[SOLVED] Deco M5 as AP setup - slow connected devices

[CJQuiaoit]

Hi all. Just availed of a 600MB upgrade from my ISP (from 100MBPS) and in order to activate, my ISP swapped out their old fiber modem to a newer modem/router device.
The previous setup used to be fiber modem - connected to Asus AC88U as the primary router. The AC88U is 3yr old gaming model but was retty high-end at the time and is gigabit capable. I only use it as DHCP server, anti-virus and for hardwire device connection. QoS is disabled. Radio (Wifi) is disabled because for Wifi, I have as set of Linksys Deco M5s setup as access points (2.4 and 5ghz enabled). The modem, router and primary mesh unit all connected via CAT7 cables. The reason I keep the Asus router is because I need the extra ports for my gaming console, a Smart TV, a desktop computer, etc. The Decos only have 1 port available per device.

Before upgrading our plan, I would get speed readings from router & mesh (built in speed tests) close to my plan ~100mbps. For wireless devices connected to the Wifi, I get around 60-80mbps depending on which mesh node I use. Of course, fastest is if I am connected to the primary node.

After ISP swapped out its old modem with a FibeHome HG6245D (configured as bridge, no radio to be compatible with my current network config), I get the desired ~600mbps mbps on the both router and mesh speed tests. Wired devices get around the same speed as well. Problem is, any device connected via wifi only gets the same old 70-80mbps results. All our wifi devices are not low-end and at most, 2 years old so am sure they are capable of gigabit baandwidth.

There is not much settings you can play around in with the Deco's admin utility if configured to run in access point mode. Haven't been able to find anything on the internet regarding mesh nodes (access point setup) either.

Any advice greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[bill001g]

The wifi radios in your deco units are actually far inferior to the asus.

Now this may not matter because all that matters is the combination of end device and router/ap. They will negotiate the best possible options.

The devo units are petty basic. They support 2x2 mimo so 300 on 2.4 and 867 on 5 They also support a non standard 400 on 2.4
The asus unit supports 4x4 mimo so 600 on 2.4 and 1374 on 5. It also supports a non standard qam1024 which may or may not be compatible with newer wifi6, 1000 on 2.4 and 2167 on 5.

So it all depends on what your end devices can support. If they can do more than 2x2 mimo the asus will be faster. The most common end devices only support 2x2 and most do not support the non standard data encodings.

What it sounds like is your devices are connecting to the 2.4 radio rather than the 5g radio.

Are you running both deco units cabled to the router and running them as AP. If you are using the remote one as a wifi repeater you will greatly decrease your total wifi bandwidth even for device connected to the main. These deco units are very low end mesh units that are pretty much just renamed repeaters. A mesh system to even have a chance needs dedicated radios for the backhaul connection between the main unit and the remote unit.

What I would first do after you ensure that you are using 5g is try to use just the asus router and see if you get better connection speeds. In the long run I would use the asus wifi and then use 1 or if necessary both deco units as simple AP connected to the asus. There is no magic to the word "mesh". The network is always only a single network and the end devices not the network control which wifi node they connect to. Mesh is almost all marketing, no larger enterprise company uses mesh they use the standard AP connected via ethernet cables. Mesh is purely junk sold to end consumers who want a "magic" solution that runs with out any wires. Also partly why they make them look room decorations also.