TP-Link Deco 4+

I’m upgrading from a ten year old Apple AirPort Extreme Basestation to the TP-Link Deco M5 kit. Performance is similar since both are WiFi5 (AC) systems. But the mesh lets me put several small routers around the house to have better performance everywhere. And the TP-Link app is so much better than where the Apple Airport app left off a decade ago. Getting a list of all devices, wireless and *wired* — something Apple refused to do — is fantastic. There are straightforward quality of service (QOS) controls. And a bunch of stuff I don’t care about that families will appreciate for controlling access times and device priorities and device owners. I wish for a few more features in the system: * WPA3 (maybe specific to the Deco M5) * Easy, direct control of the individual routers to change relative power or turn off individual WiFI beacons to help improve the network * More info on the “Network Optimization” including some guidance on positioning the beacons for improved performance. But those are higher-end features and this is a really budget-friendly kit, so on the whole, it’s a great system!

Similar situation with the other reviewer noting how it would be helpful to have the date and time devices connect available.

My other suggestion is with parental controls. It would be great to be able to have the list of visited websites sorted by time visited, or have a drop-down and you could select time, date, or alpha by website. The list it generates is good, and they recently made improvements to combine associated sites within one main drop down, but doesn’t give you an accurate depiction of the time sites were visited. Instead, its sorted by number of times visited putting the highest amount at the top. It also would be nice to be able to go back a day, 2days, 2weeks, etc. however long and see more than just a list of the top 10 sites visited. Unless you login on the same day as the sites were visited, you cannot get a full list of all sites, only the top 10. If it’s a memory issue and not having enough storage in the Deco system for all this data maybe a daily email option could be available. I would be fine getting a daily email for all sites visited before their deleted for the next day.
Aside from those small details, the app is pretty solid and works reliably well. My setup is perfect for my home. I have three indoor deco units and one outdoor, all connected with ethernet backhaul.

For a long time now I knew that the previous version of this app was showing incorrect information in regards to my Deco system. It was showing Wi-Fi devices connected to deco units that was completely impractical and nearly impossible. Since my “stuff” connected well and had a great connection to Wi-Fi and the internet, I just ignored the info that the app was showing.

I was pretty excited a few weeks ago to open the app and see that it was completely revamped. It looks great. I quickly realized, however, that it was just new lipstick on the pig. In fact, it seems like the information was/is more incorrect than ever. Now it’s showing LOTS of my Wi-Fi devices as connected “wired”. That’s impossible. It’s showing some of my wireless devices connected a Deco unit that is so far from the device, it’s just not logical. And a “device health” test from those devices app shows a very solid and strong connection. Because of that I know that it’s connected to the closest Deco, not the farthest one as indicated by the app.

I don’t know. I guess this app update is a lateral step, but it does look a bit nicer. All of my devices still connect and work fine so there is nothing hardware wise to complain about. I just wish I could get accurate info from the app regarding the hardware and various connections. Maybe on the next major app overhaul?