Mixe M5 and M9 configuration
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I have recently added a Deco M9 plus to my previously all M5 installation. The M9 is now the main Deco, but I have encountered a couple of problems:
1. Night mode is no longer available in the app, although I can't find any indication this is not supported by the M9
2. The main Deco is in AP mode but I can no longer see my NAS from the rest of the network (the NAS is plugged into the switch on the router as the 2nd port on the Deco is used for a powerline connection to an outside workshop). This configuration used to work with an M5 as the main Deco.
If I can't resolve the second of these issues, what is the implication of reverting to an M5 as the main Deco?
I also run mixed M5/M9 Deco mesh, with M9 as Main Deco. I definitely have Night Mode option, usually keep it off but turned it on to confirm it is available:
I suggest you check what firmware version your M9 reports, perhaps it is not the latest. This is what I have:
Can't help you with NAS, but seem strange if it is related to M9 introduction.
Anyway, as long as you have single M9 in your Deco mesh, reverting to M5 as Main Deco will not cause any issues for your Deco mesh, as long as you were happy with mesh performance before adding M9 to it.
Caveat: as long as you keep M9 in mesh, and if some feature of previous firmware version in M9 prevents access to NAS, it might be possible that all your mesh will revert to that old feature even if M9 is not Main. Deco mesh runs on lowest common denominator of features of all nodes in it.
Meaning: if making M5 Main Node does not fix NAS issue, consider removing (deleting) M9 from your Deco mesh to prove/disprove if it is the culrpit.
The benefit of having M9 as Main is for its WiFi backhaul, but that will need Satellite M9 you don't have. Also, M9 is probably more powerful hardware that could handle traffic going through Main Node in Router mode better, but in Acess Point mode of Deco mesh that is irrelevant as it doesn't utilize traffic filtering functionality.
Somewhat curious, why would you add single M9 to your mesh if you started with M5? TP-Link sells individual M5 nodes, I would suggest if it is not too late for you to return M9 and just buy M5 instead.
Running on consistent networking hardware is always better, as you have just found.