Deco X60 - unstable system - how to troubleshoot?
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I replaced a Netgear Arlo mesh system at home with TP-Link X60 (3 units) a couple of weeks ago.
The mesh mostly works. But maybe once or twice a day, the whole system seems to become unresponsive for a few minutes - I had no such issue with my prior setup. Quite sure it is not the fiber connection but the WiFi mesh. I am not completely clear what is happening, maybe one unit losing connection with the other (I see it flashing red).
I believe these ERROR log entries correspond to one such outage:
Mon Aug 29 11:24:05 2022 daemon.err udhcpd[12897]: clear ip c00a8c0
Mon Aug 29 11:25:30 2022 daemon.err tmpsvr[5000]: Error: tmp_trans_relay
Mon Aug 29 11:25:57 2022 daemon.err tmpsvr[5000]: Error: tmp_trans_relay
Mon Aug 29 11:26:00 2022 daemon.err nrd[12919]: wlanifBSteerEventsBufRdCB: Read error! # bytes=0
1. any idea what might be causing the problem?
2. any suggesting on how to troubleshoot such an issue? Is the error log usually your first stop?
(to be honest I have owned dozens of routers and always looked at their log files - the TP-Link deco must rank among the most unfriendly logs I have ever encountered - and that's even after downloading them and opening them in VS Code with syntax highlighting).
Thanks in advance.
Check this document: What do the different LED colors meaning of Deco? It is a bit outdated, but in summary, these are possible scenario:
1. Satellite Deco (one or all) - Blinking Red, Main Deco - Solid Green --- Satellite(s) lost connection to Main Deco
2. All Deco nodes including Main Deco - Solid Red --- Main Deco lost Internet connection
3. Satellite Deco (one or all) - Blinking Red, Main Deco - Solid Red --- could be that Main Deco lost Internet connection, or other issues. This scenario should be uncommon.
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I'll give you basic troubleshooting steps for scenario 1. If they don't help, when this issue happens next time please collect more info. Specifically:
1. LED lights on all Deco nodes, Main and Satellites
2. Does Deco mesh recover by itself
3. Duration of outage
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Troubleshooting.
If Satellite Deco is placed too far from Main Deco and has weak link to it, Satellite may lose connection. If there is intermittent WiFi interference, Satellite Deco may lose connection. Both combined could do that.
To check the quality of the link between Satellite and Main open Satellite info page in Deco app and see its Signal Source. Example:
Good link is two or three blue bars. Anything less than that - Satellite is too far from Main, move it closer to Main.
Usual suspects for WiFi interference are microwave and cordless phone. If you have microwave or cordless phones at your house, see if someone is using them during the outage.
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Deco Logs
Each Deco node has its logs. You will need to login to problematic Satellite (using its IP address) to check its logs and what do they report. I have found Deco logs not very useful. They can help to find when Deco node have lost connection, when it regained connection, when it changed LED color. They won't tell you - why. If you are watching the event as it happens, you can just look at LED light on Deco nodes and don't bother with logs.