Wifi mesh systems

garo · 29-03-2021 2:37pm

Why not get the Deco M5? You only need the P9 if you are planning to use powerline. Also M5 has network security software built in and is 60 euro cheaper at Currys.

Clareman · 29-03-2021 2:54pm

riddles wrote: »

Hi

I got about 10 pages into the thread and am finding the options slightly hard to patch with my level of knowledge.

The house is two story detached with a converted side garage. I would like to get coverage in a outside shed which is close to the house.

I have Eir broadband router at the front door - no ethernet cabling in the house.

There are four wifi users in the house. The options I narrowed down to are the P9 Deco system and tenda nova one.
I am looking for a solution to plug in and its ready to go and possibly could offering some content screening capability if possible.

Any suggestions appreciated - thx

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing-accessories/networking/whole-home-wi-fi-systems/tp-link-deco-p9-whole-home-wifi-system-triple-pack-10206082-pdt.html?istCompanyId=fbc6ef6d-ab18-45e3-927a-0cb677794424&istFeedId=0959f117-9faa-4499-80bd-c0265bb2950e&istItemId=iltpwmipa&istBid=t&gclid=Cj0KCQjw9YWDBhDyARIsADt6sGaA9cW0htQEVJeB1HyzNT7QghdioiZ1KkUve--87G_wvXVr9eVvN-8aAiglEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing-accessories/networking/whole-home-wi-fi-systems/tenda-nova-mw6-whole-home-wifi-system-triple-pack-10184401-pdt.html?istCompanyId=fbc6ef6d-ab18-45e3-927a-0cb677794424&istFeedId=0959f117-9faa-4499-80bd-c0265bb2950e&istItemId=wrqpllair&istBid=t&gclid=Cj0KCQjw9YWDBhDyARIsADt6sGZq5CHTOsrjwrN1sioqWjm_dCpwtwuKjhXv2mJm-Ftme3hFOm_mqQIaAnr6EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

others mentioned in the thread.

Linksys velop Triband

Eero 3-pack

Orbi

TP Link Deco M5 system

The easiest and quickest way to see if you'll have coverage outside in the shed would be to move the Eir router to where you'd be putting a satellite node for the mesh closed to the shed, then head out to the shed to see if you have wifi coverage (you won't have internet connection but you'll be able to connect to the WiFi).

After that you're relying on people's opinions as you don't have a wired infrastructure. Personally I find the Nest Wifi great, simple to setup, content management and family friendly, just disable the wifi on the Eir router, plug in the Nest Wifi and go through the setup process. Other Mesh solutions will allow you get rid of your Eir router or have wired connections to the satellites or have to worry about having Google listening to you

riddles · 29-03-2021 8:11pm

Clareman wrote: »

The easiest and quickest way to see if you'll have coverage outside in the shed would be to move the Eir router to where you'd be putting a satellite node for the mesh closed to the shed, then head out to the shed to see if you have wifi coverage (you won't have internet connection but you'll be able to connect to the WiFi).

After that you're relying on people's opinions as you don't have a wired infrastructure. Personally I find the Nest Wifi great, simple to setup, content management and family friendly, just disable the wifi on the Eir router, plug in the Nest Wifi and go through the setup process. Other Mesh solutions will allow you get rid of your Eir router or have wired connections to the satellites or have to worry about having Google listening to you

thanks moving the router would be rewiring job or could I get a second router and put that near the shed and feed off that? thx
are the repeater links good for a whole floor in the house?

Clareman · 29-03-2021 8:39pm

riddles wrote: »

thanks moving the router would be rewiring job or could I get a second router and put that near the shed and feed off that? thx
are the repeater links good for a whole floor in the house?

It's just to see if a wifi signal will stretch as far as you want it to, just a power socket to see, you should be able to connect your phone/tablet/laptop to it and see how far the signal goes, will let you know about the shed.

dodzy · 30-03-2021 7:38pm

Lads, final question... so I’ve disabled WiFi on the VM hub (the VM 360 tv box had always been connected to the hub via Ethernet) as had the nvidia shield. So now, with WiFi on the hub disabled, should I connect the hard wired devices to the Deco (via a multi port switch as only one connection point free on the back of the Deco) to enable WiFi connection to the devices? No

degsie · 30-03-2021 7:45pm

dodzy wrote: »

Lads, final question... so I’ve disabled WiFi on the VM hub (the VM 360 tv box had always been connected to the hub via Ethernet) as had the nvidia shield. So now, with WiFi on the hub disabled, should I connect the hard wired devices to the Deco (via a multi port switch as only one connection point free on the back of the Deco) to enable WiFi connection to the devices? No

Yes, connecting a switch will work just fine.

30-03-2021 8:11pm

dodzy wrote: »

Lads, final question... so I’ve disabled WiFi on the VM hub (the VM 360 tv box had always been connected to the hub via Ethernet) as had the nvidia shield. So now, with WiFi on the hub disabled, should I connect the hard wired devices to the Deco (via a multi port switch as only one connection point free on the back of the Deco) to enable WiFi connection to the devices? No

If the VM hub is still a router you can use it's ports, there will be no difference between them and the Deco ports, or ports switched from the Deco. You only need to stop using the VM hub ports if you have it bridged

downtheroad · 03-04-2021 3:46pm

I got 3 x Deco M5 recently and have installed them around the house. The main node is connected to Virgin 240 router and is giving off great speeds using speedtest. Another node I put upstairs (3 bed semi d) has weak enough speeds, any ideas for reasons for this?

Also has anybody managed to connect Sonos to a mesh system? I didn't look into it at all before buying the Decos, and now am not sure if it is possible going by their website.

Thanks

03-04-2021 3:53pm

downtheroad wrote: »

I got 3 x Deco M5 recently and have installed them around the house. The main node is connected to Virgin 240 router and is giving off great speeds using speedtest. Another node I put upstairs (3 bed semi d) has weak enough speeds, any ideas for reasons for this?

Also has anybody managed to connect Sonos to a mesh system? I didn't look into it at all before buying the Decos, and now am not sure if it is possible going by their website.

Thanks

How is the node upstairs connected to the main one? If wireless mesh then you may have to move it closer or run a cable.

downtheroad · 03-04-2021 4:06pm

[Deleted User] wrote: »

How is the node upstairs connected to the main one? If wireless mesh then you may have to move it closer or run a cable.

It's wireless alright. The speed difference is huge,drops from 240 to 20-30. The distance between the nodes isn't massive, wasn't expecting such a drop off. Its only for handheld devices mainly so it still works better than when it was just the Virgin router box. Herself probably wouldn't be keen on the idea of running a permanent cable between the nodes.

03-04-2021 6:23pm

downtheroad wrote: »

It's wireless alright. The speed difference is huge,drops from 240 to 20-30. The distance between the nodes isn't massive, wasn't expecting such a drop off. Its only for handheld devices mainly so it still works better than when it was just the Virgin router box. Herself probably wouldn't be keen on the idea of running a permanent cable between the nodes.

Move it closer or somewhere it gets a better signal. Do you have concrete floors or foil lined plasterboard in ceilings, these will block a signal

Yourmama · 07-04-2021 5:48pm

downtheroad wrote:

It's wireless alright. The speed difference is huge,drops from 240 to 20-30. The distance between the nodes isn't massive, wasn't expecting such a drop off. Its only for handheld devices mainly so it still works better than when it was just the Virgin router box. Herself probably wouldn't be keen on the idea of running a permanent cable between the nodes.

Similar experience with deco M5. I have two access point in line of sight, around 10 meters apart. When my phone connects to first one, I get full 250Mb speed and only 120-130Mb through second.

tobdom · 07-04-2021 8:01pm

downtheroad wrote: »

Also has anybody managed to connect Sonos to a mesh system? I didn't look into it at all before buying the Decos, and now am not sure if it is possible going by their website.

Thanks

Have the Deco P9s and have 2 Sonos speakers connected to them (wirelessly), no issues at all that I can remember getting them setup initially

Captcha · 08-04-2021 4:00pm

Got the Asus XT8 dual set, I set them up with wifi backhaul, well set them up I just turned them on, holy smoke its a simple process.

Getting 400mb out in the back garden shed. A-rated house, which normally cuts both wifi and Bluetooth off the moment you step outside.

Range is crazy and no need to even have a wired backhaul via powerline (was going to use my old powerline which can act as this)

Anyway, point of posting this is to say this wifi kicks ass!

Got on amazon.de for €280 as it was discounted and then I had some other issues which they gave me some extra discount. Very happy with the set and very happy with Amazon!

Mc Love · 12-04-2021 2:20pm

Not sure I'll need my Google Home now considering the coverage of the fritzbox.

Blowheads · 12-04-2021 5:30pm

What would be the best, I have Orbi & Nest thermostats (running through a VF gigabit router)
I want rid of Orbis now

2 storey detached 2400sq house
Am thinking something hybrid with powerline backup/backhaul

Thanks!

The_Honeybadger · 12-04-2021 11:39pm

Hey folks, I installed a Deco M5 system about two months ago, three pack, linked to Vodafone at Home router.

All working great until the past week or so, it is now randomly and periodically disconnecting from the internet across several devices. It doesn’t disconnect the device from the network, it just won’t allow you to use the internet on the device, not all devices go down together either, one device can be working fine and another disconnected at the same time. Issue is mainly on Apple devices, phones and IPads. We have two laptops for work that have had no issues at all.

We got the system due to coverage issues in parts of the house but I’m thinking of pulling the plug on it at this stage. By any chance has anybody come across this issue? I googled it and there is a thread on the TP Link forum from a few months back with several users having similar issues but no resolution.

I have update the firmware, switched from AP to default etc, nothing seems to make a difference.

RangeR · 13-04-2021 8:26am

Blowheads wrote: »

What would be the best, I have Orbi & Nest thermostats (running through a VF gigabit router)
I want rid of Orbis now

2 storey detached 2400sq house
Am thinking something hybrid with powerline backup/backhaul

Thanks!

Are the walls solid or partitions? Same for the floors. Wood or concrete?
If you read, literally, the past 2 or 3 pages, you should get all the info you need.

RangeR · 13-04-2021 8:34am

The_Honeybadger wrote: »

Hey folks, I installed a Deco M5 system about two months ago, three pack, linked to Vodafone at Home router.

How are your three points linked?

1. WIFI only, with maybe only one wired back to the router wi no wires from the first to the others.
2. Are they wired daiychaining back to the router
3. Or are they all individually wired to the Vodafone router?

Gooser14 · 13-04-2021 11:56am

The_Honeybadger wrote:

Hey folks, I installed a Deco M5 system about two months ago, three pack, linked to Vodafone at Home router.

Have you turned off the WiFi on the VF router?

The_Honeybadger · 13-04-2021 12:03pm

RangeR wrote: »

How are your three points linked?

1. WIFI only, with maybe only one wired back to the router wi no wires from the first to the others.
2. Are they wired daiychaining back to the router
3. Or are they all individually wired to the Vodafone router?

Thanks. The main Deco is connected to the Vodafone router via Ethernet, the slave units are linked back to it via WiFi. They are in a different part of the house so no way to wire them to the main unit.

The_Honeybadger · 13-04-2021 12:06pm

Gooser14 wrote: »

Have you turned off the WiFi on the VF router?

Yes, WiFi is disabled on the Vodafone router and all smart devices use the Deco Network. I have two power line adaptors running off the Vodafone router as well, to a Sky Q box and an Xbox

Connection is usually excellent from the Deco’s, over 50mb in all parts of the house until it starts acting up on the apple devices.

I have tried resetting all settings on the individual devices as well and even factory reset one of them, no difference. Thanks

RangeR · 13-04-2021 12:22pm

Ok, now we have a bit more info to work on.

1. Are your powerline adapters wired into your Sky Q and XBox or is it WIFI link. Disable the wifi link if it's broadcasting.

2.1 Is your primary DECO acting as a router as well as your Vodafone box? If so, you need to choose either your DECO or Vodafone as your router, especially because of your xbox. If DECO is your router, unplug everything from your Vodafone box and consider it unsafe. Only your DECO should be connected using a single cable. Noting that this isn't the cause of your WIFI dropouts.

2.2 If your Vodafone box is your router and your DECO is purely in AP mode, that's fine.

3. For giggles, can you turn off your WIFI DECO's and only power on your primary DECO? Test this for a few days and see if connections still drop.

4. If 3 tests good, it's probable that your two WIFI DECO's are just too far away from your Primary DECO. Maybe move them a little closer and retest?

5. Your DECO's should be positioned as high as possible in each room and not obstructed by heavy, dense or metal objects to give maximum benefit. WIFI HATES microwave ovens.

Do DECO's have a MESH TEST? If so, run it before you change anything, especially when devices start dropping off.

Blowheads · 13-04-2021 2:21pm

RangeR wrote: »

Are the walls solid or partitions? Same for the floors. Wood or concrete?
If you read, literally, the past 2 or 3 pages, you should get all the info you need.

Hi, seems to be deco the way to go
I have internal partitions upstairs, solid downstairs. Floors are timber
Just as I write this the phone drops off but laptop is fine..
Orbi is in AP with the VF gigabit box as router with its WiFi disabled

The_Honeybadger · 13-04-2021 2:33pm

RangeR wrote: »

Ok, now we have a bit more info to work on.

1. Are your powerline adapters wired into your Sky Q and XBox or is it WIFI link. Disable the wifi link if it's broadcasting.

2.1 Is your primary DECO acting as a router as well as your Vodafone box? If so, you need to choose either your DECO or Vodafone as your router, especially because of your xbox. If DECO is your router, unplug everything from your Vodafone box and consider it unsafe. Only your DECO should be connected using a single cable. Noting that this isn't the cause of your WIFI dropouts.

2.2 If your Vodafone box is your router and your DECO is purely in AP mode, that's fine.

3. For giggles, can you turn off your WIFI DECO's and only power on your primary DECO? Test this for a few days and see if connections still drop.

4. If 3 tests good, it's probable that your two WIFI DECO's are just too far away from your Primary DECO. Maybe move them a little closer and retest?

5. Your DECO's should be positioned as high as possible in each room and not obstructed by heavy, dense or metal objects to give maximum benefit. WIFI HATES microwave ovens.

Do DECO's have a MESH TEST? If so, run it before you change anything, especially when devices start dropping off.

Thanks again

1. The power line adaptors are both wired with Ethernet from the Vodafone modem, no WiFi

2. Vodafone Box is the router, I have WiFi disabled, Deco’s run as Access Points. Would it be worth trying the deco as the router and taking the Vodafone box out of the chain?

3. I’ll try removing the slave units and see what happens

The two slave Decos are in an upstairs hallway and a bedroom respectively, the hallway one is less than 15ft away from the main Deco so I doubt that’s the issue but I’ll fiddle around with them and see.

5. They are not obstructed in any way. Like I said one Apple device could be disconnected and another device right next to it could have a rock solid 50mb. I don’t think it’s a range issue, I’m convinced it’s a device compatibility issue, lots of users on other forums with similar problems on Apple devices. It’s extremely frustrating, especially for my daughter who is trying to do Google Classroom work on her IPad

I’ll try the above suggestions and see if I can get to the root of the problem. Big issue is trying to find a time to do tests, the minute you turn off the WiFi the whole house goes mental!!

Not sure about the MESH test. It does a network optimisation scan through the app but nothing ever shows a problem

dam099 · 13-04-2021 3:25pm

Blowheads wrote: »

Hi, seems to be deco the way to go
I have internal partitions upstairs, solid downstairs. Floors are timber
Just as I write this the phone drops off but laptop is fine..
Orbi is in AP with the VF gigabit box as router with its WiFi disabled

Orbi would probably be higher rated than Deco (not to knock Deco which do seem to be good, I got them for my parents house and no reports of major issues since I set them up last September).

Not sure how much troubleshooting you have done with the Orbi's but might worth playing with placements or looking at ethernet backhaul.

RangeR · 13-04-2021 4:00pm

The_Honeybadger wrote: »

What you said

and all noted.

Let's concentrate on one thing you said and something I missed.

The_Honeybadger wrote:

...It doesn’t disconnect the device from the network, it just won’t allow you to use the internet on the device, not all devices go down together either, one device can be working fine and another disconnected at the same time...

This actually sounds like a networking issue rather than a wifi issue. When your device loosing internet, it's still connected to wifi. Can you check the IP address of the device from the device itself?

My guess is that it's getting dropped from DHCP. Maybe your device has no IP. Maybe it has something in the range of 169.254.x.x [sure sign of DHCP issue]. Maybe just the gateway is getting reset?

Until we get this resolved, ignore everything else I previously suggested.

I don't have, do, or even agree with the existence of iDevices, so don't have much to offer other than I found this link. Any use?

The_Honeybadger · 13-04-2021 4:21pm

RangeR wrote: »

and all noted.

Let's concentrate on one thing you said and something I missed.

This actually sounds like a networking issue rather than a wifi issue. When your device loosing internet, it's still connected to wifi. Can you check the IP address of the device from the device itself?

My guess is that it's getting dropped from DHCP. Maybe your device has no IP. Maybe it has something in the range of 169.254.x.x [sure sign of DHCP issue]. Maybe just the gateway is getting reset?

Until we get this resolved, ignore everything else I previously suggested.

I don't have, do, or even agree with the existence of iDevices, so don't have much to offer other than I found this link. Any use?

I’ve tried almost all the things in that article to no avail.

I’ll see if I can check the IP address next time it happens. It tends to be random, ie my iPhone will work fine for a day or two but then lose interest connection for several hours at a time, albeit it’ll still be connected to the network. My teenage kids have similar issues. No problems at all on the windows laptops however.

I’m pretty much a novice with networks but I can usually figure things out with some Googling so I will look in to the potential DHCP issue. The Decos were working like a dream since we got them and solved all the blind spots around the house so I’d like to resolve if I could.

Thanks for your help

bobbyg · 29-04-2021 5:12pm

I have a Deco M4 mesh which I am using with Eir Broadband and I turn the WIFi off on the F2000 modem supplied by Eir. Recently they upgraded me to FFTH and but now they have an ethernet cable running from the Eir F2 modem into a Huawei box on the wall. I still run my Deco from the Eir Modem with the Wifi switch off on the Eir modem. Does anyone know if I can eliminate the Eir modem and just connect the Huawei box to the Deco M4 box?

Cyrus · 29-04-2021 9:55pm

bobbyg wrote: »

I have a Deco M4 mesh which I am using with Eir Broadband and I turn the WIFi off on the F2000 modem supplied by Eir. Recently they upgraded me to FFTH and but now they have an ethernet cable running from the Eir F2 modem into a Huawei box on the wall. I still run my Deco from the Eir Modem with the Wifi switch off on the Eir modem. Does anyone know if I can eliminate the Eir modem and just connect the Huawei box to the Deco M4 box?

If you can set the vlan tag then you can ( for example I have done it with ubiquity equipment)

Wifi mesh systems

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