Upgrade ethernet mesh home network with EasyMesh/Deco
Hello!
I’d like to ask for help for modifying/extending my home network. Please observe the first scheme. This is what I have right now. I have two cables coming out of the main router to the places that I need WIFI the most. The walls are very thick and I must be able to provide a wired connection to these places. I cannot introduce any more cables, nor need to. One of the cables is connected to the main Deco and the other is connected to the secondary router in House 2. Deco works in AP mode.
What needs to be done is to replace the secondary router in House 2 with something new (because the router is old and causes trouble and because I’d like to extend the mesh). Now, the obvious solution would be to replace it with another Deco and extend the mesh network. This is where I hit the first problem. TP-Link support said I will be able to pull this off but I will lose the mesh capability because Ethernet connection must be between the nodes. I.e. I won’t have a mesh between the two houses. Again, new cables is not an option.
So, I came up with two scenarios where I think I can have everything that I want.
First. Maybe the only way I can make use of the Deco mesh. Please observe the new proposal which extends my current setup with two more Deco M4 and a switch like TL-SG108.
Is this a valid scenario where I can keep a stable network, a mesh connection between all four Deco nodes and be able to extend with more wireless Decos in the future?
Second. I also researched an EasyMesh solution where I’d drop the Deco technology completely. Apparently, I have only one choice of a range extender that is capable of creating a mesh through Ethernet connection. Luckily, it seems to suit my needs anyway and be at a reasonable price. I adore the simplicity of this solution but I could barely find any information about such scenario. Would this work properly with two RE315 extenders connected to the main router? Would it really create a mesh network? Can I add more RE315 extenders connected to the router or the other extenders wirelessly?
Are both of those scenarios valid/good and which one am I supposed to choose? Or are there any better options than those I shared?
Hi, welcome to the community.
Can you re-upload the attached Imgur images(maybe in another format) directly through the community here:
Due to the network limitation, I can't open these links directly so I opened them via other Apps. However, it seems the pictures aren't fully loaded.
If both reserved Ethernet cables are from the same main router, you could replace the secondary router with a satellite Deco.
In AP mode, we could have more than one Deco connected directly to the main router, such as:
Fiber internet---main ISP router-----<cable>----main Deco M4----<WiFi>------satellite#1
\------------------------------------------<cable>-------satellite#2
For more details about Ethernet Backhaul, please refer to General questions about Ethernet Backhaul feature on your Deco
Thank you very much and best regards.
The images are with transparent background and I suppose this is causing trouble for you. I will try to upload the PNGs in this thread as well.
This was my initial idea. However, the TP-Link support talked me out of this because it wouldn't create a mesh network between the two nodes connected directly to the router. That's what I've been told and that's why I dropped this idea. I'd be grateful if I can get 100% clear/accurate information before I make any more hardware purchases.
Current setup
Deco proposal
Extenders proposal
I am not from TP-Link, but this is relatively simple case.
You do have Deco mesh running in Access Point mode, which means you have Operating Mode set to Access Point in Deco app:
Depending on Deco app version the screen may be slightly different and have Operation Mode instead of Operating Mode.
If Mode is Access Point, you can replace secondary router with Deco unit. You can test that before buying another Deco. Take Satellite Deco M4 from House 1, bring it to House 2, unplug from Ethernet cable and power off secondary router, connect M4 to Ethernet cable and power it on.
If everything is as it should be, you should see in Deco app this M4 reporting Ethernet backhaul, example:
If all is fine, you can now buy additional Deco unit. It does not have to be M4. Deco M5 is also an option.