Occasional Network drops
This thread has been locked for further replies. You can start a new thread to share your ideas or ask questions.
Hi,
Had my Deco M5 mesh setup for a few years now and been really happy with it.
I hardwire the primary node to internet router then spread the nodes out and for a good 3-4 years it seems to have worked fine.
About a year ago i introduced a dedicated router on the third node which I hardwired to my PC. This allows the PC to get Internet access through the router (via the mesh) and the I use the router for Oculus Quest Air Link so I have no other traffic flowing through that router.
Worked fine for about a year or so, then in the last few weeks I've been getting drop outs during gaming sessions. These are not the Quest dropping out, so the dedicated router is fine from a connection to the PC point of view, but the Internet connection dropping out.
I also notice that occasionally i appear to have poor wifi coverage on my phone and occasionally it'll lose data access (i.e. an app or page won't load for a few seconds) but then come back again.
Is there a logging system on the Deco app to see if one of the nodes has dropped out in the past? Is this a common thing to happen as the hardware gets older? Is there anything I can do to fix this (firmware is up to date) or is it just time to update the hardware and splash the cash again?
Thoughts and assisstance appreciated.
For what you described, usual suspect is newly introduced WiFi interference. Also, unlikely but possible, something is with Deco firmware upgrade.
What is exact firmware version of your Deco M5s? TP-Link recently released firmware 1.6, have you upgraded your Deco M5s with it recently?
When issues started to happen, have something changed in your room with gaming PC or near main Deco to cause WiFi interference: new microwave, cordless phone, vacuum? It is also possible that happens at your neighbors, or they might have got new WiFi mesh, maybe powerful WiFi router - you wouldn't know about that, of course.
Satellite Deco nodes log when they drop connection to Main Deco. These logs, for M5 at least, are short lived: they are overwritten every few hours. Also, every time Satellite Deco loses connection to Main Deco, Satellite Deco LED goes red. If you are near the Satellite Deco when you lose data access, and its LED is green, there will be nothing in logs. Logs don't report quality of connection, just that Deco is connected or disconnected.
You do realize you have "dedicated WiFi router" near Satellite Deco, right? This is two strong WiFi networks potentially interfering with each other. I would recommend to try getting rid of it and use Oculus Quest Air Link with Deco. Yes, its FAQ claims it might have issues with WiFi mesh, but with proper settings in Deco and firmware 1.6 the potential to hit issues will be minimized.
If you want to try, let me know and I'll suggest Deco settings for Oculus Quest VR headset.
The basic troubleshooting of poor WiFi consists of two steps: verify link between Satellite and Main Deco is strong, and also force smartphone to use 5GHz exclusively.
To check the link, open Satellite Deco status page in Deco app and see what it says under Signal Source. Example of a good quality link:
Three bars would mean it is excellent. I suggest you check that for all Satellite Deco. If you have Satellite Deco with worse Signal Source than in my example, that Deco is too far from Main Deco.
As for 5GHz, I recommend to explicitly set it in WiFi Settings in Deco app, by disabling 2.4GHz:
If you have devices that can only use 2.4GHz, they'll disconnect, but, once again, you are doing troubleshooting. If you have no such devices and anything at your house can happily run on 5GHz, this is configuration to keep.