TP-Link Deco Mesh Wi-Fi system is one of the best Home Wi-Fi Mesh system which is around for a while in the market. It is important to have a stable and fast internet connection for streaming, gaming and connected home devices especially when the people are connected to the internet more than ever in this pandemic.
The Deco X20 AX1800 is also being advertised as the “Wi-Fi dead Zone Killer” by TP-Link which is capable of covering up to 5800 sq. ft area. It is easy to setup device with its Deco App with various features that benefit the end-users.
Credits: TP-Link
Design
The Deco X20 AX1800 Home Wi-Fi Mesh router has a clean and simple design in a cylindrical shape with the matte plastic material. It really blends with the modern Interior design language with its white colour aesthetics. The Deco X20 AX1800 weigh around 2kg with a dimension of 110 mm × 114 mm.
The TP-Link Home WiFi mesh also features a four colour LED signal indicator which shows the status of the Mesh router located under the TP-Link logo. The Status Indicators can be programmable to dim at night as well to avoid distraction while sleeping . All the 3 units which come in the Deco X20has 2 Ethernet ports and a power source to connect the adapter. If you are someone who likes to mount the device, it will be a disappointment for them. As this device does not have any mount hooks or any brackets can be added.
The TP-Link AX1800 has two antennae inbuilt in each unit to ensure optimal wireless coverage. Two Antennas has been used for each 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. At the bottom, TP-Link Home WiFi Mesh has four bushes for grip on the flat surface and reset button placed under each unit. Which is useful for a reset when something goes wrong. The device features a larger heat sink inside which helps the Deco X20 to run a cooler temperature when its running 24×7.
To power the device, TP-Link has used 1GHz Qualcomm IPQ8070 Quad-Core CPU inside the unit with 512MB of RAM and 128MB ROM which can be handy while flashing firmware updates to the unit.
Performance
The Wi-Fi AX band enabled Deco X20 delivers an overall good experience as a Home Mesh Wi-Fi system. With OFDMA and MU-MIMO technology, it offers to manage more than 150 devices simultaneous transmission to multiple devices. With the Wi-Fi 6, the device offers to support up to 1800 Mbps speed, 1201 Mbps on 5GHz band and 574 Mbps on 2.4 GHz band.
The Deco AX1800 supports the newer WPA3 WiFi encryption, which enables more secure and individualized security. The users on a WPA3-Personal network can’t ever snoop on another’s WPA3-Personal traffic, even when the user has the Wi-Fi password and is successfully connected. Furthermore, if an outsider determines the password, it is not possible to passively observe an exchange and determine the session keys, providing forward secrecy of network traffic. Plus, they can’t decrypt any data captured prior to the cracking either. However, the compatibility of the WPA3 encryption could be an issue as the older device may not be supported.
The Deco X20 Home Mesh Wi-Fi AX router offers strong and reliable internet connectivity in our 1000 sq. ft 1 BHK apartment. In our testing, the WiFi speeds were consistent and there were no noticeable connection drops. In our 250Mbps line, we managed to get an excellent speed of 261 Mbps of downlink speed and 87 Mbps uplink speed. Unfortunately, since we did not have a connection higher than the device supported speed, we were unable to test the maximum speed delivery of the device.
The Mesh node placement is an important aspect to notice, as this will directly impact the performance of the device. The Fast Roaming feature on the device offers a seamless roaming performance with IEEE 802.11r support. This will allow the users to connect their wireless devices to the same access point and to switch connection to different nodes of the Deco X20 WiFi Mesh. This device delivers an exceptional user experience which an ideal WiFi mesh should deliver.
Software
Like the TP-Link Tether App for the Extenders, the Deco App is intuitive and organized to manage the Home Wi-Fi Mesh system. It allows the users to manage the Deco X20 nodes right from their smartphone devices. The HomeCare features which are powered by TrendMicro, enables users to control the antivirus and all the security features including robust parental controls as well, which becomes handy to block the inappropriate content and limit the time which spends online. The App also allows users to update the firmware through the cloud-based Deco app.
From the Deco App, the admins can have complete control over the Mesh system. From the main screen itself, you can see the devices connected to the Mesh network and the bandwidth it is consumed in real-time. It also allows adding the devices to the High Priority list.
The HomeCare features Malicious Content Filter to block malicious websites that are listed in Trend Micro’s database. It also has an Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) in-built and allows the users to Isolate the devices which are infected into its Infected Device Quarantine list. The Parental Controls helps the parents to set a content filter based on profiles.
The Deco X20 AX1800 WiFi 6 Home Wi-Fi Mesh System setup was an extremely easy process.
- Turn off your Modem
- Connect of the Deco X20 Ax1800 to your Modem using the Ethernet cable which came with the package.
- Download the iOS or Android App of the TP-Link Deco App
Once the device is connected, all the other configuration, firmware updates and HomeCare setup happens through the Mobile App.
Conclusion
The Deco X20 AX1800 Home Wi-Fi Mesh system is a great entry level device which delivers all the basic features right. It offers strong and reliable internet connectivity for a huge home. Its effortless setup process makes the device an easy option for any noob.
The device is also future proof with its newer Wi-Fi 6 AX band compatibility and WPA3 encryption, which are still new and the client devices are yet to pick up and make it mainstream. With its large coverage of 5800 sq. ft, it can literally be a “WiFI Dead Zone Killer ” as advertised by the brand. This can be the ideal device for the multi-storey home with concrete walls, which blocks the wireless signals to transmit.
TP-Link has priced the Deco AX1800 highly competitive for a WiFi Mesh system. This can be bought from the Amazon for just AED 1597. Which is another good reason to buy this device for your home.
