TP-Link - Deco BE11000

We have it, and it works well for us. 2 nodes upstairs one is downstairs, with our ont for Fiber. Haven't had issues. We have an older brick ranch house. I have no wired backhaul yet since I have other projects in the house before that. My spouse is wfh with a lot of meetings. We also stream, and I game on it. There are no issues, and we get our speeds. We got this upgrading from Asus ET8s.

I just swapped from TP-Link BE11000 to the Eero Max 7. Which Eero are you using? My entire network is ethernet backhauled. My trouble was compatibility outdoor Deco units and the BE11000 ethernet backhaul bugs. I had engineering tickets and night sessions with them via TeamViewer where they were reviewing the network for 4 months. I’ve probably given them 10-12 hours at least if my time. They acknowledged that the system had issues with stopping the wireless backhaul all the time and would cause jumps between wireless to wired if both were options. The most recent firmware was part of the betas that I was working with them on. Still had issues with clients being online in Deco without IPs, without MACs, or showing online and not being able to connect. Eero 7s just had a deal at Best Buy for buy 3 get 1 free for 1200. Worked flawlessly from setup and haven’t had to tweak the system at all. There’s still multiple bugs across Deco devices that I think they spread themselves too thin. Their backend architecture isn’t that strong. What’s the performance you’re seeing? iPhone 14 chips are missing 6GHz but otherwise should function pretty well on the Eero 6 and above. How do your channels look on the busyness and background noise? Ethernet are you getting full speed on the nodes?

I bought the BE11000 and XE70 pro to test side by side on a 2 gigabit plan. XE70 Wireless - 1000 mbps XE70 Wireless backhaul with 2.5gb ethernet connected to PC - 1200 mbps BE11000 Wireless - 1400 mbps BE11000 Wireless backhaul with 2.5gb ethernet connected to PC - 1700 mbps BE11000 Ethernet backhaul connected through main node and downstairs node - 2160 mbps Ended up sticking with BE11000 even though I only have 2 wifi 7 devices. The four 2.5gb ports are put to use on a multi gig plan If you only have a 1 gigabit plan then XE70 is plenty

Using be11000 since 3 months and it has been working really great. I have got around 80 clients connected to it and works good.

I bought it from Costco when it went on sale last time.

I have the same, have you tried just splitting the bands via the deco app?

I went with TP-Link BE11000. They rock, bar a single device that hates the 2.4/5ghz hybrid network which needs to die so I can replace it. Connection, coverage, speed all great (not on 2GB yet tho)

I got it about a month ago and it's working well. The only "issue" I ran into is my older Tesla connecting. As much as I want to get rid of the car, I instead setup the guest network with slightly different settings on just the 2.4 band and that seems to work fine.

The be 11000 are the latest with Wi-Fi 7. Looks like they have really good backhaul so even if you're not connecting the access points over wire, you'll still maintain good connection. I wouldn't worry too much about the gaming

It's not HomeKit-specific, but I use a TP-Link Deco BE11000 in AP mode and a Firewalla Gold SE as a router. No issues with my extensive HomeKit system and around 100 internet-connected devices.

Just upgraded my Netgear R4500 to a TP Link BE11000 Pro. Didn't realize my router was that old until I looked it up. Have never experienced any issues with my home network with the old router.

set this unit up today. first impression is that it had faster speeds than my orbi. it did drop a few devices even though I set up w same id and password. I would like to keep but it keeps dropping devices. any advise?

With the BE 11000 going on sale next week at Costco for $400, would it still be worth buying despite the firmware issues?

We do indeed have a 1 go plan. No wifi 7 devices at the moment. I am planning on getting a PS5 Pro, but I doubt I’ll actually be utilizing that band for online gaming. I’m guessing the extra 400 sq foot coverage the be11000 offers wouldn’t make much of a difference when it comes to range.

So I ended up picking it up Monday and I have to say I’m very impressed with everything so far. My fiancée offered to hardwire all the units together, so I’m guessing that will make things even better! We’ve got full coverage all over the house now with strong signal and speeds which is exactly what I was hoping for.

Yes absolutely it’s a great system and has great coverage and once the firmware issues are worked out it will get a ton better.

Update on the BE63 and BE65 and BE11000 new firmware release has rectified tons of issues and now they support selecting your own wifi channels which is something everyone has wanted from tp link for years I did the upgrade on my BE63 system and now it’s a ton more stable being able to select the wifi channels I prefer and not done automatically is a game changer

No. Use a better mesh system with wired backhaul. I have the deco BE11000 and get 1G+ over 5GHz almost anywhere in my home. One node is wired backhaul, the other wireless. Keep in mind that your client devices still need to be capable of connecting at higher speeds. Older devices will still likely max out around 500-600Mbps Using 2 different routers will cause confusion with your devices, and won’t improve your speeds. Now if you use one of them in AP mode, it will work as one system, but a mesh setup will give you better connectivity in most cases

I’m less familiar with Eero systems, but the BE11000 (and some other models) have 2.5Gb Ethernet connections on all ports, so even the wired backhaul is running at 2.5Gb My iPhone 16 PM has wifi7, but even connecting to just the 5Ghz band on the BE11000 I can get 1.1Gb speeds over my 1G internet. It would probably be even faster if I had faster internet. An iPhone 14 is going to max out around 600mbps The hardwired connection should be easy to diagnose. Have you already eliminated the cable as the cause? Have you tried connecting a different PC?

I was in a similar boat and I think it’s worth it if your client supports WiFi 7. You get all the benefits of 6e but better range. The biggest downside of 6e is you basically have to be in the same room as the router/AP. Going through 1 wall isn’t so bad but if it’s more than that then it’s a wash. I was due for an upgrade on my old 5ghz mesh system so I said fuck it and got the TP-Link BE11000. All my clients are still on 6e and below but I have an AP in all the major rooms. Right now I’m gaming on a steam deck oled and Nvidia shield and see very little to no latency.

I am at almost 100, with about 24 cameras I think now... I kept upgrading and it still had slow loading cameras. I ended up going with the $400 Deco at Costco ... Be11000. It's incredible. Everything just works, and works fast. I think the last time I rented any garbage from any cable or Internet company was about 20 years ago... Buy your own modem. 32x8 channels for sure, then you determine rest based on your speed requirements. I went with a more expensive Netgear docsis 3.1 to make sure it lasts for years.

I bought mine from Costco for $399 and installed it this Tuesday. I converted from a Netgear Wifi Mesh (4 nodes) system that went out of support. I have a large house and a lot of IOT. This system set up in minutes (seriously) and connected with my most remote and problematic devices (garage, boat dock switches/lights, tree cameras, etc). The interface is much better and I left all defaults in place. I dont have any Wifi7 devices but the speed in the key spots (office, Media Room, Living Room, Outdoors) is much better (I have 1gb ISP) and no drops that I have encountered. I constantly check on my Wyze, Ring, Hue, SmartLife, YoLink, & Hubspace, systems IOT connections. I use Alexa/IFFT and other shortcuts to manage all of this... Honestly with Costco's price/support, you cant go wrong trying it out. I dont know everything but I am pretty knowledgeable about IT/networks etc. I am getting great speeds using wireless backhaul (500gb+ wireless, 1gb wired) inside the house. I am on firmware 1.06 and this must be the "good" version based on other comments.

I recently bought a Deco mesh system from Costco that came with 3 nodes. I put the main node on my first floor connected to my router (in your case it would connect to the ONT and serve as the router, or you could keep using the router and put the mesh in AP mode, which I did). I put a wireless node in my basement and another on my second floor and I’m very happy with the setup.

I highly recommend the [TP-Link Wi-Fi 7 Tri-Band Mesh System](https://www.reddit.com/user/unwelcome_frown15/comments/1jxaza0/mesh_wifi_system_recommendations/). It offers blazing fast speeds, low latency, and rock-solid coverage, great for large homes or demanding smart setups. Future-proof too with Wi-Fi 7 support.

Eh whatever works. If you have an unfinished basement you can run it through there easily. Anyhow, back to your question: assuming you’re not super technically inclined and don’t want to drop a ton of cash, the tp link deco WiFi 7 system (BE) should serve you well for a long time. You probably only need two nodes but you’ll want them both to be wired - so wire the further node back to the node that plugs into your ONT. That way they’ll give identical performance without having to worry about whether they can communicate over WiFi (which would dock performance anyhow). If you’re technically minded and want to spend way more, ubiquiti

Tp-links newest WiFi 7 router is sick for the price.

I got a Wifi 7 capable tp-link and have really liked it. not very expensive. Wish the Vision Pro supported wifi 6ghz for a faster connection back to my Mac but that's a different problem altogether.

for that amount of money you get 2 tp-link mesh wifi 7, that's better than 1, besides netgear is too overkill for ordinary users

Stay far away from routers with fans, I returned a tp-link wifi 7 router over this exact issue. Sfp port was so hot it was unreal. Try to cool your place in summer with air conditioning, you don't want some fan blowing heat. Also moving parts is a bad idea for longevity. Also when I ran latency tests I was loosing O.4 to 0.8ms over fiber with the tp-link, my old router from 10 years ago never added that much latency, just to give you an idea of how bad fans are. This is not enterprise, cisco is enterprise and they use heatsinks not fans. If you want a decent router for home, Netgear rs700 uses heatsinks and has 1500 more sq ft of range than this thing, yep not 2000sq feet, but 3500sq feet, should get good reception in your backyard this summer. If you want enterprise you'll have to go cisco.

They are incredible and simple. I’ve had a setup with the WiFi 6e ones, and now have one with WiFi 7 ones. Literally stellar performance. Do you have first hand experience?

In similar situation: put in a TP Link Deco mesh. Omada is overkill.

TP Link Deco definitely requires an app and an account and although there is a web interface, it can't do much. Nice gear, but not acceptable under your policy. Netgear Orbi may have required me to install an app and get an account to get it setup (I didn't try to get around it.) But the web interface is full fat and I've never opened the app since installing.

No. Nest sucks. Deco or Eero if you want mesh.

TP-Link Deco work quite well, I've installed plenty of them. Even with wireless backhaul they cope well.

I used the deco mesh system in the end. Honestly I really like it, I have only had a few minor hiccups but the control I have is great and it was easy to set up. It also helped I got them $100 off

Even the mid range TP-Link mesh stuff goes well for your average home user with a couple of 4k TV's and a console plus phones and kids.

The wireless backhaul is nothing to sniff at on the better domestic mesh systems. I've got a higher end orbi system, and move an absolute boatload of data around, with more than 50 attached devices on the network, and it holds up very, very well. Your average home user will be well served by a Deco mesh.

I use a deco. I had disconnection problems when I was using the fast band and I saw someone recommended that Google home prioritize consistency over speed and that I should switch over to 2.4hz. I did that and my Google home has never had a disconnect since.

I use tsLink Deco mesh network for my house. Nice app to control it. Easy setup

I’ve got a Deco. Didn’t want either Amazon or Google monitoring my WiFi.

TPlink Deco/some other mesh network system where you can just buy 2-3 of them and hardwire them all together. Should give you plenty of speed and coverage

With what looks like a large tree in between your house & guest house, I would think hard wiring that section would be best. We got a TP Link Deco mesh system back when we got our SL (Oct 2021) and have 4 mesh nodes (the first acts as the router) around our property, covering a few acres in good wifi. Originally, we had one at our house trying to wirelessly connect to another node at our guest house about 230' away (same as your 70m) but there were trees in the way, so once we laid in ground cable between those 2 nodes, we were able to then extend beyond to our shop & our gate.

If you want better configuration dont go Deco its locked down by the software app to run some services and tweak. Get one of the Onemesh or Easy mesh routers like the AXE5400. Will also add the deco's are fantastic access points but using them as a primary gateway not the smartest for the more experienced user that likes the standard routing options available to setup etc.

I have tp link Delco each has ethernet back haul works great.

\+1 for deco, I have 3 of them at home (one on each floor) and it works great!

\+1 for deco, I have 3 of them at home (one on each floor) and it works great!

Don’t bother with TP Link Deco either, ok router but not great Parental Controls.

I’m a big fan of the TP-Link Deco mesh stuff. The “will they be banned” stuff won’t affect firmware updates. You can always get them online; you just wouldn’t be able to buy them new again.

Asus AiMesh - Yea TP-Link Deco - Yes TP-Link Easy Mesh - Not sure

I bought a router and 3 extra points of the 2nd generation Nest Wifi. I had wifi issues all the time. A device would be connected to a point but have no internet. You can find forum posts of people complaining about this very same issue without any resolution from Google. I switched to Deco and have had 0 issues.

Deco works really well with extending range. Actually better than a range extender, as Mesh systems are designed from the ground up to work with each other in the system. I had a Ge800 tied to a be550 and a WiFi 7 range extender. Super good stuff right? But it's half ass "patched up" jerky jerky mesh was no match to a Deco. Deco was snappier, more reliable, and longer range.

Can confirm. Have Deco. Am miserable.

Tp link deco. Just a no fuss system. Plug in, download the app, set ssid and don't worry about it anymore for years. Mine has been stable and working for years. There are better systems out there for sure, but at the price point, it's good value

I recently bought a Netgear WiFi 6 router from Costco. Used it for like a week, and returned it for a TP-Link Deco solution. Deco isn’t perfect either, but that Nighthawk was a true piece of garbage. I know this is a newer model, and I don’t want to compare apples and oranges. But I would not buy another Netgear device.

I am pretty happy with my Deco system. All these systems are typically discounted on prime day if you have surrendered your soul to Darth Bezos and if you can wait until then. I know the standard advice on this sub is to do hardwired APs. But without enterprise grade system with controller, devices (I am looking at you fruit-phone) tend to cling to APs. I think the mesh systems are somewhat better at making the devices hop since the stations can “talk” to each other. Read about 802.11 k/v/r if interested. Also, most mesh systems offer wired backhaul that will always make things better.

Don't they are an Archer You want a Deco Mesh System EasyMesh, OneMesh and Deco Mesh are not compatible with each other [https://www.tp-link.com/au/home-networking/deco/](https://www.tp-link.com/au/home-networking/deco/) Choose carefully and use 'Ethernet Backhaul' where you can to improve communication between Deco's I have 4 Deco's for a large apartment and I have strong signal everywhere. You may need more Deco's but start with 4 Also take note you do not need to buy Wi-Fi7 right now. Most of your devices can't use it fully, and, they may be more unstable using BE & MLO I would suggest Wi-Fi 6E tbh, cheaper and much more reliable (without upgrading every single piece of technology in your house)

TP link deco can’t fault it. Super easy, simple and user friendly app

Don't do this if you have a home network and semi-regular internet outages. I just discovered that Decos and TP-Link's gaming routers require a modem connection to route traffic for physically connected devices. This is probably no big deal for a lot of folks, but for those of us with a NAS, or PCs that require a physical connection, it's obnoxious. The Deco unit ports are WAN/LAN ports, and they default to WAN until a modem is detected (same for their gaming routers). During an internet outage, most modern modems go into a reboot cycle, and every time they do a full power cycle, the Deco no longer detects them, and flips all of its ports back to WAN. This results in your physically connected devices getting disconnected from your network every 15 minutes or so while the modem reboots, effectively rendering your home network useless.

the best solution will be having ethernet cable and attaching an ap at the end. or use existing coax with moca adapter. next best is to get a wifi mesh eg tplink deco get 2 or 3 and position them accordingly around the house.

best solution is to use ethernet cable, or coax with moca adapters and backhaul the AP. next best is wifi mesh.. eg tplink deco

I second that recommendation to get a mesh system. Also make sure the mesh system is capable of “WPA3 security”. I am using a TP-link Deco system, with 3 units. I have a 2 story 2100 sq ft home and this system covers all areas well.

I'm using TP Link Deco's. Wish I'd gone for UniFi (which I've just installed at work - my word it's good)

Honestly I like TP-Link stuff, Decos

I second the Deco, good software with it too.

Ditto for TP-Link Deco. I forget which specific ones I have, but they’re easy to set up, and the app works well for device management.

I’ve had good luck with TP-Link Deco. I have a combined 5ghz and 2.4ghz main network, but I also have a separate IoT network that is 2.4ghz only. It’s worked well for a SwitchBot Hub Mini and a Lifx bulb. Another thing to consider is not using WiFi devices. Devices that use Thread or their own hubs are going to be more reliable. Zigbee devices are rock solid.

Another vote for Deco! I have a set of three that worked really well in a two story rental house and a two story townhome. They’re a little weaker now that we’re in a 2300sqft SFH, but I just may need to adjust placement or add another unit.

I was using decos until last week. Never been happy with them, random disconnects, rubbish app that won't let you change settings 9 times out of 10. Stuck with it since lockdown. Finally got fed up last week, ran some cat 5 cable from my router to an old router set up as an extender, more cat 5 from that to the next old router and now I have 4 daisy chained around the house and workshop. Rock solid wifi everywhere, and as a bonus, plenty of ethernet ports everywhere for pc's and tvs

TP Link Deco mesh system; set up a network just for guests and all our smart home stuff is on a private network.

I have this one too. If you can’t do a wired/coax backhaul between the nodes and have an older or brick house, I can’t recommend. The wireless bridge between access points is pretty horrible even like 20-30 ft from each other in my house. It works well once I added an outdoor Deco unit and ran coax extenders too, but it has way less 2.4 GHz range than our Verizon G3100 did.

Yeah, so... without going the "masquerade" route with a WAS-110, etc.. You'll have to put their ONT into pass through mode (the minute you do, they lose "visibility"), and I'd recommend tp-link, either Deco route, or if you want more control, Omada managed switch with AP's. I did this with a ER707 managed switch, but if you want single-system simplicity, Deco is hard to beat

Deco is good. It has prioritization of certain clients traffic.

Seriously, set it up at my parents too a couple of years ago. So easy to use and good price point and the security concerns are actually wildly overblown I find.

I’ll second the Deco system. I have the installed at my parents and in-laws houses. My mom actually installed it herself with no problem. If you’re not familiar with networking it’s great system. OP, if you want to use the Ethernet to connect them (I’d recommend if possible) you may need a small network switch as they usually only have two-ports on each node.

I like my TPLink Deco. Many features Ubiquity has at a cheaper price (VPN, mesh affinity, separate networks for guests and IOT, etc). Plus, it has cheap outdoor mesh nodes.

What I don't understand is where do I even find cheap access points with wifi 6? Technically it would be cheaper to get an Router + 2 APs but most I can't even find consumer APs for cheap where I live so I had to go with a TP-Link deco mesh system on a wired backhaul.

TP-Link Déco is cheap and simple to install. Other brands got more features, I don't need.

Lmao, I knew the minute I saw this that it was going to be someone with a tp-link deco. Same headaches here. I just manually restart them occasionally. One day I’ll switch to a different brand, just waiting on WiFi 7.

Another vote for deco, just works.

After 6 years with Google Nest Wifi, I just switched to TP Link Deco. It’s been flawless and just posted about how to reuse old points as speakers only. They are not top 5 on any list, maybe even top 10.

After 6 years with Google Nest Wifi, I just switched to TP Link Deco. It’s been flawless and just posted about how to reuse old points as speakers only. They are not top 5 on any list, maybe even top 10.

Yes I do - I have a very overkill setup at home which I won’t go into details haha. But generally, I think a TP Link Deco or similar mesh system would be fine - the important thing is to cable the mesh devices instead of using wireless mesh for max stability and speed. Well worth the hundred dollars or so paying a contractor to do the network cabling (and trunking) in your flat if you don’t already have the cables pre-laid.

I just got the same setup, it’s a big improvement in coverage over the Google mesh I had before. I bought the 3rd node separately in case I decided I didn’t need it, but it works better outdoors with it so I kept it. 

We got a Deco two years ago and it's amazing. That said we still use our AirPort Express to play music to our stereo system from our music program and it works great for that.

I actually went from Deco to eero because the deco wouldn’t play nice with my existing whole house tplink gigabit switch for the wired backhaul. Even though it was the same manufacturer. I tried forever, but finally I gave up and have now have 6 eero 6+s working great with better coverage at like half the cost. 3 packs were $199

I actually went from Deco to eero because the deco wouldn’t play nice with my existing whole house tplink gigabit switch for the wired backhaul. Even though it was the same manufacturer. I tried forever, but finally I gave up and have now have 6 eero 6+s working great with better coverage at like half the cost. 3 packs were $199

Went from a Timecapsule to two Decos in a mesh and its been great.

I spent $150 on a TP link deco and it works well. No complaints. I’m not a high power user so you might not like their network management features as much.

Same. Plus all Decos are compatible with all other Decos, which makes upgrades easy.

Deco's are great and have everything you need. Make a separate guest network so they can't hamper things and a regular one for the IoT you have.

I have a 2 pack TP Link Deco mesh system and it works great for me.

Direct cable connection is always best option. Another option would be virgin in modem mode and then something like tp link deco with multiple ap’s. Are you able to drill a small hole through wall? Ethernet cables can be relatively cheap and with pass through connectors. You can run your own custom length through a hole just big enough for the cable then put rj45 connector on. Direct cable

Tp-Link all he way. Either Deco (if you want ease of installation) or Omada (if you want configurability). You can run the Omada Controller locally as a HA Add-On and also there is an Omada Integration giving you control over all your Omada gear, including control over PoE management on switches.

Deco are cheap but they moved a lot of stuff behind a paywall on the newer models. I just sent mine back and swapped it for an ASUS RT-AX58U V2 and been much happier with it. This router seems to cover the same as three mesh units did. Has a lot of features too. One I really like is IFTTT integration, so I can put the kids on a guest network and setup scheduling to turn off at bedtime. Something the decos could never do properly

I'd go mesh, if you have a cable already running to the back use that as wired back haul. I've been happy with my decos

Take the Spectrum modem, get a TP-Link Deco Mesh system (don't listen to the nonsense about them being banned in the US). My house is about 2500 sq ft, I have over 60 devices connected to it, and have ZERO issues.

I'm in the middle of upgrading my APs from 802.11ac to 802.11ax. It's a bit of a waste since ac speeds were fine. I have been experimenting with PCVR streaming lately though, and I also recently got upgraded to symmetric gigabit internet. I've purchased 3 TP-Link Deco units on eBay so far and they're boring in a good way.

Try TPlink deco routers they work tremendously

I use deco and it’s solid

I would avoid Eero unless you only need basic stuff. Also if you have smart home stuff, don’t use Eero’s thread radio because it doesn’t play nice with Apple TVs or HomePods thread with Nanoleaf products. Also Eero doesn’t work good if you have or are considering 5G Home Internet now or in the future. Apple still sells Linksys in their stores despite no really having a future with HomeKit routers. I personally use TP-Link Decos and they work good with Apple HomeKit and also all Apple products. It comes down to personal brand preference but most everything modern works fine.

I use deco setup just like Liam mentioned here, I bring the Ethernet cable from modem to the first deco node and then another Ethernet cable from first node in office goes to a switch in the second floor through in wall lan outlet and all the other rooms Ethernet cables come to the panel box in second room which are plugged into the above mentioned switch. Doing so all my three nodes are on wired backhaul. Never had latency issues.

What kind of walls? I helped a friend recently and their old home had concrete walls, Google did the best of the three Mesh systems I tested, Deco next, I ended up adding more points for better line of sight, but got her up to 400MBPS where she couldn't hit 50 before. I have a much smaller home, 3000SQFT and my Deco Mesh works great, but I have it backhauled with just the main router and one other MESH point. Used Nighthawk router with 2 AP's before, my current setup increased my speeds everywhere and eliminated those outside dead zones where I have cameras. Good luck.

It is a useful distinction, though, because consumer 'mesh' systems differ from conventional APs in two ways: 1. Mesh systems are intended to be a wireless only solution first where the end user won't typically have the infrastructure to hardwire them. It's great that a wired backhaul option is included, of course, but this isn't who they built the system for. 2. Their method of management and featureset are aimed at consumers rather than prosumers and SMB. Take two solutions from the same company: TP-Link Deco and TP-Link Omada. Deco is intended to be comprehensive and turnkey - you only need this one product and you're done. It has all of the features that consumers are likely to use, but it's also missing features that the most basic of access points should include, primarily multiple SSID and VLAN (802.1Q) support. For prosumers, this is immediately a disqualification, but most consumers don't have a clue what a VLAN is. I still recommend the Deco system depending on who the end user is. Compare this to Omada which is clearly a prosumer and SMB solution. It has all of the features one would expect, 802.1X, VLANs, multiple SSIDs, etc. It's also done from a single pane of glass, but via the Omada controller rather than directly. It's also usually more expensive. A feature often included in these higher end systems is a wireless backhaul which can be helpful in situations where getting infra in is challenging, but this is the opposite of the mesh in that wired infra is the default and to be expected. I don't like the marketing term mesh because it doesn't really reflect the value add of the solution. What's really common is someone will buy this for their tiny house thinking 3 radios will help their WiFi issues, when actually it's just made it so much worse, all without pushing that wired IS the best option rather than relying on wireless. What's great about these solutions is the robust wireless backhaul (not going to deny this) to use in situations where wired infra isn't present, a common reality in housing, and the user-friendly setup and administration of the solution.

Id check out the decos then unifi, unifi is pricer but nicer, my parents used decos forever without issue. If you just want some basic QOS/port forwarding you'll be good to go.

I have a Tp Link Deco mesh system and it works very well with my homekit setup.

Any router will work. That's one aspect of Specturm's setup that I really like. Depending on your space, you can either get a single router or a mesh system. I have two houses, have Orbi at one and Tp-link at the other. I had Asus for a while. I personally found the TP Link DECO setup easiest and the performance has been fantastic. Can get it cheap at Costco too.

Any router will work. That's one aspect of Specturm's setup that I really like. Depending on your space, you can either get a single router or a mesh system. I have two houses, have Orbi at one and Tp-link at the other. I had Asus for a while. I personally found the TP Link DECO setup easiest and the performance has been fantastic. Can get it cheap at Costco too.

Tp-link deco. It provided a great mesh network and you’ll have maxed out wifi everywhere in the house.

I have good luck using my deco home mesh, go through Walmart and you'll most of the time find it on sale for less than $100. I picked up my 2 pack for around $80

You're probably better off looking for a WiFi mesh solution that can daisy chain between each other. A cheap kit that'll do the job would be one of the TP link Deco mesh kits.

I use Deco work which is fairly lightweight traffic and eero at home with massive traffic. I haven't maxed out the eeros but haven't put the Decos to that same test. The eeros come back online and reconnect to everything much faster than the Decos. I like eero app way better.

Yeah, extenders don't work in big houses. For 3500 sq ft, get a mesh system like TP-Link Deco or ASUS ZenWiFi.Covers everything, no dead zones, no 5G or 2.4GHz.

Same here. The only downside is that it doesn’t automatically switch channels to avoid interference so every other day I have to tell it to “optimize” the WiFi for it to run at best speeds via the app.

Depends on construction materials but assuming wood and drywall your issue won’t be area per floor it’s getting the signal between floors. Wired data to Wi-Fi per floor is best but if that’s not available a tp-link deco mesh system on floors 1-3 ought to do you may need a 4th node on the fourth floor it’s just hard to say. It’s relatively inexpensive and easy to set up. TP Link is getting a lot of news right now so you’ll see some opinions on it. All I can tell you is that if you’re looking for ease of set up and solid operation at a good price its a good fit.

TP link deco is a really good one especially if you want a mesh setup.

I just for the TP link deco and highly recommend