firmware dates back to 2022, should I update it to latest? (I know that TP-Link will say of course yes update - but I'm asking users that have updated)
• I'm assuming updating the firmware will keep my settings right?
• Since the app is "cloud" is it possible to backup my settings to restore them in case?
• Has anyone ever seen anything like this? It almost felt like an EMP but precisely aimed at the TP-Link router

 

It's possible that somehow the TP-Link router was blocked from connecting by the ISPs modem - however that does not explain why the Wi-Fi and DHCP would be down...

 

Weird or what?

 

Thanks in advance.

LG