About a month ago, I installed a 2-pack Deco XE75 (AXE5400) mesh system in my home.  My main goal was to extend much better network coverage to the far end of the home, where wifi signal strength has always been very poor. 

 

My network consists of about 45 clients, many of which are IoT devices like smart light bulbs, Amazon Echo devices, smart plugs, cameras, air purifiers, etc.  There are also 5 computers, 5 tablets, 2 cell phones, and 3 smart TVs.

 

The main Deco node (connected to the modem) is, of necessity, at one end of the house.  The second node is located slightly more than halfway to the other end of the house.

 

On the plus side, the new Deco XE75 system has provided the wifi signal strength I hoped for at the far end of the house.  No problem there.  In addition, it provides ethernet ports for nearby computers.

 

On the minus side, I am having a terrible time getting many client devices to connect to the Deco node with the stronger wifi signal.

 

For example, I have a smart TV and an Echo show sitting on the SAME table as the satellite Deco node, and yet those clients keep connecting to the main node, and hence show only a "Fair" signal strength.  There are many more instances of this sort of thing.

 

I have spent many hours experimenting with ways to fix this.  I found that turning clients off, then back on, often connects the devices to the "stronger" node.  And if I turn off the "Mesh" feature for these clients, they seem to stay connected that way.  But I cannot get ALL the devices to make this switch.  And if the power should happen to go out, or I want to reboot either node, everything is scrambled all over again. 

 

Sure, I understand the purpose of auto steering, especially for a home system.  But when it's just not working well, it would seem very reasonable to turn it off, at least on a per-device basis.

 

I like using the mesh system because it:

 

- greatly improves my wifi range

- does a rather good job of automatically finding the best 2.4GHz channel configuration as my neighbors keep changing the landscape

- provides ethernet ports (with fast backhaul) to remote locations

 

However, the automatic assignment of clients to specific nodes is significantly diminishing much of these improvements.  I am ending up with too many important clients (computers, TVs) clients getting only "Fair" signal strength, even when positioned within a more-appropriate node. 

 

Frankly, of our 45 clients, only the 2 phones and 2 of the tablets move around at all.  The other 41 clients are either completely fixed in place, or moved no more than 10 feet.  So the need for roaming is very minimal. 

 

I have read on this forum (and elsewhere) that TP LINK developers may be able to eventually provide manual user control of which node connects to a given client.

 

Is this likely to happen for the Deco XE75 (AXE5400) system, and - if so - when?

 

If it is NOT likely to happen any time soon, does TP LINK offer alternative equipment that might solve this problem for me? 

 

Many thanks for any up-to-date feedback.