MSRP: £349.99
What is the TP-LINK Deco M9 Mesh Wi-Fi System?
The days are thankfully long gone when you had to suffer Wi-Fi blackspots in the home. Those cries from that corner bedroom that one of the unlucky family’s streaming service has failed yet again are no more. With the latest Mesh Wi-Fi systems available from all the big players such as Google, Linksys, BT, Netgear and TP-Link there are options to suit a wide range of budgets and home sizes.
Back in October 2018, we reviewed the Netgear Orbi RBK23 Mesh Wi-Fi system which came with three units and provided enough coverage for a large home. Winning our AVForums Recommended Award, it offered excellent performance with a decent specification. Our review item today is another Mesh Wi-Fi system, this time from TP-Link's Deco Range.
Their Deco M9 Plus Mesh Wi-Fi system, available for £280, comprises of two Tri-Band AC2200 units, each with dual Gigabit Ethernet ports creating a mesh network that covers up to 4500 square feet. Capable of connecting over 100 devices and acting as a Smart Hub thanks to Zigbee, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi interaction, it offers a good set of features, but is it worth the money? Read on to see how it fares during our tests…..
Back in October 2018, we reviewed the Netgear Orbi RBK23 Mesh Wi-Fi system which came with three units and provided enough coverage for a large home. Winning our AVForums Recommended Award, it offered excellent performance with a decent specification. Our review item today is another Mesh Wi-Fi system, this time from TP-Link's Deco Range.
Their Deco M9 Plus Mesh Wi-Fi system, available for £280, comprises of two Tri-Band AC2200 units, each with dual Gigabit Ethernet ports creating a mesh network that covers up to 4500 square feet. Capable of connecting over 100 devices and acting as a Smart Hub thanks to Zigbee, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi interaction, it offers a good set of features, but is it worth the money? Read on to see how it fares during our tests…..
What about the Design and Connections?
Is it easy to setup and feature rich?
How well does it perform?
The testing was carried out in a standard 4 bed detached house. As we have BT Infinity HomeHub which has an integrated modem, during the App setup the Deco system automatically configured the IP address to avoid conflicts. We tested using a PC connected via Gigabit Ethernet to our existing BT HomeHub Modem/Router and with an 802.11ac capable laptop. We then repeated the tests using the Deco system. During our testing, we turned off all other wireless transmitters to avoid any interference.
We use a program called LANSpeedTest (ver 4.4) by Totusoft which is a simple but powerful tool for measuring Local Area Network (LAN) speeds. It does this by building a file in memory, which it then transfers both ways (without the effects of Windows file caching) while keeping track of the elapsed time, and then does the calculations for you. This gives us the results of transferring files between our PC and the laptop.
Our tests are as follows:
1. 1000 x 1MB files successively transferred.
2. 2 x 1GB files successively transferred.
3. 1000 x 10KB files successively transferred.
PC connected via Ethernet to Router and Laptop connected via Ethernet to downstairs Deco unit.
PC connected via Ethernet to Router and Laptop connected via Ethernet to upstairs Deco unit.
We then tested wirelessly with both our BT Home Hub wireless network and the Deco Mesh network.
Test: 2 x 100MB packets. Each test run 3 times, average score recorded.
Location 1 is on the same floor, 3 metres from the router and through one wall.
Location 2 is on the same floor, 5 metres from the router and through two walls.
Location 3 is in a room directly above the router, 2-3 metres away.
Location 4 is in a room above the router, 7 metres away.
Location 5 is directly next to router/main Deco unit
The results above show that when connected to the Deco units via Ethernet the speeds received are very good with a maximum of 476.24 Mbps, although over 13% less than the Netgear RBK23 which saw 550.35Mbps. Where the issues appeared was with the wireless tests. Despite two units being used, compared to our single HomeHub router, none of the tests saw any improvement with the Deco units, in fact they were significantly worse with a high of 173.96 Mbps in one test compared to a high with the BT HomeHub of 224.14 Mbps. In all the locations we tested we still had faster speeds than our internet connection could supply anyway, but for those with faster connections and multiple stream requirements, it could become an issue.
During use we also suffered odd disconnections and frequently saw the Deco units LED light on red or yellow. The units also seem to reboot without warning. It seemed to happen when picking them up or when plugging in an Ethernet cable. Not all the time, but enough to be an annoyance. The same with the App, it required occasional force closure to refresh the information. It’s also worth mentioning that the units do get very hot when powered on, so be careful if placing them on delicate surfaces.
Despite the claim of extra antennas and offering the same coverage as the Netgear set, we found that as far as wireless was concerned, our test location continues to offer a very tough test and perhaps a three-unit system would have worked better.
We use a program called LANSpeedTest (ver 4.4) by Totusoft which is a simple but powerful tool for measuring Local Area Network (LAN) speeds. It does this by building a file in memory, which it then transfers both ways (without the effects of Windows file caching) while keeping track of the elapsed time, and then does the calculations for you. This gives us the results of transferring files between our PC and the laptop.
Our tests are as follows:
1. 1000 x 1MB files successively transferred.
2. 2 x 1GB files successively transferred.
3. 1000 x 10KB files successively transferred.
PC connected via Ethernet to Router and Laptop connected via Ethernet to downstairs Deco unit.
Write | Read | |
Test 1 | 143.55 Mbps | 376.97 Mbps |
Test 2 | 194.98 Mbps | 476.24 Mbps |
Test 3 | 12.16 Mbps | 51.88 Mbps |
Write | Read | |
Test 1 | 94.91 Mbps | 157.18 Mbps |
Test 2 | 164.65 Mbps | 351.85 Mbps |
Test 3 | 6.92 Mbps | 22.31 Mbps |
Test: 2 x 100MB packets. Each test run 3 times, average score recorded.
Location 1 is on the same floor, 3 metres from the router and through one wall.
Location 2 is on the same floor, 5 metres from the router and through two walls.
Location 3 is in a room directly above the router, 2-3 metres away.
Location 4 is in a room above the router, 7 metres away.
Location 5 is directly next to router/main Deco unit
BT Infinity HomeHub | Write | Read |
Location 1 | 128.17 Mbps | 206.13 Mbps |
Location 2 | 114.13 Mbps | 224.14 Mbps |
Location 3 | 131.18 Mbps | 212.97 Mbps |
Location 4 | 45.37 Mbps | 40.86 Mbps |
Location 5 | 132.19 Mbps | 195.00 Mbps |
Deco M9 Mesh Wi-Fi System | Write | Read |
Location 1 | 79.05 Mbps | 96.37 Mbps |
Location 2 | 66.05Mbps | 61.84 Mbps |
Location 3 | 100.33 Mbps | 173.96 Mbps |
Location 4 | 37.13 Mbps | 22.96 Mbps |
Location 5 | 81.46 Mbps | 117.30 Mbps |
Despite the claim of extra antennas and offering the same coverage as the Netgear set, we found that as far as wireless was concerned, our test location continues to offer a very tough test and perhaps a three-unit system would have worked better.
Conclusion
Pros
- Easy to use App with good features
- Excellent Anti-virus and parental control system
- Compatible with Alexa
- Smart Home compatibility
Cons
- Range not the greatest for larger homes
- USB port has no function
- A touch pricey compared to Netgear's offerings
- App only operation
- Only 2 Ethernet ports per unit
- Intermittent disconnection and reboot issues
TP-LINK Deco M9 Mesh Wi-Fi System Review
Is the TP-Link M9 AC2200 Deco Smart Home Mesh Wi-Fi System worth buying?
For £280 you get a Mesh Wi-Fi system comprising of two units and a whole host of features including Tri-Band Wi-Fi, dedicated 5G and 2.4G backhaul, simple and easy to use App and compatibility with Amazon Alexa, IFTTT and Zigbee for the ultimate Smart Hub experience. Also of note is TP-Link's ‘Homecare’, which features parental controls and an impressive antivirus.Our test location is always extremely tough on Wi-Fi devices and despite the claimed range, only having two units was perhaps asking too much. The results during our tests were encouraging when connected to the Deco units via Ethernet, but below average when connected wirelessly. Together with intermittent performance, disconnections and reboots, we had much higher hopes for the Deco M9 Set.
What is the competition?
The easy answer here, if you have a 4+ bedroom house, is the Netgear RBK23. It doesn’t have the Smart Home features and connectivity of the Deco M9 but it is available for a very similar price, includes three units to give much better coverage and during our tests provided a much faster wireless speed. At £280 the Deco M9 from TP-Link is definitely an option to consider if you have a smaller sized home, particularly with the Smart Home integration it offers, but for larger properties there are better solutions available.Our Review Ethos
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