TP-Link AC2200 3 Pack Smart Home Mesh Wi-Fi System DECO-M9-3PK

Working from home, I needed something to replace my five ageing google WIFI units. These certainly did the job, powerful and easy to set up, with a simple to use the app. Since installing them, the internet has remained solid and stable. The app is easy to use, and setting allocated IP addresses and port forwarding is easy if UPNP doesn’t work for you. I also liked the feature that allowed the mesh to find the least congested channel.You most likely want to know about the coverage, I have a long thin home that is 265sqm, and three units cover it, with full signal to all devices everywhere. In hindsight, I could have done it with two M9s by using a powerline adapter to take the router signal to one end with the other M9 at the other end of the house.They aren’t ... MoreWorking from home, I needed something to replace my five ageing google WIFI units. These certainly did the job, powerful and easy to set up, with a simple to use the app. Since installing them, the internet has remained solid and stable. The app is easy to use, and setting allocated IP addresses and port forwarding is easy if UPNP doesn’t work for you. I also liked the feature that allowed the mesh to find the least congested channel.You most likely want to know about the coverage, I have a long thin home that is 265sqm, and three units cover it, with full signal to all devices everywhere. In hindsight, I could have done it with two M9s by using a powerline adapter to take the router signal to one end with the other M9 at the other end of the house.They aren’t the prettiest unit, but you can see that from the pictures, not many surfaces in my home lend themselves to these units in terms of fitting in. Thankfully the little lamp on the top can be switched off, and thanks to the power of the units, hiding them away doesn’t seem to affect the performance.My only slight niggle is they don’t talk to my TP link Archer router, it said it would form part of a TP-link mesh, but it’s not the same mesh as the M9s form.Overall I would highly recommend them

Very pleased with the coverage and speed increase. Not sure if Skinny Wireless increased its speed at the same time, but the after installing the TP-Link m9 the internet speed went from 20-30Mbps to over 50-70Mbps in non peak times on the extension deco unit. No more clashes between computers and other gadgets which we experienced before. The mesh system is stable in the three weeks it has been in use after a few initial hiccups. Can see in the app to which Deco one is connected to. Would be nice to be able to change the number of channels it takes up, the Deco units straddle an almost embarrassing no of channels crowding out neighbouring WiFi signals. Bought the M9 to eventually use it with Fibre, but with the increased broadband speeds the system copes easily with ... MoreVery pleased with the coverage and speed increase. Not sure if Skinny Wireless increased its speed at the same time, but the after installing the TP-Link m9 the internet speed went from 20-30Mbps to over 50-70Mbps in non peak times on the extension deco unit. No more clashes between computers and other gadgets which we experienced before. The mesh system is stable in the three weeks it has been in use after a few initial hiccups. Can see in the app to which Deco one is connected to. Would be nice to be able to change the number of channels it takes up, the Deco units straddle an almost embarrassing no of channels crowding out neighbouring WiFi signals. Bought the M9 to eventually use it with Fibre, but with the increased broadband speeds the system copes easily with multiple devices, 4K movies etc in a small household!

3 MONTHS

3 months is how long this worked. WiFi is no longer usable, it disconnects you every 30 seconds. When connected it will say there is no internet 90% of the time. I tried all the forums, and Reddit posts, but nothing helped with the issue. Tried disabling some of the selling features like QoS and beamforming and it didn't help. Yes, this is all up to date on the latest firmware. I cannot recommend this product, please stay away, and if you want a reliable Mesh system you may have to go for the more expensive options from better brands. Total garbage product from TP-Link. And conveniently stopped working outside of the return window.

Broadband Speed Boost

Whilst it's not one of the latest generation of Mesh products it has certainly worked for me. I'm supposed to be on 40 Mbps FTTC product and was lucky to get 10 on our mobile phones. I've only fitted two of the three devices and already our speed has quadrupled on the phones and doubled on our PC as was only getting around 20 Mbps. Hopefully when we upgrade to FTTP it will ensure we get great speeds all around the house. Set up was simple download the app plug the devices in and off you go. They are roughly the same size as a smoke detector and mounts are available to place them on walls or ceilings. I've just stuck it on the desk next to my PC and it doesn't look out of place.

Excellent mesh wi-fi system

My first experience with a mesh wi-fi and I highly recommend it. No more wi-fi extenders and switching between routers and extenders. Just hook this up to the NBN modem, set it up using their brilliant app and you can dump the cheap and nasty router from your internet provider. No more stuttering in Netflix or youtube. The Deco units are a little bit bigger than a smoke alarm so they can be hidden easily or be part of your decor. I almost bought the Netgear Orbis version until I realised how big their devices were. Minor niggle was that is took a while to figure out how to set it up with TPG but it turned out to be a setting in the Deco app. The other thing to think about is that this version is not wifi 6 compatible so it is not as future-proofed as other devices ... MoreMy first experience with a mesh wi-fi and I highly recommend it. No more wi-fi extenders and switching between routers and extenders. Just hook this up to the NBN modem, set it up using their brilliant app and you can dump the cheap and nasty router from your internet provider. No more stuttering in Netflix or youtube. The Deco units are a little bit bigger than a smoke alarm so they can be hidden easily or be part of your decor. I almost bought the Netgear Orbis version until I realised how big their devices were. Minor niggle was that is took a while to figure out how to set it up with TPG but it turned out to be a setting in the Deco app. The other thing to think about is that this version is not wifi 6 compatible so it is not as future-proofed as other devices out there. Highly recommend HT Technology. $100 cheaper than anywhere else and very quick delivery.

Great but maybe not if you live in the city

If you're thinking of upgrading to a mesh network, you absolutely should and this is a great and cheap way to get started.Two small issues keep this from being a 5-star review:1) The product is refurbished and one of the three access points came with a damaged reset button that I had to do some contortions to get to work. I'm not sure why blowing away the previous configuration wasn't a part of the refurbish, but if it had been this issue would have been found.2) This particular model of TP-Link was the last before they upgraded their security protocol to utilize more recent versions of WPA, so while that's not an issue for someone who lives in the suburbs and can verify that everyone who lives in range of the network is not a hacker, I would recommend a more ... MoreIf you're thinking of upgrading to a mesh network, you absolutely should and this is a great and cheap way to get started.Two small issues keep this from being a 5-star review:1) The product is refurbished and one of the three access points came with a damaged reset button that I had to do some contortions to get to work. I'm not sure why blowing away the previous configuration wasn't a part of the refurbish, but if it had been this issue would have been found.2) This particular model of TP-Link was the last before they upgraded their security protocol to utilize more recent versions of WPA, so while that's not an issue for someone who lives in the suburbs and can verify that everyone who lives in range of the network is not a hacker, I would recommend a more up-to-date model for someone living in a more crowded environment.With those caveats made, I recommend this product highly. Easy to set up and works like a dream. Can't believe it took me this long to switch to a mesh network!

Great speed and coverage

Although this is a refurbished system and it didn't come with the original product box, they look new to me with rubber wraps on each Deco unit. It was very easy to setup, just scan the QR code from the quick install manual/paper, download app and they are ready to go in minutes. My M9+ units are hardware version 2.8, which I believe is most recent if not the latest. There is no need to update the firmware, I checked the TP-Link website and the Deco M9+ already comes with the latest firmware installed. The WIFI coverage for this Deco M9+ is amazing, I get strong WiFi signal all over my 3000+ house with all 3 units setup. I have a Gigabit internet, when I hardwire my PC to the main DECO unit, I get over 950Mbit, 600Mb on WiFi when I am 2 feet away from the main Deco. ... MoreAlthough this is a refurbished system and it didn't come with the original product box, they look new to me with rubber wraps on each Deco unit. It was very easy to setup, just scan the QR code from the quick install manual/paper, download app and they are ready to go in minutes. My M9+ units are hardware version 2.8, which I believe is most recent if not the latest. There is no need to update the firmware, I checked the TP-Link website and the Deco M9+ already comes with the latest firmware installed. The WIFI coverage for this Deco M9+ is amazing, I get strong WiFi signal all over my 3000+ house with all 3 units setup. I have a Gigabit internet, when I hardwire my PC to the main DECO unit, I get over 950Mbit, 600Mb on WiFi when I am 2 feet away from the main Deco. Also, I get from 180Mb in my garage to 450Mb in my office on the second floor which is better than the Powerline connection I had before. I had a TP-Link AX50 router before, but the coverage is not too good even with a access point added to the second floor. This DECO M9+ beats my old AX router in every single way in speed and WiFi signal. They only downside for this Deco is the software, it doesn't have a web UI, so all control are from your phone which I do not like. Also, there are only limited admin features on the phone app compare to other router which has an admin web interface. For example, I can't get a white list of a MAC address, only a device black list is available (which means the black listed device need to be connected to your wifi before you can blacklist it, which is not cool). I can't limit the WiFi speed for a particular device, also not able to tell what devices are connecting to which deco unit. Overall, I am very happy with this DECO M9+ system, hopefully TP-Link will updated the firmware and their software tio include a web UI for this system with more advance admin feature available to the users.

Here is how to resolve the iPhone Weak Security message.

My units are V2.8 shipped with old firmware, 1.2 Build 201910. The only password Security Type available is TKIP. TKIP is vulnerable to a MIC key recovery attack. So there will be a message, which appears under the Wi-Fi network name on your iPhone, states that WPA/WPA2 TKIP is "not considered secure" and you need to reconfigure your router. I am not sure if this scenario needs a super villain with advanced computer knowledge lives in your neighborhood but it's annoying.The 1.2 Build 201910 doesn't update through DECO app. You need to download an upgrade tool and latest firmware from TP link website.#Please read all instructions then proceed at your own risk.#The Tool name is M9Plus_2.0_upgrade_tool_v1.2.0_win.Firmware name is M9Plus_2.0_en_1.5.6 Build ... MoreMy units are V2.8 shipped with old firmware, 1.2 Build 201910. The only password Security Type available is TKIP. TKIP is vulnerable to a MIC key recovery attack. So there will be a message, which appears under the Wi-Fi network name on your iPhone, states that WPA/WPA2 TKIP is "not considered secure" and you need to reconfigure your router. I am not sure if this scenario needs a super villain with advanced computer knowledge lives in your neighborhood but it's annoying.The 1.2 Build 201910 doesn't update through DECO app. You need to download an upgrade tool and latest firmware from TP link website.#Please read all instructions then proceed at your own risk.#The Tool name is M9Plus_2.0_upgrade_tool_v1.2.0_win.Firmware name is M9Plus_2.0_en_1.5.6 Build 20211018 Rel.35617_US_JP_EU_upAll M9 units in the group would be updated together automatically within 2 minutes. After applied the new firmware you will have 3 options under password security as WPA2-PSK[AES] , WPA2-PSK[AES]+WPA-PSK[TKIP] and None. Please use WPA2-PSK[AES]. The iPhone message will be gone and you will also have one more function under router settings called Network Optimization.Hope this helps. Cheers!

Work just like advertised

I've been using the Deco M9 3 pack for about 2 weeks now and so far it's worked flawlessly. Setup was a breeze, the most time consuming part was downloading the app, figuring out how it worked and playing with some of the settings. I don't have a huge house, it's an old 2 story farm house but with my previous single router setup I had poor coverage in several locations. With the Deco I've had no problem getting a strong signal in any corner of the house. I also discovered that my old router was significantly throttling my throughput. Using speed test my best rate was about 90Mbps, and that's with an Ethernet connection directly to the router. On WiFi I'd typically test in the 40-60 Mbps range. With the Deco I'm getting 150 Mbps wirelessly so clearly a big ... MoreI've been using the Deco M9 3 pack for about 2 weeks now and so far it's worked flawlessly. Setup was a breeze, the most time consuming part was downloading the app, figuring out how it worked and playing with some of the settings. I don't have a huge house, it's an old 2 story farm house but with my previous single router setup I had poor coverage in several locations. With the Deco I've had no problem getting a strong signal in any corner of the house. I also discovered that my old router was significantly throttling my throughput. Using speed test my best rate was about 90Mbps, and that's with an Ethernet connection directly to the router. On WiFi I'd typically test in the 40-60 Mbps range. With the Deco I'm getting 150 Mbps wirelessly so clearly a big improvement.My only disappointment so far has been that the USB ports on the Decos are only for providing a power source for charging phones or tablets. I thought I'd be able to use them to connect a thumb drive and setup a ftp site but that's not supported.Since I was already using ftp on my old router I decided to connect it to one of the Decos and use it for a subnetwork that would let me maintain my ftp storage site. I also have several WiFi cameras both inside and outside that I decided to leave on the old router network just to reduce some of my network congestion. I had a few questions on the details of making all this work so I contacted the TP-Link customer service and they were very patient and thorough in helping me sort out a couple of issues so I'd give them a 5 star rating as well.

units are huge, app is 1GB, placement issues, not reliable

The set arrived with one unit defective. I feel like refurbished should by default mean it's not defective when you get it. I understand that there's less guarantee about its lifetime - that's why it's discounted - but I feel like refurbished is not the same as spend $150 and maybe the product will arrive broken, or maybe not. B&H made the return as hassle-free as they could, but it's still not hassle-free...I purchased it, waited for it to arrive, set up 2 of the units (which took time), and then found out the third unit is defective, then emailed them about that, waited for a reply, waited for an RMA, packaged it up, and drove it to FedEx. Now I need to wait weeks for my refund, and check on it to make sure it is correct. Too much hassle. I would strongly advise ... MoreThe set arrived with one unit defective. I feel like refurbished should by default mean it's not defective when you get it. I understand that there's less guarantee about its lifetime - that's why it's discounted - but I feel like refurbished is not the same as spend $150 and maybe the product will arrive broken, or maybe not. B&H made the return as hassle-free as they could, but it's still not hassle-free...I purchased it, waited for it to arrive, set up 2 of the units (which took time), and then found out the third unit is defective, then emailed them about that, waited for a reply, waited for an RMA, packaged it up, and drove it to FedEx. Now I need to wait weeks for my refund, and check on it to make sure it is correct. Too much hassle. I would strongly advise anyone AGAINST buying anything refurbished from TP-Link because they just don't do any kind of quality control.Issues not related to the refurbished status:1. The units themselves are really big - about 10 in diameter. They need to be plugged into a wall socket, obviously. These are just two things to keep in mind if you choose this product.2. The app, which is required to use these (not just set them up) takes up 1.07GB by itself. In the app store they say it's much less, but that's a lie. Again, just something to note so you don't get surprised.3. These units can't be placed too far apart. For instance, my home is single-story, 2,000 square feet, and I want to extend WiFi into my bedroom which is on the side opposite from my office. The main deco unit (which must be hardwired to the router) is 60-80ft from the bedroom unit, and they cannot stay connected. I would need to buy 1-2 additional units (a total of 5) to cover my 2,000 sq ft space, and each costs $100.In the end, I can't recommend this product even new. Although I returned this because it was defective, I would have returned it anyway. There are cheaper, better options to cover a 2,000 sq ft home with WiFi - in particular, there are more reliable and more aesthetically pleasing ways. One powerful router, like a Netgear Nighthawk, and one range extender, would be more than sufficient (and I might not even need the range extender). The new Nighthawk, which is AX so it supports the new WiFi 6 (this one is AC, so it only support WiFi 5), costs $120 brand new. This unit, brand-new, to cover the same space reliably would cost $350+ and add more clutter and more units that could potentially break.