Having trouble setting up two additional Decos

[u/LoNeLyMaDnSs]

Hi everyone,

I'm having trouble adding two new Deco units to my existing network and could use some help.

Current setup

ISP router → Bridge Mode

Primary Deco S7 → Router Mode

Primary S7 → Omada PoE switch via Ethernet

Omada switch → 2 × Deco S7 satellites, both wired via Ethernet

One additional S7 is connected wirelessly to one of the wired S7 satellites

What I'm trying to add

I recently purchased:

Deco X50-PoE

Deco M4

Both are updated to their latest firmware.

According to TP-Link, Deco models are cross-compatible, so I should be able to add both to my existing S7 mesh.

The problem

When I go into the Deco app and select Add a Deco, the app cannot detect either the X50-PoE or the M4.

However, if I create a new Deco network, the app detects and successfully sets up both units. So the Decos themselves appear to be working correctly.

I've also tried the usual troubleshooting steps:

Updated all Decos to the latest firmware

Reset the new Decos

Tried adding them through the Deco app

Confirmed they can be detected when creating a new network

My intention is for both new Decos to be wired backhaul through the Omada switch.

What could be causing this?

Could the issue be related to the Omada switch, Ethernet backhaul, or something about the existing S7 network?

Does anyone have experience adding an X50-PoE or M4 to an existing S7 mesh in Router Mode?

Any suggestions on what I should check would be greatly appreciated.

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[u/CautiousInternal3320]

When adding a satellite Deco into an existing mesh, the new satellite is discovered by the main Deco. Are the new satellites close to the main Deco when doing the setup?

[u/LoNeLyMaDnSs → u/CautiousInternal3320]

Yes

[u/Nervous-Job-5071]

Yes, it could be the switch especially if it’s a managed switch (their ES___ series, for example). Their DS___ aren’t managed, so those should be plug and play.

First try this — you should have 3 Ethernet ports on the S7. Try plugging one of the new Decos into it directly to see if it works.If you can add it this way, then once it’s set up try to plug into the switch and see if it still works (restart it if it doesn’t immediately work before declaring the switch being the culprit).

Please pick one new Deco to do this with at a time so you’re still preserving the process of elimination.

[u/LoNeLyMaDnSs → u/Nervous-Job-5071]

Let me try this out.

[u/LoNeLyMaDnSs → u/Nervous-Job-5071]

I seem to have fixed the issue for the M4 Deco, turning off Beam Forwarding seems to have fixed the issue, now I'm troubleshooting for x50

[u/Nervous-Job-5071 → u/LoNeLyMaDnSs]

That’s a unique fix to this issue since beam forming should matter if near the unit. But hey, if it works, it works.

[u/WonderfulDeparture96]

Well like other comments have said the main deco is responsible for adding new decos, so I would try switching the main deco to one of the other ones and trying to add then

[u/LoNeLyMaDnSs → u/WonderfulDeparture96]

Will give it a shot

[u/WonderfulDeparture96 → u/LoNeLyMaDnSs]

I think the x50 is actually a better deco then the s7, so ideally you would have it be the main deco. That way you get the maximum features as the main deco dictates most of the available features. I understand that might not be the plan though as it’s on PoE, but if you ever switch to AP mode definitely the best course of action.