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All things considered, though it's far from perfect, the M5 is an excellent Wi-Fi solution if you want to quickly bring internet to every corner of a large home (up to some 5,000 square feet) and have a layer of protection against online threats.
Easy setup
As a Wi-Fi system, you connect one of the M5's three identical hardware units to an internet source, such as a broadband modem, to work as the router unit, then place the rest of the units about 40 feet away to work as satellite units. The three link to one another to create a seamless Wi-Fi network.
As long as you have an internet-connected smartphone or tablet, setting up the M5 is as easy as running a mobile app. All you need to do is download the free Deco app (iOS or Android) and follow its instructions to create an account with TP-Link. After that the rest is self-explanatory. I was able to get the system running in less than 10 minutes.
P-Link has regularly topped the list of our favourite wireless routers at Expert Reviews in the past few years, but with mesh networking gaining ground over traditional methods of strengthening your home Wi-Fi coverage, it’s having to change tack.
TP-Link Deco M5 review: What you need to know
The TP-Link Deco M5 is the firm’s first mesh networking system and, just like Google Wifi and BT’s Whole Home Wi-Fi, it aims to improve wireless coverage around your home by using multiple boxes to bounce the wireless signal from one to the other, spreading it into former black spots and reducing load on your router.
The Deco M5 kit consists of three of these “nodes”, one more than Google Wifi and the same number as included with BT’s kit, and it works in largely the same way – by hanging off one of the Ethernet ports on your existing router and extending an existing wireless network instead of replacing it.
What's different about the TP-Link Deco M5 is that it adds to its mesh networking capabilities with comprehensive parental controls and bundled, network-level antivirus.
READ NEXT: Google Wifi review – the best UK mesh network system you can buy
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TP-Link Deco M5 review: Price and competition
The TP-Link Deco is top value for money: it costs £230 for the kit that includes three nodes. That’s better value than the starter Google Wifi kit, which costs the same amount of money but only includes two nodes (the three pack is £329). The BT Whole Home Wi-Fi system includes three nodes, though, and that’s only £190. The fastest mesh networking system we've used is the Linksys Velop, but that's much more expensive, at £380 for three nodes.
SIMILAR PRODUCTS
