Бесшовный mesh роутер tp link deco m9 plus

TP-Link’s newest whole-home Wi-Fi solution, the Deco M9 Plus Mesh Wi-Fi System ($299.99), is actually two systems in one. It not only delivers seamless wireless connectivity to larger homes, but it also pulls double duty as a home automation hub that will control lights, door locks, thermostats, and other connected devices. It’s easy to install and manage, and it delivered very good scores on our throughput tests. It’s also packed with features including anti-malware protection and user-friendly parental controls and Quality of Service settings. All this makes it our Editors’ Choice for whole-home Wi-Fi systems.

Two Systems in One

The two-pack system of the Deco M9 that I tested contains two identical nodes and covers homes of up to 4,500 square feet. Additional nodes that provide another 2,000 square feet of Wi-Fi coverage each are available for $179.99, and there’s a three-pack system due out in the near future. The circular M9 nodes look identical to the nodes used with the Deco M5 system, but at 5.7 inches in diameter and 2.5 inches high, they are about 1 inch wider and 1 inch taller than the M5 nodes.

The M9 Plus nodes contain two gigabit LAN ports (one of which acts as the WAN port on the main router node), a power jack, a reset button, and a USB 2.0 port. A tiny LED indicator on the top of the node glows yellow at startup, pulses blue when the node is ready for setup, is solid blue during setup, and is solid green when everything is up and running smoothly. A red light indicates an issue such as a lost internet connection.

Inside each node is a quad-core CPU, 4GB of flash memory, and 512MB of RAM. There are also six Wi-Fi antennas, a Zigbee antenna, a Bluetooth antenna, a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi radio, and two 5GHz radios. One of the 5GHz bands is a dedicated backhaul band used for node-to-node data transmissions, but the system can utilize the other two bands for on-demand backhaul when the need arises.

An AC2200 system, the Deco M9 can reach maximum data link speeds of 400Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and 867Mbps on each of the 5GHz bands. However, band-steering is mandatory, which means you can’t separate the radio bands. The system supports Multi-User Multiple Input Multiple Output (MU-MIMO) data streaming, which transmits data to compatible clients simultaneously rather than sequentially, and beamforming, which sends data directly to clients rather than over a broad spectrum.

The M9 Plus uses its numerous wireless radios to connect to and control home automation devices such as Kwikset smart door locks; smart lights from TP-Link, Cree, Philips, and GE; smart switches from TP-Link and Centralite; and numerous sensors, including motion sensors, door/window sensors, and water leak detectors from companies such as SmartThings and Securifi. It will also control Nest thermostats and Nest Protect Smoke/CO detectors. However, it lacks the Z-Wave radio that you get with the Samsung Connect Home AC1300 Smart Wi-Fi System.

You can use Amazon Alexa voice commands to control certain network features, such as turning guest networking on and off and enabling a QoS preset, and you can use IFTTT applets to make your connected smart devices work with other smart devices and web services. For example, you can create an applet to have your lights come on when an Uber car arrives at your house, or have your lights change color when your favorite team wins a game.

As with the Deco M5, the M9 Plus comes with the Trend Micro-powered HomeCare protection service, which is similar to the Ai Protection service that you get with the Asus Lyra Trio. Both offer malware and virus protection and will automatically quarantine infected devices before they get a chance to infect your network, and both offer excellent parental controls with website filtering and access scheduling. That said, TP-Link’s HomeCare lasts for three years before you have to pay an annual subscription fee, while AiProtection is a lifetime deal.

Everything is controlled using the TP-Link Deco app, a thoughtfully designed mobile app for iOS and Android devices. The Overview screen displays the name of your network and an internet icon: Tap the icon to see the status of each node (online, offline) and check their overall health. Below the internet icon are Antivirus and Parental Controls buttons. The AntiVirus button takes you to a screen where you can enable the Intrusion Prevention System (which scans for vulnerabilities and protects against outside attacks) and the Malicious Content filtering and Infected Device Quarantine options.

Tapping the Parental Controls button takes you to a screen where you can create user profiles and assign Filter Levels (Child, Pre-Teen, Teen, Adult) to each user. Each level offers a different degree of protection: For example, the Child level blocks access to sites that contain adult content, gambling, sex education, social networking, games, and more.

You can add your own sites using the Apps/Websites settings. Here you can also set online time limits and create a Bedtime that blocks access to the internet for specific times of the day on school nights. Once you’ve created a user profile, you can apply it to all devices for that user, including phones, tablets, gaming consoles, and PCs.

Below the AntiVirus and Parental Control buttons are buttons for all installed home automation and network devices. To control a device, tap its button. To give a device network priority, tap its button and enable High Priority. You can set a duration (one, two, or four hours) or give it 24/7 priority. At the bottom of the screen are Overview, Shortcut, Automation, and More buttons.

The Overview button takes you back to the main screen, and the Shortcut button lets you create action shortcuts. For example, you can create one-touch shortcuts to set a Nest thermostat to a certain temperature, turn lights on and off, and lock and unlock doors. Use the Automations button to create interactions between installed smart devices. Here you can have a bedroom light trigger an air conditioner, or have lights come on when a door is unlocked. Tapping the More button takes you to a screen with Router and HomeCare settings.

Router settings include basic Wi-Fi and guest networking settings, a Blacklist option where you can block a device’s access to your network, firmware updates, and Advanced settings such as Port Forwarding, VLAN, IPv4 and IPv6, and Operating Mode (Router or Access Point). There’s also a Notifications section where you can enable/disable alerts for Parental Control and Antivirus events, and when a new device joins the network.

HomeCare buttons take you to the aforementioned Parental Controls, and Antivirus settings let you view monthly statistics such as how many devices have connected, the number of network attacks, and how many shortcuts and automations have been executed. There’s also a QoS button that lets you prioritize network bandwidth by application and includes buttons for Gaming, Streaming, Surfing, Chatting, and Standard. You can also create a Custom setting with bandwidth sliders for each application type.

Impressive Performance

As with most Wi-Fi systems, the Deco M9 Plus is easy to install. Start by downloading the mobile app and creating an account. Once you’ve verified your email address, open the app and click Let’s Begin. Select the M9 Plus from the list and follow the on-screen instructions to power off your modem before plugging in the Deco. When the LED begins pulsing blue, tap the Next button to connect the Deco to your network. In my tests, this took about 3 seconds.

See How We Test Wireless Routers

I chose a location from the list (choices include bedroom, hallway, kitchen, or office), created a network name and password, and connected my phone to the new network. After a quick internet-connection test, the Deco was online. I tapped Add Another Deco, selected my home type (one floor, two floors, or three-plus floors), and repeated the installation process. The entire installation took less than 15 minutes.

Pairing my Nest Thermostat was also very easy. I tapped the + icon in the upper right corner of the Home screen, selected Smart Devices, tapped Thermostats, and selected Nest Thermostat from the list. The app found my thermostat immediately, and I assigned a location and was finished. Back at the Home screen, a thermostat tab was added to the list of devices. I tapped my thermostat icon and was able to set the heat, switch modes, and turn the thermostat on and off.

The Deco M9 Plus turned in impressive results on our throughput performance tests. The main router’s score of 546Mbps on the close-proximity (same-room) SU-MIMO test was more than 100Mbps faster than the TP-Link Deco M5 ($183.80 at Walmart) and more than 200Mbps faster than the Asus Lyra ($261.69 at Amazon) . The Linksys Velop Tri-Band router led, but it was only 10Mbps faster than the M9 Plus.

At a distance of 30 feet, the M9 Plus router scored 230Mbps, beating the Linksys Velop Dual-Band router by more than 100Mbps and the Asus Lyra by more than 80Mbps, and it was just 6Mbps slower than the Linksys Velop Tri-Band router. The TP-Link Deco M5 led with a score of 249Mbps.

The M9 Plus node was a top performer. Its score of 386Mbps on the SU-MIMO close-proximity test beat the competition by more than 100Mbps in most cases. The Linksys Velop Tri-Band took second with a score of 328Mbps. Results were similar on the 30-foot test: The M9 Plus’s score of 297Mbps led the pack.

Results on our MU-MIMO performance tests, in which we use three identical Acer Aspire E15 laptops equipped with Qualcomm Atheros QCA9377 wireless 802.11ac network adapters as our clients, were mixed. The Deco M9 Plus main router garnered a score of 116Mbps on the close-proximity test, barely edging past the Deco M5, but trailing both Linksys Velop models. The Asus Lyra was the fastest with a score of 268Mbps. At a distance of 30 feet, the Deco M9 Plus router’s score of 85Mbps beat the Linksys Velop Dual-Band and matched the Asus Lyra, but was a bit slower than Deco M5. The Linksys Velop Tri-Band router’s score of 116Mbps was the fastest of the bunch.

The Deco M9 Plus node was the fastest node in our MU-MIMO close-proximity tests with a speed of 100Mbps. The Asus Lyra node 1 came in second with 95Mbps, but its node 2 came in last with 51Mbps. The Linksys Velop Dual-Band nodes scored 95Mbps (node 1) and 75Mbps (node 2), while the Velop Tri-Band nodes scored 60Mbps and 70Mbps, respectively. Results were similar on the 30-foot MU-MIMO test: The Deco M9 Plus node beat all comers with a score of 99Mbps.

Powerful and Feature-Packed

There’s a lot to like about the Deco M9 Plus Mesh Wi-Fi System. It delivered some of the highest scores we’ve seen from a mesh system on our throughput performance tests, and its mobile app offers a wealth of management features, including strong anti-malware and antivirus tools, rich parental controls, and user-friendly Quality of Service settings. Moreover, it serves as a home automation hub that will control Zigbee-, Wi-Fi-, and Bluetooth-connected devices such as door locks, thermostats, and entry sensors, and it responds to Amazon Alexa voice commands and interacts with other smart devices using IFTTT applets. The only thing missing is support for Z-Wave devices, but that doesn’t prevent it from earning our Editors’ Choice for whole-home Wi-Fi systems.