Pretty good price for a very good mesh setup. Have been using this for a while and the experience is pretty good for a normal household experience.
Pretty close to the ATL as per 3camel.
CamelCamelCamel.
The X20 will comfortably cover a 250mbps connection without throttling your internet speeds, presuming its coverage suffices, which it may not if the version of this one limits you to a star network rather than a true mesh, which mine did. Note, there are at least three different hardware revisions of the X20 - some but not all of which were firmware upgraded for proper mesh networking.
Especially given your two storey house, I’d definitely be looking at the X50/X55/X60 (all much of a muchness) or better for the superior coverage - approx 140 m2 vs 240 m2 per node, including improved vertical connectivity, plus improved 5ghz speeds across your network. Add to that the possibility of not being able to mesh with the strongest node, but rather to the master node (if your X20 version is non-compatible with the latest firmware) and connection strength and speeds can be compromised.
In your case, if everything is Ethernet wired, the budget X20 may well suffice, since the wired connection speed would be unchanged from the X50 and superior models, although note that the X20 only has two RJ45 ports, which may be an issue if you wanted to connect network printers or other wired connections. Most of the more expensive Deco models have 3 RJ45 ports.
In my own use case, upgrading from 3 x X20 to 3 x X50 was a big improvement, especially for devices connected to the node on a different floor to the master. It also resolved a recurring issue connecting to my Ring doorbell which would repeatedly drop out and require a power cycling on the deco master.
Thanks for that very insightful. Definitely leaning to work x50 given this information. One thing I also need to clarify, this will not replace my current main modem/router correct? Looking at this https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/faq/1794/, for my setup i'm guessing the ideal setup would be something like Modem/router patched to main node which is patched to both other nodes. Then I can patch the modem/router to switch/patch panel/other rooms etc as needed? The problem with this is the patch panel and modem are in the garage (obviously not ideal for the signal), which means the main node would also have to be there to there to be there to go modem -> main node-> switch -> patch panel. Or If I placed the main node in a room with two RJ45 ports, I could go modem -> patch panel -> main node -> patch panel -> switch -> patch panel -> other nodes?
My understanding is that if you upgrade to FTTP, they provide the suitable modem/router as part of the install, rendering your old FTTN modem obsolete. It would they be connected to one of your three Deco’s with the other two placed around the house for coverage.
As you suggest, patching / hard cabling each node would be best practice, primarily for backhaul / pings / superior internal network speed, but is unlikely to improve internet speed which will not saturate the X50’s (or X20’s) wi-fi bandwidth.
Could always stick a small switch next to your main node and run feeds from there to your other nodes. This was always my intent, but to be honest, I’ve never got around to it, having never had an issue with connection speeds - even with more than a dozen devices connected and streaming at once. But then, I’m not a gamer chasing every last millisecond of ping times, so others may benefit more from backhaul and improved latencies.
@UncleRico: Ah yes, truthfully the PC and PS5 just use ethernet straight patched to the router anyway. I would be concerned about an upstairs node without ethernet backhaul, however, perhaps the normal WIFI mesh would suffice.
A Deco X50 router won't replace a VDSL2 modem on FTTN. You have to use both a VDSL2 modem + Deco X50 router.
If you have FTTC you plugin the Deco X50 router to the nbn NCD box.
nbn install a fibre NTD box and you plugin the Deco X50 router to that.
I have 3x X20 in a double storey semi-detached with CAT6 backhaul. All the nodes are on the ground floor and propagate the signal upwards. Works pretty well as long as the signal doesn’t have to go too far through areas like bathrooms or cupboards with mirrored doors.
My setup has the main puck connected directly to the NBN NTD and then via a wall plate to an unmanaged switch via a patch panel. The connections to the other two pucks then go switch -> patch panel -> puck
I actually think it’s a very good price for a pretty good mesh setup. But if you’re not in a hurry - the Deco X50 AX3000 3 pack is regularly available for just $50 more.
I recently upgraded from the X20 to the X50, and whilst I seldom saturate the increased bandwidth except for internal network transfers, the mesh network has a much improved signal strength. Admittedly this may also be on account of the flaw of the early model X20’s which meant that they weren’t a true mesh, but that all additional nodes could not connect to other nodes, except for the master node - essentially making it a limited star network. Not an issue for anyone just using two units, but for multi story houses or anyone using 3+ units, it wasn’t ideal.
The AX3000 is $283 at TGGC
$64 well spent.
How about that?
TP-Link Mercusys Halo H80X AX3000 Whole Home Mesh WiFi 6 System (3-pack) for $219
or
D-Link M32 Eagle Pro AI AX3200 Mesh Wi-Fi 6 Router (3 Pack) for $149
Have been using these for the last few years never had any issues they work fine in a medium/ large size house but the x50 would be an upgrade and they have VPN function you can set up which is a bonus.
i have 4 x20 (dsl x1, normal x20 x1 and x20 voice x2) for my single storey house. its very good to cover every corner of the house with mesh connection. the only issue with mesh is it is automatically change the 2.4ghz channel in the background. this will trigger connection lost to some devices. 1 of the devices is solar inverter fronius primo inverter and smart meter reader where it will be disconnected when 2.4ghz channel changed in the background. i have to click the network optimisation in the app to get the connection back. another device is Panasonic WLAN Smart Adaptor (CZ-TACG1) ac split system where it will be disconnected easily where i need to reset the adaptor every now and then. other than these 2 devices, they are great for mesh.
i have set a guest network which is 2.4ghz only for all the IOT devices. Bummer you cant have multiple SSID on the primary wireless.
not sure creating a guest network which is 2.4ghz will work or not as there are so many channels within 2.4ghz bandwidth and it automatically change from time to time. 5ghz has not issue as the channel is set based on region which is only 1 channel. all other iot devices have no issue.
my X20 has Primary wifi (5ghz and 2.4ghz), guest (5ghz and 2.4ghz) and an IoT network (only 2.4ghz) - which is really handy, as some cheaper devices thst only have 2.4ghz used to get confused and not connect. But they connect easily to the IoT network.
It also helped keep some of the noise of the network.
The problem with the 'IoT network' is that is isn't the firewalled off VLAN that you might expect it to be and that devices on it can see other devices on the main network. You can get around this by selecting 'Device Isolation' (which from my limited testing stopped the isolated device from being able to ping other devices) but the isolated devices can still see each other and probably the router itself.
I should add that my IoT devices live on the IoT network and are isolated, unless they are HomeKit devices. For these ones I use parental controls to block their access to the internet (and hopefully stop them from phoning home), but they can still talk to the HomeKit hub. The app for the device (such as for a Meross garage door opener) won't work without internet access, but I usually only use HomeKit so it's not a dealbreaker.
Not saying this approach is bullet proof by any means, but for me it strikes a balance between security (real and perceived) and gives me flexibility to easily manage the network remotely.
Interesting what you’re saying about your Fronius as I periodically lose access to my Enphase Envoy as well. Will try your optimisation trick next time rather than turning it off and on again, thanks
As soon as i clicked the network optimisation, the connection restored within 10 seconds.
I have ethernet patching around the house and when NBN finally upgrades the connection to FTTP (soon please NBN overlords 🙏) looking to upgrade to at least the 250 down speeds. Would this be good choice considering it has ethernet backhaul? Current setup has rando routers I have acquired spread out across two storey house running in AP/bridge with same SSID (ones an old Technicolor piece of poo that doesn't have AP mode), so looking to upgrade the WIFI at some point.