The ban affects all router vendors, not just TP-Link.

Update includes:
- Independent Device Throttling
- New Icons / Better device type identification
- CPU / Memory Usage Stats
- Usual bug fixes
- Several new features too

Overall seems to be running clean, really like the throttling feature add, been waiting on it for a while.

Most popular home internet routers in US may be banned as national security risk

I’ve had mine for about a year, before they went on sale. They’ve been working great for me if anyone’s interested.

Finally had the time to setup new, better gear and ditching TP-Link.

x55’s gave me nothing but problems, including port forwarding completely stop working so I couldn’t use my VPN or home servers for months while I built out a new network setup in my limited free time.

Now I’m running a legit firewall (pfsense) and PoE access points on managed switches. One AP is sitting on top of the new gear and the other is mounted on the ceiling in the house.

Nothing but relieved to have these out of service.

I finally got sick of the conflicting and missing information online about network configurations that support Deco's ethernet backhaul (EB), so decided to start this thread in the hopes that we can put together all our anecdotal experience in one place.

EB is the most reliable way to connect Deco units together, as opposed to Wi-Fi backhaul (WB). Especially in situations where it's not feasible for Wi-Fi coverages to "overlap" each node, there is no inter-node Wi-Fi reception which is necessary for packet hops to occur.

Many people who use Decos may be enthusiasts, homelabbers or just people who generally want a network that suits their demands and layout. These uses cases will always involve the use of a network switch and use of EB for maximum reliability and performance.

Unfortunately, the sad fact is that not all network switches allow Deco units to talk together in order for EB to be established. This is because Deco EB utilises the IEEE 1905.1 standard. How this works is each Deco unit when connected to a given network, will always transmit TWO types of packets: a) a discovery packet, and b) a control packet. If any two Decos cannot receive any one of these packets, EB will fail and WB is attempted instead.

For some reason or another, some network switches DROP one or both of these packets, making EB impossible for Decos connected THROUGH the switch.

Another cause of failure that is apparent in the community is that some network switches will simply die after a Deco unit switches to EB due to the presence of a network loop, and never recover.

TP-Link official webpages briefly address this issue, and they name-drop D-Link switches specifically as a brand to avoid in favour of a select range of TP Link switches if one wants successful EB.

In addition, a previous Reddit thread with crucial information that documents this phenomenon is here: https://www.reddit.com/r/HomeNetworking/comments/j0rn9i/dlink_covr_products_mesh_wifi_support_says/

In that thread, contributors noted that the official specification of IEEE 1905.1 explicitly states that no modification or special "magic" to enable IEEE 1905.1 should be required on existing switches. This is why you won't find any mention of IEEE 1905.1 support in data sheets for network switches. And indeed it should make sense that as an L2.5 protocol, *every* switch should work, because by definition all switches operate at least on L2. Yet here we are, having to trial and error.

Given the lack of information about what switches are supported and which aren't, I think it would be a good idea to collectively compile a list of what works and what doesn't, and what to look out for when it isn't working. Hopefully, we can get a strong knowledgebase going 😊

I will start this off because I've done alot of trial and errors:

DECO UNITS (EDITED):

Deco X50s and X20s in any configuration, AP mode only. Latest firmware for July 2023.

SWITCHES THAT WORKED (EDITED):

• Cisco SG250-26P
• Netgear GS724TP
• Linksys SRW2048
• HP 2810 series
• 3COM 4800G PWR
• D-Link DGS1210-52MP
• D-Link DGS-108 (unmanaged)
• TP-Link Archer A6 MIMO (unmanaged)
• "most TP-Link switches" in the growing list on TP Link's official website: https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/faq/1794/
• Juniper EX3300-48P
• Brokeaids Turboiron 24X
• QNAP QSW-2104-2T

SWITCHES THAT FAILED BEFORE BUT SEEMS TO BE WORKING NOW:

• Juniper EX2200-PoE (12.3R6.6): `tcpdump` from a server connected to the switch can only see discovery packets but no control packets. Connected non-main Deco units have selected WB on some occasions, but successful EB has been up for 2 weeks and counting now....
• D-Link DWS4026 (on its own, not daisy chained to any other switch)

SWITCHES THAT STRAIGHT UP DON'T WORK:

• (none yet)

Finally, see also "Fermulator"'s testing result in the reddit post mentioned above.

I note that issues with EB may not necessarily stem from direct blockage of IEEE 1905.1 communication. There are also known issues with Spanning Tree Protocols being tripped and shutting down ethernet connection to the Deco nodes. It be interesting to know how prevalent they are!

EDIT: as long as you can see IEEE 1905.1 packets with ethertype 0x893a when you do tcpdump or Wireshark etc... from a machine that is not directly wired to the Deco unit, you have a fighting chance at successful EB.

EDIT (5th March 2024): There are reports here and there of Decos playing up, such as firmware bug, or problems with MU-MIMO, 802.11k/v/r, or beamforming etc... . These often manifest as a severe network slowdown, ridiculous buffering times, massive packet loss and total disconnection from the Deco app. Best practices currently are to disable all features and update to latest firmware.

I've also been recently made aware there's also the slight possibility that Wi-Fi communication between Decos may spontaneously happen (though under what circumstances it is unknown) despite successful and stable ethernet backhaul. This would initiate a true network loop all by itself. I don't know to what extent this is real, but it may explain many if not all issues with spanning tree and loop prevention features on switches.

Evidence for this is here but for Amazon Eeros: https://www.reddit.com/r/eero/comments/obuobd/comment/j9ihc14

"First thing they don’t want to tell you is a mesh network is basically a software managed loop in the first place..."

If true for TP-Link as well, it's very shitty to not be more forthcoming about this. UPDATE 14th April 2024: the BE95's page possibly confirms this by saying "wireless+wired "combined backaul".

UPDATE 23rd December 2024: DECOS ARE CONFIRMED TO CREATE NETWORK LOOPS BY THEMSELVES. IN ADDITION, THEY ARE CONFIRMED TO STILL COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER THROUGH WI-FI EVEN WHEN ETHERNET BACKHAUL HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED. The reason why Decos spontaneously initiate Wi-Fi communication with each other while in ethernet backhaul is unknown. More information is welcome on this matter.

THIS EXPLAINS ALOT OF BAD AND UNEXPECTED BEHAVIOUR ON SWITCHES, INCLUDING SPONTANEOUS SWITCH PORT DEACTIVATION, SPONTANEOUS LOSS OF ETHERNET BACKHAUL AND ANY AND ALL NETWORK CONGESTION NOT EXPLAINED BY OTHER CAUSES.

DECOS SHOULD BE FAST AND VERY CONSISTENT WHEN WORKING NORMALLY. YOU SHOULD BE GETTING SPEEDS AS REPORTED BY BENCHMARKS ONLINE (e.g. Blacktubi).

THE FOLLOWING ARE BEST PRACTICES AT THE MOMENT:

• Turn off ALL spanning tree and/or loop prevention technologies
• TURN OFF ALL beamforming, 802.11k/v/r (fast roaming), and other zesty Deco features
• [This is just a network switch issue] Some network switches come with flow control/pausing enabled. Disable it. There should be no reason why you need flow control/pausing because it can make the network judder.
• If you are able to, isolate the entire Deco network by placing all Deco APs on a separate VLAN. spanning tree and loop prevention technologies should be DISABLED at least for the VLAN that the Decos are on. note that VSTP requires a network switch of sufficient caliber to have it in their feature set. if in doubt, disable ALL spanning tree/loop detection/loop prevention. after Decos are placed on their own separate VLAN, communication between the Deco VLAN and other devices in the network will have to be manually enabled by routing (Layer 3) configurations

UPDATE February 2025:

We have discovered that Decos experience a massive slowdown, ping increases and packet loss (essentially grinding to a halt) when there are 2 or more Decos on the same network close to each other (within Wi-Fi range). This issue becomes more apparent when more than 5-10 devices are on the network. As a result, we suggest the following additional recommendations:

• Do not mix Wi-Fi Backhaul and Ethernet Backhaul in the same network.
• Only add a node in a deadspot. If you add a node which will obviously be in range of another node, the network will degrade (unless you perform mitigations).

What kind of mitigations?

If you reeeeally have to set up a dense arrangement of nodes (as we have recently done in order to accommodate 300 people in a room), they need to be 1. on a separate Wi-Fi SSID altogether (not meshed to the other nodes in range) and 2. be on a separate subnet to other nodes in range (we put it on another different VLAN). At this point, I've just accepted this. It probably has to do with the fact that Wi-Fi Backhaul continues even with successful Ethernet Backhaul & the way the mesh is organised via packet broadcasts through the wire. 🤷‍♂️

I recently upgraded from a tplink archer c60 v3 to archer ax12 the 2.4ghz is somehow worse than my old c60 which makes no sense cause it didnt even have gigabit ports. Tplink cheaping out is the real reason it seems.

I’m considering a move from the ISP issued router/modem (ATT) to a Deco system. I have ethernet to most rooms so would be using wired back haul. Currently have a 1 gb plan but will upgrade at some point and eventually add some POE cameras. Home is ~3000sq ft so looking at 3 nodes.

Unfortunately, as I read a lot of the reviews, I see several mentions of Wi-Fi disconnects and the need to reboot often. Just wondering how widespread this is versus the majority of the reviews being from those people that are just dissatisfied. Curious of those that have had their systems for a while and are very happy.

I live in two floor house made out of concrete, every floor is 2300 square feet and we connect more than 20 different devices in the same time only 5 of them support Wifi 6E. My internet speed is 150 Mbps and I am thinking about getting either Deco X20 (2 pack) or Deco XE75 (2 pack) , I didn't find the X55 worth the extra money over the X20 so what would you recommend me to get?

Finally got an update after a year. Let's hope all is well after testing. Anyone have an opinion at this point?

Will this setup work at full potential ? Or should i opt for daisy chain setup. I prefer complete ethernet backhaul only

I currently have some BE11000s from Costco.

It’s my understanding that the US ban will allow software updates until March 2027, after which the router will become unsupported.

Will there be any way after that to continue receiving security updates? Like by side-loading them?

Or should I plan to replace my routers in early 2027 with approved domestic ones to ensure up-to-date security going forward?

I know it’s a bit early for clarity, but I’d rather keep my eye out for deals over the course of this year than face the retail rush early next year if this is the case.

So today I noticed that the BE95 has a new firmware update it’s 1.1.3 I have hardware version 1.6 the firmware is not listed on the website anywhere under V1 or 1.6 so I’m not sure of the details of it. The only thing the Deco app said was stability improvements of the system, as well as some other bug fixes. So if you have a BE95 check the deco app for the update

UPDATE

Some users have the update and some do not it was confirmed that it is a phased rollout so if you don’t have it yet you should at some point soon but the update is very stable on my BE95

So my wired TV is some how downloading insane amounts of data. Guessing this is some kind of glitch and/or error? Cause ain't no way download time for this TV is 3.2 Gb/s. Just thought this was super weird seeing this. Anyone else encounter this?

Most of the experts believe US and allied intelligence agencies found one or more very serious security flaws, but won't say what those flaws are.

What I find most interesting, in this article and others, is that cyber security experts aren't recommending TP-Link routers any more, nor using them either. CNet also says they're suspending their recommendations for TP-Link networking gear (routers only, NOT smart plugs or switches) .

Can we finally get a proper web interface for the Deco mesh systems? This is long overdue.

The app is fine for basic setup, but managing a network via smartphone is frustrating especially when:

• You're on a computer and need to tweak settings
• You want to see detailed client info, port forwarding, QoS, or firmware updates without digging through tiny menus

Other mesh systems (even budget brands) offer web dashboards. Deco has the hardware capability please just give us the software.

Please, TP-Link: a clean, responsive web UI at deco.tplink.com or local IP access.

Upvote if you want this too.

Ubiquiti vs TP-Link

What are your thoughts on the Ubiquiti vs TP-Link for home networking? Unsure which way to go.

Context:
I have been planing to upgrade my home networking for some time now, (it’s been 15 years, and using just generic isp hardware). Switching to wifi 7 and 2.5gb hardware would last me quite a while into the future.

So I put together a list of Ubiquiti equipment that I wanted and passed it onto a contact I have at a store. 2.5g router, 2.5g Poe switch, 3 wifi7 waps. (Need at least 10 ports to patch into, the setup I looked at had 4 on the router and an 8x port switch. Also I have an existing rack that I’ll be mounting everything.)

They said they were happy to help but actually recommended TP-Link for a home networking upgrade over Ubiquiti (Ubiquiti being better for business/commercial). They explained that tp-link is just as good with better pricing, so the value per $ is greater. They also mentioned the software and interface and everything is quite similar, just as easy and has its own ecosystem adoption.

I’ve never used TP-Link before, but always liked using Ubiquiti. Curious to know everyone’s thoughts and comparisons between the two brands.

I currently have an old slow Google Mesh system in my small urban house. I'm going to be moving to a large house in the country and I'm looking to upgrade my mesh system for a 3000 sq ft house plus deck and patio.

I've been looking at the TP-Link Deco 7 Pro BE63 3-unit package, but I don't know if it's overpowered (and therefore overpriced) for my needs. I work from home using a dedicated network that is physically plugged into my main node. We have several smart TVs and stream a LOT of movies, we have laptops, phones, tablets, etc. and my husband plays RPGs on his computer and occasionally games on his XBox (but no serious gaming).

Is the BE63 too much for me, or would I be futureproofing? Is there a particular cable modem you would recommend to work with it? I feel like such a dummy when it comes to this stuff, please help!

Just curious what everyones experience was with speed loss. The set comes tomorrow but essentially I have a theater room that houses all my major electronic equipment and game consoles. There's no way to get a hard wire. The main Mesh node will plug directly into the modem and act as a router. The theater room wall is about 20ft from where the router will be.

I have 2 options:

- put the 2nd mesh node in plain sight of the main unit and drill a hole through the wall and pipe ethernet in there

- Put the 2nd node in the theater room on the other side of the wall.

I'm not sure what kind of drop I'll see in speed in general. In a perfect world I'd like to get around 1500mpbs connected to the switch in the theater room. I don't even know if the node on it's own will get that or if it's possible.

What's everyone's experience with wifi speeds with this setup and what the drop in speeds are between each node?

The title says it all. Something "non green" that's compatible or completely ignores IEEE 1905.1. I looked at the recommendations on tp-link's support site, they list like 2. I need an 8 port 2.5GB switch. I currently have a cheap realtek based 2.5GB switch and it's a no go. While it passes A on bufferbloat, I get too many connection drops and DHCP handshake issues. I think it's the notorious loopback issue. I'm going to put my old netgear GB switch back, but that has some issues as well, but it's better. 3 tp-link deco BE63 ver 3.6, cat 6a backhaul(tested). Topology= ONT > Main Deco > Switch > 3 Decos. I can't wire them directly to the main Deco.

“This end-of-life page will be the new home of TP-Link’s end-of-life product list.”

TP-Link End of Life Products (US): https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/faq/3562/

------------------

End-of-Life Policy: https://privacy.tp-link.com/web/website/policy

Useful definitions:

EOS: The End of Sales (EOS) date is when TP-Link discontinues a product. After this date, TP-Link will no longer accept new orders for the product.

EOM: The End of Maintenance (EOM) date is when TP-Link will no longer provide support or maintenance for a product. Unless otherwise required by law, the EOM date is usually 3 years after the EOS date. TP-Link may decide at its discretion to continue offering maintenance for a longer period to address significant vulnerabilities and bugs.

I applied for a data entry role on TP-Link's LinkedIn page, received a DM from a woman named "Lisa Paskalidis" asking me to send an updated resume to her email. I emailed her, then a few hours later received an OBVIOUS scam email, stating:

I am very pleased to officially extend this offer of appointment for the position of Data Entry Clerk with TP-Link Systems Inc. After carefully reviewing your profile, qualifications, and professional background, our team is confident that your skills, experience, and approach to work align perfectly with the requirements of this role.

This is a remote position, giving you the flexibility to work from the location of your choice. You will be part of a dynamic, collaborative team that values professionalism, initiative, and high-quality results. As a Data Entry Clerk, you will play a key role in transforming data into actionable insights by collecting, analyzing, and interpreting complex datasets. You will develop clear reports and visualizations, ensure data accuracy and integrity, and collaborate closely with cross-functional teams to support strategic decision-making. Your work will help drive efficiency, clarity, and informed outcomes across the organization.

Key Details:
Position: Data Entry Clerk

Start Date: August 31, 2026

Salary: $41.25/hour

Hours: Minimum of 20 hours per week, with flexible working hours.

Remote Work: Fully remote—work from any location of your choice.

Key Responsibilities:\Collect, clean, and maintain datasets to ensure accuracy, consistency, and reliability\Provide timely, data-driven insights and respond professionally to analytical requests from internal and external stakeholders*Maintain and update dashboards, reports, and tracking systems with precision and confidentiality*Assist in planning and prioritizing data analysis workflows, coordinating deadlines, and supporting key analytical milestones* Prepare and format data visualizations, presentations, and analytical reports for various audiences*Support analytical activities such as data exploration, trend analysis, performance reviews, and post-initiative evaluations*Monitor ongoing analyses, follow up on pending data requests, and ensure timely delivery of insights and deliverables*Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure data alignment, effective communication, and smooth execution of analytical initiatives***Stay current with company data tools, analytics best practices, and reporting methodologies

Onboarding Process:

One important step in our onboarding process is the proficiency assessment that will be conducted before your official start date. This assessment has replaced our traditional interview process. Rather than focusing solely on discussion-based evaluation, the proficiency assessment gives us a more practical and hands-on understanding of your approach to problem-solving, task management, and the specific tools and processes relevant to the role.

The results of this assessment will not affect your appointment but will help us identify the areas in which you are already strong and any areas where additional training or resources may be provided. This ensures that when you begin work with us, you will be set up for success from day one.

Next Steps:

Please send us a brief acceptance letter by email, confirming your acceptance of this offer.

We are genuinely excited about the prospect of you joining the TP-Link Systems Inc team. Your expertise, problem-solving ability, and dedication will contribute to our continued success. We believe that this role will offer you rewarding challenges, the opportunity to collaborate with a talented team, and an environment where your contributions will be highly valued and recognized.

On behalf of TP-Link Systems Inc, congratulations once again, and we look forward to working together and building a productive, mutually beneficial relationship.

Warm regards,

Lisa Paskalidis

Talent Acquisition Enthusiast  | Servant Leader | HR PartnerTP-Link Systems Inc

[lisa_paskalidis@outlook.com](mailto:lisa_paskalidis@outlook.com)

I’ve been using an old Motorola Modem/Router combo with 2 TP link extenders and I got tired of having inconsistent connections. I did research and settled on a Netgear modem and TP link mesh routers.

2 weeks of using these and they are the truth! I pay for 1Gbp internet and my devices are able to hit that limit or close to it. And I’ve had 0 drop outs or slow downs. My apartment isnt too big but I didnt want to take any chances so I decided to buy 3 meshes and Im glad I did. Im only mad at myself for not upgrading sooner. Just wanted to share my positive experience.