TP-LinkDeco Mesh WiFi System(Deco M5) –Up to 5,500 sq. ft. Whole Home Coverage and 100+ Devices,WiFi Router/Extender Replacement, Anitivirus, 3-pack

I bought this for my parents house that had a basic 100 Mbps connection just installed. It was easy to set up (minus a couple snags. Remember to plug them in and sync them to the one by one. Then update the firmware. THEN move them to their final locations/daisy chain them/plug in switches/whatever) and visually looks attractive and unobtrusive enough to not at all be an eyesore; to the point my mother was impressed with how small and pretty they look.My initial impression is that this is a very worthwhile purchase.-----For more particulars about our situation: The house is an old house, with a long rectangular L-shape structure. They recently built an addition and the materials they used, somehow effectively turned the room in to a wifi Faraday cage. Even with their old router directly on the other side of the wall, next to no signal would pass through. And on the opposite side of the house, every time anyone would use the microwave (located in the center of the house) it would completely kill the WiFi for those rooms. It was time for an update.After a bit of research, without having to blow $300+ it was between this (Deco M5), the Google WiFi, and the Orbi RBK23.The Google WiFi had double Nat issues when daisy chaining them that I didn't want to have to worry about in case they were using a combo modem/router from the cable company, which ruled that out (I ended up just buying them a pure modem myself, so moot point).The Orbi Rbk23 has a nice tri-band technology that apparently helps a lot with wireless speeds (because the 3rd band is dedicated to back haul) but the more expensive Orbi RBK50 reportedly connectivity issues that I was worried the RBK23 might inherit.At the end of the day, I was planing to physically connect them by running Ethernet cables through the attic so I didn't really need the RBK23's fancy triband back haul technology for a $70 premium ($180 vs $250 at time of purchase)After everything setup, so far everything functions ALMOST perfectly. The only minor gripes I have are that:1.) This thing is almost *TOO* minimalist and pretty. There are no screw holes, you need to buy a separate mount if you want to stick it on a wall. It is also so lightweight that even weight of slightly dangling, connected Ethernet cables can actually put it off balance and make it tilt.2.) This thing gets fairly warm. Warm enough that my mother commented on it. Warm enough that I reconsidered sticking them to the wall with double sided tape like I was initially planing. They're definitely light enough, but Heat + adhesives doesn't usually workout well.3.) Older devices may have compatibility issues/authentication error issues with the mesh. So far both the HP inkjet printer and my Samsung Galaxy S6 consistently have similar issues where they initially connect, but after some period of time, they would drop signal and run in to an authentication error.This seems to be a firmware issue with the Galaxy S6 and 2.5ghz+5ghz mesh networks in general (regardless of brand as far as I can tell), supposedly there's a workaround that involves shutting off one of the bands (2.5g or 5g) on the router. Since this is also happening to the printer, I assume it's an older tech problem.4.) The App interface is very simplistic, which may feel like a significant step down if you're used to more feature rich routers.5.) The Monthly Report, is creepy. Disable it ASAP.6.) If you use Ethernet backhaul, you cannot use the second Ethernet port on the satellite/secondary routersI.E. You CAN connect the main router to the modem, then connect the router to a switchboard (and even another switch to that switch as I'm doing), then plug the secondary routers (and whatever else) to the switch.You CANNOT try to connect the modem to the router, then the router to a switch, then the switch to the satellite/second routers, and then try to connect anything else to the secondary routers. Trying to do so will automatically change the routers to wireless back haul mode.Some stats for the tech nerds:Speed test results with my laptop:WIRELESS MODE (No Ethernet Backhaul) with no internet usage.Main router (directly connected): 112 Mbps Up. 12 Mbps Down.Main router, 5ghz @ 5ft :110 Mbps down. 12 Mbps upMain router, 5ghz @ 25 ft : 110 Mbps down. 12 Mbps upSecondary Router (60 feet away through 4 plaster walls) directly connected: ~70 to 110 Mbps* 12 mbps upSecondary Router 5ghz @ 5ft: ~70 to 110 Mbps down* 12 mbps upSecondary Router 5ghz @15 ft through 1 wall: ~60 to 110 Mbps down* 12 mbps upWIRELESS MODE (No Ethernet Backhaul) with two 1080p60 video streams going in same roomSecondary Router (60 feet away through 4 plaster walls) directly connected: 70 to 110 Mbps*Secondary Router 5ghz @ 0 ft: 70 Mbps down* 11 mbps upSecondary Router 5ghz @ 5ft: 65 Mbps down* 10 mbps upSecondary Router 5ghz @15 ft through 1 wall: 50 Mbps down* 9 mbps up*Depending on conditions. Signal strength was erratic. At times it would preform at the maximum Mbps possible, but signal strength would randomly drop down to weak, causing the speeds to plummet to less than 1/2 to 1/4 normal speeds.Wired Mode*** (Ethernet backhaul-- Daisy chained: 1 Router connected to 2 switches connected to one another, then connected to the second router. one switch was 10/100/1000, one was 10/100. Will update when replaced.)*** with no internet usage:Main router Direct/5gz @5ft & @25ft: 110 Mbps 12 mbps upSecondary Router 5ghz &@0ft & @5ft & @15ft through wall: 85 Mbps 12 mbps upWired Mode*** (Ethernet backhaul-- 10/100 switchboard in chain. Will update when replaced) with 2 1080p60 streams going in same room***Secondary router 5ghz @ 0 ft 85 mbps 12 mbps upSecondary router 5ghz @ 5 ft 75 mbps 12 mbps upSecondary router 5ghz @ 15 ft through wall 70 mbps 11 mbps up** Also of note: With Ethernet Backhaul, all speeds are significantly more consistent (I.E. My microwave and other miscellaneous interference problem is completely gone)*** I'm FAIRLY certain that the 10/100 Ethernet switch I have daisy chained and connected to the second router is bottle necking the speeds. The third router (My configuration currently looks like |Modem| --> |Main router| --> | Switch One 10/100/100 | --> |TV| + |PS3| + |VR| + |third router| + |Switch Two 10/100| --> |Secondary router|) seems to have speeds of about 110 Mbps, just like the main router.UPDATED: Got a 10/100/100 switch replacement:Main router reports: 115 MbpsSecondary router 5ghz @15 ft through wall, no internet usage: 115 MbpsSecondary Router 5ghz @15ft with two 1080p60 live streams going: 107 Mbps

This thing has fixed so many issues with our current internet experience. We Live in an area where our only option for Internet is DSL. And it’s not VDSL. It’s the regular, run-of-the-mill, plain Jane, archaic DSL. You know, the stuff that Neanderthals used when they would email each other thousands of years ago. Unfortunately, they are developing the once-rural farmland around us putting many houses in close proximity to us and bringing them up on the same ISP. Our Internet was never great, but it has slowly gotten worse with every new house that goes up. I am in IT and I work for one of the largest healthcare institutions in my state. As such, having consistent and reliable Internet was an absolute must for me. Our entertainment is all “streamed“ in nature. My kids use their phones and gaming systems to communicate with their friends. My husband enjoys his news and entertainment on his phone. But all of these things were getting more frustrating with every passing day. My Internet connection would drop on average about five times an hour during my working day. The ability to stream from Disney+ had all but dried up. We could hardly make it through an episode of Andy Griffith without our signal buffering over half the time. We were exhausting all the data in our cell phone package because our home Internet could not handle reaching the other side of the house in spite of having an extender halfway. I spent hours on the phone with Century Link trying to get “a quicker connection“ and tried various fixes with no success. Century Link sent us new modems to try, supposedly “flipped the switch” to give us a higher speed, but nothing ever made a darn bit of difference.So-I did some desperate research and discovered the concept of “home mesh” and figured I’d give it a try. Holy smokes this set up has made a HUGE difference. No more dropped signals! We can stream just fine all over the entire house; the kids are able to game and we can watch a movie at the same time. It has literally changed our Internet! During my research I found out that an extender basically gives you a totally separate network that you have to bounce back-and-forth between with your originating router network. If you use Sonos or another app that is network-dependent in tandem with an extender, you know that this is a huge pain to deal with! In order to get the app to work correctly on the speakers, you have to be on the same network. This home mesh setup totally resolves that. You stay on the exact same network throughout your entire home. I bought the 5500 square-foot/3 piece set for my 2800 square-foot house. Yes, I’m sure it was overkill, but we have 14 acres and the ability to get Wi-Fi outside is huge. Also, one big hindrance on our previous set up was the fact that we live in a brick home; but this set up flawlessly reaches through the very clunky floorplan of our house (built in the 1960s—>lots of walls!). We have the Century Link-provided C1100Z modem/wireless router manufactured sometime before 2010. In order to make this work I had to do a little bit of home networking: I had to turn off the “wireless router“ portion of the modem and use it strictly as just a modem. Then I hardwired the C1100Z into one of the Decos (doesn’t matter which) and I was off and running. Yes, you do have to use an app to set it up. It’s not hard, though. I did have to reach out to my ISPs technical support to find out what kind of connection I have (static IP/dynamic IP/PPPoE/etc), but it was still super easy. You pick the name of your network, you pick the password, you can even create a “guest network“ for your own home. I highly highly recommend this thing. Especially to someone with the archaic DSL set up like we have. It can be endlessly frustrating to deal with a crappy network and crappy connection. I was convinced that we just did not have any other options other than just dealing with it. But I was totally wrong. Ditch the extender, convert your modem/router to strictly a modem, and buy these things. You will not regret it!