TP-Link Deco X60 Review: The easiest whole-whole mesh WiFi 6?

Here’s my review of the TP-Link Deco X60 after a full two months of testing. Deco’s promise was to provide a simple and stable way to get WiFi in every corner of your house, and it delivered.

Setup and Installation of the Deco X60

In my previous article I’ve covered the whole setup process of the Deco units. In a short summary, the entire setup process is very simple and the Deco-App guides you through each step in the process.

But since then I’ve taken a few steps to further optimise the network: Instead of relying on the mesh completely I’ve added an Ethernet Backhaul to the second floor deco unit. This allowed me to move the mesh units further apart, meaning more coverage for the entire house and a more stable connection.

After this initial setup and optimisation the Deco has been extremely stable, and did not have any connection issues. Which is great news if you are considering to set up this system for your family and don’t want to be the dedicated tech support to regularly maintain other systems.

WiFi coverage of the Deco X60

After setting up the Deco X60 units and optimising their placement throughout the house the WiFi coverage has been outstanding. The slogan “paint your home in wifi” really is true, as the coverage did go as far to places such as the basement, attic and further out in the garden.

The mesh is configured in a way where you only need to have units placed around the house, covering two floors. This allows the system now works together to form a uniform Wi-Fi network. Meaning that your devices will instantly connect to the deco unit closest to it using beam forming technology as you move through your home.

Across our house we have various devices ranging from tablet, laptops, phones and smart devices such as lightbulbs, air purifiers, etc. All of these had an excellent signal, no matter where they were placed inside the house.

Outside WiFi coverage was also surprisingly good. We use a Ring video-doorbell, which before had a weak signal. But after setting up the Deco units the doorbell automatically connected to the closest mesh unit, increasing the signal strength. This allows for much faster doorbell notifications, better video quality and lower load times when viewing the live-view feed.

Furthermore, using the internet outside the house has been stable. Whether you just want to quickly check some news or watch a video. Throughout the garden the coverage never dropped below 2-3 bards so things had no problems to buffer.

Anti-Virus and Security

This has surprised me the most: the Deco has a strong Anti-Virus and Firewall system built directly into the mesh network, protecting all connected devices from attacks and viruses.

At the beginning I did not think we would need it, or have any attacks on our network. But the Deco proved me wrong: the Anti-Virus log in the app frequently blocked malicious websites and domains hiding on everyday apps or websites which AdBlockers cannot detect.

Another surprise was that my father accidentally clicked on a link inside of a spam email. Luckily (and to my surprise) the Deco’s Anti-Virus immediately recognised this and blocked the whole link from ever opening, stopping any potential harm that could have happened.

Deco X60 Connectivity

Each Deco unit features two Gigabit-Ethernet ports, which can be either used to connect two computers via Ethernet through the mesh, or to connect an Ethernet backhaul line from the main Deco unit.

I do wish each Deco had more ports, as these can quickly be used up if you want to connect multiple computers or smart home hubs. Although this luckily is easy to extend by connecting a network switch to get even more devices connected.

My recommendation for a gigabit ethernet network switch

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Deco App and Interface

One thing I really enjoyed was the ease of use of the Deco system together with the app. You can get a quick overview of the health of the mesh network, see all connected devices and how much bandwidth they’re using and can see the monthly report of the Anti-Virus. Another great feature is that you can check your smart home devices and link the Deco to Alexa or Google home to control various features with your voice.

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The only thing I missed is that the Deco Web Interface was lacking a lot of features such as the monthly report and in depth view of the mesh.

Deco X60 Gaming Performance

What will be important for a lot of people is how well gaming performs on the Deco. By using the app you can switch the priority to gaming mode which will prioritise packets of games and individual computers, phones or consoles to allow the lowest latency.

By going to the QoS settings page of the Deco-App you can choose from a variety of presets: Standard, Gaming, Streaming, Surfing, Chatting or create your own custom mode.

My recommendation to get the best gaming performance is to choose the Gaming mode in the QoS settings, set your gaming device as a high priority and connect your gaming device directly via Ethernet, or be in range of 5Ghz Wi-Fi when playing on your mobile device.

Conclusion

Tp-Link’s Deco X60 comes with 3 access points, which all feature WiFi 6, MIMO, and up to 3000 Mbits bandwidth. The mesh system can easily handle up to 150 connected devices, which makes it perfect for your new smart home brining WiFi in every corner of your home. Also, it is ideal for gaming, with a low latency mode and packet prioritisation.

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