While my router was getting 75Mbps, some parts of my three-story 2500 sq. ft. home had an unreliable signal. Originally I bought the TL-WPA7510 KIT (powerline + WiFi), but its WiFi signal was much worse than my DSL router's wifi. This was about the time the pandemic hit in China, and TP-Link support did not resolve the issue.
After all this, I was nervous about shelling out $230 for the Deco P9. From my experience with the TL-WPA7510, I saw the powerline connection was excellent, so I took the risk.
PRO
- Setup of the whole system took just a few minutes. It could hardly be easier.
- Right next to one of the Deco P9s not directly connected to the DSL router, my Internet download speed is about 40-50Mbps out of a possible 75Mbps. (I confirmed by comparing download speed a device wired directly to the router. Also, I tested three WiFi devices: a Lenovo Ideapad, an HP laptop, and a Samsung S7. ) While the WiFi is not saturating the Internet connection, it is a big improvement, and it is sufficient for our house. I do not know how other people are getting faster speeds.
- I get a decent signal even outside my house all the way to the sideway. This improves the connection for my outdoor cameras, and I can listen to streaming music while I mow the lawn.
- As I move through the house, my Android Samsung S7 phone switches access points within a few seconds, even though 802.11r roaming is disabled.
- Parental controls allowing setting bedtime hours per person, which is a group of devices, though it does not allow temporary “bonus” exceptions.
- Each Deco P9 has two Ethernet ports.
- It’s easy to set up a guest WiFi network. Guests do not have access to the private network. (I haven’t tried it yet.)
CON
- The price is $230---up from $200 just a few weeks ago. Only Amazon sells the Deco P9.
- Deco P9 does not have a web interface. You must use the mobile app. (Other Deco models have a web interface.)
- Deco P9 has no WPS button
- It's far from obvious on any given moment whether the Deco P9 is using WiFi or powerline for backhaul. The app should show a visual graph of the access points and all connected devices to show how they are connected.
- It is nice the app shows real-time bandwidth usage, but it updates too fast. For example, my Roku alternates rapidly alternates between idle and 20Mbps, and I would rather have a 30-second average. Also, it does not show the overall network usage.
- While the parental controls are appreciated, they are limited. For example, I cannot separate limits on school and education vs. entertainment. I can set devices to individual children, but three of my kids share some devices
- The Deco P9 is apparently not compatible with TP-Link’s older powerline adapter TL-WPA7510.
NOTE
- There are very few settings available for WiFi. It’s just the name and password. You cannot individually name or enable each band (2.4GHz, 5GHz). You cannot choose the channel or channel width. (The channel width is always wide.) This is nice and simple, and so far, it has worked well.
- Some have complained about the privacy policy. After digging into it, it seems reasonable. For example, it collects host names visited only as needed for parental controls and monitoring.
- All three Deco P9 units in the pack are completely interchangeable.
TO BE DETERMINED
- How long until TP-Link calls the Deco P9 end of life and stops issuing updates for firmware and the app?
| Wireless Type | 802.11n, 802.11b, 802.11a, 802.11g, 802.11ac |
|---|
