TP-Link AC1300 Deco M5
Verified20 reviews
Flaws but when it works its great – Easy setup using the app. However a few warnings not mentioned anywhere. 1 Ensure devices are approx 5 yards / metres max apart. Dont stretch it! Overlap for mesh coverage. 2 Avoid placing anywhere obstructed esp electronic devices of any kind. Heavy walls etc. 3. Use CAT 6 cable not less from nbn to moden wan port and from modem out to deco unit… Read more · 1
main device. Most nbn connections wont have cat 6 cables. Gobto computer store or online. Cheap. 4. Turn off wifi on modem (may need to connect with laptop using ip and admin login) and use deco only for all wifi to avoid conflicts. Deco is easier to manage anyway. 5.Wall mount near power clear of obstructions. 6. Dont turn off leds or fault diagnosis is impossible. 7. Check app speed test. It has a bug. You must set wifi speeds for isp plan in app to get results. Now here is issue. If actual speed is greater than test speed no result occurs. Set speed must exceed actual...My plan 100mbps returned speed of 270 and i had to find this by setting 300 initially.
Our two level house has four devices. Three left a gap and the app was unstable.
If device drops to red reposition near another to diagnose any fault. I returned one that would flash red colour constantly.. Common according to support posts !!!
Cost is approx avg $70 each. Note you can also connect laptop etc using ethernet cable if puck positioned in convenient place eg near desk.. Two ports per puck.
Our home internet speed went from 25 avg to 270 dload. Very stable speed too with cat 6. We have fttp that came with a slow cat 5 cable...nuts. This change boosted above plan speed. apparently its nbns way to not giving full speed to all users. Free upgrade in speed? Crazy
Manufacturer suggestion. This unit is very difficult to wall mount. Flat use is awkward and contrary to leds which then cant be seen. The warmth means quality adhesive fails and the lugs on base mean adhesive is difficult to place to allow wall contact. Poor design really. . Suggest a simple lock mount like the ubiquity access point be used.
Forced app installation & requires signup – Just unpacked everything. Tried to set it up, but first it requires me to download the app. Then the app forces you to create an account before proceeding. After this I found out that the first unit is required to be connected by cable, there is no other option. Called customer support, first minute is telling you to get off the phone and go… Read more
online. There is also a recording saying that their 24h hotline may not be open due to world events. Once you get through this, there is further options, but don’t miss any because if you ask it to repeat your options they will take this opportunity to tell you to go online again. Don’t leave the phone out of reach either, every 5min or so it asks you to press 1 if you wish to continue to hold. I have not tested what happens if I don’t, been on hold to long to risk it. Finally got someone on the phone who could not help me, I asked for a supervisor & was told I would need to pay for the call as it’s international. [Name Removed] was the customer service agent Will be returning this product.
On line support was very helpful – Christy lu was very helpful and patient so that we could troubleshoot adding a new deco to my existing network. Show details · 1
Feedback on technical assistance - Mona – Very patient in assisting with technical glitch and successfully solved the issue. Her detailed explanation has made it easy for me to fix it. Show details
Buggy, glitchy rubbish! Never buy! – Got a TPLink Deco mesh set ($200). Setup easily, seemed to be ok. But after a while my android mobile couldn't connect unless I was really nearby. Really, within 2 metres. And it would never autoconnect. After several hours on support calls and doing long checklists of trouble shooting. I gave up. Then I needed to buy a WiFi dongle for a new… Read more
device. To make sure it was compatible I stupidly bought another TPLink one (Archer $30).
Ten phone calls and about 15 emails of more troubleshooting... And it still doesn't work. Except sometimes.
I'm now going through NSW Dept of Fair Trading to get my money back so I can buy a system that actually works!
Easy Set Up and Rock Solid Stability – I have been using the Deco M5's for around 18 months now. They were super easy to set up using the app with the step by step guide and the indicator light on each disk will show a different colour depending what stage of setup you are at. Once set up, the light has stayed green nearly all the time. There has only been a couple of occasions when… Read more
the light has turned red and that was when our internet was down. Once the network is back up and running, the Decos will automatically connect again. I could not believe how simple they were to set up. They have not required any attention since set up.
Previously we had one third of our house that didn't receive WiFi. Since installing the Decos, we not only have full house coverage but also around all verandahs and in parts of the detached shed as well. The Decos have made a big improvement.
Online chat help – I received excellent service and assurance using the online chat service. Very patient and helpful. Thank you!!! Show details
The best bang for your buck Wifi Mesh – This is the best bang for your buck Wifi Mesh on the market. With stable Wifi and Ethernet Backhaul. The only downside was having to download the App to be able to set them up, but that isn't too bad. I would have liked to be able to set them up via web browser. Would recommend this product. Show details · 1
Outstanding Mesh WiFi system guarantee to deliver results – Highly Recommend the Deco M5 Mesh Wi-FI as it delivers great and stable internet throughout the house with excellent coverage and no blind spots. Easy to set-up through the TP LINK DECO app, once the green led lights up on all devices the Mesh delivers outstanding results. Build in Anti-Virus feature for extra security. Show details
This is perfect! Can't live without it! – Purchased through Officeworks for a good price. I unplugged my older modem, plugged this in, and worked the first time. Hasn't missed a beat, would recommend it, was inexpensive and suits my purpose. I really can’t find a fault with anything. Show details
A few initial niggles but now works flawlessly - Recommended for large homes/families – I bought this as my NBN FTTN modem router (ABB Netcom) wasn't able to provide good coverage across all of my home environment.Couldn't get the ABB Netcom to work in bridge mode so for a long time just used the M5 as a AP for wifi only. Then after few attempts I swapped back to my old Telstra FTTN modem , got that into bridge mode and now the M5… Read more
is the router/wifi provider for the house and surroundings. The gui/phone app is very simple to operate and has some good features such as AV (MacAfee) , QOS, Parental settings etc. My property extends over 50 meters and I have an M5 node1 in the living room (ethernet to Modem in Study) that provides wifi to the house. There is a 2nd M5 node2 at rear of house and a 3rd node3 in a separate building (this is connected via ethernet to node1 , this is called the ethernet backhaul). The M5's handle movement of wifi enabled devices (phones, laptops, tablets etc.) that maybe move from one area to another, similar to a mobile phone tower. You can reserve dhcp address for devices etc
Pros: -Easy to use app interface , controls well although some times you have to optimize the network (due to interference from other wifi i.e. neighbhours etc). Recent update of the DECO app to v3 is vast improvement,it seems TPLINK are listening to their customers Ethernet backhaul is excellent. Cons:- apart from issues mentioned previously all good.
Awesome product. Highly recommend – Everyone leaves bad reviews but I genuinely want to leave good feedback. After trying heaps of range extenders, I finally gave this a shot and ots the best decision I’ve made. Really easy to set up. Show details · 1
I would give this 50 stars if I could – It is not often that I find a product that is worth talking about on Facebook, but this one is one that I will talk about. Sadly the internet is many things to us and our families, it provides great entertainment and communication for us and our families, but we all know that it also provides avenues for everything bad in our lives like cyber… Read more · 1
bullying, fake news and that innocent evil we all use, yes, I am talking about Facebook and all other social sites like Youtube and Tiktok, dare I say, even Google/images. Yes you can get free porn on the Google images page, ban it and your kids can still use Google, they just can't go to Google images, nor to the adult pages, betting, banks and a whole host of other sites not designed for our kids.
Well, it's not just that I have now banned these sites from our kid's devices, I have also restricted their internet time to just one hour per day. I can do this for all of the devices which are connected to our Deco Mesh WIFI. I can individually choose which sites are available, how much time and times during the day these devices can be used. Let's say that our 9 yo is a bit bored and plans to use his final 20 minutes of internet time after bed time, sorry, your internet was cut off at 7pm, it's not happening.
Now, as a parent of two boys who are growing up with this tech, I can control their usage as required. They have full access to educational sites, zero access to sites that I choose as well. Great stuff. This means that they put their devises down, they know their limits, they start playing again. So happy.
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Have been using it for 1 year – Pros: 1. good range, it works well at my place (one node for each level, ~100m3 per level, placed in the middle of the area) 2. reasonably priced 3. very stable in the last 1 year Cons: 1.THE ETHERNET SPEED IS 500Mb/s ONLY, so you won't be able to build a 1GB ethernet with it 2. can only set up using the app. but that's fine. Show details
Does what it's supposed to do – Two Storey house - Spread a 250mbs signal to 3 areas averaging 175mb/s including 150mb/s upstairs in my office. At the modem point it's up to 298mbp/s! Great product, just follow the instructions on the app. Show details
Easiest & Best Solution for wifi dead-spots – I bought the Deco M5 x 3 pack - $279, from Bing Lee, Warilla (excellent knowledgeable service from Ronald). My home is 2 storey, I placed all 3 on the top story as it is our living space. My NBN is fttn, with max speed is a known 31mbs (per AussieBB) ...WOW!!! Such a simple install and I now have 30.5 mbs download speed all over the home (grnd &… Read more
1st floor) even out in the backyard!!
would totally recommend this product, the Mobile app is very easy to use, nothing else required. Go for it!
Mesh networking without the fuss – The product is easy to set up and works perfectly. Our house is a double brick, split level and the coverage provided by the three devices is great. I have now upgraded to its big brother Deco M9 plus due to it providing some extra features.
Highly recommend - this works really well and the app on the phone is great – I have a WiFi dead-spot in a separate building outside our house and dreadfully slow internet - which I blamed on Wireless NBN. I replaced my WiFi router with the Deco M5 and placed the stations in two other places around the house and they work wonderfully well. After checking the internet speed I was pleasantly surprised when it was considerably… Read more
higher - which would indicate that my previous Telstra router wasn't working properly. The Deco M5 is small and easy to connect thanks to the app downloaded to my phone. Highly recommend.
No WiFi Dead spots, Easy Setup and good Parental Control features – I bought the Deco M5 2 months ago and connected it with NBN 100 Mbps and it has solved the wifi dead spots in my house. I got the 3 satellites set and it works quite well with IPTV, PCs, Rind Door Bell and Phones. Haven't had any issue with the device connectivity or dropouts. The setup is very simple using the Phone App and adding any additional… Read more
satellites is quite easy plus you can use any of the satellite as the master base unit. One of the coolest feature is the Parental Control with heaps of pre-configured options as well as custom settings. The Parental control also provides summary of the internet sites and options to setup usage time during weekdays, weekend and bed times. The App can be used to manage the Home Network both via Wifi network as well as directly over the internet in case you'd like to manage the devices remotely. Very happy with the experience.
The unit is quite small and good looking. I have used the 3M tapes to mount it on the wall and the look pretty good like a smoke alarm and don't take up any space.
Eliminated WiFi dropouts – Wifi dropouts were the bain of my life. Even though my computer was telling me I had a strong wifi signal, dropouts were occuring. I blamed the ISP for these dropouts, but reading an article on the emerging home mesh systems prompted me to trial these devices to eliminate wifi dead spots. Best thing I could have done to improve my Wifi… Read more
connectivity.
It was between the TP Link M5 or the Google WiFi.
It was really a flip of a coin, or rather, a special deal at Harvey Norman that determined the final choice. I suspect either would have been fine.
Setup using the app was intuitive and seamless.
An added attraction was the built-in Antivirus.
Highly recommended.
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