Connecting an X50-Outdoor Deco to indoor network - Frustration!
Several months ago, I fitted an X50-Outdoor Deco to my wifi system (3 x X55 and 3 x M5).
Due to the Weak signal (not surprising as my house is highly insulated with foiled plasterboard and cavity insulation board), I bought a poerline kit, specifically a TL-PA7017P.
Via the Powerline kit, the X50-Outdoor was connected to a satellite X55 and worked well for months.
Then suddenly the Outdoor Deco dropped the signal and kept showing as Offline. The Powerline kit connection was lost. I replaced the Powerline kit but now nothing will stay stable. Various nodes will simply drop offline, reconnect, then others will drop offline, then reconnect. Devices connected both wirelessly and via Ethernet will show as connected to other nodes (not the one they are actually connected to). This cycle happens until I disconnect the Ethernet cable, then everything stabilises.
I've tried connecting the Ethernet cable to the Main Deco, a satellite Deco, and to a switch. Nothing works. The network destablilises until I unplug the Ethernet cable.
I bought the outdoor Deco to stabilise the wifi cameras I have around the property. But its just not working, I cannot get a strong wifi connection between outdoors and indoors hence the outdoor Deco. I solved the issue with rh Powerline Kit for several months, but now I have this madness.
Can anyone advise why suddenly I cannot use a Powerline Kit to connect my Outdoor Deco to my indoor network. Or, if indeed something in the firmware has changes to stop this from being possible.
Thnaks.
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Hi, Thank you very much for the feedback.
Can I have a picture of your current network topology about how every Deco is connected together?
-Is Deco X50-outdoor the only satellite Deco that connects via an Ethernet cable into the Mesh system?
Will you be able to constantly reproduce this issue?
Deco X55, Deco M5 as well as Deco X50-Outdoor support connection preference. Would it help if you refer to this link to manually fix the connected Deco:
How to select a preferred signal source on the Deco App
Wait for your reply and best regards.
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Thank you for the link to Connection Preference page. I have not tried this in respect of binding the Outdoor Deco to a specific indoor Deco. I am currently trying this to see if it works and remains stable and will revert in the coming days.
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So I tried the above Connection Preference. All seemed to work well for around 4 hours, then the X50-Outdoor started reporting offline again, taking the connection to the internet with it.
While I was at it, I changed from Router mode to AP Mode in case it made a difference. An hour went by, all was okay, and then it reported Offline, an again taking the internet connection with it.
All Decos flash Red. Unplugging the Ethernet cable solves both problems.
So, to answer your questions above:
The system comprises 9 Decos: 3 x X55, 3 x M5, 2 x E4R and 1 x X50-Outdoor. This done due to the construction of the house.
There is a Huawei 4G Router Ethernet linked to the Main Deco which is one of the X55.
The only other cable link is the X50-Outdoor to indoors. This done through the aforementioned TP-Link TL-PA7017P KIT Powerline Kit. I use a PoE160S PoE Injector to power the X50-Outdoor. I do use the Ethernet ports on four of the other Decos for various devices (TV, Set Top Box, several IoT Bridges that don't hhave wifi). I also have a TP-Link TL-SG1008D switch in the office for various peripherals.
It is reproducable, but takes between an hour and 4 hours to show up. Once the problem begins, only pulling the Ethernet link solves the problem.
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Hi, Thanks for the notification.
I don't have other suggestions either. So I would like to follow up on your case via email and ask the senior engineer for further advice.
In the meantime, could you please help me check the following details:
Is the current topology like this:
Have you ever tried to temporarily remove the powerline TL-PA7017P kit and move the Deco X50-outdoor next to the main Deco X55 to test the Ethernet connection directly via an Ethernet cable?
Usually, we recommend using up to 6 satellite Deco units in a mesh system.-How many Deco units can I add to my Deco mesh network?
If possible, could you please try to simply the network topology a little bit, such as temporarily power off other satellite Deco X55/M5/E4, only leaving the main Deco X55 and satellite Deco X50-outdoor to see whether the same issue repeated, like:
Thank you very much and wait for your reply.
Best regards.
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Thank you for your response.
The topology diagram you created is correct. In addition, I have tried connecting the indoor Ethernet connection to the Main Deco, a satellite Deco and the Switch with roughly the same issues.
I have not tried temporarily connecting the X50-Outdoor to the Main Deco with an Ethernet cable as this is very difficult due to where the outdoor Deco is located. It would take several hours to remove it from its current location to do this test. Even if the result was positive, its pointless as I cannot directly connect using Ethernet. If I could do it, I would have done so already.
I note you state you recommend "up to 6 Decos" in a household. However, your website contradicts your statement which states "10 or fewer". It was indeed this statement of 10 or fewer that prompted me to purchase the system I have. Knowing my house has foil-backed insulation strategically placed I knew I would have issues with wifi. This claim which allowed me to place satellite Decos strategically to push wifi to dead zone areas was why I purchased TP-Link Deco. So I ask which is the correct statement please: 6 Decos Max or up to 10 Decos?? (See attached screenshot)
I will attempt your suggestion on simplifying the network, but this will be a few days away as I work from home and am very busy at the moment. I will report back when I have completed the task.
Thank you.
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Hi, Thanks for the reply. I will wait for your update.
Initially, it was up to 10 units. Later, following user feedback, the engineers revised the recommendation. In most cases, for optimal performance, we recommend no more than 6 Decos in a single network. A Maximum of 10 Decos while using wireless backhaul is possible but performance may be hindered.
Thank you very much and best regards.
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https://www.tp-link.com/us/deco-mesh-wifi/ was where this information came from, and still is. This only adds to my frustration as this page informed me there was theoretically no limit to the number of Decos I could deploy, ideal in my situation. Now apparently it's a maximum of 6?
I am beginning to feel like I have been mis-informed and therefore mis-sold on the benefits of Deco. I have saved a copy of this web page locally in case I am forced to take advice if the product that has been sold to me isn't as described.
Edit: I have removed the two E4R from the network, leaving holes in my Wifi. It leaves still 7 Decos on the network but this is the limit as al the other satellite Decos are needed for Ethernet connected devices.
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@SteveWex did you ever figure this out? My outdoor still shows offline as well. I have it POE.
here is my setup:
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@Gcooley1 I did, but the solution was not provided by TP-Link, they just went quiet on me and I solved it myself.
However, the solution would not be the same for you as you do not have the same equipment as me and the bit that was the problem, you don't have.
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