Creating a Personalized Whole-Home Deco Mesh Solution
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Creating a Personalized Whole-Home Deco Mesh Solution
In the high-paced environments we all live in and interact with, whether it be social media, work, or entertainment, having a stable wireless network has become ever more important. Over the years, TP-Link has released a variety of Deco Mesh Wi-Fi Systems to help ensure that you can enjoy a seamless, reliable wireless home network inside and out.
If you find yourself confused about what model is best for your home or if you have a unique need, our team has provided a few suggestions to help guide your decision; otherwise, feel free to ask in the comments below.
When deciding on a model or if you need to upgrade your network, consider the following questions:
- How Many Deco Nodes You Need for Your Desired Coverage
- How Will Your Deco Nodes Communicate with Each Other? (Wirelessly, Wired)
- Find any Special Cases or Unique Needs for Your Mesh Network (Outdoor, PoE, Powerline)
- Determine How Powerful of a Network You Need Based on Your Traffic and Use
How Many Deco Nodes You Need for Your Desired Coverage?
While your experience will vary depending on other factors such as the model, interference, appliance use, and the materials used to build your home, each Deco will provide a general guideline of the coverage our teams saw while testing the model. Please Consider these as a general guide for what you may need in your home.
We recommend placing at least one Deco Node per floor and not skipping a floor when setting up your satellite nodes.
| Number of Rooms |
Total Indoor Coverage |
Recommend Number of Deco Nodes |
| 1 |
1~800 ft² (1~80m²) |
1 |
| 2-3 |
800~2000 ft² (80~200 m²) |
2 |
| 4-5 |
2000~3000 ft² (200~300 m²) |
3 |
| 6-7 |
3000~4000 ft² (300~400 m²) |
4 |
| 8-9 |
4000~5000 ft² (400~500 m²) |
5 |
| 10-11 |
5000~6000 ft² (500~600 m²) |
6 |
| 12+ |
>6000ft² (>600 m²) |
How Will Your Deco Nodes Communicate With Each Other?
A Deco network may use a combination of backhaul methods to provide the most flexible experience. We recommend attempting to provide a wired connection to as many nodes as possible, as this will improve your network performance and latency.
Wireless Backhaul:
- All Deco Nodes are able to build a wireless backhaul.
- AXE Series Quad-Band Models and AX Series Tri-Band Models can use multi-band Wi-Fi for backhaul
- When looking at Deco models, consider choosing a model with multi-band backhaul to optimize your network’s performance.
Ethernet (Wired) Backhaul:
- Determine the speed of your network and the speeds at which you would like your backhaul to operate.
- Keep this in mind when looking at the Ethernet Ports on each Deco Model.
- Ensure that the Ethernet Cables running through your home support the speeds you are looking for, normally CAT5E or above: Learn More about Ethernet Cables and MultiGig Speeds
Do You Have a Specific Need for Your Network or Nodes?
To increase the flexibility of your network and improve coverage in areas unfriendly to wireless signals, you may consider a Deco model with Power-Over-Ethernet (PoE), Powerline Connections (PLC), Fiber Connects, Weatherproofing, or a Mounting Option.
Power-Over-Ethernet (PoE): PoE will provide power to the Deco over the same ethernet cable used for the data backhaul, which will require additional equipment to create a PoE signal. Read More: What is PoE and What It Can Do for Your Home
- Compatible Models: Deco X50-PoE, Deco X50-Outdoor
Powerline: Powerline Connections will use the existing power lines in your home to distribute the backhaul network signal of the Decos.
- This is recommended when wireless signals struggle to penetrate walls and running ethernet cables is not an option. (Stone, Concrete, or Historical Houses).
- Compatible Models: Deco PX50, Deco P9
Mountable: Most Decos are designed to be used on top of a table or cabinet. However, PoE Decos also come with the added option to mount the Deco to a pole, ceiling, or wall, depending on the model.
- Compatible Models: Deco X50-PoE, Deco X50-Outdoor
SFP+ (Fiber) Compatibility: An Added SFP+ Port will allow compatible Decos to take advantage of your ISP’s Fiber Connection without additional fiber equipment. Currently, SFP+ Ports are only available on some Wi-Fi 7 Deco Models. Read More: Common Applications of SFP+ Interface
Outdoors (Weatherproofing): Last year, we saw the release of the Deco X50 - Outdoor, the first Deco node with weatherproofing and intended for use outdoors.The X50 - Outdoor supports IP65 weatherproofing from rain and dust; while also supporting the additional mounting methods above.
- Compatible Models: Deco X50-Outdoor
Determine the Level of Deco You Need Based on What You Use Your Network For
| Sub Gigabit ISP Connection |
|
| Gigabit ISP Connection |
|
| Deco X95 |
|
| Deco XE70 Pro |
|
| Multi-Gig ISP Connection |
|
| Deco XE200 |
|
| Deco BE16000 |
|
Need Multi-Gigabit Ethernet Ports (10Gbps, 2.5Gbps)?
Check out the list of Decos on our site, and use the filters on the side to select your needed ethernet port speed: Deco Mesh Wi-Fi Product Family
Hint: Deco Models ending in “Pro” (Deco XE70 Pro) are models upgraded to include a multi-gig port and will often have a non-multi-gig equivalent (Deco X50 vs Deco X55 Pro).
Don't Forget: All Decos Work Together
Feel free to use a multi-gig deco as your main node and provide fewer models to areas that will not see as much traffic. In the future, this also means that you can easily upgrade or replace nodes on your network to help extend your coverage or improve your performance.
Please Note: When Using a Mixed Deco Network, some features may require compatibility with each node on the network. Otherwise, your nodes will communicate with each other to the best of their ability.
All Your Decos Work Together: Upgrading Your Deco Mesh Network
The Difference Between AC, AX, AXE, and BE Deco Models
These are representative of the different generations of Wi-Fi used by Deco. Examples of how the Deco naming system relates can be found below:
- Wi-Fi 5(AC) = M4, M9, AC1200
- Wi-Fi 6(AX) = X50, X75, X20, AX3000
- Wi-Fi 6E(AXE) = XE75, XE200, AXE5400
- Wi-Fi 7 (BE) = BE85, BE95, BE11000
Learn More About How Different Generations of Wi-Fi Can Improve the Performance and Efficiency of Your Network:
From Wi-Fi 6E to Wi-Fi 7: How Your Deco Mesh Network Takes Advantage of the Latest Technology
How is Wi-Fi 7 More Advanced than Wi-Fi 6E?
The Difference Between Wi-Fi 7 and Wi-Fi 6
Have Questions or Need Additional Help? Leave Your Question or Idea in the Comments Below!
Comment
Bought my 3 pack Deco BE85. Given the layout and materials of my home, would a wired connection between Deco nodes significantly improve network stability and coverage compared to a wireless setup?
romaaktar1958@gmail.com
hadimuteea@gmail.com
I know why you are asking.
I had another vendor's device previously that could transmit horizontally and upwards, but not downwards - which is the concern I can see you have.
The Deco's are way better than that previous box that I had & I've tried a few - Wi-Fi 5 , 6 and now 7 devcies. I'm in a 2.5 story house and all of mine are in their regular orientation ( because of signal loss through brick walls, I have to force a daisy chain configuration for one of my units using the 'connection preference' option on some newer Deco's)
But the answer to your questions is subjective to the building materials in your home (mainly your floors) & how open the access is between floors (like a wide staircase or an open floor area). If the floor is concrete with steel girders in it, the Wi-Fi signals wont get as far, and its best to position the units so the signals can provide coverage and overlap between floors around the staircases. Especially around staircases I'd keep Deco's in their normal orientation.
When set up - go into the advanced settings and test the system's Beamforming option out. It can be helpful - depending on the scenario/clients you are using & if it doesn't help you can always turn it off.
Hi, I have a 400mq over 3 floors and on each floor I have a single Cat 6 connection to the basement. My idea was to have the BE25 Master in the basement (where the ONT is located for my FTTH connection), and connect the second port of the master to my TPLink 2.5Gbps unmanaged switch. This way I could use the remaining 2.5Gbps port on the master BE25 to communicated with the other two BE25s which would live on ground and 1st floor. Then I have 3xM5s and 3xM4s which I'll distribute per floor to have a total of 4 DECO per floor , one wired to the 2.5Gb Internet connected router in the basement, and 3 will connect wirelessly.
I noticed however that the connections to the two slave BE25s are not being established using the Ethernet but instead it insists on using Wifi. On a seperate forum someone told me that the problem is that this hardward will not allow the backhaul connections to be established if using a switch (ie. Hub and Spoke configuration). I was advised that they must be daisy-chained. Even so, the connections from Master to slave 1, is showing as wired, but from slave 1 to slave 2, it insists on Wifi. I would also like to connect the second ports of the slaves to their own 1gbps switches for IOT devices (Arlo, Xiami etc.).
I had assumed/hoped that hub/spoke would work. Do I need a managed switch (maybe there's a need to create a VLAN?
To start the work I initially had all 9 devices factory reset and sat on the same desk (to be sure of no issues with walls/floors etc.) , I then added them one by one to the network. There are no other networks in the house which is detached, so conditions should be good. My idea had been to have a nested hub/spoke in the sense that the 3 BE25s spoke through the 2.5Gbps Switch. On each floor I'd have forced the connection to route through the floor specific BE25 (to be sure I get the 2.5Gbps downstream from there).
Of course I realise that the speed will depend 100% on the device that connects to it, so I don't expect 2.5Gbps from a device with an old Wifi5 network interface. That said, I have my HP Envy with its AX201 160ghz NIC that is able to achieve (even without MLA) a decent 1.5gbps speedtest, and syncs with the BE25 as 2.4Gbps.
My question (sorry took a while to get there), is whether TP Link DECO can support a hub and spoke backhaul through a 2.5Gbps unmanaged switch, and whether (on the slaves) it matters which port I use.
Thanks a million for any advice. Kevin
@KevinShepherd The overview webpage of the BE25 clearly shows "Ethernet Wired Connection". Something to try, if you haven't already:
Directly connect the "master" with one slave via Ethernet cable. Establish the mesh and verify/set Ethernet backhaul mode. Once Ethernet backhaul is confirmed, unplug the power, relocate the slave, plug Ethernet back in first and then power. Repeat for next unit(s). Sometimes it is trouble establishing Ethernet backhaul through switches but no issues retaining through switches.