Hi everyone,

I’m having serious performance issues with my TP-Link Deco BE17000 (WiFi 7 mesh system), and I want to see if anyone else has experienced this or found a solution.

My Setup

• Internet plan: 1 Gbps (Verizon Fios)

• ONT: Replaced by Verizon (new)

• Verizon router: Also replaced (new)

• Deco system: BE17000 (WiFi 7)

• Tested devices:

  • Desktop (with WiFi 7 PCIe adapter)

  • Laptop (Alienware M18) 

  • iPhone 15 Pro Max / 16 Pro Max

Configuration Tried

• Deco in AP mode behind Verizon router

• Also tested Deco as main router (directly connected to ONT)

Results

Wired (Ethernet):

• ~950 Mbps download / ~900 Mbps upload (consistent, no issue)

WiFi with Deco:

• ~500–600 Mbps download

• ~150–270 Mbps upload

WiFi with Verizon router (NO Deco):

• Significantly better speeds than Deco, especially upload

Main Issue

 $800+ mesh system expecting equal or better performance, but:

• WiFi speeds are worse than the free Verizon router

• Upload speed drops drastically when using Deco

• All devices show similar behavior (so not device-specific)

What I Already Tried

• Replaced Verizon ONT and router

• Tested multiple devices (including WiFi 7 adapter)

• Switched between AP mode and Router mode

• Tested close to the main node

• Verified Ethernet speeds are normal

TP-Link Support Response

Support told me that:

WiFi typically only provides 40–60% of wired speeds and this is “expected”

However, this doesn’t make sense in my case because:

• I get higher WiFi speeds with the Verizon router

• This is a WiFi 7 system, not an older standard

• Upload speed is disproportionately low

Questions

1. Is this performance really expected for BE17000?

2. Why would upload speed drop so much over WiFi?

3. Could this be related to:

   • AP mode vs Router mode?

   • Backhaul behavior?

   • Band steering / SON settings?

4. Has anyone achieved near-gigabit speeds over WiFi with this system?

At this point, the performance feels like a downgrade compared to the ISP router, which shouldn’t happen at this price point.

Any help or real-world experiences would be appreciated.

Thanks.