TP-Link Deco M9 Plus Review: Resolving WiFi Issues In Our Victorian Farmhouse

[@jamesinbradford5882]

I’ve been looking for a Wi-Fi mesh to work with my TP Link Powerline , this looks like it could be the solution ! Great video,nice picture and sound too ! Also you have a beautiful home ! Subscribed !

[@MyHomeFarm]

Thanks for the great feedback James. We really struggled with our WiFi and with this solution our WiFi is now rocking. Let us know how you come along with your setup. Thanks again for the great comments and for subscribing. Massively appreciated.

[@akapal]

@@MyHomeFarm you can buy deco P7 or P9 which has powerline built in

[@TR1PLE_6]

We got Vodafone full fibre last week and the WiFi signal from the router was pretty bad. The router is downstairs along with one Sky Stream puck while upstairs we have the PC, Xbox, PS5 and another Sky Stream puck. Speed was good next to the router at about 500mbps but going upstairs it would plummet below 200 and sometimes just cut out. Now having just picked up and installed a 3-pack of these we are getting about 400-750 upstairs. Steam was downloading games on my PC at 50-70MB/sec. What a fantastic bit of kit and it only cost £199! 😁

[@ianbeck5897]

We've been down the same route , in so many ways, not just wi-fi : we moved from city life and a house (where Netgear Orbi (3 units) covered the whole house), to a rural property in Devon where Orbi was almost hopeless. I tried adding a few more satellites but it didn't help much. We need to cover about 3200 square feet of habitable house. Some of it was built of cob in the 1700's, a bit more, thick Victorian walls and the remainder 20th century block cavity. After seven months of trial and error, we have a TP-Link Deco P9 system providing reasonable coverage across the whole house. There are a number of advantages, from our perspective, in using these: firstly, they support wi-fi, ethernet and PowerLine connectivity and will auto configure so as to form the best mesh that they can, connectivity permitting. Secondly, each unit is comparatively cheap and you can add units as and when you wish. Our system is now nine P9 Deco units, configured as a main hub and four double stacked satellites. The P9's wont win prizes for range or features but they do work and they do support powerline natively. I'm finally happy that I have a running system in an old rural property.

[@MyHomeFarm]

That’s brilliant Ian. I’m glad you’re up and running and have reliable signal. It’s a real challenge in these period properties.

[@bradengels]

If you see difficulties or dead spots then the cure is to add extra deco .mean you need the forth deco to be added to your big house..is not necessarily the forth deco to be m9 ..You can add M5 or any of tp link deco series , and doesn't effect the mesh

[@MyHomeFarm]

That’s a great point and thank you for the comment. I’m actually going to add a M5 at the south end of the house to improve the WiFi signal for our Netatmo outdoor security cameras.

[@wino99999]

Wi-Fi is great when there are no 'Brick' walls between the hubs. Whilst powerline connectors work to transmit the signal over existing infrastructure it is 'NO Substitute' for an ethernet Cat 5e (or better) cable between the hubs. Not only does the powerline kit take energy, but it doesn't match the throughput of a wired connection. Ideally a number of Hot spots wired back to the main router would always be better than retransmitting a received Wi-Fi signal as each hop eats into the Wi-Fi bandwidth of the origination Wi-Fi bandwidth.... P.S. measure all the power used by various devices connected 24/7, it will tell it's own story!

[@MyHomeFarm]

Agreed. We’ve ditched the Powerline and have now bridged tricky areas with M5 units.

[@nauxsi]

Also if you can place wifi units centrally you improve signal with the least amount of obstruction. I have a long hallway with stairs, so i placed router under stair...

[@asuwande]

This is great, I did like the Power-line connection part to go through the brick wall because I have the same issue. Thanks!

[@MyHomeFarm]

Thanks Abey. It did the trick and it’s still working great.

[@AlexandreNOliveira]

Hi, a very beautiful house. Could I kindly ask for the distance between each Deco device ? I would like to have some sort of comparison in terms how far a good signal is based on the distance. Thanks in advance.

[@MyHomeFarm]

Thank you for the kind comments and feedback. The distance from the main Deco to the one in the hallway is about 12 metres. The second Deco is connected to the PowerLine and that’s about 10 metres from the one in the hallway. Hope that helps.

[@AlexandreNOliveira]

@@MyHomeFarm Thank you very much for you reply.

[@MyHomeFarm]

You're welcome Alexandre.

[@slyjaysfly]

Just what I’m looking to do also.. and you have answered a long unanswered question that I can use powerline adapters that I already have in use alongside a mesh network. Thank you for this fantastic video tutorial. Can I just ask did you put the router into modem mode before you connected the mesh units?

[@MyHomeFarm]

Thanks for the feedback Justin, and we’re really pleased we were able to help. We made no changes to the router. The mesh system makes its own new WiFi network, so essentially you have two networks. We just changed the password on the Sky router so that ‘old/existing’ devices couldn’t connect to it. The power line set up continues to work perfectly. Very pleased with the solution.

[@slyjaysfly]

@@MyHomeFarm thanks for your quick reply.. so do you think if I put my router into modem mode? I could still use the powerline also? Reason for doing this is the virgin hub is very bad for WiFi and would prefer it not to be available at all. Also think the router would be more stable in modem mode and less prior to rebooting?

[@MyHomeFarm]

The honest answer is I’m not 100% sure. You could set it to modem mode and see where that takes you, which should theoretically work because you’re no longer going to use the Virgin hub as a router. If you’re on Twitter, to double check, I’d recommend asking the TP-Link support team. They’re very good, and typically answer within 24 hours.

[@slyjaysfly]

@@MyHomeFarm thank you... I have asked them already but get mixed messages.. I will have to trial and error this issue and see what happens. Thanks again for your help. 👍🏻

[@MyHomeFarm]

Trial and error is usually the way to go. Let us know what the outcome is.

[@clivethomas7823]

Great video, very informative. If the unit 3 worked correctly without the wall problem am I correct in saying the WiFi connection between the unit 3 and unit 1(main hub) gets passed on by unit 2(the one in the hallway)?

[@MyHomeFarm]

Thanks for the comments and feedback Clive. Yes, you are exactly right, and then the load gets "split" where the WiFi signal overlaps. So, for example, our main bedroom is covered equally by the main unit and the hallway unit (as our bedroom is almost directly above it). When I access the Deco app, I can see which device is connected to which unit, and my iPad is sometimes connected to the main unit and sometimes to the hallway. It works very well.

[@clivethomas7823]

Thanks for the reply, it’s exactly what I’m looking for. Your video has helped me make a decision to purchase these. Thanks again.

[@MyHomeFarm]

That's great Chris. It's worked great for us, and we'd love to hear what you think when you get them.

[@clivethomas7823]

Will do.

[@clivethomas7823]

@@MyHomeFarm just thought I would give you an update. I have installed 6 of these in a four storey Victorian building. Each floor consists of 4 double sized rooms. The internet feed came into the building on floor 1. I have strategically placed the hubs on various floors/landings. It was extremely easy to install & setup using the Deco App on my phone. I would highly recommend these(Deco M9 Plus).

[@jajasays]

Thinking of replacing all our wifi extenders which have been added on over the years, few units of TP link sockets and 2 old units of Apple airports. Noticed you have a sky router. Did you have to disable the wifi on sky? We have sky q hub and mini boxes mesh network. Just wondered if I have to disable the wifi or if both mesh network can work side by side.

[@MyHomeFarm]

Thank you for your question. The Deco M9 creates a new network so the Sky WiFi essentially stops. This was easy. We also have Sky Q and Sky mini boxes, and this was a headache. You have the option to use your old Sky Wifi if you don’t want to change the login and settings. We wanted to use the new wifi though. The Sky Q box was fine. Getting the minis to connect to the Sky Q box was painful. A lot of resets.

[@JonathonDoig]

Hello, interesting video, we have a similar setup to you, ie old house in Wales with lots of stone walls. I have just bought 3x M9's in the hope to finally sort this out. I'm using Ethernet backhaul as well (as powerline doesn't work for us). We are also on Sky, FTTC here and I've been looking at running OpenWRT on a BT Openreach modem then into a Firewalla Gold that's another story really. What I really wanted to know if you had tried extending the network outside with a TP-Link EAP225 or similar? Thanks Jonathon

[@MyHomeFarm]

Thanks for the feedback Jonathon. How did the M9s fare? On the subject of the EAP225 this is most definitely on the cards, but it’ll take us a while before we get around to it. We have got a good place where we can connect the EAP225 to our M9 via Ethernet to give us coverage outside but I’m not sure I’ll get around to it this summer because of the other big projects we have planned, and it’s not a priority because we get good 4g coverage. But this is definitely something I want to get done to give us internet and network access across our smallholding.

[@JonathonDoig]

@@MyHomeFarm Well, rather mixed really. I found that I couldn’t get them working properly with my kit here. I just couldn’t get them to play nice with my firewall especially. Also the Sky Q kit won’t play nice with anything unless you cable them and turn off their silly mesh network. So, they have been returned and will be replaced by 3 EAP245’s arriving tomorrow and I can control them with their Omada mgmt platform running on an Rpi. Of course as a bonus I can control the EAP225 when it arrives. Now just need to take a proper look at ASHP’s, I wonder where I can find some info on them 🤔. Thanks

[@MyHomeFarm]

Interesting, and regret to hear the M9s didn't work - thanks for the update Jonathon. Look forward to hearing if you have more success with the EAP234 units. Good with the ASHP, and enjoy our videos - there are quite a few, but I hope you'll find them helpful. Are you in an old or period property?

[@JonathonDoig]

@@MyHomeFarm Yep, was originally in late 1600's and added to over the years. It was converted into a dwelling by the previous owners in mid 80's. So yes it's old in places with v thick walls

[@JonathonDoig]

@@MyHomeFarm Hi there, well what a transformation. I have 3x EAP245's and 1x EAP225-Outdoor. I have also setup the Omada software on a windows box as it was easier than the Rpi install for me at the moment. The range on the 225 outside is fantastic. Even behind 2 windows I can still connect to WiFi fast enough for Facetime calls some 100m away. I'll put this outside once I get my drill out for some Cat6 cable. Installing the free Omada software wasn't too difficult and after figuring my way round the software I had it configuring the WiFi network I wanted for the house and updated the firmware on the AP's too. All those AP's came with PoE injectors but, I only needed 1 as I run them with a cheap PoE switch. This has an uplink port which connects to a trunk port on an old Cisco switch around 40m away. this works well, I even have it working with my Sky Q and mini setup. Using the installer menu I just turned off the 2.4 and 5GHz networks as they are now hard wired, perfect. WiFi calling works properly while roaming about the house on calls on my mobile. Other WiFi peripherals working properly (printer, smart sockets and smart speakers) with band steering and beam forming. It might all sound complicated but, really didn't take that long to do. Wish I had done this a while ago. Edit: I have now got the Omada software running on a Pi v3b. Actually quite easy to do and cheaper than buying a small Omada controller. So currently running Omada 4.3.5 on Ubuntu 20.x Was able to export the config from Windows and directly import into Ubuntu.

[@grantnyenes3742]

I thought the M9 had built in power line routing?

[@MyHomeFarm]

As fas as I'm aware, the TP-Link Deco M9 Plus is a mesh Wi-Fi system that primarily utilises wireless connections between its nodes for communication. It supports tri-band Wi-Fi and offers seamless roaming and whole-home coverage, but it does not have built-in power line routing functionality.

[@Joiedevivredesilives]

I have tried pretty much most solutions over last 20 years and the Mesh ones too. I have found the Devolo Magic 2 the best as long as your wiring is good. Its a powerline mesh solution. The speeds are good enough for 4k . It doesnt like anti pest plug in devices

[@MyHomeFarm]

Thanks for the comment. Powerline is excellent provided, as you’ve said, the wiring is good. Ours is actually decent but there’s a bit of trial and error using different sockets. So interesting to hear about the anti pest devices. We have a few, and wouldn’t have thought they conflict based on the different frequencies they use.

[@Joiedevivredesilives]

@@MyHomeFarm we found some of our earthing was bad when I first went powerline hence I kept upgrading . Yes it was weird with the pest controller i had wifi connected but no internet loads of times a day but with it taken off its been near perfect.

[@nauxsi]

I think if anyone is doing a home renovation then that is the ideal time to run gigabit cabling to key rooms.

[@hardrocking91]

Beautiful home! So to solve the last wifi issue, you actually used a different product from TP Link, not the Deco M9?

[@MyHomeFarm]

Thank you for your comment. Greatly appreciated. Yes, we used the Powerline AV600 to feed the internet connection to get through multiple brick walls to one of the Deco M9 satellite units. Despite this, we have great mesh and internet coverage.

[@tomchoi7074]

so, if the central unit connects to the router and the router is already sending good signals, then you lose out on one unit by default.

[@diegowlp]

Do you have two wireless bands? One for 2.4 ghz and another one for 5ghz? or are they combined?

[@MyHomeFarm]

Yes, it has two separate bands and you can select which one you want. We have both enabled as we have devices that can only run on 2.4GHz, and our Apple products live on the 5GHz band. Hope that helps.

[@diegowlp]

@@MyHomeFarm it helped a lot man, I currently have a Google Wifi, it combines the bands and let the devices choose the best band. but it is messing up lots of devices, I will return it and get this one you reviewed. Thanks a lot. Nice channel! I subscribed!

[@MyHomeFarm]

Thanks for the feedback and for subscribing Diego. Greatly appreciate it. This is the first mesh system we've used, and it has made our WiFi network robust and reliable.

[@diegowlp]

I just got my deco m9 plus and they have combined bands. lol

[@MyHomeFarm]

But you can disable the 5GHz band it you need to and just run on 2.4, can't you? Sorry if I misunderstood you.

[@brianholding4357]

Thank you;...........................love your home.

[@MyHomeFarm]

Thank you for your feedback and nice comment. Greatly appreciated.

[@jersonjim3605]

Wow beautiful house!

[@MyHomeFarm]

Thank you.

[@richardbradbury5904]

Hi, Great video! Im thinking of getting the TP-Links M9 for my home. I also have an old house like you (about 400 year old) and have very, very thick walls. Im not technical so dont understand how the powerline works in relation to the Mesh. Is it connected in any way to the Mesh or is it a separate thing that runs via the home electrical cables? If it is the latter then why do you need the mesh when you could just have a few powerlines to do the same job? Sorry if this is a dumb question? Regards Richard

[@MyHomeFarm]

Thanks for the feedback and comments Richard. Greatly appreciated. Here's the sequence of how everything connects at your hub area - we'll then address the other units around the house. First up, you connect your hub/router (in our case Sky) to the Deco M9 using an ethernet cable. The Deco M9 then 'replaces' your Sky router and makes a new mesh network. Next, the Powerline comes with a "base" unit. That goes into a free plug socket in your wall (it cannot be an extension) and that too connects to your Deco M9 via an ethernet cable. You can now go around your house (behind those thick impenetrable walls) and plug the Powerline units into available wall sockets - again, these can't be extensions. What we then did is connected these satellite Powerline units via an ethernet cable to the M9 satellite units. So the Powerline is basically getting the Internet connection via the electric cables in your walls and feeding it into the M9 to make that Internet available over a WiFi mesh network. To be honest, the physical set up process isn't overly complicated, but it's important that everything is configured properly at the outset. I would set up and configure the Powerline first with all the old hub/router and then "slave" that to the new Deco Mesh network. The reason for that is that we found that certain plugs received a better Internet signal than others, so it's important to do some basic trial and error tests. The Powerline units show you how good the incoming signal is, which helps a lot. I hope that answers your question.

[@asuwande]

@@MyHomeFarm This is exactly what I have been struggling with and will try to connect my units this way Thanks a lot again!!

[@hollypark2752]

why not a deco p9 instead?

[@MyHomeFarm]

That could be a great choice too.

[@Adventures-and-More]

Amazon eero is best and cheapest.

[@MyHomeFarm]

Fair enough. We still love our Deco M9 Plus.