Mesh system. Tenda or TP link

obi604

Looking to improve internet speeds at in laws house. They may get 60/20, nothing spectacular but at least workable.

Now the issue is no matter how fast the incoming line is, they have WiFi black spots in the house - which is about 2500 square feet and concrete walls. Dormer.

Only interested in improving the WiFi in black sports and on a budget. About 100 Euro. No gaming or any fancy stuff, just internet browsing mainly. The odd TV programme on an iPad.

Looked around and these 2 seems good.

TP link deco (there is E4 and m4 and s4). Not sure which one to choose.

Tenda MW5 (there is MW5, MW5 c, MW5 s, MW5 g) again, not sure which one to choose.

Any thoughts on which to go for?

obi604

TP link deco M5 looks good too - a ‘tidier’ solution than the M4 Deco.......which seems physically very big.

dam099

TP Link Deco E4 only has 100Mb ethernet ports, not a problem with 60/20 but if you want to future proof probably only an extra €20 or so for M4/S4 (or a bit more again for the M5).

chrisire

115 euro and will fix any blackspots https://www.amazon.co.uk/Deco-M5-Coverage-Replacement-Antivirus/dp/B07FG569ZN/ref=asc_df_B07FG569ZN/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=310847932305&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7927972327032134289&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007850&hvtargid=pla-562869613399&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

obi604

chrisire wrote: »

115 euro and will fix any blackspots https://www.amazon.co.uk/Deco-M5-Coverage-Replacement-Antivirus/dp/B07FG569ZN/ref=asc_df_B07FG569ZN/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=310847932305&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7927972327032134289&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007850&hvtargid=pla-562869613399&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

Yeah. This looks the job. Do you reckon the 2 pack be enough for the 2500 square foot house?

Which would be better.

2 x TP Link Deco M5
3 x TP Link Deco M4

chrisire

obi604 wrote: »

Yeah. This looks the job. Do you reckon the 2 pack be enough for the 2500 square foot house?

Be surprised if it didn't,have a few myself and i'm very impressed,can always buy a cheaper e4 or m4 in the future if you wanted more as they can all be used on the same system,but from my experience 2 should be grand.

M4 should be grand too but its much bigger than the m5

obi604

chrisire wrote: »

Be surprised if it didn't,have a few myself and i'm very impressed,can always buy a cheaper e4 or m4 in the future if you wanted more as they can all be used on the same system,but from my experience 2 should be grand.

M4 should be grand too but its much bigger than the m5

Thanks
Yeah. That’s what’s putting me off the M4’s....,,,they look really big and clunky, whereas the m5 is a lot tidier looking.

chrisire

obi604 wrote: »

Thanks
Yeah. That’s what’s putting me off the M4’s....,,,they look really big and clunky, whereas the m5 is a lot tidier looking.

Yep,here's a photo of the 2 beside each other

https://imageshack.com/i/pm6lBkCEj

obi604

chrisire wrote: »

Be surprised if it didn't,have a few myself and i'm very impressed,can always buy a cheaper e4 or m4 in the future if you wanted more as they can all be used on the same system,but from my experience 2 should be grand.

M4 should be grand too but its much bigger than the m5

With the M5 2 pack - is number 1 permanently placed beside your main ISP router and number 2 placed somewhere else.

Or is number 1 just placed beside main ISP router for initial setup and then can be placed somewhere else after this - to increase/optimise mesh etc.

chrisire

obi604 wrote: »

With the M5 2 pack - is number 1 permanently placed beside your main ISP router and number 2 placed somewhere else.

Or is number 1 just placed beside main ISP router for initial setup and then can be placed somewhere else after this - to increase/optimise mesh etc.

Yeah has to stay there as its plugged into the old router,unless you get a longer ethernet cable.

obi604

chrisire wrote: »

Yeah has to stay there as its plugged into the old router,unless you get a longer ethernet cable.

Noted. With the TP link system installed, is the isp router doing any of the WiFi work at all, or all purely done by TP link?

chrisire

obi604 wrote: »

Noted. With the TP link system installed, is the isp router doing any of the WiFi work at all, or all purely done by TP link?

Can be if you really wanted to but don't see any reason why,i put mine into bridge mode and just use the mesh system on its own

obi604

chrisire wrote: »

Can be if you really wanted to but don't see any reason why,i put mine into bridge mode and just use the mesh system on its own

On Amazon some people are on about access point mode and others bridge mode. Some saying won’t work if in bridge mode etc. (Probably exaggerating)

What is the difference?

Does bridge mode mean ISP router WiFi turned off. Let TP link do all the WiFi work?

Does access point mode mean leave ISP router on and broadcast to TP link?

Or am I totally wrong.

chrisire

obi604 wrote: »

On Amazon some people are on about access point mode and others bridge mode. Some saying won’t work if in bridge mode etc. (Probably exaggerating)

What is the difference?

Does bridge mode mean ISP router WiFi turned off. Let TP link do all the WiFi work?

Does access point mode mean leave ISP router on and broadcast to TP link?

Or am I totally wrong.

as far as i know access point mode just extends your isp router but the isp router is still controlling the internet,bridge mode makes the tp link control everything,bridge mode works better for me as i can control the whole thing through the deco app

obi604

This is a very crude picture of the gaff.

https://ibb.co/sFMgsqk

Dormer type. Would the above placements kinda work with the 2 pack scenario.

chrisire

obi604 wrote: »

This is a very crude picture of the gaff.

https://ibb.co/sFMgsqk

Dormer type. Would the above placements kinda work with the 2 pack scenario.

Photo won't load for me

obi604

chrisire wrote: »

Photo won't load for me

Hmmm. Checked it there again and loads for me.
I have attached it.

Meant to say your image shack photo does not load for me.

chrisire

obi604 wrote: »

Hmmm. Checked it there again and loads for me.
I have attached it.

Meant to say your image shack photo does not load for me.

99% sure you will have full coverage,I have put these in family members homes a few times now,some with just 2 and some with more,it will work

obi604

chrisire wrote: »

99% sure you will have full coverage,I have put these in family members homes a few times now,some with just 2 and some with more,it will work

Nice one. Good to know.

I think I will go for the TP link m5 2 pack, has to be an improvement on what we have now.

It seems you are a big fan of TP link anyway. Seems to be a generally good and reliable brand.

obi604

chrisire wrote: »

Yep,here's a photo of the 2 beside each other

https://imageshack.com/i/pm6lBkCEj

Could you attach the image to have a gander?

Just a totally black image for me

smuggler.ie

helps?

obi604

smuggler.ie wrote: »

helps?

Ah yes. Thanks. Way bigger scenario. Think I’ll
Definitely go with m5’s now. Way tidier.

babelfish1990

obi604 wrote: »

On Amazon some people are on about access point mode and others bridge mode. Some saying won’t work if in bridge mode etc. (Probably exaggerating)

What is the difference?

Does bridge mode mean ISP router WiFi turned off. Let TP link do all the WiFi work?

Does access point mode mean leave ISP router on and broadcast to TP link?

Or am I totally wrong.

Safest option is to leave your ISP router running in normal mode, but disable WiFi in it. Then put Mesh devices in Access Point mode. Use the mesh Devices to cover whole house with WiFi, to ensure seamless handover for mobile devices handing over from one zone to the next. Do NOT use bridge mode on your ISP router unless you have a very good understanding of network security issues, as it will leave some of your network ports outside of your firewall. Downside is you can't use some of the features on your mesh devices - but most people don't use them anyway.

Two APs will probably cover the house, at least with 2.4GHz WiFi. If you have a lot of brick walls or if you want 5GHz everywhere, you may need more.

If your ISP is Eir, their F3000 modem supports native mesh devices, so you might only need 1 extra mesh unit, but you would have to go with the mesh device for this to work.

obi604

babelfish1990 wrote: »

Safest option is to leave your ISP router running in normal mode, but disable WiFi in it. Then put Mesh devices in Access Point mode. Use the mesh Devices to cover whole house with WiFi, to ensure seamless handover for mobile devices handing over from one zone to the next. Do NOT use bridge mode on your ISP router unless you have a very good understanding of network security issues, as it will leave some of your network ports outside of your firewall. Downside is you can't use some of the features on your mesh devices - but most people don't use them anyway.

Two APs will probably cover the house, at least with 2.4GHz WiFi. If you have a lot of brick walls or if you want 5GHz everywhere, you may need more.

If your ISP is Eir, their F3000 modem supports native mesh devices, so you might only need 1 extra mesh unit, but you would have to go with the mesh device for this to work.

Thanks. To turn off WiFi on the ISP router, can it be done via the TP link app somehow, or does it have to be done manually on the ISP router

noted about Eir.

babelfish1990

obi604 wrote: »

Thanks. To turn off WiFi on the ISP router, can it be done via the TP link app somehow, or does it have to be done manually on the ISP router

noted about Eir.

No you can only disable WiFi in your ISP router by logging into it directly. It should have an IP address on your LAN, such as 192.168.1.254 Then you will need to use the user-name and password given by your ISP. Then just toggle off the WiFi for both 2.4Ghz & 5Ghz.

alec76

obi604 wrote: »

Ah yes. Thanks. Way bigger scenario. Think I’ll
Definitely go with m5’s now. Way tidier.

Definitely not a TP Link fan in general , but for the budget probably won't find any better, unless it is a used stuff.
As for the size ( I am not sure about these two models in particular), some bigger brands would have larger aluminium heatsinks ,which improves stability and there is no way to include large heatsink in a SMALL body.

obi604

alec76 wrote: »

Definitely not a TP Link fan in general , but for the budget probably won't find any better, unless it is a used stuff.
As for the size ( I am not sure about these two models in particular), some bigger brands would have larger aluminium heatsinks ,which improves stability and there is no way to include large heatsink in a SMALL body.

Are you saying you are not sure on the M5 model as they are very small?

Mikiek14

obi604 wrote: »

Are you saying you are not sure on the M5 model as they are very small?

They should generally perform the same. I have 2 deco m4s one hooked up beside the router with a Ethernet cable (which is put in ap mode) and i connected the other one in my room using a Ethernet cable coming from the first deco beside the router

Its really easy to set up just disable the wifi on the isp router by logging into it (details on the back of router) and then set up the decos (by default its set in router mode so just go into deco settings and change it.

Also a 3pack deco s4(same as m4) are on sale for 115 on Amazon.

Stone

FWIW I have a TENDA Nova MW6 setup ... works like a dream for me ...

Don Imac2

Stone wrote: »

FWIW I have a TENDA Nova MW6 setup ... works like a dream for me ...

The same here. All good.

obi604

babelfish1990 wrote: »

Safest option is to leave your ISP router running in normal mode, but disable WiFi in it. Then put Mesh devices in Access Point mode. Use the mesh Devices to cover whole house with WiFi, to ensure seamless handover for mobile devices handing over from one zone to the next. Do NOT use bridge mode on your ISP router unless you have a very good understanding of network security issues, as it will leave some of your network ports outside of your firewall. Downside is you can't use some of the features on your mesh devices - but most people don't use them anyway.

Two APs will probably cover the house, at least with 2.4GHz WiFi. If you have a lot of brick walls or if you want 5GHz everywhere, you may need more.

If your ISP is Eir, their F3000 modem supports native mesh devices, so you might only need 1 extra mesh unit, but you would have to go with the mesh device for this to work.

BY this, do you mean that the Eir F3000 would work with just 1 TP link.



e.g. have Eir F3000 at incoming line location, then put the 1 x TP link upstairs (or whatever)

smuggler.ie

obi604 wrote: »

BY this, do you mean that the Eir F3000 would work with just 1 TP link.



e.g. have Eir F3000 at incoming line location, then put the 1 x TP link upstairs (or whatever)

I think he mean this
https://www.eir.ie/smartwifi/

obi604

With these mesh systems. Let’s say I put the ‘2nd unit’ upstairs at my desk. And gives me strong WiFi etc. Can
I then connect an Ethernet cable from this to my desk computer and get maybe faster speeds due to it being wired.

Or does the Ethernet scenario only work if you have the ‘2nd unit’ physically wired to the first unit. .

chrisire

obi604 wrote: »

With these mesh systems. Let’s say I put the ‘2nd unit’ upstairs at my desk. And gives me strong WiFi etc. Can
I then connect an Ethernet cable from this to my desk computer and get maybe faster speeds due to it being wired.

Or does the Ethernet scenario only work if you have the ‘2nd unit’ physically wired to the first unit. .

Yes you can.

obi604

chrisire wrote: »

Yes you can.

Would this give a more reliable and faster speed than over connecting via wifi?

chrisire

obi604 wrote: »

Would this give a more reliable and faster speed than over connecting via wifi?

Has for me,using one of them this way for the xbox and its perfect

babelfish1990

obi604 wrote: »

BY this, do you mean that the Eir F3000 would work with just 1 TP link.



e.g. have Eir F3000 at incoming line location, then put the 1 x TP link upstairs (or whatever)

If you want to get by with just one extra box, you will need to use the Eir Smart WiFi hub in tandem with Eir's F3000. No TP-link required. If you go with TP-Link, you will need a pair of devices to achieve the same result. The Eir F3000 supports Mesh WiFi internally - but you need to use a compatible Mesh device with it.

alec76

obi604 wrote: »

With these mesh systems. Let’s say I put the ‘2nd unit’ upstairs at my desk. And gives me strong WiFi etc. Can
I then connect an Ethernet cable from this to my desk computer and get maybe faster speeds due to it being wired.

Or does the Ethernet scenario only work if you have the ‘2nd unit’ physically wired to the first unit. .

You definitely get faster speeds if 2nd unit physically wired to 1st.
Especially if you on gigabit package. Most of Meshes from TP LINK barely do 150 mbps if units not connected to each other via Ethernet.
As for the computers connected Wired vs Wireless. Depending of computer you have. Some of them limited 100mbs wired and could go faster wireless instead .
ps. If you have WiFi blackspot , you not putting 2nd Mesh unit there ( unless it is wired to 1st), you placing it half way between 1st unit and black spot.

obi604

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117102865#Comment_117102865

Hi, if I do tit like you say : Leave ISP router running in normal mode and disable WiFi. Then put mesh devices in access mode

Does this mean I lose out on parental controls that Deco would offer?

I have 500 meg broadband, would the decos limit this to about 100?

babelfish1990

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117843072#Comment_117843072

You will not be able to use the parental controls in the Deco if you run it in Access Point mode. Your ISP router should have parental controls, which you can use?

There is no reason why Deco should limit bandwidth to 100k.

obi604

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117844946#Comment_117844946

I guess there is but would not be as user friendly or handy as tp link etc.

I know bridge mode brings some risks.

Very high level what does bridge mode do versus access mode?

babelfish1990

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117845172#Comment_117845172

Very briefly, it is the Internet security equivalent of leaving the keys in your hall door. It will allow the bad guys into your home, and your ISP will no longer be able to protect you.

If you have to ask these questions, you shouldn't be doing it. I accept that the parental controls on Deco may be more user friendly, but it's not worth it if you and your kids get exposed to the worst security risks on the net.

dam099

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117845379#Comment_117845379

But a Deco in Router mode would have an equivalent firewall etc to an ISP router. As long as you don't use any of the LAN ports on the router for anything but the Deco what's the increased risk?

babelfish1990

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117845504#Comment_117845504

Leaving unprotected LAN ports on the ISP router is a huge risk. Can you guarantee nobody else is going to try to connect to these? (eg children trying to bypass the parental controls). Perhaps - if you lock it in a press? You also need to know enough about networking to configure an alternative router properly. If you call your ISP for support, they will no longer be able to help you, as you have disconnected the router to which they have remote access. They also won't be able to flash in any routine software patches, and you will need to do your own software upgrades on the Deco.

Pique

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117119895#Comment_117119895

Sorry to ressurect an old thread but I have the same mesh units (connected to a 3/4G mobile RUT240 router).

The KN guys are coming to connect me to the NBP fibre tomorrow and my ISP has sent me out a TP-Link Archer router which also has mesh functionality. Question is though, are the 2 systems compatible? Can I use the existing 3 Tenda cubes all as satellite units connected to the TP-Link router wirelessly or will I have to have one plugged into the router and just have 2 satellite cubes?

alec76

Tenda Nova might be alright system for 3g/4g router , but unless you happy with 100 Mbps wireless speeds don't go this road .

Tp-Link and TENDA not compatible devices of course, if you choose to use Tenda you have to disable WiFi on ISP router and connect 1st Tenda with Ethernet.

dam099

Also its likely the TP Link Archer is not compatible with their own popular Deco line, you will probably need another TP Link router or extender(s) with Onemesh to set up a mesh network if required.

https://community.tp-link.com/en/home/forum/topic/201282

obi604

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117102865#Comment_117102865

Hi,

Have been running Tenda Nova MW6 Mesh system for almost a year now, happy with it and has taken away black spots etc

disabled WIFi on eir.

Will be switching from Eir to Sky this week for broadband.

Do I just have to disable wifi on my sky ISP router?

Or do I have to delete and reset all my Tenda mesh stuff

babelfish1990

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120865874#Comment_120865874

Did you use Bridge mode when you were with Eir? Sky don't support Bridge mode, so in this case you would need to reconfigure your Tenda APs in Access Point mode. If you are already in Access Point Mode, then you can probably just switch of the Sky WiFi.

obi604

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120869084#Comment_120869084

yeah. I had ‘bridge’ mode with eir.

f3ck, will this access port mode alter my experience? (It’s been working fine with eir on bridge mode)

babelfish1990

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120869091#Comment_120869091

Yes - if you were using bridge mode with Eir, then you were using Tenda as your main router with WiFi and the eir box reverted to just being a modem. This meant you could use any additional features that Tenda offered in their router. If you are forced to migrate the Tenda devices to Access Point mode, you will lose any of those features, and you will be restricted to features that the Sky router offers. It will be a different experience, and will likely need you reset the Tendas.