@TUMAS 

 

You need to supply one more piece of information: why do you consider Deco? Is it because of its features such as parental controls, or just to have WiFi mesh that will cover house?

 

Deco can run in one of two modes:

 

1) Router, with rich network management functionality such as parental controls, but somewhat limiting how one could deploy Deco nodes;

2) Access Point, which is not much more than intelligent range extenders creating in house WiFi mesh, but with maximum flexibility in how Deco nodes can be deployed.

 

If you are unsure, this TP-Link FAQ article may help: What’s the difference between Access Point mode and Router mode on the Deco?

 

 

I want it for two reasons. very good coverage throughout the house and also that i dont need to stay connecting to the stronger wifi as it will do it all automatically for me

@TUMAS 

 

Well, that would be just like me when I looked for WiFi mesh and selected Deco.

 

In that case, you'll benefit from running Deco in Access Point mode. By default, when you configure first Deco node and it'll be your Main Node, it will run in Router mode. Right after that, follow this article to reconfigure Deco to Access Point mode and afterwards add remaining Deco units to your home mesh, according to TP-Link instructions.

 

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Answering your questions, assuming Deco mesh runs in Access Point mode.

 

Do I need to replace my Router or disable wifi from my router for the M4 to work? You will only need to disable wifi on your router for M4 to work. You should keep your router.

 

I have a CAT 6 cable in every room connected to the router. Do I connect my 3 DECOS independantly from the deco to the router? Yes, you can do that, no problem.

... or do all decos need to be connected with one cable? That will work, too.

I was looking more for a star network rather than daisy chain. In Access Point mode, you can connect Decos to your wired network any way you want. As an example, you could even connect 2 Decos directly to router and third daisy chained to one of those two.

 

There are two LAN ports on the DECO. One is used for connection, is the other port used to connect lan cable to PC or PS4? Yes, you can connect any wired device to the other port and it will work just fine. Think of these Deco LAN ports as two-port gigabit switch.

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Note this: TP-Link sells Deco M4 and Deco E4. They are lookalike, and even Amazon offers me three-pack of E4 as one of options when I search for M4. The principal difference is, E4 have 100Mbit Ethernet ports, M4 have gigabit. Read carefully description of what you are ordering if you don't want to end with hardware that throttles your wireless devices to 100Mbit LAN connection.

 

If you want detailed specs for (almost) full list of all Deco hardware, here they are: What are the differences between different models of Deco? That list misses just X90 model recently released, which is premium over X60 and overkill for what you need. If you decided to go with WiFi 6 support, for your environment X60 or even X20 should be enough. If you are fine with not having WiFi6, your choice of M4 is a correct one. Unless you want fancier looking M5 (which can also be wall or ceiling mounted).

Thanks very good response and what I was looking for. So basically for a 1024mbit connection (Currently at 500 but probably going for 1024) the M4 is the ideal for me. And just to confirm.. Main router remains and I just turn off wifi. Cat six goes into the first DECO. Then for the other 2 DECOs they independently go back with seperate CAT6 cables to the ports on the router or past the first DECO i place a cheap Switch?

@TUMAS 

 

Yes, for 500Mbit having M4 is ideal. 

 

When you go gigabit Internet, note that M4 only supports up to 867Mbit on 5GHz in ideal conditions, to squeeze more you'll need Deco hardware that supports WiFi6, which will be Deco X20, X60 or X90.

 

Deco M4 LAN ports are gigabit, so anything wired should be getting max ISP speed.

 

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Main router remains and I just turn off wifi. Cat six goes into the first DECO. Yes. This is first Deco you will configure, which will be named Main Deco. It is requirement to have it wired to the router.

 

Then for the other 2 DECOs they independently go back with seperate CAT6 cables to the ports on the router or past the first DECO i place a cheap Switch? Either will work. You could even add switches to Satellite Decos, if you have more than one wired device in their proximity and single Deco LAN port is not enough.

 

Yes, it is as simple as that, no restrictions. 

Thanks for your help! Thought you mentioned that M4 supports WIFI 6? TBH over 500mbps is over kill :)

M4 does not support WiFi6, I will correct my previous post to make it clear.

Ok thanks. As far as I know WIFI6 is used for congested areas. This is a family of five so shouldnt really be an issue