Review on TP-Link Deco Mesh WiFi System (Deco M5) – 5500 sq. ft. Whole Home Coverage, Supports 100+ Devices, WiFi Router/Extender Replacement, Antivirus, 3-pack by Daniel Russell

It's been a month now and we are very happy with this router. We've seen performance that's as advertised in the specs. We bought 3 packs which was more than we needed for our 2 story townhouse but the selling price was cheaper than buying 2 packs. We currently only use two which gives our house full high speed coverage. Streaming video to multiple locations at the same time proved to be no problem. There are a few corners in a few rooms where buffering happened with our old router, which is no longer an issue. It also gave us an extended deck and patio cover, over 50 feet from the house. Outdoor speed tests show a noticeable improvement, the range is greatly increased. The router itself is shaped like a 4.5-inch hard drive and is white. We have a second unit that sits on the mantel in our bedroom and blends in easily. It can also be easily covered. There is a single green LED on top of the device, but the app offers a night mode to turn the light off at night when not needed, or you can turn it off all the time. All three disks are the same size. The one you chose to connect to the modem becomes the "primary". When comparing this brand to others, take a closer look at the specs. It's not the fastest mesh network available, but it's fast enough to rival our service (300 Mbps). We have multiple IoT devices (Hue bulbs, Wemo switches, 3 Echos, HomePod) as well as phones, tablets, computers, printers, TV/video streaming, security system and CCTV. Setup was very easy and I am happy with the app. If you have children, extensive parental controls are available to you, including limiting the time you can access the Internet when access is available, blocking types of websites or specific websites (wish I had these options when my kids were teenagers) . There is no web setting for the router(s) so you will need some sort of mobile device (I was using iOS so I can only speak to that version of the app). The application also provides settings for IPv6, address reservation, port forwarding, DDNS and VLAN. The only other downside I see is that there are only two network ports on each drive. One on the "primary" drive is used to connect to your modem. So if you need more than one wired device with your router, you need a switch. So far I feel the Deco system offers a great combination of price and performance as we have it on sale for less than $170. As of August 2018, there are several highly regarded mesh networking options on the market. It meets our performance needs and expectations at an affordable price. I recommend getting to know your needs and choosing a system that prioritizes them.