Costco Wholesale has
3-Pack TP-Link Deco M9 Plus AC2200 Tri-Band Mesh WiFi Router (DECOM9PLUS) on sale for
$159.99 valid for
Costco Members only.
Shipping is free.
Thanks to community member
westmi for finding this deal
Note, must login to your Costco account w/ an active membership to view sale price
About the Product- Cover up to 6,500 sq. ft w/ high performance WiFi and eliminates dead zones/buffering
- Three WiFi bands supporting up to 100 devices
- Built-in Smart Hub that easily connects to ZigBee, Bluetooth or WiFi smart home
- Free Lifetime Subscription to TP-Link HomeCare featuring antivirus, robust parental controls and QoS
- Easy setup/management
- Works w/ Alexa
- Universally compatible w/ any ISP/modem
Warranty- Includes a 2-year limited warranty w/ purchase (w/ Costco Concierge Services)
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No wire clutter on the floors since my CAT6 cables run-up in the attic. This router can also control some smart devices and you can have the router switch things on and off through Alexa, Google Assistant and the Deco app. YMMV on which smart devices are compatible. But they work with my TP-link Kasa Smart plugs and Philips smart bulbs. It also handles Bluetooth and Zigbee devices.
While it doesn't have as many advanced manual features as many other routers do such has my Synology rt2600ac (my home office router) or my EdgeRouter X. It does have some.
Support for IPv6
Specify your own subnet
IP range
DNS
VLAN
Address Reservation
Port Forwarding
DDNS
UPnP
Connection Alerts to cell phones (I know when someone connects to the network via a notification to my cell phone)
QoS
Parental Controls
Antivirus (TrendMicro)
Intrusion Prevention System
Infected Device Quarantine
Malicious Content Filter
Blacklist
Can operate in Router and AP mode
Smart Actions (A smart device can trigger another) I have this set up with Wyze to trigger a lamp if the Wyze v3 camera detects a person in the backyard and front porch (postal worker & amazon delivery). If I see that lamp on, I look at what triggered it on the Wyze app cam footage.
Both 5Ghz antennas can be used when it senses a need for higher demand according to the marketing material. But I don't know how to verify this claim from TP-Link.
Supports IFTTT
Shows me the real-time UP/DOWN bandwidth usage of every client connected to it.
Produces monthly usage and security reports on the app with graphs, how often a smart device has been triggered or automation routine executed through the router. (those performed inside Alexa and Google Assistant don't show). I like that because my Synology devices do the same.
If the ethernet haul switch goes down, it automatically switches to wifi backhaul
It covers my home end to end (2,234 sqft), a separate garage, driveway, and the rear deck. I have wyze v3 monitoring the driveway and Eufy doorbell cams. This system is also expandable so you can add additional nodes like most other mesh systems. If you need more coverage, just add more deco nodes.
I keep all of my IoT devices, TV and Nvidia Shield Pro 2019x2, approximately 42 devices and growing.
I do keep my home office computers and network printers behind the Synology rt2600ac, separated from all of the other devices. Separate VLan.
Best of all, it's affordable, and few IoT devices make use of 5Ghz, much less WIFI 6. Perhaps my Pixel Phone and Google Nest Hubs use the 5Ghz band. 4K TVs, streaming boxes, and Plex server are connected via ethernet to a gigabit switch.
For me, it's sort of a poor man's version of Ubiquiti APs. Good enough for now until AX routers mature. I would love to upgrade late this year or next to a Ubiquiti Dream Machine Pro, but for now, this works and it works pretty well. Very reliable. I wish my Synology was as reliable.
Originally got it because the house I lived in was only 1,100 sqft but 90% cinder block walls so a single wireless router wasn't cutting it. Only wireless backhaul at that point and zero issues.
Current house has ethernet to a couple rooms so have ethernet backhaul to one and wireless to another in the bedroom because I prefer to use the ethernet on the node as it obviously performs better than most wireless devices.
It really depends on your square footage, but the fact that you have the option of ethernet backhaul, I would personally recommend them.
For reference, I run 2 home servers, 2 desktops, and basically all my media and gaming devices wired and usually have about 30 wireless clients connected at any given time. Two 8 port switched on two of the nodes. Mix of iot devices, phones, and laptops, both 2.4G and 5G. The one caveat as a power user is the limited control with the simple config interface, but to be honest it's been nice not having to deal with the networking side to focus on other projects.
Sorry for the wall of text, just honestly very happy with my deco setup.
Then a deal for the X60 showed up at Costco. Did we need WIFI6? No. Would it be nice? Sure, since we have gig internet. Unfortunately, the X60 hasn't delivered on the WIFI6 speeds. A WIFI6 laptop gets 600-700 down. My iPhone 11 Pro Max -- about 450, maybe 500 when standing next to one of the AP's.
So, in hindsight, I'd probably be just as happy with the M9 Plus again, especially at $159. I do use ethernet backhaul for all the AP's, but the M9 is tri-band so even that is not needed.
I have, though, bought a few sets of the M9 from Costco for friends/clients and installed them in their gigantic homes and am pleased with the range and performance. I'm also going to have to price match Costco to get some money back once these go on sale (and maybe pick up another set or two for future installs for friends/clients!).
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I bought these specifically for the ethernet connectivity and the sale price being comparable to the M5's. They have been rock solid. No buffering, signal drops, or range issues. Currently I have 32 connected devices and I'm using the Motorola MB7621 modem with Comcast 400 Mbps service.
This is my speed on a comcast gigabit connection. This wireless AC chromebook with Deco M9 plus
All 3 pucks have gigabit wireless backhaul connections. I have had this mesh network since Oct/Nov 2020. I got these from Costco on a deal for I think $10 more.
I list my speedtest only to show you what is possible.
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I have Fios TV and gigabit internet service and appreciate the simplicity of the Deco mesh system and app. I use my Fios gateway as a wired router essentially (wireless turned off completely) and use the Deco mesh system in Access Point mode so that we can use our phones and tablets to access DVR and use phones as tv remote if needed. These features are not available if I use Deco in router mode.
The Deco app does not give a lot of advanced options but seems to work well for an average home user. I never see wireless speeds > 500mbps with any wireless device with our current M5 units (though this is plenty for streaming and gaming) and I don't know that that will change with the M9, but am hoping that the range is better.
Make sure you update the firmware on this. One of the firmware cannot be updated using the Deco app - you will need to download to a computer on the network and then update the firmware.
However, one thing to keep in mind, and i didn't know this going in, is that it's not a TRUE mesh system. It's a hub and spoke mesh.
That means that every puck needs to be within range of the main puck to connect to it. You can't (as far as i could figure out) daisy chain them wirelessly to hub to hub to main. This reduces the effectiveness of the mesh system.
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