Deco M4 mesh wifi system

[stbkk]

Hi everybody,

 

I have a 3bb fibre connection to my 4 story town house, and my 2 kids do not get very good wifi connections from the supplied router. They are both in separate rooms, one 1 floor below my office (where the router is), and the other 2 floors below.

 

While I was in Fortune Town last week a guy was trying to sell me a Deco M4 mesh wifi system, which he said would solve the problem (of course!).

 

I've done some research and it seems these things work ok, but I've never heard about them before. All the local feedback and reviews I've found are in Thai, which I don't read.

 

Does anybody have any first hand experience, comments or advice?

 

I'm computer literate, but all software development related and not networking, so please be gentle!

 

Thanks,

 

Steve

[Moncul]

It's going to depend on the size of your accommodation, walls in the way, etc.

For Mesh I'd always recommend Netgear Orbi anyway.

 

Personally I wouldn't touch TP-Link anything with the proverbial <deleted>ty stick.

https://www.cnet.com/news/best-mesh-wi-fi-routers-of-2021-asus-eero-netgear-orbi-google-nest-wifi-and-more/

 

[recom273]

I have a M9 plus, 3 units - if you just want an easy solution, then it’s great.

 

I don’t see what the other poster has against it, I see tp-link and netgear in the same bracket, tp-link make enterprise switches but I appreciate they were a better company in the past.

 

The issues I had was, it only offered a limited number of fixed ip addresses, and I had issues using a Pi-hole and they have dual band but they only advertise a single SSID, this caused me a few moments trying to link smart home devices to the network, but no real gripes. The setup and maintenance is through a cloud based web app, 

 

Yes, depending on your house, a mesh system will more than likely help you out.
 

I found the web config a little too restrictive and moved to a UniFi router and switch. I still use the deco WiFi system in AP mode, but will change to hard wired UniFi POE access points when I build a house. I can’t fault the WiFi network, i haven’t noticed an issue in all the time I  have used it.

 

I think the deco system is ideal for people who don’t want to drill holes and run cables - it has two bands, 5 and 2.4Ghz and a backhaul channel that links the access points in series.

 

You might want to look around, there are cheaper systems like tenda - which may suit if the only thing you do is plug it in and never look at the config page, there are more expensive like the orbi, which are better respected with regard to security, or you could take a look at a UniFi system - which is more of a customizable system. 
 

Edit- I just checked the M4 prices, they are amazingly cheap, I think the M4 is quite old now, the seller was probably trying to offload old stock or products with a higher profit. It maybe worth looking around at other models or brands than the M4.

 

 

[stbkk]

Thanks for the replies gents, I am certainly a bit more knowledgeable now.

 

I'm only interested in getting decent wifi coverage in the house for the kids, so the more advanced restrictions that are mentioned above shouldn't be an issue for me.

 

If I can ask you one more thing though please? What sort of house/distances are the M9 units covering? I have the router in my office, and son 1's room is approx 10m from that, down 1 floor/2 walls away. Son 2's room is about another 10m from that, again down 1 floor/2 walls away. The distances I imagine are not an issue, but will the concrete floors and walls have a significant impact do you think? I would anticipate putting 1 unit in my office close to the router, and 1 unit in each of the kids rooms.

 

I'll also have a check around for some other models and brands as well, bearing in mind what you said about the age of the M4. Although as I am only interested in the wifi coverage, it probably won't be a big thing for me, as I'm not going to be using any more modern/advanced features.

 

Thanks again to both of you for your help.

 

Steve

[recom273]

2 hours ago, stbkk said:

Thanks for the replies gents, I am certainly a bit more knowledgeable now.

 

I'm only interested in getting decent wifi coverage in the house for the kids, so the more advanced restrictions that are mentioned above shouldn't be an issue for me.

 

If I can ask you one more thing though please? What sort of house/distances are the M9 units covering? I have the router in my office, and son 1's room is approx 10m from that, down 1 floor/2 walls away. Son 2's room is about another 10m from that, again down 1 floor/2 walls away. The distances I imagine are not an issue, but will the concrete floors and walls have a significant impact do you think? I would anticipate putting 1 unit in my office close to the router, and 1 unit in each of the kids rooms.

 

I'll also have a check around for some other models and brands as well, bearing in mind what you said about the age of the M4. Although as I am only interested in the wifi coverage, it probably won't be a big thing for me, as I'm not going to be using any more modern/advanced features.

 

Thanks again to both of you for your help.

 

Steve

 

Have you been around with a WiFi analyzer. There is a really good one for android, I’m  not too sure of the name.

I think it’s difficult to advise you of how many access points you need, but the app should get a rough idea to how much drop off is happening between the two sons bedrooms. You might get away with 2x unless you have a living area below. I only use 2x to cover 2 floors 160m2, but without one on the ground floor we always suffered with a WiFi blackhole in the kitchen.

[jackdd]

Are you using the 2.4 or 5Ghz wifi?

[stbkk]

On 2/22/2021 at 4:52 PM, jackdd said:

Are you using the 2.4 or 5Ghz wifi?

 

2.4Ghz.

 

Does it make a significant difference?

[jackdd]

11 minutes ago, stbkk said:

 

2.4Ghz.

 

Does it make a significant difference?

5Ghz only works well in close proximity (same room). So if you would have used 5Ghz it might have helped to change to 2.4Ghz.

But since you are already using 2.4Ghz, this is obviously not the reason.

 

The cheapest option is a repeater/access point like this: https://www.lazada.co.th/products/tp-link-tl-wa850re-wi-fi-repeater-300mbps-universal-wi-fi-range-extender-network-i1499264284-s3955592308.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.5.7f577330yCeSn4&search=1

If you are lucky you just plug it into the other room, and due to this device having a stronger signal than a phone, it might just work. If it doesn't work well enough, you connect it with an ethernet cable to your router, then it will work.

[Moncul]

On 2/22/2021 at 10:39 AM, recom273 said:

 

Have you been around with a WiFi analyzer. There is a really good one for android, I’m  not too sure of the name.

I think it’s difficult to advise you of how many access points you need, but the app should get a rough idea to how much drop off is happening between the two sons bedrooms. You might get away with 2x unless you have a living area below. I only use 2x to cover 2 floors 160m2, but without one on the ground floor we always suffered with a WiFi blackhole in the kitchen.

 

Wifi Overview 360 is pretty good. And very useful to seeing if your neighbours wifi is bleeding over your own.

[stbkk]

Hi all,

You might be interested to hear what I finally did, and why, so here goes!

I went around the house with a wifi analyzer on my phone as suggested, which basically confirmed what I guessed anyway, in that the signal 2 floors below was much weaker, no matter where on that floor I went. This is where my youngest son has his machine setup, and has found the wifi to be so slow and unreliable (frequent drop outs) that he uses his mobile phone hot spot most of the time.

I also did more research on line for other brands/options after all of your feedback, including reading some reviews of the Deco M4 system (which were mostly very favorable).

I then did some more checking around Fortune town, and found that while there were one or two alternatives available, they were all quite a bit more expensive, so were probably higher spec than I thought I would need. The various reviews I had read all said that the Deco system worked fine in a similar size house to mine, and I really only need it to cover 2 floors down anyway, so its not even full coverage for the whole house.

I also asked my kids to check with their friends to see if any of them used something similar. The only feedback was that a couple of friends were using wifi extenders, and the results were not really very good, even in smaller areas than I needed to cover.

Finally I bit the bullet and bought a Deco m4 3 unit system for 3750 Baht (at a different shop in Fortune, where I had had good service previously for a couple of other purchases).

It was really easy to install and configure, and worked first time. I have one unit near the door of my office, about 5m from the main router, connected via ethernet, another unit about 7m away down one floor (with 2 walls between them), connected via wifi, and the third unit about another 7m down (with one wall between it) from the second one, also connected via wifi. This 3rd unit is about another 7m away from the 'target' machine, on the same floor with no walls in the way.

The oldest son (1 floor down from the router, sat right next to unit 2) who was getting good response from the main wifi anyway tried it and said it was just as fast as the main router. This was also confirmed by some speed tests he did on his machine. So he now has 2 options to use.

2 floors down the signal is much stronger than the main wifi, and the younger son's subjective view is that it is noticibly faster than the main wifi and his mobile hotspot, and he has not had a single drop out since he has been using it (about a week).

I have also wandered around the house generally connected to it on my phone, and it does seem to be faster and roaming is seamless between all floors as advertised.

So in the short term all seems to be well. A successful fix for the problem, relatively cheaply. Only time will tell about the longer term reliability of the units of course.

Hope this has been of interest.

Thanks to you all once again for your input and help!

Steve.

 

 

[mtls2005]

On 2/22/2021 at 11:47 AM, stbkk said:

I'm only interested in getting decent wifi coverage in the house for the kids,

 

In this case my first option would be a secondary router on the same floor as your kids rooms, down-linked from the ISP router in your office. Fishing the cable is the trickiest part. Even the most inexpensive budget routers support 2.4 and 5 GHz, just make sure the devices do as some just support 2.4.

 

You can watch reviews of these mesh set-ups on Youtube. Seem generally positive but do remember that many western home constrution techniques are more conducive to WiFi than those used here. Your're still pushing radio waves through concrete, and still subject to local interference.

 

What kind of speeds are your sons getting?

 

Which ISP? What router model?

 

Can you test at the router with a wired connection to see if your service is properly provisioned?

 

 

 

 

[stbkk]

7 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

 

In this case my first option would be a secondary router on the same floor as your kids rooms, down-linked from the ISP router in your office. Fishing the cable is the trickiest part. Even the most inexpensive budget routers support 2.4 and 5 GHz, just make sure the devices do as some just support 2.4.

 

You can watch reviews of these mesh set-ups on Youtube. Seem generally positive but do remember that many western home constrution techniques are more conducive to WiFi than those used here. Your're still pushing radio waves through concrete, and still subject to local interference.

 

What kind of speeds are your sons getting?

 

Which ISP? What router model?

 

Can you test at the router with a wired connection to see if your service is properly provisioned?

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the thoughts, but as you can see a little earlier in the thread I have actually installed a mesh system now. The main reason for that as opposed to any hard-wired versions was to avoid a number of practical cabling issues, down to the lower machine, which is two floors below the main router in my office. I live in a 4 floor town house, and navigating cable through various walls and floors etc. would not have been easy. The performance of the installed system is fine for what I need, and for 3,750 Baht and a couple of hours for me to set it up, I'm happy with the cost and effort involved as well.