ZakCT wrote

I'm no more than 5ft away from the closest mesh node yet I'm connected to one about 30ft away and I have been for the last hour.

  @ZakCT 

Let me make this into generic problem description.

There is mobile device that does see every WiFi mesh node, with that node WiFi signal level. At any time mobile device can decide to connect to nearby WiFi mesh node with stronger signal, yet it is connected to one far away and is unwilling to roam.

With that problem description, it appears the cause is the following: mobile device may have incorrect roaming aggressiveness level and/or incorrect roaming threshold set up.

Would you agree with that? Because, if you do, the question about why is that should be raised on mobile device support forum. That may also explain why TP-Link is unable to help with that. Ultimately, decision when and where to roam on WiFi mesh belongs to mobile device. 

  @ZakCT 

RE700X is WiFi6, AX1000 is WiFi6 as far as I can tell from Google search. You are experiencing issues with WiFi6E, as Network Engineer you must know the difference.

Now, if you agree with problem description I provided, what is your technical conclusion why your Samsung is unwilling to roam to nearest WiFi node? Saying "WiFi mesh is at fault when device is unwilling to roam" is not good enough for IT person. Sorry, have to be harsh on you, as you did waive your credentials.

I went to Amazon, customer feedback for XE75 Pro is 4.4 out of 5, for 10,000 comments. Not bad. The first comment that appears on that list: 

"I had previously used TP-Link Deco X20's and they worked very well. I've since moved in to a 3 story townhouse with a basement, so I needed more coverage. I was glad to find that I could use these X75's alongside my X20's. So I have one pod on each floor, and it covers every square inch of my home, as well as the garage, backyard, and front driveway. Excellent coverage with solid speeds even outside.

I'm using these pods with wired backhaul. I even attached a 5 port switch, and it works beautifully, providing wired connections as needed, along with fantastic WiFi coverage and stability.

While these are probably not the most customizable mesh wifi pods out there, there are lots of options, and all the standard things are there. They keep it pretty simple, and that's a good thing. They work extremely well right out of the box. What more do you need?"

Until OP tries, he would not know what his personal experience will be. Also, in regard to VPN speed: I agree this is TP-Link issue, but it is irrelevant for current conversation. You may have noticed I recommended Access Point mode for OP's Deco mesh, VPN issues will be irrelevant under that mode. This is an example of bringing issues not relevant to conversation, simply because they impact your WiFi mesh setup and you are upset about them. 

CharlesM99 wrote

 

Thanks for any help you can provide!

  @CharlesM99 

I think you've got more than bargained for. 

I suggest you try these X75 Pro. You said you have experience with Deco mesh and Deco app already, so it would not be a challenge for you to setup new Deco mesh with XE75s. Issues discussed here, such as mobile device roaming between WiFi nodes and such, you will notice them right away if they are present in your environment. Should not take more than few days to establish if XE75s work for you or not, as long as you configured them according to my recommendations. 

You don't even have to replace switch until you decide if you want to keep XE75s. 

If you find XE75 performance or stability not satisfactory, pack them and send back to seller. I am assuming (hope) that you've got them from the retailer with return policy. This is my advice to everyone who asks me what networking gear to buy: whatever you choose, get it from the place with simple and easy return policy. Whatever works for me might not work for you, and luckily for almost any type of networking gear and especially for WiFi mesh there is more than one brand on the market.

If you have found XE75s not to your liking and you sent them back, but you want to give another chance to Deco brand, consider Deco X55. They have latest features in firmware, and I don't see many complains about them. X55 is WiFi6 and has gigabit Ethernet ports, but as it were correctly mentioned gigabit is usually more than enough for clients on home network. With 10gig switch and all Decos connected to the switch like in network diagram I provided, you can still utilize (most of) your 10gigabit Internet link. 

I will appreciate if you share your feedback from using XE75s, good or bad. 

  @CharlesM99 

Yeah, there is more discussion here than I anticipated!

But I think for now I will set the XE75 Pro's up and see how they work. Hopefully the room mates don't hate me if they don't!

Since I am currently limited to 1Gb ethernet anyways, I think I will set them up with a primary Deco (setup as a router) that will go to the switch and then the other two Deco's (set as access points), since that seems to be the recommended setup by Tp Link. I'll then put the Zyxel in bridge mode.

I also ordered a BE85 so I would have it on hand in case there are issues. I believe that my Zyxel router is part of the problem with my current reliability issues, so I wanted the option to replace everything. In this case I am hoping that my SFP+ transceiver will work with the BE85. But I'll try to configure the system will just the XE75 Pro's first and see how it works. 

  @CharlesM99 

Just an update here. I went ahead and installed the BE85 and the three XE75 Pros. 

I was able to use my current SFP+ transceiver with the BE85, so this way I was able to completely get rid of all my old networking equipment. Well except a switch that I still needs. 

Two of the XE75 Pros are connected directly to the BE85 2.5 GbE ports, and the third connects wirelessly. 

So far everything is going well, I've gotten 1.4 Gbps download speeds on the 6GHz network off of XE75 pro, and around 1 Gbps on the 5GHz network. 

One issue is that my Home assistant isnt working but I'll dig in to that later. 

Another issue is that the 6GHz network is a separate SSID, but when I change it so there is only one SSID for the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6GHz network then my phone doesn't connect to the 6GHz network. That might be a setting with my phone though, not sure. 

  @CharlesM99 

Thanks for update. Yes, with XE75 6GHz band runs on a separate SSID. I am not sure what caused TP-Link to go with that, perhaps they couldn't manage to implement band steering from 2.4GHz/5GHz to 6GHz and back by the time they released XE75, or perhaps something else.

If you have good 6GHz coverage everywhere, it would make sense to have 6GHz on separate SSID and make smartphone that supports 6GHz band Forget Deco 2.4GHz/5GHz SSID.