TP-Link Deco X60 & WiFi 6 Mesh Kits in General

Forums › LAN (ethernet/Wifi/routers/Bluetooth) › TP-Link Deco X60 & WiFi 6 Mesh Kits in General

Gavzda

2 posts

Wannabe Geek

#273346 17-Aug-2020 21:51

Background

I have a single level 4 bedroom house, about 250 square meters. Currently I have a 100/20 Mbps Fibre Internet connection, an AC WiFi router and an AC WiFi range extender to minimise dead spots at the other end of the house. Overall this setup works well for fixed devices but roaming devices (laptops, phones, tablets) are a bit of a pain because they often hold onto the router WiFi SSID too long and experience very slow speeds or drops instead of swapping to the WiFi extender SSID as you move around the house. The number of household connected devices is increasing, we now have some WiFi 6 devices, and I'm upgrading to a 900/500 Mbps Fibre internet connection shortly so I'd like to upgrade the house WiFi to ensure all devices work seamlessly and have the best possible connection speed.

So I've been investigating WiFi 6 mesh kits and the TP-Link Deco X60 2 pack looks like a good option for my size house. Has anyone had any experience with them?

One of my specific questions is - do I need to keep my ISP router or can one of the Deco X60 nodes connected directly to the ONT?

Any experiences with the Deco X60 or alternative WiFi 6 mesh kit recommendations would be appreciated.

michaelmurfy

meow
13242 posts

Uber Geek

Moderator

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2543283 17-Aug-2020 23:08

The problem - the Deco X60 won't route Gigabit. Also WiFi 6 is more or less a marketing stunt currently as the standard is not final. I would strongly recommend against investing in WiFi 6 yet and wait until the standard is final. I've also got a number of Wireless 6 routers I am testing right now and to be perfectly honest I don't see any improvement testing on the Wireless 6 router vs my UniFi wireless gear. Give this a read: https://www.duckware.com/tech/wifi-in-the-us.html

Have a look at the UniFi Dream Machine as a good all-around router (https://www.gowifi.co.nz/routers/udm.html) then combine that with a UniFi AC Lite (https://www.gowifi.co.nz/wireless/uap-ac-lite.html). If you can run Ethernet to the access point that is the best option else they also work in wireless mesh mode. There are many settings for the dream machine but it is also app driven too and replaces your router.

You won't get Gigabit over WiFi - you may see around 600Mbit on a good day but this will vary depending on how much interference there is and the device you're testing on. Don't get sucked into the marketing on routers out there either.

Doing the above will give you very solid WiFi and future upgradability and also comes in at nearly the same cost as the Deco X60.

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
Referral Links: Quic Broadband (use R122101E7CV7Q for free setup)

Are you happy with what you get from Geekzone? Please consider supporting us by subscribing.
Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

michaelmurfy

meow
13242 posts

Uber Geek

Moderator

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2543284 17-Aug-2020 23:15

Also another option for you is to either go with Spark or 2degrees.

With Spark - you get their Smart Modem which has excellent WiFi. You can also add on a mesh unit for $150.

With 2degrees - You get a Fritz!Box 7590 and can buy another Fritz!Box for $150 and this works as a mesh unit. 2degrees also has a promo on currently for Gigabit at $85/mo (for 1 year) or $75/mo if you have an on-account mobile with them (see: https://www.2degreesmobile.co.nz/broadband/) - 2degrees is what I personally use and recommend for your average user.

These are by-far your cheapest and simplest options.

noroad

949 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#2543319 18-Aug-2020 07:49

Yea as @michaelmurfy says, until wifi 6 AP's come with larger than gig uplinks you are really not gaining much over standard AC wireless. There are plenty of good mesh wifi systems out there (like the tp-link M5) that will work for you, just make sure you can switch them into bridge mode as pretty much all of them will double nat in default mode. If you are going to remove your ISP router then make sure the platform you chose supports vlan tagging on the wan and keep it in route mode (as opposed to bridge mode if you are keeping the ISP router).

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#2543365 18-Aug-2020 08:02

There are plenty of high end WiFi6 AP's that support 2.5Gbps ports or LACP. Don't expect support for this on consumer grade hardware as their is simply no real world need for it, and it's far preferable to have 2.5Gbps ports over LACP anyway and 2.5Gbps POE+ switches to supports an AP aren't cheap.

nztim

3814 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

TEAMnetwork

Subscriber

#2543393 18-Aug-2020 08:50

sbiddle:

There are plenty of high end WiFi6 AP's that support 2.5Gbps ports or LACP. Don't expect support for this on consumer grade hardware as their is simply no real world need for it, and it's far preferable to have 2.5Gbps ports over LACP anyway and 2.5Gbps POE+ switches to supports an AP aren't cheap.

you are looking at $3600 for Switch + 2APs - more than the average punter will want to spend

Any views expressed on these forums are my own and don't necessarily reflect those of my employer.

Gavzda

2 posts

Wannabe Geek

#2544015 18-Aug-2020 21:08

Thanks for the replies and advice guys.

It seems crazy to me that we have smartphones and all the major consumer network brands (Linksys, Netgear, TP-Link, Asus etc) all releasing "WiFi 6" products while the IEEE 802.11ax standard is still draft. Also "reputable" sources like Chorus are promoting WiFi 6 as here already (https://www.chorus.co.nz/speed-test/wifi-6-the-next-generation-wifi-explained) .

From the https://www.duckware.com/tech/wifi-in-the-us.html link provided it seems that the IEEE 802.11ax standard is expected to become an official IEEE specification in September 2020, i.e. next month, hopefully that materialises.

I'll stick with my current AC setup for now and look to upgrade when we have an official standard and WiFi 6 certified devices available.