Got Deco X20 last year. Connected main deco to modem, then connected 4 additional nodes with ethernet through my attic. Have fast mesh wifi throughout house with minimal speed loss since system wired (no need for tri band). App and free antivirus software is excellent. Thanks TP link!
I got two of the Alien Amplify routers and used them in a mesh. They are soo much better than the Apple express mesh setup I had been using before. One unit almost covered the entire 2 story house. The meshed unit almost behaves like its the main unit in terms of the speed and quality of the internet. I'm very happy with them. I also like actually seeing the data on both the main and the mesh unit so I bought two of the Alien routers rather than the bundle with a second unit with no screen.
The majority of these routers won’t need your ISPs one if you are on fibre. Definitely something worth looking into. Also if your plugging them into the isp router you will want to enable bridge mode.
True but I usually don't recommend sending back the fiber one even if you can replace this as if something goes wrong with fiber a lot of times you'll need the original router to fix it unfortunately (least in my experience) but yeah bridge mode is always a good idea for the original router when using any third party router in conjunction with it agreed!
I have been very impressed with the Asus XT8 Mesh setup (2 piece) so far. My house is 3 stories and about 2400 sq/ft. Bottom floor is my office and garage, all with concrete floors and concrete exterior walls. I previously had an Orbi AC3000 system with 2 satellites. It worked decently, but some areas of the house still struggled getting strong speeds regardless of placement. The Asus XT8 system, with the router in my office on the bottom floor (same as the Orbi) and placing the satellite on the second floor at the other end of the house (tried a couple other positions) and every square inch of my house is now getting around 500Mbps transfer rates (most my devices are wireless ac still), even on the third floor where previously with the Orbi, it was averaging about 50-100mb/s in my daughters room. The only problem I have ran into is that some of my existing IOT devices do not like the Asus with AX enabled and refuse to connect. But even with it disabled, speeds are generally unchanged.
hey i do have the exactly floor plan as you, 3 floors with 2400sqft. I've actually tried 3 different mesh so far: google wifi (3 devices), nest wifi (3 devices), and currently asus AX1800 (3 devices). I have a gigabit internet and placed my main hub on the 3rd floor as I have my main desktop there. wired, I do get the full speed, and wireless right next to each other using my iPhone I do get about 300-400mbps. But using 2nd and 1st floor the highest I've ever got was 60-80mbps. is this normal? Also, trying to download some games, I should be getting 200mbps in my desktop on my 3rd floor, but in 2nd floor using wifi I'm only getting like 1mbps maximum and it's extremely frustrating. would you still recommend just using 2 XT8 and should still be fine?
@@leomode2 I think each use case is different with different obstacles and interference. I had to experiment with placement of my 2nd XT8 to get proper coverage and good speed to all rooms. Additionally my daughters computer has built in wifi, but the motherboards built in AX wifi module was garbage and never got a good signal. Hilariously, a old TP-Link USB AC wifi module I had laying around had much better signal and allowed for triple the speeds in her room.
What's hand-off like between the access points? so e.g. you're on a Facetime or WhatsApp voice/video call and walk upstairs. Does it disconnect momentarily and reconnect or switch seamlessly? Ditto e.g. MacBooks/laptops, if you take them upstairs/downstairs, do they stubbornly stay connected to the first access point with weak signal or switch seamlessly to the one with the strongest signal?
Linksys is one of the companies that with MX5 Velop AX Whole Home WiFi 6 (SKU MX5300) only serves 80MHz - Cisco Meraki MR56 is another. A number of manufacturers do not follow the WiFi 6 certification but are still marked as a WiFi 6 product. The problem here is that they do not follow the Wi-Fi Alliance standard 160Hz from the ax standard (up to 1733 Mbps - 4804Mbps on the shorter 5GHz channel), but instead 80MHz which theoretically stops at 450Mbps. What you have to do before you choose one, if you want to really upgrade the speed at home, is to check in the manual that 160Hz is max. Do not buy anything lower, because then the performance is also worse and you do not really have a real WiFi 6 router.
Worst purchase of my life-bar none-was the Linksys Atlas Max8400AXE Wi-Fi 6E tri-band mesh 3-tower Velop…too many reasons to list them all, but among the worst is that 6E is an advertising ploy…and will likely never be more than that. 6 Ghz signals have real trouble connecting if you have anything obscuring a clear line of sight from router to client. That includes say a right turn in your hall. Walls? Doors? Floors? You’re pissing in the wind trying to get the “parent” node to connect with “child” nodes on the 6GHz band. They dont do much better with the 5 GHz either but thoughtfully Linksys did equip all nodes with 1 wlan port and 4 more lan ports..I use wired connections as often as possible with mine… one final word on 6E…it really doesn’t matter that connectivity sucks on that band. Because other than competing 6E mesh routers systems, there are exactly zero consumer level devices that are even able to DETECT a 6GHz signal…much less actually communicate on one. And since the range of a particular sound wave frequency is not adjustable, whatever claims being made about theoretical boosts in wifi speeds with 6E are seriously only relevant in a hermetic laboratory somewhere and border on false advertising in my opinion. I’ve got mine listed for sale on Craigslist, lightly used for $650 if anyone disagrees with me and just has to have one…..by all means let me know
I have 1 APU2E4 and used 2 KIWI310 wired to it as access points. Excellent coverage and easy upgrading the wifi by swapping the M.2 2230 cards. Should be standard if you ask me, saves replacing your entire wifi mesh just to get a newer standard.
@@magnus00125 Not fully, buy parts. You have to buy the APU board, buy a drive, buy the wifi, same for the KIWI ones, then arrange housing for the boards. Install OS (1 over serial). My ISP requires certain vlan settings, so input those by hand (automatic settings only supported with their own equipment).
AmpliFi Support (AmpliFi) Oct 24, 2021, 13:19 PDT Hi Mark, Thanks for getting in touch with us! Amplifi will give the same wifi speed which your isp is providing. However, i can cover a large area giving good results. For example, if you have 200 speeds from the ISP, then the Amplifi router should give the same speed on wireless and wired on the client devices. It will not boost the speed above 200 as the ISP is only providing that much speed on your connection.
You can’t get more speed out of the ISP with a router. But the different router will get you closer to the speeds your ISP has at the modem over WiFi. I.e. I have 1000Mbps and depending on the router I’m using I can reliably get anywhere from 300-900Mbps. So it makes a difference for sure.
A friend gave me a mesh orbi a year ago. When I tried to install it, it would not connect to internet. I knew from experience I needed to call my ISP to get them to allow it on their side. Called and they said everything was good on their end and it should be working fine. I asked them to double check, but they insisted. I had to call Netgear and pay the absurd price for their customer service. I asked before hand if they were 100% confident they could fix it on their side. They assured they could. So I paid their bs fee and went through all the steps you would normally try on your own. 2 hours later, they said, you have to call your ISP for them to solve the issue. Called ISP again and sure enough, they had to activate it. I will never buy another Netgear product. Still mad at my ISP but don't have a choice
What's hand-off like between mesh access points? so e.g. you're on a Facetime or WhatsApp voice/video call and walk upstairs. Does it disconnect momentarily and reconnect or switch seamlessly? Ditto e.g. MacBooks/laptops, if you take them upstairs/downstairs, do they stubbornly stay connected to the first access point with weak signal or switch seamlessly to the one with the strongest signal?
I quite like the Asus system. My wider family has appointed me to be their IT guy and their needs are quite varied, so I’ve found that the ASUS Mesh system is very suitable with it’s versatility and I can control it all from my app. I did have some issues with stability but it seems that asus has ironed those problems out.
I’m looking into purchasing the ASUS XT8 system. Any experience with that? Our house is 2100 SqFt house with the internet coming in to the basement and a office for the computer on the 2nd floor, opposite side)
I have the eero pro 6 and honestly, I’m a bit disappointed to the point I’m thinking of changing it out. Hence, why I’m here. There are two issues I have with Eero Pro 6. My hue bridge/sync disconnects constantly and it’s distracting when the sync lighting matches content and then stops working and then it goes back to bright white default light. Sometimes it fixes itself with 20 secs, sometimes minutes, sometimes never in that watch session. The bridge is hooked up by Ethernet directly to the Eero as well. The root cause is 2.4 vs 5ghz which you can’t fix as hue only officially supports 2.4. Second, my main satellite/router spent months not having a single device connect to it. So it was only working for backload. Recently, that started to fix itself, but I’m already disappointed with it.
if i just upgraded to gigabit internet what would you recommend? i'm the one paying the bill and the wifi router is on the other side of the house, i'm trying to get the best possible speed. i'm not allowed to run an ethernet cable through the kitchen(only way to my room) please tell me if this is a bad idea. i was going to run an ethernet cable from the router to the edge of the kitchen doorway, put something like the deco x20 at the door way, and the other one on the opposite side of the kitchen and then run an ethernet cord from that one to my room. so sorry this message turned out longer than i expected.
I have a question with the NETGEAR Orbi Whole Home WiFi 6 System My router I have now is from my isp (spectrum) but can't reach the whole house is my issue but I have a house phone that plugs into the router I have now is there a way to plug the phone cable into the netgear orbi or will my isp be able to connect my house phone through the orbi? Or will I be able to plug the orbi into the existing router and be able to get the better range, speeds, and be able to have the house phones?
No Asus ZenWifi? Otherwise great video. I never cared for tp-link, always considered them lower quality but the x90 looks pretty great in terms of what you get
Funny thing I was looking for a hotspot and long story short end up looking towards Routers / Hotspots (Routers that double as a hotspot should the home internet go out). Again long story short settled on Netgear. It ended up being having to choose between the Orbi model (LBR20) and the Nighthawk model (LAX20). I was thinking future proofing in case I ever move or needed to extend the range plus internet goes out just popping in my phone's sim card to continue internet use; of going with the Orbi (LBR20). But after talking with Netgear the Nighthawk (LAX20) (Not a mesh so you have to buy another device to extend range if you ever need) won out because even though not a mesh, it had the best performance because of WiFi 6 so it was faster speeds and a more stable network when you pop a sim in to use on a cellular carrier.
I missed this video somehow, but nice if came back here to check your channel, I need to five some issues and needing something's like this, so nice recommendations sir!
Great information! Thank you for sharing your knowledge. What is the best mesh system which is ceiling mounted and CAT6 compatible? I am building a new home, and wish to intergrate a mesh system into it. Thanks!
Hi, I have one question. I know that these things are just routers. You still need MODEM. If my modem is 2 in 1 with the router can i still using these? or i need to buy a modem only device for better result?
Hello, I have been searching for the best mesh system for month and I still don’t know what to get. What I’ve been told is that for it to actually work and make a difference, it needs to be plugged into the router. I don’t have the wires ran through my house for that and don’t want to. I don’t have cable (just internet). My router is in the lower level of my home (basically the basement because it’s a split level). There is a room on the upper level that has very poor internet. It’s upstairs on the opposite side of the house. If price isn’t a factor- can you please tell me what you recommend and if a solution is even possible without plugging the system into my router with an Ethernet?
I found a used set of the deco AC1200 for 40$. Would this limit my 500mbps internet or would I be better off with a newer system in 2023? We just have a wide house and need something for range increase
Nice review except where you quote routers' aggregate data rate spec as the throughput. The actual max throughput of an 4x4 Mimo AX router is about ~70% of the max data rate (2400 Mbps assuming 80Mhz channel width) which works out to about 1.6 Gbps which you're still unlikely to get unless your connecting device also supports 4x4 MIMO, is AX compatible and is right next to the router 😂
Watched this tube on Mesh Networks to extend existing router but did not find the answer I was looking for. 1. What is the range between each node. 2. Can you link multiple sets together to cover/extend your WiFi in a commercial restaurant with a upstairs/downstairs with alot of metal in the building to reach the whole area of need. pls advise. Thx
Regarding the Deco X20 I found they worked great as router for 2 months and then the Internet connection became unstable even after rebooting everything. I had to place back the old reliable Linksys as router and set the X20 as AP only to return to normal. I don’t know if all the fault relies on the X20 or is shared with my ISP since on the old router I have to release and renew the IP address from time to time, but at least the router lets me do more and the workaround is less painful
@@noahark4670 Right now I’m still using the Deco in AP mode instead of router and it’s been working fine. I also changed to fiber which seems to have helped a lot. My biggest complaint right now with the Deco is the smart DHCP; so you can access the devices when the router is down. Sometimes it is too trigger happy so I have to periodically check if it’s on and shut it off again. Otherwise some of my devices lose connection, but it’s not often.
Which one would be good for using in a condo and setting up the ither in another condo 600ft away? Setting the router in the window and the satelite in the other condos windoe in line of sight
Need Feedback / Assistance, for Deco X20 (or Linksys unit) with Gigabit ethernet, isnt it pointless to have Wifi 6 (1200 MBPS) while the ethernet port connected to the modem is Gigabit ethernet (1000mbps)? so it means it will mostly bottleneck in case using a wifi 6 device at full speed?
There are more benefits to wifi 6 than the speed (see my video on it linked in the cards in the video for more info). As for speed it generally still means faster speeds in general because it has higher bandwidth with more devices using it at once but also if you're sending thing within your network then the max speed of the router is the only bottleneck
Dam, I just bought the DECO S 4 and I thought kicks butt, but, now I'm thinking TPLINK X90, your thoughts about the DECO S4? I have time to return the S$ while I order the x90
The TP-link Deco AX1800 looks like a roll of TP. I wonder if that was intentional 🤔 My only warning to those watching this video in 2022 is that Netgear no longer allows you to use their Wifi app without automatically opting you into analytics. That means they collect your data for many reasons, including marketing. The only way to opt out is to email them. If privacy is a concern to you, I would avoid anything Netgear. I don’t know if other manufacturers are doing the same thing, but I’m replacing my Nighthawk system because of that and the fact that the Netgear satellites are absolute trash and will suddenly never connect to the main hub again for no reason. Good luck, everyone ✌️😁
So I bought a TP-Link mesh wifi to improve Frontiers garbage wifi. So I have previously exchanged out the router and I had to use a splitter to set this up.. but after I thought about it further.. I wondered how this all would work and would the wifi improve or be the same?
if your isp modem is wifi 5 and you purchase a wifi 6 router, will wifi 6 work and operate normally? Or do you need your isp wifi modem to be wifi 6 compatible as well?
No, the key thing to remember is you need devices that have a wifi 6 card (AX). Modem and Router are different pieces of tech. Modem is the middleman handling the transfer/conversion of the digital and analog signal. The Modem has more impact on what network speeds you can use from your ISP 150Mbps, 500Mbps etc . Older modems lack the bonded channels. You want a DOCSIS 3.1(32x8) modem to get max speed handling from your ISP(if you want to use 1Gbps). DOCSIS 4.0 is for Fiber and next generation tech 2019. 32x8 just think of it like lanes on the highway, the more lanes means less traffic/bottleneck of data.32 downstream/download 8 upstream/upload channels. The router just handles your devices, transmitting wifi over the different bands 2.4, 5, 6 and 6e. In those bands there are different channel frequencies (think the highway example). I will stop there as it requires a video or post to explain all this in depth..
@@ActionJ26 ok so if my isp router is only capable of wifi 5 and my download speed is 500gbps, what do I need to get wifi 6 for the devices in my house that support it? Because I have a couple devices that support it and also my wifi has been having some trouble recently like dropping off signal and not enough reach?
@@kobebryant7155 You need to get a wifi 6 router like the ones mentioned or to future proof a 6e router. Your cut outs could be many things (router config), interference (walls, channel traffic-meaning lots of close by neighbor devices on the same channel). I would check your router channel selection (auto is usually best). But you can check channel use with an app. (Wifi analyzer) and change the channel to manual and select one with good signal and less traffic.
I really like your videos and I was wondering if you could help me decide on which mesh system to get. My current internet plan is 500/500. I am deciding between ASUS ZenWiFi AX6600 Tri-Band Mesh WiFi 6 System (XT8 2PK) for $377.00 and NETGEAR - Orbi RBK753S AX4200 WiFi 6 Mesh System 3PK (1 router 2 satellites) - $349.99 costco. I know one is AX6600 and one is AX4200 but I am confused due to the extra satellite with the Orbi. Also, with Asus i think its life long cyber security and with the orbi its only for 1 year. According to you, which one is a better deal? Your help would be really grateful.
Working on a Decodr episode soon to explain what it is and then as more routers come out with it I'll do another video like this for wifi 6e models (it's a ways away though)
@@TheUnlockr yeah. There's only a couple of routers but the AX210 adapter is super cheap and can be upgraded in pretty much any computer. 6E is just so much better and it's technically here. I always recommend my customers skip 6 and go to 6e because it's an actual generational improvement.
@@BryantAvant If you want to future proof, right now not enough client devices with a 6e card. Easy way to explain the difference 6e more channels in 160 range (more lanes on the highway analogy). The drawback of 6 and 6e is range of signal compared to 5. The benefits less channel traffic, speed increase, bandwidth, etc. Oh we should note people near airports (10 miles) and weather stations have the DFS channels issue (radar) to think of with wifi 6, as routers requires DFS for top end wifi 6 speeds.
I have a BT line and whn playing PS5 I get alot of lag. Now I wanted to ask the router from BT wont be 100% great is it a good idea to get a MESh network to add to the router? or to replace the whole set to a mesh router?
Why is no one comparing the ARRIS SURFboard mAX Pro Mesh Wi-Fi 6 System? I see single reviews, but no comparison reviews. Especially since Arris is boasting that it's the fastest system on the market.
Can I just plug 1 into my router then the other one in my room cus that would be best for me also would the Ethernet of the second floor be in my room make my ping better because I get 60-80 over wifi
I'm looking to set up a NAS system to store my photos in preparation for the Google Photos changeover. Which one of these mesh system support NAS? It's my understanding that not mesh systems can.
uh? A NAS is just a stand alone pc, so to speak, that you attach to your network, just like a pc. I don't see why a mesh wifi system would interfer with this. Just connect it via a an ethernet cable to your network, preferably to a switch, which is connect tot the router. You should be fine
What are your thought that WiFi 6 is buggy. So many dropped signals from all of the WiFi 6 devices reviews. Should we wait for 6E? I tried a Asus WiFi 6 and couldn’t figure out why some devices are getting assigned. Etc. my Apply WiFi 5 is trust worthy and consistent. Makes we want to stay but want the higher speeds. Help
Honestly, I've never had any issues with WiFi 6 in my apt (or at the cafe I donated a router to recently lol) so not sure what's happening in those other videos you saw 🤷♂️