TP-Link OneMesh™ VS Deco Mesh: What's the Difference?
TP-Link OneMesh™ VS Deco Mesh: What's the Difference?
OneMesh™ and Deco Mesh are two whole home mesh Wi-Fi solutions provided by TP-Link. Though both support mesh networks, they are used by different products and are not compatible with each other. Since it’s pretty easy to mix up these two solutions, this article is going to show you how TP-Link OneMesh™ and Deco Mesh work differently while providing some tips for using them. Pick the perfect one to enjoy the best possible whole home Wi-Fi experience.
Deco Mesh
Deco Mesh is technology only used in TP-Link Deco products (Full List) for Mesh networking. Deco replaces a collection of routers and range extenders with an intelligent Wi-Fi system made up of multiple units working together seamlessly. It adapts as your Wi-Fi needs change and uses complex algorithms behind the scenes to automatically and efficiently route data along the fastest path. For more about Deco Mesh, refer to How Deco works.
All TP-Link Deco models work together. Just choose one as a main Deco (follow the priority order when choosing the main Deco: Deco M9 Plus/Deco P7 > Deco P9 > Deco M5 > Deco M4R > Deco E4R). Then follow the Deco app instructions to set it up. After configuring the main Deco, add other Decos one by one onto the mesh network via your Deco app.
After setting up, you can manage your mesh network on any of the Deco units, and the modifications will be synchronized to others on the mesh network instantly. You can also swap out the main Deco and replace it with any of the Deco units on your Deco app easily.
Deco units support Ethernet backhaul connections, which means every two Deco units—even different models—can be wired with an Ethernet cable and will transmit data between the two units through the Ethernet connection, which is more stable and faster than wireless connections.
Don’t forget, though, Ethernet backhauls and wireless backhauls can’t work at the same time. Once an Ethernet backhaul is established, the wireless backhaul will disconnect automatically. So to use an Ethernet backhaul connection, you don’t need to wire every Deco unit. Instead, you can set up one for Ethernet backhaul and the others for wireless backhaul at the same time if you want.
For example, if you have three Deco units and want to create Wi-Fi not only in your living room and bedroom but also in the office a little far away from the other rooms, which has no Wi-Fi coverage, you can put the main Deco and satellite Deco 1 in your living room and bedroom (wireless backhaul). As for satellite Deco 2, you can place it in the office with a long Ethernet cable connected to the main Deco or satellite Deco 1 unit. In this case, the satellite Deco 2 unit will work through an Ethernet backhaul, while the main and satellite 1 will work through wireless backhaul.
OneMesh™
OneMesh™ is a trademark for various TP-Link SOHO products which support mesh networking, including Wi-Fi routers, DSL modem routers, 3G/4G routers, range extenders, and Powerline adapters. You can check whether your devices support OneMesh™ with the Compatibility List. For more about TP-Link OneMesh™, refer to the following:
OneMesh™-Create a Whole-Home Wi-Fi Network with Your TP-Link Devices
To set up a OneMesh™ network, you can use a OneMesh™ wireless router, modem router, or 3G/4G router with several sets of range extenders or powerline adapters. One thing to note, however, is that two OneMesh™ routers cannot create a mesh network. A OneMesh™ router can only be combined with OneMesh™ range extenders or OneMesh™ powerline adapters to build mesh networks. You can add a bunch of OneMesh™ wireless range extenders or powerline adapters, but only one OneMesh™ router is needed on the same mesh network. Wireless routers only support OneMesh™ while in Router mode, whereas modem routers support OneMesh™ on any operation mode. To make full use of two routers, you can set them up separately and create two OneMesh™ networks with network expansion devices.
To add more extenders onto a OneMesh™ network, generally we suggest connecting all the extenders to the router for better performance. You can also connect one extender to another one already connected to the router. But we don’t recommend adding more than two extenders to one single link chain in consideration of Wi-Fi quality.
Unlike a Deco Mesh network, a OneMesh™ router acts as the management center on a OneMesh™ network. You can set and modify the wireless settings such as network name, password, and advanced features like Access Control and QoS on the router. The router will then synchronize to your extension devices. Do note, you would no longer be able to modify these items on any of the extenders on the OneMesh™ network separately.
Another difference is that OneMesh™ products do not support Ethernet backhaul now. Wireless backhaul, however, is still available. If you want to enjoy a seamless connection between dual-band networks, you need to manually enable Smart Connect on your host router. Then your host router’s 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands will share the same SSID and password.
In summary, though Deco Mesh and OneMesh™ support Mesh networking, they are totally different technologies used by different TP-Link products, so they cannot build a mesh network together or with other brands. Choose one of them based on your actual needs and start building a seamless whole home mesh network for your home today.
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What really surprising is that when connecting a one mesh extender using cable will mean it will no longer support one mesh!
Is this going to change anytime soon?
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@JDC Same here... now I have to return the damn thing...
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@TP_TechWriter What a mess! Will this be fixed one day? Is this just a software problem? Because it definitely looks like one to me. Currently I have Decos AND the RE 550, so the RE 550 is even more useless to me than a brick, because instead of extending my mesh network, it will basically downgrade my network quality if I use it.
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@JDC yes! Completely ridiculous! I've been a huge fan of TP Link - but this together with the additional cost of Homeshield has be considering other manufacturers.
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As I understand, Tp-Link's main aim is to confuse consumers and force to buy upper/newer models they generally don't need.
I must say, the Tp-Link products I used untill now were the worst in their price range.
Let me give some examples:
1) Onemesh range extenders don't have ethernet backhaul and I beleive they will never have. Main reason for that is to make you buy Deco product line if you are interested in ethernet backhaul. So, what were you saying about the difference between Deco Mesh and onemesh?
2) Routers with onemesh support can't be a node? WHY? Because as I understand then that can become a cheap and powerful solution to AP and maybe ethernet backhaul, while mesh is enabled and even an old router like C7 would be pretty fast.
3) Some of their less then three year old range extender products don't have gigabit ethernet port. Well, that is very funny. It is not important for me, because I use that port on a 100mbit switch, then connect that switch to 3 ip cameras. 720p ip cameras generally need 4-6mbit/s bandwidth. So no problem.
4) Tp-link's explanations, box designs are NOT good. In the onemesh devices list, there is RE305 V4. But as I understand also V3 supports onemesh. But that is not in the list. Why is that? They want you to buy brand new I guess. They think like "V3 is not sold anymore in anywhere, so why bother?" But, here is the problem: do we have to buy brand new? Or, my friend can have one lying around, he can give me. I can check your site and can't see it in the support page... Also, they don't mention onemesh on their boxes. Why? They want you to buy new. A used one with a box would be easily spotted wether it supports onemesh or not, if it was stated on the box. AND THEY DON'T WANT THAT. For example on an Asus product, on the box it will write wether it has a mesh support or not. Ac59u v1 don't have mesh support. So on it's box it does not write anything. V2 has mesh support. On it's box it writes that it has mesh support. Simple.
So, here is the thing Tp-link: Your way of business is a no-go for me. You won't be able to earn money through me. Asus or Netgear is far better than you guys. Sorry. I am very happy with my Asus router in my office. There is only one minor defect: ESP01 boards can't connect to ASUS routers. So, I wanted to give you a chance in my home one last time. I bought a used C7 router (your interface sucks. Just please open and look at the interface of an ASUS). And I thought RE450 had onemesh support and bought a used RE450. But no. Later I understood that, only RE450 V4 supports it. Since I bought it used for dirt cheap, no problem. I will sell it back for dirt cheap.
Now I am in a search of a range extender that supports onemesh. I will probably buy a RE305 V3 or v4 for even cheaper, again used. Yes it is slower than RE450; but I don't care. Why? Simple. I DON'T TRUST ANY OF YOU GUYS. So I have my cable setup in my house. Therefore I don't need very fast wifi. I was never able to get the speeds you mentioned by the way. I own a T9UH usb wi-fi dongle for example. I was never able to copy files from my server to my pc with a speed that is over 600mbit. So for heavy usage (Servers, PC's etc) I allways use cat6 cable. Cheaper. Faster. Reliable. Between my main PC and my disk server, I use 2.5gbit nics. The rest is 1gbit. When I do that, speed of wifi is NOT important. It only should cover the entire area at least with 300mbit/s speed and that is it. More than 300mbit/s is not needed when you have cable connection to everything that uses the bandwith much.
So, you should try harder to convince me. My latest experiance with Tp-Link is still same: Frustration. But this time, you did not earn any money through me and if you don't change your way of doing business, you never will able to... If I am have to, I will continue to use your products, buy some other maybe; but I will never buy brand new. And if I am not have to, I won't be buying your products even used.
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@JDC Your internet plan is similar to mine, and you get maximum speed from all/each decos?, how far is it from the decos?
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@atifak But we never know which mesh is more suitable for our specific requirements before trying both
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Distance of Decos from the Archer is up to about 10 metres, but it is a wired connection so I don't think that matters.
There is a Deco in each room, so max distance from Deco to device is about 6 metres.
The Decos aren't great at choosing an uncongested channel so in the early hours of the morning performance can deteriorate badly. Apparently I have a neighbour who produces a lot of traffic in the early hours of the morning.
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@TP_TechWriter some Decos support powerlines, but most don't, does it mean we can have ethernet backhaul through powerlines on some decos, but have to be connected purely through ethernet/LAN cables on most decos?
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