TP-Link Deco WiFi 6 Mesh System(Deco X20) - Covers up to 5800 Sq.Ft. , Replaces Wireless Routers and Extenders(3-Pack, 6 Ethernet Ports in total, supports Wired Ethernet Backhaul)

These are currently my favorite mesh routers, I run them in all of my managed locations. THey are extremely reliable and they have good speeds. There is however one con that I recently discovered (which is why I gave it only four stars), bufferbloat. This is something relatively new, but nonetheless important. None of the TP-Link products account for bufferbloat (that I am aware of).

I recently read an article that cautioned that routers should now be running the latest security protocol WPA3 in order to have a current and secure home WiFi network. I had a 5 year old Orbi with a satellite that has been doing a good job as my router but did not offer WPA3. After shopping around, reading reviews and articles I decided on this TP Link Deco X20 router as my upgrade. It offers the security features I was looking for, access to my network via the app even when Im not home, and the coverage for my size home that I need at what I consider to be a very reasonable price at $200. Setup was indeed very easy using the TP Link Deco app. Once I created an account, I followed the clear instructions and was able to get both units up and running in under 10 minutes. It obviously took more time to connect each of my devices, smart plugs, TVs etc. to the new network. The mesh technology sends out a strong uniform signal through my house with no slow or dead zones. The download speeds on my devices has shown considerable improvement as well. Also, the two units are much smaller and less noticeable than my Orbi units were which is a nice added bonus. A note of caution to some users: Each unit comes with only 2 ethernet cable connections in the back, which means you have only one available connection on the main unit after connecting the cable modem in one ethernet port. This may pose a problem for some who have more items they wish to have a wired connection. I am very happy with the way this purchase has worked out for me. It was very simple to setup, easy to maintain via the nicely designed app, and provides me exactly what I was looking for in an upgraded router. I highly recommend the TP Link Deco for anyone looking for a quality, user friendly mesh home WiFi router.

I got this to not only extend my wi-fi but create my own personal wi-fi environment. Download the App follow the steps and you are up and running in no time!

After lightning took out yet another router ( yes it was on a surge protector) I looked for the latest and greatest and then decided on fairly recent and affordable. The house is 4000 sq feet,two stories 5 bedrooms with outdoor wifi cameras. No gamers here. 2 tvs, iphone,ipad, android tablet, several desktops and laptops, doorbell cameras, blink cameras and an 5 echo devices. Why all the detail ? Becasu most revies yodle on about esoterica; all I wanted was stable high speed wi fi while sitting where I always do, in farthest corner of house. So, pulled them out of box, pluged in modem and power supply after downloading deco app. 3 minutes main router was up and network named. Plugged in satelites power supplies. Whole house up in another 3. I just stuck main in garage and satelites in rough triangle in relation to garage router on second floor. I planned to use the app to optimize later. Nope, no such animal on app. No way to name 5 band different than 2.4 either. On the other hand everything works at at least 2 x speed of prior setup based on ookla and the extra fing app netgear suggests ( makes sense why use 1 app when 2 will do). Anyway, easy to setup ANYONE can do it. Did not haul my back at all ( FYI all the backhaul jargon means is that you can run cat 5 or cat 6 ethernet cables from one unit to another. I am not a speed demon, perfecrly happy with grandma 6 grandkids and myself all streaming away with no dropouts or buffering. Glad I went with lower cost option. Here in Fl lightning will come again and mostly rides the cable or broadband lines as surge protectors for these cables generally dont handle more than a few tens of volts. Manual 3 pages out of 80 with some english and all it tells you is what co.or the leds should be. App sucks, tried to go back to tech useful old netgear tether, no good. Have not tried direct sign on yet. All really does it letnyou get net up, named, etc. .

I had a problem with a single deco unit. I called two times and did not fix the problem. Either I got disconnected or they wanted to push it up to a higher level. I finally called and got a hold of Genevieve she was very patient with me and very knowledgeable of the unit and solve my problem. I highly recommend Genevieve. John Armstrong

Our house was built in the 1870s, and these old walls absorb WiFi signals like a sponge. My kids were always complaining that they got horrible WiFi signal on the second floor. I thought we would not possibly need 3 units in our fairly small home, but if you have an old house with walls that block WiFi, dont rely on the square footage that the units say they will cover -- plan for one unit per room! Our main X20 unit is on our first floor. I put the second X20 in one childs room. My kids rooms are right next to each other, and quite small, so I thought one node would handle both. But we used a WiFi mapping program, and while the first childs bedroom was all green now, the second bedroom was still mostly orange/red. So we put the third unit in the second bedroom, and now it is all green. Setup couldnt have been easier out of the box. I used the provided ethernet cable to connect one Deco X20 to my Verizon FIOS router, and followed the setup steps in the app and had it up and running in minutes. Also used a second ethernet cable to connect the Deco to our old AirPort Time Capsule, so that we can continue doing wireless backups via Time Machine. We previously tried a TP-Link range extender, but were unhappy with it because it seemed to cut the upload and download speeds by about half. Running a speed test on the mesh network, we are getting excellent upload and download speeds - the mesh network does not seem to be reducing the speeds at all!

Typically when you get a router/modem/etc... you should be able to access all features by logging into them. Right? Well, you cant do that from the devices webpage. You have to use a smartphone to access advanced features, which is a little silly considering if youre accessing advanced features, you probably need a keyboard and mouse to adjust some of those features... Besides that, its a good product that finally covers my home with strong WiFi signals. I dont have many devices that are WiFi 6 yet; however it is nice knowing that I can take advantage of the faster speeds once I do. That doesnt mean all your devices wont work, its just that older devices can only run at their rated WiFi protocol. Great product for the price.

This speaks well for the whole TP-Link line in my view. Ive been doing small biz and home consulting on Macs and PCs and related device, account, networking issues for 2 decades at least, and this is a good solid product, recently updated so read the whole family for the bigger picture. The app is very well executed: it isnt difficult to install, the automated functions work well, it is fast, persistent, works. Give it some time on first discovery or changes - it is doing some fancy footwork in the background so be patient. Once set, you can manage the products in the net from basically anywhere on earth where theres a signal.

I like how it speeds up the internet

I had been renting the internet companys router for maybe 5 years now. I had been having difficulty getting a signal in some parts of the house. I bought a wifi extender but that signal also was inconsistent. So far this has been working well. Set up was a bit of a hassle. When I ran set up the first time, I did something wrong half way through. Once I fixed it and went back to the app, the app completed set up on its own. It didnt pick up where you left off. You have to figure out how to run the setup all over again. But other than that It works well. I just wish you could map the mesh system yourself.