Hi, Sifusss, Im new to mesh wifi stuff.

Recently moved in to 4 storey house so i bought 3packs of TP Link MEsh wifi M4 model.

Currently setup was using TIME 300mbps package and modem have to put at G floor as the fibred cable built into there.

Router im using the mesh wifi router FREE by TIME when i upgraded from 100mbps to 300mbps recently and place at 1st floor living hall.

For the 3 packs of M4 mesh, 1st M4 i set as main deco and plugged into router at 1st floor living hall there.

2nd deco i plugged at second floor small living hall and 3rd deco I put at top 3rd floor inside my master bedroom.

Currently speed was G floor around 20-30mbps, 1st floor can get full 300++mbps, 2nd floor can only get around 60-70mbps and last top 4th floor can only can like 40-50mbps.

Can I ask if these reading were normal for this kind of house and placements?

Or how can I improve 2nd and 3rd floor speed atleast can reach half of 300mbps which around 100-150mbps?

*I tried to move around the M4 deco packs within the floors as well but not much differents.

Seeking advise from you guys! Thanks in advanced~

WoW, 4 stories house...the number you get just tell you that the mesh wifi node is not enough. House in Malaysia are suprisingly harder for radio wave to travel and you just need more mesh than you think.

https://www.tp-link.com/my/compare/?typeId=...2C35792%2C35789

Current configuration obviously doesn't satisfy your requirements. Try look into getting a higher spec device like m5 or m9 and put it as the main deco

JFYI, I'm using 3 x D9 + 2 x D5 for house and the speed at my house drop from 300mbps at the main deco to 100mbps at the deco furthest away.

This post has been edited by WongGei: Mar 14 2022, 07:21 AM

Hi.. Thanks for your reply! And it was rented unit actually.. haha

And one more is I thought is to move my router from 1st floor to 2nd floor…but not sure why the wall ethernet powerpoint just not working as like the 1st floor one..cos mostly working area would be at 2nd floor.😔

Anyway, will take ur advise into consideration! Thanks 🙏🏿

First remove your Time router. Connect 1 unit of M4 to the modem and setup with Time PPPOE credential.
To connect 1 deco to another, better use wired connection as backhaul.
But honestly I think you need a more powerful deco like the M9 or X60 / X90.

Hi, Thanks for the reply! if i remove the router cable…wont the internet will disconnect at all?

Wired connection backhaul i wish can do oso.. but it will be long long long cable needed to connect each of the decos floor by floor. Lol

What mean like bought another M9 unit to connect at router as main deco right?

Thanks alot! 🙏🏿

Ethernet is always better than wireless. You might consider the cost of getting a network technician to help fixing the wiring at your house. You can buy the Ethernet diagnostic tool. It's just rm10 and can answer the question. https://shopee.com.my/product/119661402/606...19-1647391735.9

From my experience, those who lay the Ethernet cable at residence house doesn't know what they are doing and no recheck to make sure all the point are working as expected. Those line probably done by a worker of the electrical contractor. No checking tools to verify.

This post has been edited by WongGei: Mar 16 2022, 08:52 AM

If you need full speed (or near to full), you must use backhaul or tri-band mesh. These are your only option.
Wifi is half duplex. Mean your 2nd node or satelite will be half of your first node best speed.
Practically in real life your best speed for 1st AC1200 node, about 650mbps. Your 2nd node will be 325mbps while your 3rd will be 162.5mbps. Since your best speed was 300m+. I see that is very normal.

You definitely need atleast below triband mesh:

1) Deco X90

2) Asus XT8

3) The most powerful mesh at this time: Asus XT12

Hi.. Thanks for your reply! Backhaul means connect all mesh nodes with cable right?

And for my 1st main node speed is 340mbps, 2nd node shld be around 100-150mbps am i right according ur explanation…? But i only got 60-70mbps for 2nd node. 😢

For 3rd node oso only get 30-40+ mbps as well

Yes.
This is based on best result.
The other factors such as distance, walls... will affect your best result too.

Cat 6 cable now. Future prove

4-5 point RM 500per point. Buy high end mesh more then 3k become absolute in 3years.


This post has been edited by OlgaC4: Mar 21 2022, 11:37 AM

You might as well invest into wired backhaul as well for an almost guaranteed node speed.

You either backhaul each of the mesh to a central switch near main router, OR, daisy chain main router to storey 2, then storey 2 to storey 3, then storey 3 to storey 4 (provided your selection of mesh model have minimum 2 gigabit port pn each node).

Tumpang tanya

TPlink mesh - only one unit can work? The mesh connects to the wifi router via WIFI and then extend to another area?

In that case you are using it like a wifi repeater

you will not get any of the benefits of mesh

oh... actually what benefits are the mesh Vs wifi repeater?

Well, Mesh lets your device move from 1 unit to another unit without any interruption/disconnecting

and its smarter, so say like you have 3 units, they will talk to each other to send/receive the data, and if like one gets powered off the mesh will re-adjust

for best results I would say buy at least 2

one, to replace the router provided by tm/maxis/time, as the main "master" node
2nd, as your mesh node that will connect back to the main node wirelessly or wired (wired for better results)

if using wirelessly, getting "Tri-Band" mesh nodes are better as they have 2 radios, so they can talk to the other nodes while also talking to your devices
otherwise it has to take turns

i thought even with 2 units, the second unit also connects to the main unit via wireless and is it not the same like the only 1 unit connects to the main router?

mesh, specifically via 802.11 k / v / r allows for roaming between them, so your devices can easily move between them 2 without disconnecting

and different, because connecting deco to not deco main router, they dont/cant talk to each other about this roaming, the experience is not as good moving between them
so, you get wifi repeater like experience

and, more expensive deco mesh again, has the dual radio so you do not get the speed penalty because otherwise 1 radio has to talk to both your device and the upstream one, it can't do both at the same time so your speed suffers

I never recommend mixing setups, always stick to 1 setup, dont mix and match, modem -> deco directly

if you can pull wires, always do it
if cannot, then getting dual radio ones are best to prevent the speed decrease.

dont bother keeping whatever tm/maxis/time/etc give you, it's not good.

So the best setup is this way >

TM Wifi modem/router > TPlink mesh unit 1 (via wire) > Mesh Unit 2 and 3....

like this?

Then devices should connect to Mesh WIFI or still modem/router?

Which TPlink mesh is good to get?

do you have a separate modem + router setup from tm or a single device from TM

if separate, keep the one without antennas, that's your modem, should be Huawei/FiberHome/ZTE/Nokia/Alcatel-Lucent branded
if 2 in 1, need to bridge mode it, ask main thread for guide

then, connect up your main mesh node with a ethernet cable to LAN1 of the modem
then, setup the Deco in PPPoE Mode, it will require a username and password, you can just ask TM for it, just tell them you want the PPPoE username and password
also select Unifi ISP when configuring

video guide by tplink: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4M8F0WRYV0
(for XE75 model but its the same for all)

then, you just pair the other deco nodes to the main one with the app and then just put them where you want

I have no recommendations.