Looking to replace Spark Smart Modem and 2x Meshes

Forums › LAN (ethernet/Wifi/routers/Bluetooth) › Looking to replace Spark Smart Modem and 2x Meshes

dwilson

162 posts

Master Geek

#280367 10-Dec-2020 19:17

We just confirmed that the Spark Smart Mesh products cannot broadcast the Guest Network due to an internal limitation.

A huge problem for us, heading into Christmas. Likely a problem for many families I assume, but unless you fire up WiFi Analyzer or something you likely won't even know.

Can anyone recommend a simple product set (modem + mesh) with the simplicity of the Spark products? I guess I am looking for something exactly like the Spark products which broadcasts the guest network as well.

Cheers.

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750 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#2619631 10-Dec-2020 19:20

Unifi would be the way to go, but that's just my opinion, there are many others here that will have their own ideas, but for me, if just works!

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snnet

1410 posts

Uber Geek

#2619633 10-Dec-2020 19:23

I wouldn't call many unifi things "easy" for the average person to set up though... Can you set up a mesh with the mobile app and their standard APs? A genuine question, I did check recently and was told that you must run a full controller to set it up that way

dwilson

162 posts

Master Geek

#2619650 10-Dec-2020 20:16

Just been nosing around, I am thinking about swapping the huawei hg659b back in, disable the wifi on it and then grab the TP Link Deco M5 triple pack.

1 M5 unit near the HG659B, the other 2 units in the spots where the Spark Meshes were.

Job done? Full mesh covering the house WITH guest network too.

Any flaw in my plan?

Link for reference: https://www.computerlounge.co.nz/shop/networking/wifi/access-points/tp-link-deco-m5-triple-pack

shk292

2829 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2619656 10-Dec-2020 20:52

dwilson:

Just been nosing around, I am thinking about swapping the huawei hg659b back in, disable the wifi on it and then grab the TP Link Deco M5 triple pack.

1 M5 unit near the HG659B, the other 2 units in the spots where the Spark Meshes were.

Job done? Full mesh covering the house WITH guest network too.

Any flaw in my plan?

Link for reference: https://www.computerlounge.co.nz/shop/networking/wifi/access-points/tp-link-deco-m5-triple-pack

I've been happy with the M5s, but you won't get the full functionality if you put them behind another router, which is unnecessary

dwilson

162 posts

Master Geek

#2619673 10-Dec-2020 20:57

shk292:

I've been happy with the M5s, but you won't get the full functionality if you put them behind another router, which is unnecessary

Oh, can one of the M5s replace the modem? So we only end up with the 3 M5s and the ONT plugging into one of them in router mode or something?

shk292

2829 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2619676 10-Dec-2020 21:07

dwilson:

Oh, can one of the M5s replace the modem? So we only end up with the 3 M5s and the ONT plugging into one of them in router mode or something?

Yep, one M5 can plug straight into the ONT and be the router, with the others connected by cable or wireless.

The only thing they won't do is VOIP, so if you need that you'll need to use another device (I use a Linksys SPA2102 which has been faultless)

It's a good setup. They won't quite do full Gbps to WAN though

dwilson

162 posts

Master Geek

#2619753 10-Dec-2020 21:39

shk292:

Yep, one M5 can plug straight into the ONT and be the router, with the others connected by cable or wireless.

The only thing they won't do is VOIP, so if you need that you'll need to use another device (I use a Linksys SPA2102 which has been faultless)

It's a good setup. They won't quite do full Gbps to WAN though

Oh nice, VOIP is not part of our setup, but Gbps is.

If you did want a similar setup, but also wanted to get better usage from the Gbps WAN, which set would you go for? Amazon is recommending the Deco S4 to me constantly as an 'newer model' for some reason.

https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Deco-Replacement-S4-3-Pack/dp/B084GTH5LL

The prices on Amazon seem a heck of a lot better than NZ pricing, any power concerns with saving a pile of cash from Amazon and waiting a couple weeks for delivery?

noroad

931 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#2619804 11-Dec-2020 07:21

Oh nice, VOIP is not part of our setup, but Gbps is.

If you did want a similar setup, but also wanted to get better usage from the Gbps WAN, which set would you go for? Amazon is recommending the Deco S4 to me constantly as an 'newer model' for some reason.

https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Deco-Replacement-S4-3-Pack/dp/B084GTH5LL

The prices on Amazon seem a heck of a lot better than NZ pricing, any power concerns with saving a pile of cash from Amazon and waiting a couple weeks for delivery?

I don't think the S series is newer than the M series. The X series is the latest greatest. Ordering from Amazon now I doubt you will get it before Christmas.

https://www.tp-link.com/en/home-networking/deco/

dwilson

162 posts

Master Geek

#2619814 11-Dec-2020 08:00

noroad:

I don't think the S series is newer than the M series. The X series is the latest greatest. Ordering from Amazon now I doubt you will get it before Christmas.

Thank you. The app-only configuration tool is a little offputting to be honest, I am familiar with using a browser to fiddle and setup router/wifi stuff. I mean even changing a wifi password on a phone is awful.

Good point about Amazon, the delivery date now is 29th :(

noroad

931 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#2619832 11-Dec-2020 08:16

Thank you. The app-only configuration tool is a little offputting to be honest, I am familiar with using a browser to fiddle and setup router/wifi stuff. I mean even changing a wifi password on a phone is awful.

Good point about Amazon, the delivery date now is 29th :(

In this case I wouldn't be concerned, TP-Link has done a very good job on the app, its easy to use and covers everything the average user will ever need. A couple of notes on the M5-

If you use it as a gateway (highly recommended if you are not doing voip) whichever port you initially plug into the ONT stays the uplink port, (they are not numbered) the other port is an internal ethernet you can connect to a switch or other mesh units if you are going to connect them over ethernet
If you turn on features like Anti Virus performance will drop to about 600meg, but honestly that's still pretty damn good for inline AV on a tiny device. Having free AV and real parental controls (not just blocking a device at a certain time and a blacklist) is quite amazing
Mesh devices (as all single radio devices do, you need the very high end to get multiple radios) rebroadcast the traffic through each mesh hop if wireless connected. So if you connect to the first one you get full AC rates, then each subsequent hop you loose some performance. In the real world a device connected via two mesh hops you should still get a couple of hundred megs so nothing to complain about.

dwilson

162 posts

Master Geek

#2619838 11-Dec-2020 08:39

noroad:

In this case I wouldn't be concerned, TP-Link has done a very good job on the app, its easy to use and covers everything the average user will ever need. A couple of notes on the M5-

If you use it as a gateway (highly recommended if you are not doing voip) whichever port you initially plug into the ONT stays the uplink port, (they are not numbered) the other port is an internal ethernet you can connect to a switch or other mesh units if you are going to connect them over ethernet
If you turn on features like Anti Virus performance will drop to about 600meg, but honestly that's still pretty damn good for inline AV on a tiny device. Having free AV and real parental controls (not just blocking a device at a certain time and a blacklist) is quite amazing
Mesh devices (as all single radio devices do, you need the very high end to get multiple radios) rebroadcast the traffic through each mesh hop if wireless connected. So if you connect to the first one you get full AC rates, then each subsequent hop you loose some performance. In the real world a device connected via two mesh hops you should still get a couple of hundred megs so nothing to complain about.

Thank you, I have gathered some of these tips from peoples reviews, really nice to get the tips in a list :)

Do you know how the M5s work with a Gbps fibre connection?
Do you just type out hairy long wifi passwords on your phone?

Our setup would be:

M5 as router, plugged into ONT and Gbps switch which serves the rest of the network
M5 as AP, backhaul with ethernet
M5 as AP, backhaul on WiFi.

The Spark Smart Meshes worked brilliantly for us, right up until we discovered that 'copy the wi-fi settings from the Smart Modem' doesn't actually mean that. Only some are copied. I wonder what else is not copied.

Thank you.

noroad

931 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#2619849 11-Dec-2020 08:58

dwilson:

Thank you, I have gathered some of these tips from peoples reviews, really nice to get the tips in a list :)

Do you know how the M5s work with a Gbps fibre connection?
Do you just type out hairy long wifi passwords on your phone?

Our setup would be:

M5 as router, plugged into ONT and Gbps switch which serves the rest of the network
M5 as AP, backhaul with ethernet
M5 as AP, backhaul on WiFi.
The Spark Smart Meshes worked brilliantly for us, right up until we discovered that 'copy the wi-fi settings from the Smart Modem' doesn't actually mean that. Only some are copied. I wonder what else is not copied.

Thank you.

M5's (or other M*/X* ones, just don't use the E series as that's only 100meg ports) work fine on a gig plan, you can setup the vlan tag via the app on initial setup. You can put in whatever passwords you like and change them whenever you like via the app. I would recommend your first option as you get a lot more functionality and one less thing to go wrong, you can intermix ethernet and wireless backhauled mesh units, if the ethernet is unplugged they will fall back to wireless. Obviously if you have ethernet use this as a preference as then the backhaul is full gig rate. If you chose to use the Deco as an AP only you should switch it onto bridge mode to avoid double nat.

wratterus

1687 posts

Uber Geek

#2619859 11-Dec-2020 09:18

Something hard wired will always be better, but as you currently have a mesh setup, I'm assuming you don't have Ethernet cabling run to where you want the APs?

What about Amplifi?

dwilson

162 posts

Master Geek

#2619870 11-Dec-2020 09:46

Sorry guys, my other message wasn't clear.

The setup I am replacing is:

Spark Smart Modem, plugged directly into ONT and directly into a Gbps switch which in turn serves the rest of the network
Spark Smart Mesh #1, using backhaul on Gbps ethernet (cable running the length of the house from the switch)
Spark Smart Mesh #2, backhaul on WiFi (guest house out in the yard with no chance of a cable to be run any time soon)

So I would be looking for like-for-like replacement. So getting the 3-pack M5's seems to do what I need.

All I wonder about is the comment above "It's a good setup. They won't quite do full Gbps to WAN though", does this mean my network won't use the full potential of my fibre?

Cheers.

noroad

931 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

#2619873 11-Dec-2020 09:53

dwilson:

All I wonder about is the comment above "It's a good setup. They won't quite do full Gbps to WAN though", does this mean my network won't use the full potential of my fibre?

Cheers.

The M5 (from my testing) will do about 900meg on ethernet and 600 with AV turned on. I don't know about the higher end devices. So its within about 50 meg of the fastest performing devices. If that 50 meg is important then the X series might be better. Or perhaps the M7/M9 but I have not tested those.

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