How to Setup with Ethernet Wired House

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How to Setup with Ethernet Wired House

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How to Setup with Ethernet Wired House
How to Setup with Ethernet Wired House
2020-05-18 13:38:17
Model: Deco M5  
Hardware Version:
Firmware Version:

Hi,

 

I have just purchased the Deco M5 system. The house is three floors, double cinder-block brick with concrete floors, so WiFi signal struggles to penetrate from room to room. Each room is however wired with ethernet ports. I want to use the house ethernet ports to plug in the Deco's, rather than relying on connecting them to each other via WiFi. The current setup and planned setups are below, can you please tell me if my planned setup is correct, or if there is an easier way plz let me know. I don't have a switch and would need to buy one if that is the correct setup. 

 

Questions:

Note: In Australia we have a new National Broadband Network (Nbn) and this house was only recently converted over to it. I don't want to mess around with my supplier's (Telstra) Smart Modem that's plugged into the Nbn box, or the Nbn box if I don't have to because it took the three Telstra technicians to get everything working after the Nbn guys came around and installed the Nbn box.

  1. There's a WiFI button on the Telstra Smart Modem - do you think it will be ok to just use that to switch off it's WiFI or should I login to the box and find the setting?
  2. Do I need the switch as per the Planned Setup below or can I just plug everything into the Telstra Smart Modem?
  3. If I do need a switch, can I use an old WiFi router with WiFi turned off instead of a switch?
  4. Do I run the main deco in Access Point (AP) mode or Router mode?
  5. How can I be sure the Deco's connect to each other via ethernet and not weak WiFi?
  6. Any setup tips / pointers e.g. do I need to set up Deco 1,2,3,4 via wifi in the basement, do a firmware upgrate on them, then go upstairs and plug them in, or just go for it as planned, go straight to the ethernet ports and press "find" on the app. 

 

Thanks 

MC.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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3 Reply
Re:How to Setup with Ethernet Wired House
2020-05-19 17:02:11

@MC422 

 

Hello

 

You can use your Deco in Router or AP mode, depending on if you want the features with the Router mode (antivirus , qos,  etc).

 

In Router mode, the plan you drafted is exactly as it should be. You can use an old router as a switch (make sure you disable dhcp and make sure it has gigabit ports). Otherwise, any unmanaged gigabit switch can do it, but apparently some Deco have issues w/ D Link switches

 

In AP mode, you can just plug all of the Deco in your smart modem.

 

In both cases, disable the wifi on your smart modem.

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Re:How to Setup with Ethernet Wired House
2020-05-20 02:56:02 - last edited 2020-05-20 03:01:20

Thanks for helping, I'm not that technical with infrastructure so when I read stuff, I'm not sure if I'm interpreting things correctly.  I need pictures!! 

 

Awesome! Yes, TP-Link do say here https://www.tp-link.com/au/support/faq/1432/  you can connect more than one Deco to a router in AP mode..... that means I don't need a seperate switch as you say.  So this is what it would look like? 

 

 

 

What about this? Seems like it might be a bit more complicated according to this  https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/faq/1794/ I would have to switch off DHCP on the Smart Modem. I'm not sure what that would do to the Nbn setup and the home phone line. I don't even know if I have a login to the Smart Modem. 

 

 

 

 

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Re:How to Setup with Ethernet Wired House
2020-05-20 09:37:03

@MC422 

 

Hello

 

Both options should work just fine, it depends if you need a Deco in your basement for a better wifi signal here.

 

In both cases, it s better to turn off the wifi signal from your smart modem 

 

In both cases, you should keep the DHCP untouched and enabled on your smart modem, as your Deco network is in AP mode, not Router mode.

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