TP-Link Deco M4(3-pack) AC1200Mbps Whole Home Mesh WiFi System, up to 4000 sq ft Coverage, Qualcomm CPU, Dual-Band WiFi Booster with Gigabit Ports, Compatible with Amazon Echo/Alexa, Parent Control

Our house isn't bad for wi-fi (no thick walls or large area to cover), but was never good. The main router is in our study, in one corner of the house, and needed to reach four bedrooms, a conservatory and the garden, and reliably stream YouTube and Netflix videos.At first I had the wi-fi signal boosted by a wi-fi repeater. This worked sporadically for the past four years, but often the family would complain that they couldn't access the internet even though they had a wi-fi signal. Switching the repeater off would fix the problem but then left us with a weaker signal.So I decided to take the plunge with mesh wi-fi, especially after reading all the reviews about how it improved people's connection problems. These things can costs a lot of money (compared to my £30+ existing router), so I went for the TP-Link Deco M4 (3 pack) for just £100. This was a good compromise - cheap, but with a lot of features and good reviews.Setup is easy. Everything is done systematically from the smartphone app, so no silly faffing with web browser addresses. From reading other reviews I was expecting the smartphone app to assist me with optimum placement of the units (such as a signal strength guide), but all the app does is suggest putting the units in clear space away from large electrical appliances, which is pretty obvious!I wired the first unit into my main router, making it the main mesh unit, and turned the router's wi-fi off. The second unit was placed diagonally across the other side of the house near the conservatory (giving a good signal in the garden), and the final unit placed upstairs in one of the bedrooms. This seems to have everyone covered, especially our Samsung smart TV in the bedroom which has a very poor wi-fi receiver.There are two options when setting up the system: either full router mode, or as basic wi-fi-access points (with the original router continuing its usual network management role). I tried the access point mode initially, but that losses a lot of functionality:- No bandwidth usage monitoring- No Quality of Service controls- No parental controls (my son doesn't understand that internet use at 2am is bad for his sleep)- No Alexa integration- No IFTTT integrationSo I tried router mode, which gives me all the fancy gizmos in the smartphone app. This appears to work OK, although it can cause connection problems with 'double NATing' (where both the router and mesh wi-fi try to control how network addresses are accessed). There are two solutions to fix 'double NATing':- Switch the original router to bridge mode, effectively making it a dumb ISP modem, and letting the main mesh unit perform all the router tasks.- Put the main mesh unit in the router's DMZ, bypassing the router's NATing. This can be done in the router's settings.I decided to put the main mesh unit in the DMZ. This is mainly because I also have a remote access point (RAP) to access my work's network when working from home. The RAP needs to connect to an active router via ethernet, so I had to use the main router with all its spare ports (the mesh units only have two).Even though my original router is 'behind' the mesh unit it is accessible via its original IP address, so I'm still able to manage my ISP connection and other important settings.The system works well with my existing powerline adaptors too. My son's PC does not use wi-fi, so needs a wired connection. So too the Sonos speaker in the kitchen, which suffers from interference from the microwave. The Deco M4s can use 'ethernet backhaul' to connect together, giving a faster connection between the units. If I had purchased one of the Deco P range I could have used the powerline adaptors for the backhaul as well, but as the wi-fi backhaul is adequate I'm not fussed.Previously it had been mentioned by others that there was no web browser access to the Decos. It looks like that has now changed. The web portal can be access via the IP address of the main unit, using the same password used in the smartphone app. Bizarrely though, there are some things that can be done in the web portal, but not on the app, and visa-versa:- The web portal shows how clients are connected (wireless or wired)- Only the web portal shows the system log and time settings- Only the app can be used for adding units and users, or setting QoS and parental controlsA web portal is available from any of the unit IP addresses, but the satellite units have even less functionality.Alexa integration is a bit of a gimmick. The options available are very limited, such as (de)activating the guest wi-fi or turning the LEDs on/off. It's clunky as you have to instruct (and then wait) for the TP-Link skill to launch before starting any mesh instructions. IFTTT integration is also limited in its use for me. Most IFTTT applets just notify or log when a (new) device connects to the network.So far, so good. No lost connections, and smooth seamless switching between units as we move around the house.

I absolutely love this product. I've waited a few weeks to review to see how it holds out, but it amazes me how good it is.I have a 4 bed house, with my router downstairs front left. My study is upstairs, back right, so they couldn't be further apart. The stock router from my ISP is AWFUL. I used a cheap Negear range extender for a while, speed was shocking, and the signal strength only held up for 3 weeks before it died completely. I was going to look at powerline adaptors to get ethernet to my laptop, but I have other devices upstairs that struggle with WiFi.So after a recommendation from a colleague, I stumped up for these and I'm so glad I did. I got the M4 triple pack for the same as other retailers sold the double pack. Amazon also let me spread it over 5 months so it doesn't hurt the pocket.Set up was a piece of cake, the App is very intuitive. Those who are not tech-savvy should not be afraid of this item. One gap I did notice was that to retain your existing wifi name and password, you have to disable wifi on your existing router. I do not have a button for this so had to go into Admin mode on my ISPs router. However once set up all your existing devices connect straight away.I did think I may have to have the 3rd device somewhere in the middle ground, but in fact the signal between the two in the far corners of my house is fantastic. It "only" measures 2/3 bars, but has not dropped once in 3 weeks. I also get the full speed in speed tests, not the vastly reduced speed I saw with the Netgear range extender.I like the roaming feature too, you can see which of your devices are connected to which Deco, and they switch between whatever gets the strongest signal at the time. I have around 20 internet enabled devices (laptops, tablets, mobiles, firestick, chromecast, echo's...) and they all connect and perform wonderfully.There are other useful features on the app - you can prioritise devices if you wish (Streaming devices etc), attribute devices to users and rename them to help you identify what is on your network (you get notifications when a new device connects too,and you can blacklist them if you don't know them). There are also parental control features (which I haven't used as my little'n has a kindle fire with parental controls on), but it gives me confidence she could have a better tablet and I could use those features.The guest network feature good as well. You can 'shake to share' on the app to send the connection details to anyone that visits. We also have a little framed 'Welcome to our home' sign with guest wifi details which will be a nice little touch when people stay.I can't comment on tech support as I haven't had to use it, although it is in the rating system.So overall, absolutely cannot fault this product. It's entry level mesh wifi looking at other prices, but suits me perfectly. Also I still have the third device should my needs grow in future.

This has fixed my WiFi and I’m delighted with it. Used to have a lot of buffering and often had to reboot the Apple TV to get connection back but after reading about mesh systems and how they can be much better than the standard router you get from the likes of virgin I tried this and it has been rock solid ever since. I put one upstairs as the main unit and added a second one for downstairs and they share out my connected devices (although most seem happy on the main unit). It’s so much more powerful as a router that I probably could have just got a single unit, so you could do that if you need to keep price down. It’s also taken coverage down to bottom of the garden which is useful.The app is good and sets the system up easily. It didn’t guide me through changing my super hub into modem only mode, but there is lots of info and guides online about that and it was simple to do. Well worth keeping your old hub’s ID and password - just input when prompted from the sticker on underside of your old router and then all your stuff stays connected to the new setup. Sonos speakers seemed to need a reboot before they were happy but they sound better than ever although that could be my imagination! Anyway this is a great product that does a superb job with no fuss at all, just wish I’d discovered it sooner.