Hello,

I recently purchased a set of 3 TP-Link Deco M4 units primarily to stabilize my Wi-Fi connection, which has been working great, but only in access point mode. I currently have an Archer VR2100v that handles the connection to my ISP (Deutsche Telekom / VDSL / 100 Mbps). After seeing the user interface and app for the Deco system, I thought I could just use the Archer for the VDSL connection and let the Deco handle everything else in router mode.

I set up the Deco in router mode, and the Wi-Fi connection works fine. It creates its own network with IP addresses in the 192.168.68.xxx range, as opposed to the Archer's 192.168.1.xxx range. All devices connect, and the internet is stable.

However, the Ethernet connection is not working. My PC can't access the internet when connected via Ethernet. The only way I've managed to get it working is by enabling VLAN in bridge mode. The problem with bridge mode is that my PC ends up on the Archer's network, and I can't access any of the other devices connected to the Deco system. I also tried a custom VLAN configuration with VLAN ID 7 (which matches the Archer's settings), but this resulted in no connection at all. I'm guessing this approach only works for direct fiber connections or similar setups.

My question is: Is there any way to make my desired setup work? Ideally, I'd like to have the Deco in router mode, with the Archer simply passing through the internet connection. I want my PC to have a wired connection while still being on the same network as all the Wi-Fi devices. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!