This is a bit hard to explain without a proper visual illustration, but I'll try anyway.

I swapped my old WiFi gear for Archer C7 and RE200 extender just to explore and review the TP-Link OneMesh. The setup was super easy and the system has been working great for a week, but I am noticing sub-optimal behavior on how the devices roam inbetween the router and the extender.

______________________________

|                  |                |                      |

|                                   |                      |   <-- Living room

|                  |  E            |                      |-

 -----------------------                -----------

                  |                 |                      |

                  |                 |                      |

                  |                 |       R            |

                  ---------------------------------

This is a small 95m2 apartment with solid concrete walls. The router (R) is placed in the bottom right room, since that is where my 4G modem must be located. The extender (E) is placed as it is to cover the top left room, which is an office - this works very well.

But most of the clients and actual usage happens in the living room: Two Chromecasts, tablets, phones.

The issue I have found with OneMesh the devices in the living room seem to connect to the extender, even though the router is almost in a line of sight and covers the living with a strong a high speed signal. Making the connection to the extender creates a longer path and since the link between the router and the extender is not very fast the performance is sub-optimal. This is undesireable especially for the Chromecasts when streaming high bitrate full HD content.

- Shouldn't the devices prefer the router when possible? I have tried to analyze the signal strengths and to me the router is stronger here, as the radio waves can travel through the open door.

- Is there a way to lock the Chromecasts to the routers 5GHz band?