@papabrown 

I run Deco mesh in Access Point mode, I can answer questions 1-3 only.

1.  When you connect to a mesh network, do devices automatically "jump" to the stronger signal ( to avoid my issue of "sticking" to the weak signal)

 

This is the promise of mesh network, but true answer is: it depends. Because, it depends on WiFi mesh setup and on wireless device with its own logic of choosing individual WiFi mesh units and switching between them.

Scanning WiFi networks all the time is battery drain, so mobile device will only do it when WiFi signal it is connected to gets too weak. The threshold for what constitutes "weak" signal is decided by device software developers.

When signal gets sufficiently weak, so that mobile device rescans networks, it must find another mesh unit with sufficiently stronger signal to switch to it. If it can't, it wont - which means how you deploy mesh units (where you place them, and how many you have) is important.

Modern mesh can provide WiFi on 2.4GHz band and on 5GHz band. If mesh offers 2.4GHz, its signal travels longer distances and you may need less mesh units, but mobile device might switch less frequently between nodes, as it'll still stick to "not so good but not too bad" WiFi signal from node it is currently connected to.

Turn off 2.4GHz, let mesh broadcast WiFi on 5GHz only, and devices will switch faster, because 5GHz travels shorter distances. Yet, you might find you need more mesh units to provide good 5GHz coverage over the house.

Then, there are devices that either don't understand mesh or don't care. One should expect proper behavior from modern smartphone and tablet, hit and miss with older laptops, more misses than hits with security cameras, door bells, Roku type streaming devices, smart plugs.

2. Does the backhaul work over Ethernet?

 

Yes, it does, and it works very well.

3. Does the software have a timer so Wifi can be disabled automatically on a timer, ie over night (I dont like to keep Wifi on when we're asleep).  My current router has a "disable wifi" on timer option.

 

There is no option to schedule disabling WiFi in Deco mesh. It will be on all the time.

You can get smart plug and schedule it to power off Deco unit at night, as a workaround. I used TP-Link Kasa Smart plug Lite (HS103) to test that on one of my Decos, works just fine. If you plan to power off all Deco units at night, make sure you schedule powering off Main Deco last, power it on first and delay powering on Satellite Decos by about 5 minutes after Main Deco.

@Alexandre. Thanks for the info

I will perceiver to find one with a WiFi disable/enable timer but the smart power switch is an option if I cant find a back haulled one that offers this.

Re the switching, so long as they look for a new Mesh node when the old one get too slow (however each device determines this) its fine.  Currently we have several AP's round the house but phones stick to the first one they find like glue, to a point where they cant download web pages despite there being a stronger AP right next to them!