The review is for the 2 Pack.
I bought it on 19/02/21 from a large store for 230 euros.
I live in an apartment building where I have the provider's router on the 1st floor with a 50 Mbps connection, and on the 2nd floor, where I spend most of my time, I barely had a signal.
So, about 4 to 5 years ago, I decided to buy my first Tp Link Extender and place it on the 2nd floor.
The job wasn't done properly, so after 1 or 2 years, I bought a second Extender, which was placed on the 1st floor to increase the signal on the 2nd floor.
The signal problems continued, so the purchase of a second Tp Link router with 4 external antennas became necessary.
The second router was connected with an Ethernet cable from the provider's router to the 2nd floor (as usually the provider's routers have signal transmission problems due to lack of external antennas), and this somehow improved the speed on the 2nd floor to around 42-44 Mbps download and 4-4.5 Mbps upload.
The speed was satisfactory, as many would say, but there were other problems such as:
1. I had to run a 20-meter Ethernet cable inside the house, which was unsightly.
2. The Tp Link app that supported the router did not support one of the two extenders (the extenders were different models), resulting in occasional connection issues.
3. Whenever I moved to a different floor or room, I had to turn off the Wi-Fi on my device and turn it back on to connect to the nearest router or extender.
4. In our house, we have at least 10 devices, some on 2.4GHz and some on 5GHz, which the extenders did not support, resulting in almost all 10 devices working on 2.4GHz, increasing Wi-Fi interference.
5. Weak signal in dead spots on the 2nd floor.
6. Devices would sometimes get stuck on download even though there was a Wi-Fi signal, possibly due to interference.
Now let's move on to the present.
After receiving the product and opening the package, I was initially impressed by the size of the Decos, their sturdiness, quality, and beauty.
Even the packaging itself is of high quality, as we are accustomed to from Tp Link.
The package contained the 2 Decos with their 2 chargers, an Ethernet cable, and the relevant instruction booklets.
I should also mention the 3-year warranty from Tp Link.
After installing the first Deco with an Ethernet cable on the provider's router according to the instructions, the installation took me no more than 3 minutes through the Deco app from the Appstore.
For the second floor, which interested me more, I installed the second Deco, which was installed within seconds through the app, and voila!
I had full Wi-Fi signal throughout the entire 2nd floor, in every corner, without any wiring from the 1st floor.
We're talking about a 90-square-meter duplex, each floor.
I also tested it outside the house and had a signal in the middle, 50 meters away from the house.
After programming it for about 5 to 6 hours and while everything was working perfectly, there was a power outage in the evening.
The next day, I found out that one of the two chargers for the Decos had burned out. I want to emphasize that it was on a high-quality Apc surge protector, which I had never had any issues with for 6 to 7 years. Only the charger burned out, which means it was a faulty charger or not of good quality, which does not justify the 230 euros I paid, and here I give Tp Link one minus star.
After calling the big store of my purchase, they asked me to send them the whole package to be checked, not just the charger, and after it is checked, they will see if it is covered by the warranty to send me a new one. We are talking about a process of at least a week, during which I would have to set up the whole previous setup again, run 20 meters of cable, and configure 3 different models of Tp Link, which is time-consuming. In the end, I managed to do my job with a Laptop charger (it has the same plug as the Deco charger) and everything works as it should.
Now let's move on to the many positives that this system has:
1. With the previous setup, I was getting 42-44 Download and 4-4.5 Upload on the 2nd floor with an Ethernet cable from the provider's router, while with the Decos, I get 45-48 Download and 4.5-5.5 Upload, all WIRELESS from the 1st to the 2nd floor. On the 1st floor, the internet literally ends with higher speeds than what the provider offers.
2. I have full signal everywhere in the house, on both floors, and it only starts to drop if you go outside the house at around 50 meters.
3. With the previous setup, I had to toggle the Wi-Fi of the device on and off to connect to the nearest Router-Extender, which ended with the Decos as they have a smart function and automatically connect to the nearest Deco (although it takes a few seconds for the change to happen and it's not instantaneous).
4. The Decos automatically select the best frequency for each device, so now my modern devices connect to 5GHz and the older ones to 2.4GHz, which automatically reduces interference in the space.
5. The app can support up to 10 Decos and 150 connected devices, which makes it suitable even for professional use!
6. The system provides antivirus and parental control, fully customizable, but I didn't delve into it further.
7. The app, through pop-up notifications, informs you in real-time on your mobile about which device connected or was connected, on which frequency each device is running, and to which exact Deco it is connected.
8. You can block certain devices from accessing your network through the app, prioritize the devices you want, i.e., have them consume more data volume than others.
9. It supports Wi-Fi 6 or 802.11ax, which makes it much faster than Wi-Fi 5, although it hasn't been tested as I don't have a device with Wi-Fi 6.
10. Each Deco has 2 Ethernet ports, which is more convenient compared to the Extenders that had only one.
In short, I got rid of cables and unnecessary devices scattered around rooms in the hope of catching Wi-Fi. I consider it the best solution, guaranteed, because even though I paid almost triple the amount compared to the previous setup, I have better and stable speed, and all this is done through an app that supports up to 10 devices.
I am already preparing to buy a second set for another house, even if it's expensive and even if the charger turns out to be defective. You can do your job with €10 chargers from the market. What are the extra €10 compared to all the hassle you have been dealing with for so many years? Buy without fear!
Update: 5/4/21
There have been at least 2 to 3 power outages, and probably others that I haven't noticed while sleeping, and the decos and my second charger are working fine, which means that the first charger was defective.
The charger of the Laptop still works perfectly as a backup.
As for the decos, I have to say once again that it has been a lifesaver for me.
I fully utilize all the functions, including the virus protection it offers, which is indeed efficient.
With the recent update, Tp Link now also supports smart devices.
I have Philips Hue equipment and now I can control the lighting through the application.
Congratulations to Tp Link for the support, choose it because it is a recent product and since it supports Wifi 6, I believe that Tp Link will bring new things frequently through updates.
Update: 27/4/21
Because I read comments that there is no option to choose between 2.4 and 5 frequency, the possibility exists to do it manually (More, WIFI, and there you choose 2.4 or 5 or both), but you will either have 2.4 on all devices with the risk of interference or 5 on all devices, resulting in older devices not having internet due to lack of support.
So the best solution is to leave it as it is and let it automatically select the best frequency for each device.
I agree that it takes time to make the change, maybe it will be fixed in the future.
Do not misinterpret it if you don't thoroughly investigate it.