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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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The latest entry in the mesh router market comes today from TP-Link, which has announced availability of the Deco M9 Plus Tri-Band Mesh Wi-Fi 2-Pack System. The router is TP-Link's newest mesh offering and promises to eliminate Wi-Fi dead spots with dependable connections to "more than 100 devices" throughout a home, and it also doubles as a smart home hub for IoT products.

TP-Link says the Deco M9 Plus provides a "stronger and more dynamic" backhaul than rival systems, supplementing its dedicated 5 GHz backhaul with additional backhaul throughput from other Wi-Fi bands as network demand increases. The system automatically identifies the strongest connection for every device (4K streaming boxes, game consoles, etc) to keep the network running smoothly.

TP-Link-deco-router.jpg

"From everyday activities like streaming Netflix and using smart voice assistants, to occasional video chats with friends or online gaming, our home lives are more connected than ever before," said Derrick Wang, director of product management at TP-Link USA Corp.

"Today, families need Wi-Fi systems that can support the higher demands put on their network, delivering reliable performance in every room of the home. Deco M9 Plus is a powerful solution designed to meet the Wi-Fi needs of the modern smart home."
The 2-pack provides Wi-Fi for homes up to 4,500 square feet, and a single pack can be purchased to add to the network. Once set up, the connected Deco App can limit and monitor internet usage for all devices connected to the system. In terms of security, TP-Link HomeCare provides antivirus and malware protection in an effort to safeguard every connected device on the network from outside malware and hackers.

More Deco M9 Plus features:
- Standard 2-pack offers coverage up to 4,500 sq. ft.
- Powerful AC2200 tri-band Wi-Fi
- Three Wi-Fi bands with a dedicated backhaul to support 100-plus devices
- Quad-core CPU with 4 GB eMMC Flash and 512 MB RAM
- Wireless speeds of up to 400 Mbps on 2.4 GHz + 867 Mbps on 5 GHz (1) + 867 Mbps on 5 GHz (2)
- 6 Wi-Fi antennas, 1 Bluetooth antenna and 1 ZigBee antenna inside each Deco Unit
- 1 USB 2.0 port (reserved) and 2 Gigabit ports
- Built-in smart home hub compatible with Bluetooth 4.2 and ZigBee HA 1.2
- Advanced Wi-Fi security and HomeCare powered by Trend Micro
In addition, the Deco M9 Plus is a smart home hub that users can set up to enable control of ZigBee, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi devices using the Deco App. TP-Link says this "eliminates the need for additional smart hubs in the home" and the system supports a collection of smart home brands like the company's own light bulbs and switches, GE, Samsung SmartThings, Nest, and Kwikset. The Deco M9 Plus is also compatible with Amazon Alexa and IFTTT.

The TP-Link Deco M9 Plus Mesh Wi-Fi 2-Pack can be purchased for $299.99, while a 1-pack will run for $179.99.

Article Link: TP-Link Announces New 'Deco M9 Plus' Mesh Wi-Fi System That Doubles as Smart Home Hub
 

junior

macrumors 6502a
Mar 25, 2003
553
67
Anyone with experience, will there be big performance differences between an M5 and M9?
First I’ve heard of these so wondering..
 

netwalker

macrumors regular
Jul 28, 2007
212
209
Still not as affordable as Tenda's Nova MW6 mesh wi-fi system. I got a 2 pack as an Amazon.com Treasure Box special for $79.00 and it works excellently.
Don't know Tenda and good that it works for you, but generally in this case of essential networking hardware I prefer reliable and secure with good after-sales support (e.g. regular firmware updates) over something cheap. Unfortunately not many quality brands are left on the market.

Not sure about TP-Link with news like this:
TP-Link Offers Outdated or No Firmware at All on 30% of Its European Sites
"...The problems appear to be specific to TP-Link alone, as the company does not seem to care about customer security."
 
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Elwe

macrumors regular
Dec 30, 2006
162
87
From my perspective, the general use standard (taking into account performance, support, price, and ease-of-use), I think Eero is the standard. This seems to compete with that as far as price and theoretical performance at least—specifically the Eero versions that include wired gigE if you need it plus the second 5ghz radio.

If you need three such units, this seems about $20 cheaper. Competition is great. However, this setup does not seem to have a “beacon”-like option available. So if you do not need the two features above, Eero is clearly the better choice still.

If you only need two units, things are a bit muddier.
 

Elwe

macrumors regular
Dec 30, 2006
162
87
And Apple couldn’t be bothered to make something like this, because reasons. :rolleyes:

I do not mean to jump down your throat, but this kind of . . . sarcastic dismissiveness? . . . not sure if there is a better term I am looking for . . . has begun to annoy me, at least. There *are* reasons, some of which Apple has spoken about tangentially; and some of which others in positions to know have commented about.

Whether people want to accept it or not, Apple is not Google. Maybe they were closer to that at one point, but they are clearly not right now. And once consequence of that is that Apple cares to be in fewer parts with features products and skus than Google . . . or others. If you look at their focus on profitability and support paradigm, it is very easy to understand why. If they cannot be in the 30+% average sku profit range (there are a couple of exceptions but not many) and cannot provide end users with an "easy/good" support experience, they just are not--generally--going to be in the market.

One the front page of this site today, I see TP-Link has announced what seems like a good entry into this space. A space I think Eero has already done a good job with--thought not wildly profitably, if their layoffs reduction of estimated valuation should indicate. Why be in a business (let's say mostly-home-based mesh networks providing a reasonably good user experience based on a smartphone app to control things) where at least three players have pretty good options, and which most people will therefore focus on price almost exclusively?

I *extremely* dislike Apple not focusing on the Macs more. I would really like to purchase an updated mac mini. But if it is possible to honestly and logically understand why the mac mini does not get any love (for similar though not the same reasons), why is there honest expectation that that Apple spend time on consumer networking gear? It is just not who they are . . . at least anymore. And it has not been for some time. And they have been doing very, very, very well focusing on highly profitable and differentiated other things.

Anyway . . . just my rumblings of course. But I honestly do not know how better an experience Apple could make things compared with Eero, for example. Besides making the gear cheaper . . . which Apple is simply not going to do . . . what more can you honestly want from home-based mesh networking? I could see that you might want the HomePod and AppleTV to be integrated mesh boxes that provide WiFi to other things . . . but other that reduction of physical pieces of equipment that would surely come at increased cost . . . I cannot think of anything.
 

dfs

macrumors 6502
Sep 17, 2008
357
183
California
A smarter, leaner and more aggessive Apple would have either bought EERO or hired away its bright people a long time ago. Back in the day, Apple's smart people would have been able to spot kindred souls and snork them up to the Mother Ship. In fact EERO's a fine example of what Apple could be doing with all those billions it has socked away.

Hint to Apple: there's no harm in keeping a close eye on the current state of the crowdfunding scene.
 

Elwe

macrumors regular
Dec 30, 2006
162
87
A smarter, leaner and more aggessive Apple would have either bought EERO or hired away its bright people a long time ago. Back in the day, Apple's smart people would have been able to spot kindred souls and snork them up to the Mother Ship. In fact EERO's a fine example of what Apple could be doing with all those billions it has socked away.

Hint to Apple: there's no harm in keeping a close eye on the current state of the crowdfunding scene.

I agree with most of what you actually wrote, but not with what I interpret your fundamental point to be: that Apple should (not simple could, but should) have purchased Eero. Or still should. Or hired its people . . . to stay in this business.

I just disagree. I do not see why a business that can and does make a lot of good/great profit-producing products in other areas should play in a less profit-producing area without a greater compelling reason. And to me, having Apple branding is not compelling. If there is Eero and Apple cannot do it as well as Eero can for less cost, just leave the business. Which they have done. If they can do mesh wireless better, OK, stay. If they can do it less expensively, OK, stay. If it can drive other (honestly significant) product purchases, OK. Otherwise . . .

I think people tend to forget how clunky and problematic home routers were 10 years ago. Even five years ago. The Apple stack really served as an example of what could be. But this last couple of years has seen a huge advancement in a number of areas. In my opinion, the one major one not really changed for the better is cost. Some of the best solutions are $300-500. Just seems expensive to me, even though I have now purchased two systems for personal use in different homes. Google’s solution is less expensive, but performs less well and is not actually that inexpensive. I’d love to see a solution with three devices, all tri-band, all have gigE, frequently updated blacklists, with none of the Cloud subscription stuff required, for $200. Apple is never going to give me that. Maybe Google will eventually get there, though they would probably do it by selling even more access to your data. If I was in the market again, I’d probably, ultimately, be OK with that trade-off though I would gripe a little.
 

dfs

macrumors 6502
Sep 17, 2008
357
183
California
Not quite my point. What I was really driving at is that Apple used to be on the cutting edge of technology, including SOHO wireless networking. Sure, profitability was a consideration, but so was that position of industrywide leadership (which was itself a great source of revenue). So when somebody else came along with a clearly superior technology (mesh networking, if not actually invented by EERO at least first commercially exploited by them) this should have bothered Apple. Steve himself would have taken this as almost a personal insult.

Nowadays it is getting increasingly difficult to think of any area in which Apple still occupies its traditional position on the cutting edge (except maybe for animojis and conceivably VR, which at least on the surface seem to be little more than gimmicks to entertain the kind of teenagers who haunt Apple Stores rather than ways to help grownups get serious work done, although I may turn out to be wrong about that). This in itself looks disturbing. What is more profoundly disturbing is that Apple's current management appears to be untroubled by this loss of position within the industry. If Apple isn't doing its utmost to recruit and retain the brightest and most innovate talent, which most definitely involves sniffing out and using its vast fiscal resources to acquire promising startups, its long-term future begins to look a tad bleak. Face it, when it comes to SOHO wireless networking, EERO and a few other startups ate Apple's lunch. If I were Apple's CEO I'd be lying awake at night staring at the ceiling and worrying about this.
 

Benedict1234

macrumors newbie
Jul 6, 2017
12
1
Does anyone wonder about the privacy term on this TPlink? Collecting everything because you have only a setup through the app...

from ip addresses to third party credentials....

anyone have an issue with that?
 
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