Fix unstable connection when connected to the Deco network

What the BLEEEP is happening TP-Link???

 

I spotted @Havi above also got some x55's, same as me, I bought my 3 pack only 2 weeks ago.

 

I'm having constant disconnect problems with some of my network devices.

Deco x55 firmware has been updated on all 3 nodes, directly after setting up my network.

There are no Ethernet backhaul connections between nodes.

 

The items disconnecting are 3 Meross Mini smart switches (model mss110, I have 4 in total and the 4th one which remains connected is the closest to its x55, within 3 metres). The 3 that frequently disconnect are in a range varying from as little as 3m inside the house to approx 12m to a shed outside.

The one that is 3m to its closest x55 is in the kitchen (acting as a timer for a casserole cooker) and its nearest x55 is located directly above through the floor in a bedroom right above - there is however a steel lintel between them! Obviously this implies the steel lintel is a major barrier and must be reducing the strength of the signal.

 

I also have 3 x larger energy monitoring Meross smart plugs (model mss310). These maintain connection reliably, despite them being much longer distance away outside the house, in a couple of wooden sheds, one is about 25m away but despite this greater distance it never disconnects.

 

All these smart plugs are on the latest firmware version.

I think the mss110 smart plugs must have very small antennas in them. They are really very compact devices.

The mss310 smart plugs on the other hand are not that much larger, but I presume there is a significant difference of the antenna size or design that makes them completely reliable.

 

I have read many reviews on Amazon for various brands of smart plugs which are identical size/design as the Meross mss110 smart plugs, and many people complain of all of them (not just Meross) suffering from disconnects. I am sure most of these brands all sell the same manufactured identical product, just rebadged for different vendors, and which are really not fit for purpose, i.e. their antennas are too small or poorly designed.

 

Additionally I have 1 x LifX Smart Bulb, and this is also constantly reported as disconnecting (sometimes every couple of minutes, but also longer times like up to an hour before it disconnects), but generally reconnecting about 1 minute later. The LifX bulb is about 4m away from the closest x55 (from Bedroom on 1st floor to my Study below on the ground floor where the main Deco node lives).

 

I also have a Schneider Wiser Smart Heating system (this uses Zigbee to monitor room temperatures and open/close Smart radiator valves).

The Wiser app connects over 2.4Ghz IoT wifi to control the heating system Smart Hub. This stays connected and works reliably.

However, I wonder if this Zigbee network is causing interference affecting some of the mss110 smart plugs?

 

All these devices live in my IoT LAN 2.4Ghz (there are 15 devices total, and the above described Meross and LifX products which constantly reported offline).

I have setup Connection Alerts for the failing devices to send emails so I know exactly the times of disconnect/reconnect.

 

I have experimented at great length with the Deco settings as follows;

• Fast roaming is disabled (I don't use it).
• Beamforming, it is enabled, but disabling has NOT helped.
• Reserving IP address for the failing devices, this has not helped.
• Preferred Deco, tried changing from Auto to select the nearest Deco for each of the disconnecting devices.
• Preferred Wifi-Band, changed from Auto to 2.4Ghz, although the iOT LAN is already set for 2.4Ghz.
• High Priority (QoS), turned on for each failing device, no improvement.
• Mesh Technology, turned OFF on each failing device.

 

I have also tried re-booting just individual Decos, and/or reboot the whole network between changing items like Beamforming, Mesh Technology, Preferred Deco in case it requires a complete restart to take effect.

 

None of these have helped improve things.

I have also tried the More>Network Optimization to choose better Channels, but this never seems to select sensible alternative channels.

It's a real annoyance you don't allow us to MANUALLY select channels to avoid interference from other networks!!!

 

I have read many posts in this community by other Deco users requesting the ability to manually change Channels (rather than relying on the poorly implemented Network Optimisation feature), and it appears TP-Link are steadfastly refusing to allow us to do this despite users asking for this since 2019. My god, that's almost 5 years!! Why won't you do this so that we can at least try? This is so incredibly annoying!

 

Regarding the mss110 smart plugs I'm certain you will agree this seems like a signal strength problem.

And maybe interference from other networks or even the Zigbee network causes disconnects?

But I have a question/thought about this.

I think the transmission signal FROM Deco TO the mss110 is satisfactory, since the switches will operate properly when controlled from the Meross app.

But could it be that the small antenna in the mss110 does not send a strong enough signal back to the Deco, so the Deco cannot "hear" the mss110, and thinks it has lost connection, but the mss110 is saying, yes I'm here everything is ok.

 

What criteria does the Deco (or any mesh system) use to determine a disconnect?

 

Could it be that the problem is also exacerbated by the antenna inside the Decos not being large enough, i.e. low Receiver Sensitivity?

 

Does TP-Link actually know the real reasons for the problems but won't admit something is wrong (like bad hardware design) and therefore there is no point in providing a fix for channel selection?

 

Another thought;

Presumably all devices on the network are NTP time synchronized to the exact second.

If beacons from many different devices indicating presence of each device are sent to the Deco all at exactly the same time, will this cause data collisions in the network?

Is some kind of delay introduced into the network to encourage each device responding in a more polite or sequential manner so as to minimize wifi data collisions, and therefore not overwhelm devices with weaker antenna signals?

If weaker signals get ignored do they get classed as offline/disconnected?

I don't understand exactly what kind of handshaking goes on in terms of radio physics and conversion to digital information.

If a transmission from a device fails to be received by the Deco due to poor signal, when does it get requested again?

Is the Deco failing to request a response from the client device again, or not retrying enough times?

 

It would be great for some honesty and proper explanation of the whole situation?

Why has it taken 5 years for you to do absolutely nothing to resolve the issues!?

Thank you

Jim

Update next day 01/04/2024:-

More testing. I brought all the Meross mss110 plugs into one room with good strong signal (100% reported in the Meross app).

I also turned off my Wiser heating system to see if Zigbee might have been causing an issue. No change.

I completely factory reset all the Meross mss110 plugs and reconfigured them on the network. After this the Deco mesh is still reporting they are disconnecting/offline.

The Deco doesn't update the status very quickly, and while it says they are offline, I can use the Meross app connected to the same Wifi network to turn the switches off/on repeatedly no trouble at all. It wouldn't be able to do this if they are not connected to the network.

So it appears that the Deco is not telling the truth!

Or it detects a momentary disconnect, but takes far too long to update the reconnect, giving the impression that the devices are still offline.

Plus the Deco also sends a Connection Alert email to me.

So something really isn't right here.

Seems to be too sensitive, or needs to double-check the offline status.

I hope all this testing helps you uncover the issue.