@DecoUserTL  Finally I found someone articulating the exact issues and frustrations I'm having!  

@Carl I echo everything that @DecoUserTL has described thus far.  The whole reason I bought this mesh system was to be able to utilize the 6GHz channel as part of my mesh network because I have devices that are wifi6e compatible.  If I can't use the same SSID for the 6GHz channel as 2.4 & 5GHz, it's not part of the same mesh network, which defeats the purpose of why I purchased this product, and seems an awful lot like deceptive marketing of what this product is/is not.  I decided to pay more for this product over other options based on the impression that I would be getting a mesh network inclusive of the 6GHz channel.

I also experience the issue of "Device stickiness" when it's connected to the 6GHz channel, which I don't experience when I turn the 6GHz channel off as part of the mesh network.  Said differently, if I set the 6GHz channel to backhaul only, my device seems to switch between nodes on the 2.4./5GHz SSID effectively.  But if I try to utilize the 6GHz channel as part of the mesh network, even if I remove the 2.4/5GHz SSID from my device, I don't switch between nodes on the 6GHz channel. I'd be willing to tolerate the 6GHz channel being a separate SSID if I could at least use it as an effective mesh network on it's own, but it doesn't seem to work.  

Agree that this seems poorly designed or implemented.  I'd like to know if it's a software issue that will be resolved via firmware update (in which case I might keep the product) or a hardware issue that won't be resolved (in which case I overpaid for something that isn't what it claims to be, and I should return it).

  @sirdiesel32 after basically inconclusive responses to my post, I turned off the 6ghz channel and am using it as backhaul. Unfortunately I already returned my x68 which is the exact same setup but without the 6ghz channel and 2 5ghz channels (1 reserved for backhaul which is probably more effective than the low range 6ghz channel I'd guess). I had bought that 3-pack from Costco on sale for $270 (normal price $330 before the XE-75 came out). Then I think less than a month after they started selling 3-packs of CE-75 at Costco for $350, they stopped selling the x68 3-pack.

The devices work fine now, but I basically paid an extra $80 for nothing if they don't change the software with updates in the future.

I wish I had seen this thread before my XE75 purchase. A separate SSID for the 6GHz seems ridiculous to me, especially when I am using ethernet backhaul for my mesh system. I just set it up and wondered why it tacked _6GHz on to the end of the SSID, and a little research found this. Since this posting is a few months old and nothing has changed, in the box it goes and back to Amazon.

There are other companies that have figured this out.  Handshaking at a lower security level should be expected by the clients when roaming to a non-6ghz band.  Asus routers allow this type of configuration.  My deco is going back to Amazon, I'll be buying a set of Asus ET8s.

  @Carl 

I recently purchased the AXE5300 from Costco.  It would be helpful if you could configure either completely mesh or break out each band separately.  Newer devices like PCs, laptops, and phones do a pretty good job of finding the closest AP, but not always.  This is frustrating to say the least.   I read another thread that blames the NIC drivers which is fine but clearly shows the immaturity of mesh network design in the IT industry.

I have American Standard thermostats that are wandering between access points and take this as a disconnect event on the network.  During this time the app drops access and you can't manage these thermostats until they retry.  I had an issue with my last router which was improved with replacing the router.   I'm assuming the equipment is working properly in this case and the thermostats just don't know how to handle the mesh network.  If I could break out the 2.4 separately into non-mesh separate APs with a unique SSID, but leave 5 and 6 MHz as a mesh network for those devices that support those frequencies would be ideal.  I would then point devices that are sensitive and don't home well to their closest AP and call it a day.

While I appreciate wanting to make the device as simple as possible for users, it would be helpful for advanced users if more flexibility was built into the product to cover those unique corner cases individuals may run into.

We're not talking about WIFI 7 which 6 has yet to be perfected between AP and clients.

UPDATE:

So I ended up not returning my AXE5300 system (I was waiting to see what the Nest Pro would look like as an alternative, and needed wifi in the meantime).  

While waiting, I ended up signing up for the Deco app version 3.0 beta program (which looks like it might be out of beta now and available on andriod and apple? at least based on this article: https://community.tp-link.com/en/home/kb/detail/412594https://community.tp-link.com/en/home/kb/detail/412594 )

Anyway, after updating to the 3.0 version of the app, I was able to give the 6GHz band the same SSID as the 5 & 2.4GHz bands.

Since then I have had success with my only 2 wifi6E capable devices (mine and my partner's phones - Galaxy S22 Ultra & Pixel 6 Pro) switching between the 6GHz, 5GHz, and 2.4GHz bands while connected to the same network.  

It also appears the "stickiness" issue I was having where they wouldn't switch to a new node with a better signal when using the 6GHz band has been resolved.  My devices will now jump between different nodes based on signal quality as I move around the house.  

Switching from 5GHz to 6Ghz still seems to be pretty sporatic, and definitely inconsistent.  Sitting at the same spot at my desk in the same room as one of the nodes I will sometimes be connected to the 6GHz band, and other times to the 5GHz band, which I don't fully understand. 

That all said, I'm not actually seeing any better speeds when connected to the 6GHz band vs. when I'm connected to 5Ghz, which I don't quite understand.  

I did a bunch of speed tests connected to the 5Ghz bands and 6Ghz band, and below is what I saw.  For all tests I was standing about 2 ft from the router, with no obstructions between it and me. I ran each test 3 times and took the average speed.  I was the only person home, so my phone was the only device connected to the 6GHz band.   

Main Deco Router (connected to 1gb fiber modem via Cat6 cable):

5GHz Connection

Download: 666mbps

Upload: 565mbps

6GHz Connection

Download: 647mbps

Upload: 509mbps

Mesh Node (connected to main deco router wirelessly):

5GHz Connection

Download: 337mbps

Upload: 406mbps

6GHz Connection

Download: 334mbps

Upload: 418mbps

Am I mostly splitting hairs here and getting great speeds regardless?  Absolutely.  I'm not at all complaining about my speed in general.  But I do feel a bit like the 6GHz band promises I was sold are a bit of snake oil.  

I get that the 6GHz band and 5GHz band have the same theoretical top speed, but I still expected the lack of congestion would lead to improvements.  There are several devices on my 5GHz network, and I'm close enough to my neighbors to get interference from their routers, but that doesn't seem to be making an impact.  

Maybe I'd see a difference if a lot of devices were using a lot of bandwidth at the same time, I'll give that a try at some point.

And while unrelated to the original thread, the Deco units continue to not live up to their promises in other areas. Using ethernet for wired backhaul between the nodes is somehow slower than when they're connected wirelessly, and wired backhaul was a specific reason I chose this specific mesh system over others.  I also can't effectively use the router nodes as ethernet switches. Devices connected to the LAN ports on the nodes, which are connected via ethernet to my fiber modem see huge speed drops.  It's worse than if the device is connected to the node via wifi.

All that to say, while it looks like the initial issue in this thread may be at least partly resolved (for me anyway), overall I'm still pretty disappointed with this system, I don't feel like it's lived up to any of the promises TP Link makes about it that are supposed to differentiate it from other products on the market. 

  @sirdiesel32 Hey man, I appreciate the followup and perspective. At this point.. I've just been using mine with the 6Ghz band disabled and as permanent wireless backhaul and given up on the issue. I think you're probably right.. this 6Hz band is so short range and a little too inconsistent that I might have just been buying into the hype of 6E because literally they've already moved on and are talking about Wifi 7. So oh well.. its just unfortunate that my Google Wifi's were giving out and giving me way too many problems to continue with them after 5+ years of use right when 6E was all the buzz. Too bad I couldn't hold out for 7 or just have stuck with my Wifi 6 router that was cheaper at Costco before they stopped selling them when this released. And on top of that, I would have wanted to just stick with Google as I feel like the one thing I always had no problems with was like the smart switching between nodes and whatnot.. but in the end with the old wifi 5 standard I was having serious speed issues even when pretty close to the routers. Then I heard the specs on the newer Nest wifi routers and was like.. nah.. this aint it. So we will see what the future of wifi holds.

I can say that as much research as I did prior to buying this setup.. TP-link did not inspire a lot of confidence for me for a future purchase. We will see what's on the market when it's time to replace them.

  @DecoUserTL  same boat! I just upgraded from the original Google Wifi, and disappointed to now learn that I can't actually use the 6ghz band on my new AXE5300 because of this SSID issue. Oh well, can't win them all.

  @ParksideParade  Had the same problem but followed the suggestion in a post above to change the 6Ghz network to the same SSID and that seems to have worked. I already had version 3 of the Deco app so assuming its out of beta since the post was written.

  @dCoder  the app (Android) refused to let me change the 6ghz SSID to match the 2.4 and 5. Kept giving me an error that the SSID was already being used. 

But... I inadvertently discovered a workaround. I had to factory reset, so during the initial setup flow i tried to set the same SSID for all and that worked.