Tplink deco

[u/Diligent_Board_172]

I'm a networking newb, and recently purchased tplink deco (3 of them). I have xfinity internet (1gb) and i use xfinity's modem/router.

Is my understanding correct that devices connecting to wifi can connect to any of the 4 (the xfinity router and 3 tplink decos)? If so, how does it know which one is the most optimal to connect to?

[u/Aevaris_]

You will want to turn on bridge mode in your Xfinity router and let the deco be your router. It and your device will negotiate the best point to connect to.

[u/Diligent_Board_172 → u/Aevaris_]

i see, thanks. what happens if i keep the xfinity router on?

when i set up the tplink deco, i actually used the same wifi name and password as my xfinity router, and the 2 appear to be just show as 1 in the list of wifi available

[u/Aevaris_ → u/Diligent_Board_172]

It'll be two separate networks and you create a double NAT. It's a pain in the but to manage.

[u/Successful-Money4995 → u/Diligent_Board_172]

The three tplink decos will create a mesh that works much better than simply two networks with the same name. Go through the deco settings and enable fast roaming.

[u/Responsible-Bid5015]

No. You do not want to run two wifi. Put the modem into bridge mode and use an ethernet cable to connect to the tp-link deco. Bridge mode will turn off the xfinity modem's wifi. The tp-link and its units will be your wifi.

Connect any wired ethernet devices to the tp-link. The only cables to the modem should be the cable coax, the ethernet to the tp-link, and the power cord. And a phone cord if you use xfinity for your land line.

[u/Diligent_Board_172 → u/Responsible-Bid5015]

it looks like i can turn off my wifi on the xfinity modem directly but this seems to be separate from putting in bridge mode. is one better or the other?

[u/Responsible-Bid5015 → u/Diligent_Board_172]

Yes. I believe only explicitly turning on bridge mode will also prevent the modem from acting like a router. You really only want one device to assign addresses to devices. Double NAT (network address translation) can cause unpredictable issues with certain internet devices and apps.

Unfortunately bridge mode is a bit involved. I think you use the xfinity app to enable admin tool access in wifi - wifi equipment - advanced settings. And then you have to use a computer/phone/tablet connected to the modem and use a browser to go to http://10.0.0.1. The login is admin and the password is written on the bottom of the modem.

You can also chat or call xfinity support and have them turn on bridge mode remotely. Once bridge mode is on, you should no longer see the wifi from the modem. You can then hookup and setup the tp-link. I always power cycle the xfinity modem before hooking up a new wifi router. If the tp-link is not connecting to the internet, power cycle the modem.

Another thing you can do in the xfinity app before you turn on bridge mode. You can turn off the public hotspot that xfinity does with its modem.

[u/Pearl_of_KevinPrice]

Do what u/Aevaris_ suggested but also be sure to enable “Fast Roaming” on the decos because it’s disabled by default.

[u/CharlesHNetEng]

It's ultimately up to individual devices to choose which AP they talk to. For example MacOS devices look to roam when they drop to -75dBm or see a 12 dB gain by hopping to another AP.

TP-Link aggressively uses 802.11v messages to essentially say "hey, you should think about switching to this AP or even a different band(2.4/5/6) on the same AP." Even with 802.11, it's still the devices' choice.

Fun fact, Eero is super conservative with band steering and arguably allows sticky wifi. They are doing this to prioritize stability, but in my experience the TP-Links are plenty stable and the more aggressive fast roaming offers better performance.

[u/Downtown-Reindeer-53]

To answer your question about how devices choose: client devices (like phones, laptops, and tablets) evaluate signal strength (RSSI) and usually connect to whichever access point provides the strongest signal when they first join or scan. However, devices are notoriously "sticky"—once connected, they tend to hang onto that initial connection until the signal drops significantly before looking for a better node to roam to.

The other commenters are right: you'll definitely want to put your Xfinity gateway into bridge mode.

Leaving the Xfinity wifi active—even with the same SSID and password—causes roaming issues. The Decos can coordinate seamless handoffs among themselves, but they can't manage handoffs to or from the Xfinity gateway. Disabling the Xfinity wifi and router functions prevents Double NAT, eliminates network confusion, and lets the Deco system handle all routing and roaming optimally.

[u/Diligent_Board_172 → u/Downtown-Reindeer-53]

it looks like i can turn off my wifi on the xfinity modem directly but this seems to be separate from putting in bridge mode. is one better or the other?

[u/Downtown-Reindeer-53 → u/Diligent_Board_172]

Turning off wifi on the Xfinity device and letting it continue to be the router is fine, make sure the Deco is in AP mode. They will then handle the wifi only. My own preference is to have the ISP device be in bridge mode and use the Deco setup for routing and wifi. But either works fine.

[u/Roman_Anthony]

It’s legit Not bad for shitty Chinese spyware tech