So there is another thread about the AX50 being dropped from planned OneMesh support... but it's locked to replies... so I'm starting a new one.  Please be respectful everyone who posts in this, as it is for discussion, not flaming...  Now, you have a basic core set of "home network" features that is needed in the pandemic age.  The include seamless home coverage, plus powerful parental controls (as kids are in front of the screen nearly continously, and virual school makes in impossible to "take away their Chromebooks".

Over the course of the past week, I have tried out routers from TP-Link, Asus and Linksys.  The router that wins hands down in the parental controls department is the TP-Link AX-50.  While it is not perfect, the HomeCare feature set / service ticks "most" of the boxes.  And works more consistently.  And provides transparency with reports on usage without having to sift through log files and grep for MAC addresses -- this way it's easy to keep the kids honest.

So the hard to find, sought after AX-50, unlike the cheaper but abundantly available AX3000,  has HomeCare.  I drove over an hour to my nearest Microcenter to get it. Sure, I can get HomeCare on a Deco mesh system, but I don't want that kind of "minimalist" setup.  I have printers and computers and networks media streamers that use wired internet.  The best system that works for that is a 2-router setup where the router located at the other end of the house is also working as a wireless bridge.  I'm sure Deco is great for people who plug their TV into Alexa or a chrome stick and rely on those "smart" devices to just deliver something decent out of the box.  I am old school, however.  I don't want my internet experience intermediated by Amazon or Google. 

Now it seems pretty clear that the decision to drop planned mesh support from the AX50 has to do with a marketing descision to force consumers into the Deco line of products if they want both HomeCare and meshed "HomeCoverage".  That seems like a mistake.  What I will probably end up doing is keeping this AX-50, because it does what I want in the parental controls department.  However, since there is no advantage in terms of "mesh" tech to buying another AX50 (or any other mesh Asus router that would live downstream of the AX50 and not need HomeCare -- such as an AX20, or even an A7 if I trying to be economical and stick with AC) I will just go take my old router (a competitor's "flagship" home model from 5 +/- year ago with crappy parental controls) and plug it in as an access point.  Then every time I have signal conflicts, I will remember that the new router I bought didn't do what most routers in that price range to, and that will stick with me when, in another 5-ish year, I am looking to replace the AX50 and don't have little kids to net-nanny anymore, and also when I finally do decide that I need AX everywhere in the house.  On the other hand, give me a mesh feature on the AX50 and there is a good chance I would go out an "waste" a few bucks on an TP-Link mesh product, e.g., AX20, as soon as there would be network collission issues using the DLink as my access point. That's more money in the door to TP-Link, although not in a "slick" looking Deco package that earns a "coolness" premium for being white and looking like an air purifier.

So... it's of course, possible I am missing something.  It seems to be kinda lame to only put Mesh technology on routers that will allow the kids to connect wherever they need to be in the house -- at the dining room, in the bedroom, in the kitchen -- when they don't give you the capability to control and monitor and regulate the kids' net usage with the best available tech.  Maybe the plan is to sell HomeCare as an add-on service to those parents, as some manufacturers are doing with the "premium" parental controls?