New X50 3-pack, bad latency and drop-out issues, super disappointed

New X50 3-pack, bad latency and drop-out issues, super disappointed

New X50 3-pack, bad latency and drop-out issues, super disappointed
New X50 3-pack, bad latency and drop-out issues, super disappointed
2024-03-12 06:29:44 - last edited 2024-03-25 07:35:41
Model: Deco X50  
Hardware Version: V1
Firmware Version: 1.4.1 Build 20231122 Rel. 40485

I bought an X50 3-pack to replace my existing Netgear Nighthawk MR60/MS60 setup which for the life of me I could not get adequate whole home coverage with even after adding an AX1600 extender. I live in a fairly standard 3-level townhouse, around 2200 sqft, nothing crazy at all.

 

I was so fed up with the Netgear setup I was super stoked to install the X50s and finally get rid of my WiFi woes. Spent way too much time troubleshooting already.

 

So now I'm here, with this new X50 pack, and while the coverage is better, I now have a new problem... latency and dropouts.

 

My gaming PC is downstairs and in the same room as the main X50 that is connected to the internet router. The latency to the internet on my desktop will seemingly at random just spike out of nowhere and sometimes will also drop out completely for a couple of seconds resulting in packet loss. Obviously not good for online gaming as it basically makes it unplayable when you're in competitive matches. Here's a screen of a continous ping showing the latency spiking all over the place. This particular screenshot isn't even showing the worst of it as it frequently spikes up to 1000+ms and with timeouts:

 

 

On the Netgear Nighthawks, while the coverage wasn't great, I would get a SOLID 10/11 constant ms ping with almost zero spikes and no timeouts whatsoever.

 

My PC setup is a ASUS B550-F Gaming (Wi-Fi) mobo with an onboard Intel AX200 160MHz Wifi/Bluetooth card. I've tried all sorts of different driver versions from the recommended ASUS version to random other ones I've found elsewhere and the latest version (23.30.0.6) from intel, nothing seems to make a difference driver wise:

 

 

I've also tried putting the Decos into AP mode which didn't do anything. Tried a myriad of other settings within the Deco app such as locking my PC to a specific Deco (the one closest to), forcing 2.4 GHz band, turning off Mesh, ran network optimization, etc. to no avail. Firmware is all up to date as well.

 

I'm at a loss for words at this point and am extremely disappointed. TP-Link Decos were fairly well reviewed and like I said, I was excited to finally rid myself of WiFi problems, only to be seriously frustrated and disappointed yet again. The product itself looks slick, was easy to setup, the App is great... but it's all out the window if it's unreliable.

 

Why is this so difficult? Does no one make a good product anymore? I thought shelling out $300 would be enough to get reliable Wi-Fi.

 

Any tips / help would be appreciated at this point as now it's looking like I'll have to switch back to the Netgears or hard-wire my desktop I guess (which kind of defeats the purpose of a Mesh Wi-Fi network...).

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#1
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Re:New X50 3-pack, bad latency and drop-out issues, super disappointed-Solution
2024-03-23 12:10:56 - last edited 2024-03-25 07:35:41

  @Vitszy The wifi of the Internet model has another name than the wifi of the Deco?

 

I assume you eliminated the possibility of a defective cable or a defective port.

 

I would also try swaping Deco, to use another Deco as main. 

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Re:New X50 3-pack, bad latency and drop-out issues, super disappointed
2024-03-12 12:33:23

  @Vitszy 

 

Regardless of what you decide to do with WiFi mesh, you should hardwire your gaming PC if you can. Preferably, directly to ISP router.

 

Split objectives you have to two different distinct parts:

 

1. Gaming PC: low latency, zero packet loss;

2. WiFi coverage: WiFi signal at every corner of your house, seamless roaming of mobile device between WiFi mesh nodes.


Solve each individually. Nothing beats wired link for gaming PC or console. Nothing. Just hardwire your PC.

 

When it comes to WiFi coverage, Deco X50 is a decent WiFi mesh and should do just fine for a house of your size, assuming you have one Deco node per floor. Run Deco mesh in Access Point mode, with beamforming and fast roaming enabled. Turn off 2.4 GHz band for Main Network, if you have devices that only run on 2.4 GHz - move them to IoT Network.

 

Even if you go back to Netgear Nighthawk for WiFi coverage, you should hardwire your gaming PC.

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Re:New X50 3-pack, bad latency and drop-out issues, super disappointed
2024-03-12 15:57:03

  @Alexandre. I disagree that my gaming PC should be hard-wired. It's 2024. Wireless APs should be just as low latency as a hard-wired connection. My gaming PC was equivalent latency to hard-wired connection when I was using the Netgears. Had zero issues gaming on it. As I said, the issue was coverage. This is 100% a problem with the Deco system and the way it operates. Probably all the overhead they add to make it more chatty and offer higher range, at the sacrifice of consistency. Perhaps there are some settings somewhere that would alleviate this but I shouldn't have to be a wireless engineer to just 'have it work' out of the box. This is extremely frustrating for something that is regarded as more of a 'premium' system, at this price-tag.

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#3
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Re:New X50 3-pack, bad latency and drop-out issues, super disappointed
2024-03-12 16:06:52

My PX50 mesh does this too.

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#4
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Re:New X50 3-pack, bad latency and drop-out issues, super disappointed
2024-03-12 16:20:06 - last edited 2024-03-12 16:20:44

Vitszy wrote

  @Alexandre. I disagree that my gaming PC should be hard-wired. It's 2024. Wireless APs should be just as low latency as a hard-wired connection. 

  @Vitszy 

 

We can agree to disagree. My friends who are professional gaming software developers would consider WiFi link sacrilegious.

 

There are no other settings you haven't tried with Deco mesh to achieve what you want for gaming PC. Don't waste your time, pack these Deco X50s and send back to retailer. Try different WiFi mesh brand.

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#5
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Re:New X50 3-pack, bad latency and drop-out issues, super disappointed
2024-03-12 18:45:23

  @Vitszy For context, I'm a network engineer at work, and someone who doesn't want a complicated network at home. I plan and configure wifi installations for businesses and schools with hundreds and sometimes thousands of devices. Basically… you're using wifi wrong. Wifi is not meant to be low-latency; that's just not how the radio spectrum works. Any other device nearby that's communicating on nearby channels is going to interfere with your signal; it's not a dedicated "you only" zone. Neighbours' wifi is usually the culprit, but it can be other devices that emit radio radiation in nearby frequencies.

 

Like others have said, if you want zero latency, plug in a wire. If you want to be able to move around freely, use wifi. 

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#6
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Re:New X50 3-pack, bad latency and drop-out issues, super disappointed
2024-03-13 00:11:00

  @Vitszy 

Have you tried using Google DNS? Cloudflare DNS?

Is UPNP turned on?

I'm using a Acer Nitro 5 with AC  rated network card 160Mhz, ping is still within 5-10ms for speed test.

Could it be that particular game server is not doing well for you?

There are many factors to take into when doing online gaming.

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#7
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Re:New X50 3-pack, bad latency and drop-out issues, super disappointed
2024-03-15 06:40:54

K this is not about getting 'low gaming latency' or hard wired connections; this is about this Deco system dropping out and spiking high latency randomly for no reason. Something this system is doing internally is causing this. The below should NOT be happening during regular usage. I play AOE4 which is an RTS game online, when these drops occur, the game disconnects. This makes the game pretty much unplayable online when I'm getting disconnected and high ping spikes every 20-40 seconds.

 

 

Timeouts occur causing the game client to disconnect and reconnect:

 

 

The pings to 8.8.8.8 is Google DNS, not the game server.

 

I'm in IT and i know when something isn't right. This Deco system is NOT right, this should not be happening. AP is in the same room right across from my PC. The AP is directly connected to internet modem.

 

This was NOT happening on the Netgear system.

 

This also happens when I download something on this system from my PC. Absolutely horrendous latency spikes. This system seemingly cannot handle standard network traffic, it's like i'm going back in time 10 years to when someone else uses the network everyone else's network drops. This is ridiculous.

 

 

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#8
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Re:New X50 3-pack, bad latency and drop-out issues, super disappointed
2024-03-21 11:57:26

  @Vitszy I got the same issue with mines. I have a latency spike every 10s. Did you managed to fix this issue ?

 

X50(1.2) 1.1.0 Build 20230522

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#9
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Re:New X50 3-pack, bad latency and drop-out issues, super disappointed
2024-03-21 17:15:24

  @Vitszy 

Your gaming PC and your desktop, are those the same computer?
Do you see that issue on a single computer, on on all your devices?

Is the computer actually connecting to the main Deco?

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#10
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Re:New X50 3-pack, bad latency and drop-out issues, super disappointed
2024-03-23 02:35:16

  @yves_b gaming PC and desktop are the same, yes. I have a laptop for work as well and it also happens on that device, so it's not isolated to a single device. I work from home and on video conference calls as well i frequently get 2-3 second drop-outs that coincide/match with the ping drop-outs. Laptop is also close to the main Deco. Both devices are pinned to connect to the closest Deco in the garage.

 

This is definitely a Deco system issue. Not really sure what else i can do. Maybe it's a bug with the latest firmware version?

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#11
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