TP-Link Deco Mesh WiFi System(Deco M5) –Up to 5,500 sq. ft. Whole Home Coverage and 100+ Devices,WiFi Router/Extender Replacement, Anitivirus, 3-pack

I read all the reviews before I bought, talked to a family friend who is an electrical engineer, talked with a friend who deals with computer systems for companies, and then just took a gamble!Installation was super simple. We just built a new house. With basement, it’s about 4,500 sq ft. Our modem is in the back corner of the house, in the basement. Even though we up’d our Xfinity signal to 1,000 Mbs, the signal in our house was pretty sad. Because of COVID, we have 2 kids virtual learning, me virtually teaching with 3 computers, and my wife doing secure law office work downstairs. We also have an extensive Ring camera system working around and through the house. On top of that, we have OneLink Safe & Sound devices on on all 3 floors! There’s a lot of stuff going on here. The first test I did I was standing a room away by the front door, which is around a corner from the unit. The signal speeds were off the charts! Then I went to the garage and driveway(pic1&2), amazing! I re-set up the ring camera out there to the TP mesh system and did a speed test through the Ring app. Much different numbers, but the signal was the highest it’s ever been without an extender in the garage (pic3)! Next, out of curiosity, I went to the sidewalk out front, check out the signal through TP app (pic4&5)! I then redid the camera on the side of the house by back porch (pic6&7). I took both Ring and TP readings - they differed, but that Ring test was the highest I had ever gotten! So, out of curiosity, I went into the backyard by the property line. See the numbers (pic8&9)! I then got on the ladder and redid the center camera. The Ring numbers were off the chart (pic10)! In our house the farthest point was my daughters bedroom. We called it the dead zone. Tonight’s reading seemed unreal, so I tested the speeds with Xfinity’s app. The 3rd numbers down was the speed test before I installed the mesh system. Look at the numbers now. I did it twice just to see if it was a fluke? She’s never had numbers that high, EVER (pic11)!! Lastly, I tested our master bedroom (pics 12&13), used both apps. Once again, amazing numbers! Placing the devices...I ignored the apps suggestions. I ran a hardwire from the back basement room up through a small hole in the first floor where the refrigerator has its water pipe coming up. I placed it on the wall to create a wide range of signal to be able to spread itself out (pic14). I then placed the second one on the 2nd floor in the middle of the hallway (the only outlets we have up there are near the floor (pic15). Signal works great! The 3rd one I placed in our unfinished basement. We do have some outlets higher up on the wall, so I placed it in the middle of the room (pic16&17) to get maximum WiFi coverage without anything blocking the signal. Now, it should also be noted, if you’re still reading this, that we live 10 minutes from the airport and planes fly over our house all the time. It messes with the signal of our WiFi, but not anymore! I swear this system covers every inch of our house with great speeds and extremely strong signal strength. The negative reviews that I read, I really don’t understand what happened in their houses. We used to have the Xfinity pods and they struggled at best and still gave us crappy numbers. This system is worth the money and does what it says! And no, I do not work for TP Link. Honestly, it’s a great system. Is it better than all the others out there? No clue, but it does work like they say it does. And, on mine, the update worked just fine. No issues. For the price and quality of product, I am feeling pretty lucky right now!

We have an Airstream in the backyard used as a guest space, and our wifi signal was terrible. We have a combination AT&T gateway/router. The router signal strength has always been terrible even inside the house, and we have used a Netgear extender for years to get signal to the back of the house. I didn't want to spend $$$ and time running ethernet and setting up any kind of outdoor system, so decided to try a mesh network. I liked the look and price of the 3-pack Deco M5 system. I thought if I could increase the signal strength and use more than one extender, maybe I could get wifi out in the camper.The gateway comes in through a converted garage apartment, so there is an exterior wall separating the rest of the house. Setup was super easy via smart phone app, no hiccups whatsoever. I turned off the wifi feature on the gateway so the main Deco would act as the router, which is hooked up by ethernet cable to the gateway. I placed the second node where our old extender used to be in the main house, about 50 feet away from the router. The signal is 2 out of 3 bars (good) and STEADY. The extender was never steady. It is near a window with hopes of casting the signal to the third node, which I placed in the Airstream - but this one is 90 feet away!I placed the third node in the Airstream, and it has a signal of 2 out of 3 bars (good) and is also STEADY, source of signal being the second node. AMAZING! According to the app the download speeds match my internet service (100). We now have steady, uninterrupted wifi in the Airstream. Streaming is without any hiccups whatsoever. I am so impressed, considering the nodes are 50 and 90 feet apart.Some stuff I learned - there is definitely a "sweet spot" to place the nodes in order to get the strongest signal and correct signal source. When the second node is moved just a foot away, the signal drops to 1 bar. Placement is everything, so play around until you get the best signal. Our sweet spot in the Airstream is a ceiling mount under an overhead build-out. However, when my husband mounted it, he moved it about a foot south and (what he thought) was closer to the signal source (2nd node). It then picked up the signal for the main router Deco, which was only 1 bar and weaker, being further away. When moved back, it picked up the 2nd node signal with the stronger signal again and all is well.The app is fine for our purposes and simple home network. You can turn off the LEDs all the time or just at night. You can prioritize bandwidth - we set ours to streaming. We set up a guest network. You can use parental controls and antivirus. Our devices seamlessly jump from one node to the next, all on the same network. No hiccups, no failures. Recovers and resumes from power loss. Once you find the sweet spots for your nodes all is well, no problems. Just had to brag, and I still can't believe I'm getting steady, reliable wifi at 50 and 90 feet and didn't have to run cable all over the place or buy outdoor equipment. Winner!!!