How does powerline backhaul work on Deco P7?
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I have purchased and installed the Deco P7 in a three-story home. The power supplies for the three Deco units are plugged directly into the home outlets, one on each floor. I found that the unit furthest away from the Main Deco experienced slower speeds and even dropped internet. This was remedied by moving that Deco closer to the Main Deco. I was under the impression that, once all Decos are online, they could be placed anywhere in the home and use powerline backhaul. I'm not sure powerline backhaul is working at all in my case, and I don't see any tools to verify that. Since this is a multi-story home, there are multiple breakers for different areas of the home so it's not possible to put all Decos on the same circuit.
Thanks!
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@MeTPForum 100% agree. I don't mind the app not showing powerline (however it could help us find the reason of the real issue), I just expect it to deliver the speed. And when I see over 50% drop between two decos, there's clearly something wrong.
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MeTPForum wrote
@Tony Thanks.
But please understand the issue is bigger than just the app informing the user if PowerLine is active. This would be a nice feature but it seems as if this little green LED is already telling us it is active. So that would not be a problem unless the company/support team is wrong about what the green LED actually means.
The bigger issue is that according to this little green LED we should have a 50 Mbps backhaul (at a minimum), yet with a +200 Mbps internet connection to the Main Deco and full device link speed of +800 Mbps to a slave Deco the only internet speed the device is seeing in these cases is < 50 Mbps. For example mine are 15-20 Mbps speeds. It seems like a PowerLine issue even if the green LED says it’s all fine. The very slow speed is the issue you need to bring to their attention. Thanks.
Once the Deco app can show which backhaul is being used, then users can know for fact what is really happening for the sake of troubleshooting. In the mean time there are general recommendations: https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/faq/2429/
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The "troubleshooting" link you sent is clearly not helpful as it does not relate to the Powerline device. It's good to know that the backhaul indicator on the app may not be accurate, but as more than one of us has pointed out, merely fixing the indicator does not fix the problem. So we are not happy to wait for a firmware upgrade from Shenzhen. The issue is that network speed drops significantly with distance from the main deco, enough to cause doubt that powerline backhaul works at all in North America. Do you have a US-based expert who can test and confirm this issue?
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I agree with the other users that the troubleshooting link isn’t what we are looking for. Can your support team offer an expectation on what the R&D engineers think is going with the P7 on and when they can respond to the customer base?
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There is currently a holiday happening in HQ so any feedback won't be until some time next week.
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FYI - To everyone following this thread. I gave up on Powerline backhaul. It just doesn't work in the real world, contrary to the marketing for the Deco P7. If you are considering the P7, just purchase the M5 or M9 (Or Google mesh or Orbi or just a router with wired APs).
My solution was to purchase a pair of Motorola MM1000 MoCA adaptors. These work over the existing coaxial cable wiring in my house. The package comes with actual readable documentation and everything you need to set it up. You'll need one for every location you want to have wired Ethernet. I have a cable outlet in my basement and used a MoCA unit there to provide ethernet backhaul for the Deco unit. Works like a dream - like you're standing next to the main router. Not sure if I'm going to hang onto the Decos or return them. They have been pretty reliable so far, so there's that.
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Did you do the wired or wireless speedtest.
If they were wireless speedtest, please have a check on the link speed. You can refer to the FAQ below:https://www.tp-link.com/en/support/faq/2265/
And then please connect your PC to each Deco unit via cable and do the wired speedtest.
And what is your network topology? (The network topology means how you connected your modem, Deco units, switch...)
If your Deco units are connected to each other wirelessly, please also tell us the distance between them and whether there is any obstacle between them.
During the test, please remove all high-power appliances from the circuit because they may interfere with PLC Backhaul.
MarcH wrote
@Tony Thanks for the reply.
Here's what I'm seeing:
Main Deco (top floor): Plug LED Green / Download speed 209Mbps (basically what I get thru ISP)
Second Deco (main floor): Plug LED Green / Signal Source Wireless (2/3 bars) / Download speed 69Mbps (and is below 50Mbps regularly)
Third Deco (basement): Plug LED Green / Signal Source Wireless (2/3 bars) / Download speed 47 Mbps (and has been as low as 20Mbps w/o using Powerline backhaul)
I've moved the units around a bit and in NO situation has the powerline backhaul been used. It's as if I have units that are missing that capability. What else should I try?
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Fredrick,
I have the same issue. Firmware 1.3.1 with one modem connected to main deco in router mode and with device internet speeds of < 20 Mbps and with a main connection of +200 Mbps and the LED is green. Why is the Powerline not working??
Please review this thread and see the numerous other posts regarding the Powerline. It is not a topology issue and your engineers need to provide some answers.
It's a complete problem.
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Firstly the LED on the power adapter is green which means that powerline is already working.
I think your main concern is that your internet speed is too slow but this could have related with not only the powerline.
To help you locate the issue, it is recommended that you contact our support team. In Deco app, tap Help>Contact us and then describe your issue as detailed as possible. Our
senior engineer will contact you within one day!
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