TP-Link Deco 7 Elite BE85 Tri-Band WiFi 7 BE22000 Whole Home Mesh System - 12-Stream 22 Gbps, 2X 10G + 2X 2.5G Ports, Wired Backhaul, 8X High-Gain Antennas, VPN, AI-Roaming, HomeShield (2-Pack)

The quick rundown is: The house is an approximately 3,500 SF single-level home with many brick-solid doors and twists and turns. The modem is in the center of the house in my office. Wi-Fi without a mesh system would drop off in the back rooms to a crawl. I previously had an ORBI RBS850 for my Cox 1GIG Down / 35 Up plan (they just changed to 100 up before I switched). The ORBI did fine for the last three years I had it. However, even though I would move the satellites around, I would still get reduced speeds in the furthest rooms. Based on ORBI, the RBS850 with two satellites should have been overkill, but it wasn’t. I recently received FIBER and opted for the 1Gig Up/Down. Since the speed is overprovisioned, I’m able to get 1,300 Up/Down. My ORBI was limited to 1 GIG port, so I was limited to around 945 with overhead down and the full upload speeds. Since I do a lot of CAD and video work, I am also considering moving to the 2 or 5-GIG plan in the future. I researched many of the new Wi-Fi 7 mesh systems. Note that I currently do not have any Wi-Fi 7 devices, but I might in the future. I narrowed it down to the new ORBI 970, the Deco BE 95, the Deco BE85, and the Eero Max 7. I chose the Deco BE85 due to its two 10 Gig ports and two 2.5 Gib ports and the price factor. The ORBI was way overpriced, and the BE95 offered me nothing extra. Though the Max 7 was tempting, I ultimately went with the BE85 since I would have wired backhaul on both satellites. My out-of-the-box experience: 1. The Deco comes packaged in a very nice, easy-to-open container. 2. You are presented with three identical Deco units, three power adapters, and a cord for each that can be removed, making it easier to fish power cords for the Deco. 3. I appreciate that the plug-in on the Deco is a normal size and isn’t one of those that take up three or four plug-ins due to its shape/design. 4. I already had my BGW320-500 modem set to bridge mode and the ORBI as the router. 5. I downloaded the TP-Link APP and started to install the Deco BE85 Mesh system. 6. The app asked me to scan the bottom of one of the Decos (it didn’t matter which, as it would become the main). 7. The app did not list a BE85. Maybe it is listed as a BE2200? Nope. 8. I then continue to install but choose Install MANUALLY. 9. I turn off my printers (you will really want to do that) 10. Unplug my BGW320-500 Fiber Modem. 11. I disconnected from all of the ORBIs. 12. I take a photo of the bottom of the Deco I choose to be the Main so I can add the MAC Address 13. I then connect to Deco’s Wi-Fi through my phone. 14. It then tells me that the Deco I chose doesn’t match the one I’m installing. ( I KNOW THAT.) 15. It asks me if I want to change it to the BE85. Of course I do. I say yes and click Next. 16. It tells me to connect the Fiber Ethernet to my Deco and then to my Switch. 17. I connect to the top 10G port on the Deco and then to the switch on the bottom 10G port of the Deco. 18. Since I have a switch with two 10G ports and 6 2.5 G Ports, I connect all the drops to my other rooms to my switch. 19. Deco warns me that only one 10G port can be used and that the bottom is a combo port. For a second, I thought, why give me two ports if I can only use one? Then, it dawned on me that the warning was poorly written. What they mean is you can use the bottom port as a 10G ethernet port by taking out the plug and using the bottom SFP+ port (if needed), but you can’t use both at the same time. 20. I then placed my first Deco satellite Unit in Room 1, connected the wired ethernet drop to the top 10G port, and connected the lower 10G port to my Switch in Room 2. 21. I then plug in the first Deco Satellite, and it connects almost immediately. 22. I do the same thing for Room 2, connecting it the same way as Room 1. 23. I then change the SSID to match my old SSID and password Exactly. 24. Make note that both are case-sensitive. 25. It takes it, and Now I don’t have to change all my Wi-Fi log-ins on 50+ devices. 26. Before I started, I had an Excel spreadsheet with all my devices' MAC addresses. You should do the same if you can. 27. I looked at the Deco app on my iPhone and noticed that most of the devices did not have very good descriptions. I simply went into the app, looked at the connected MAC address, referenced it with my spreadsheet, and copied the name from my spreadsheet into the Deco app. (Note that I had the spreadsheet on Dropbox, so I was able to copy from my iPhone to the Deco app without typing them all out. 28. In about 10 minutes, I had all my devices with good descriptions. 29. I then noticed that there was a section for devices that were not currently online, like TVs, PS5s, etc. I changed the names of these devices, too. 30. I checked everything out and noticed the 6Gz channel had my SSID followed by _6Ghz, I do have some phones that are 6Ghz so I went in and changed the SSID to match my other SSID by removing the _6Ghz at the end of the name. 31. My phones were not connecting to the 6Ghz. 32. I then found a place under Advanced called Fast Roaming. It was off by default. I turned it on, and my phone connected to the 6Ghz channel. NOTE: If you have some older 2.4Ghz devices, this could cause them not to connect, and you will have to turn them off or get updated devices. 33. I then noticed the Deco App had a DARK mode. I changed it, and my eyes thanked me. 34. I noticed in the app that there is a delay, so give it a moment. 35. I downloaded the App on both my personal and work phone, and they synced perfectly, but there was also a delay there. 36. I noticed you can access your network even when your phone is not connected to the network. This can come in handy. 37. I then noticed four devices I had never seen before. After much investigation, I noticed it was showing me the switches connected to it. It was strange because they were TP-Link switches but were showing as Android 1-2,3,4. I corrected those names as well. 38. I then ran the network optimization tool, which lets you know if there is interference with the main unit or a satellite. Moving them slightly or moving something away from them can help. This was actually a handy feature. 39. I tested my speeds, and the connected PCs (all but one connected by ethernet) are 1250-1300 Up/Down. 40. iPhone 15 Max is quite fast in every room. I get speeds of at least 750 Up/Down depending on the room I’m in, and if I’m close to the Main or a satellite, it is even faster. 41. The Web interface for the Deco is…Just use the phone App. 42. The Decos are warmer than my ORBIs, so keep them in a ventilated area. 43. I wish they would come in different colors. 44. If you can, WIRED BACKHAUL is the way to go. 45. My TVs are all Sony Bravias. I got a USB to RJ45 adapter and plugged it into the USB3 port on the TV, then connected that into either the Deco or the switch (same speed on both). As you can see in the photo, 950+ speeds up/down. (I don't know if it will work on other model TV's) 46. If your TV supports it, this is the way to go. It is faster than the 100MB limited switch on the TV and faster than Wi-Fi, even with the satellite sitting right next to the TV. 47. I don’t know how this will work yet, but I set the Deco to check for updates nightly. Hopefully, this will prevent a problem with a rogue firmware update. 48. Set notifications when new devices join the network. 49. I didn’t opt in for their Parent Control. My kids are 34-28 and alone, so there is no need. 50. I didn’t get their protection as I have my own, and they should have included it for free. 51. Crazy thing happened. On an ATT modem set to passthrough, you need to enter the router's Mac address (I had the ORBI entered first, then changed to the Deco when I replaced it). You go to your AT&T status page on the web 192.168.1.254, enter your credentials, and go to Firewall > IP Passthrough. Change Allocation Mode to Passthrough, Passthrough Fixed MAC address you can select from list or enter the entry Manual. The manual is fine. Now, here is the crazy part. I still had my disconnected ORBI as the manual entry, and everything worked fine. I couldn’t see any issues. I changed it to match my Main Deco unit, and all is still fine. I really don’t know how it worked before. 52. Take a photo of the main unit to have it when you change the MAC address. 53. One last thing: when I had my ORBI as the router, all my IP addresses were 172. xxx, and with the Deco as the Router, all my IP addresses changed to 192. xxx. I don’t know why, but everything is working. 54. NOW, back to the printers. If they are off when you get everything connected and then turn them on, they will connect easily. However, depending on the printer model, they may get lost, and everything will be connected except your printers. So, to be on the safe side, turn them off, and once everything is connected, turn them on. 55. Well, I hope this helps someone with their Deco.

3rd update after 19 months: I am updating this again as the support team at TP-Link is just outstanding. I jumped through hoops to get my network reasonably stable adding more mesh units and changing out devices and eventually got it reasonably stable. TP-Link support spent a lot of time reviewing logs and providing me updated firmware. Eventually I got to a point where the 4-6 device dropouts were acceptable. Never did the TP-Link support group give up on my concerns when I reached out to them. I am updating this now as it has been 19 months since I installed the BE85s and I made the mistake of updating to the new firmware hoping that they had incorporated all my custom changes and new security updates. This was a mistake and the network went very unstable. I then found I couldn't go back to my old firmware. I reached out to the TP-Link group asking for help even though it was at the time 18 months since I purchased and I felt they could wash their hands of it. They did not and quickly worked with me to restore the old firmware. During this process I discovered that with my old firmware I could run just the two BE85s and my network was pretty rock solid. Apparently the additional nodes caused more issues than they helped and the custom firmware with just the two BE85s. The only downside is I had Very fast wired speeds in my office to one of the XE75s, around a 1GB downloads speeds. With just the wireless to my Mac it's around 500mb which is still good. I thanked the team and decided I would try to sell the XE75s and they offered a few options to help me still use them. So all said and done I have 180+ wifi devices running on two BE85s and it is now pretty stable. Between the routers performance which is super fast and now stable and the TP-link team I am adjusting my review. I hate that I spent so much time fighting all this to get here but I have to commend the team for sticking with it. 2nd update after 4 months: Revised after excellent customer support: TP-Link support contacted me as a result of my initial review and have steadily worked through my issues with this router. A firmware update has fixed the wireguard vpn connection along with steady back and forth troubleshooting to make the client and server vpn connections rock solid. The initial disconnect issues have resolved after the firmware update and the device connection list has improved. It is not to the point that I expect as I still have devices that do not show in the connected list but are online but it is significantly improved over how it was to start with. The support team is actively working that issue with me. This router is now performing as I expect and I am very pleased with the excellent customer support provided. I have update my overall rating to reflect the support and current performance. Original review: When I first set up this router with one mesh node it was blazing fast. After a little over 2 weeks installed the wireless speeds around the house have been halved. I have around 120 wireless devices and at any given time the Deco app only shows 60-80 connected even though most of them are verified connected. At the same time devices constantly disconnect and reconnect. This router replaced an ASUS AX11000 which constantly maintained the 120+ device connections.

As a current owner of a 2nd-generation Eero mesh system, I have been very happy with the brand. It has consistently delivered reliable wireless internet across my home with no issues whatsoever. However, the WiFi 5 technology is now 6 years old and I had set my sights on upgrading and future-proofing my wireless mesh network. For months, I waited for the TP-LINK BE85 or BE95 to go on sale. Despite the mixed reviews these mesh units have received online, I thought it would be worth the gamble to see if it improved my home network. On Amazon Prime Day, the price of the BE85 3-pack dropped to $799, which was the perfect opportunity for me to finally grab these. Within 10 hours, I set up and then returned the TP-LINK BE85 mesh system THE GOOD Installation was a breeze and took under 15 minutes for all three units. The app does a great job of guiding you through the setup. As soon as you have the main unit connected, the other two are already programmed to connect. Essentially, they become plug-and-play. Each Deco unit is rock solid in construction. It has 2x10Gbps and 2x2.5Gbps ports. This is great to have should I ever consider upgrading to a 2GB Internet service, which is not likely, but still futureproofing. The Decos also has a USB port to connect and network an external drive, which I found to be one of the most compelling features. After installation and network connection, I put the mesh unit in AP mode as two of the units had backhaul ethernet connections. I have a 1GB Internet feed I was elated to see significant wireless speed increases across my entire home with no dead spots. My speed increased to an average of 200mbps per location I tested. When I was within 6 feet of one of the wired Decos I would get a 600mbps connection (compared to 312mbps with the Eero). Further away from the nodes, I would see wireless speeds of 250mbps (compared to 54mbps with the Eero). I should note here that, according to the Deco app, I believe everything was connected to the 2.4Ghz/5 Ghz network so I don't even know if my devices were taking advantage of WiFi 6 or WiFi 7. Since I used the same SSID and password of my Eero mesh, almost everything immediately connected to the new network. THE BAD My five Nest cameras disconnected. Surprisingly, my Ring cameras remained connected. I am pretty confident I could have manually removed and then added each of the Nest cameras to the new mesh network, but that is a huge hassle given the fact it can't be done through the Nest app. I have to get up on a ladder and rescan the QR code on each camera which is a major, major hassle. I would have done it, however, if not for the next issue... My devices were constantly disconnecting and then reconnecting to the network for 10 hours post-installation. This included my iPhone, my laptops, and my Amazon devices. I did extensive Google research and played around with some recommended changes in the Deco app. This included turning off roaming and manually telling each connected client to disconnect from the mesh network, none of which helped. Mind you, these were all TP-LINK support recommendations. I even updated the firmware, which did nothing. I did come across something that made me decide I needed to return this Deco mesh system... Countless -- and I mean countless complaints on Reddit and other message boards about network instability with many of the TP-LINK Deco mesh systems. Don't believe me? Google, "TP-LINK DECO DISCONNECTS" and you will be horrified with the results that you find. These things are essentially trash. For so many people to have the same mesh network instability that I am currently experiencing, tells me that this is a highly unreliable brand. And, sure, there are many positive reviews on Amazon (as well as bad ones), and generally only people who have issues with their products end up posting a bad review --- but it's still very obvious to me that this is not a reliable product. Many posts I read indicated that customers who returned their TP-LINK looked to move to Eero. CONCLUSION I am back on my old Eero system. Everything is working fine, albeit I'm back to slower wireless speeds, which for the moment, is okay. I would consider upgrading to the Eero Pro 6+ mesh units (at around $300 for a 3-pack on sale), but I am not certain they will give me significant gains as the more powerful Deco units did. Then there's the Eero Pro 7 Max. It will probably come down to $1k for a 3-pack soon, but it's not getting very good reviews. I may just have to suck it up and remain with my 2nd generation Eero mesh system until better hardware gets released.

Installed 5 of these in a large house where WiFi demand was high in parameter rooms and opposite corners. Usage includes gaming PC’s, numerous TV’s streaming, Office laptops, numerous iPads and iPhones, etc. Even installed one in my garage near the driveway so I get coverage there and in the front yard. Coverage has been outstanding. My internet speeds tests have been blazing fast in every part of the house. Signal strength has been very strong. The app gives great visibility into which client devices are connected into which Ecco unit. And, connect preferences can be tailored. I use the app much more than I ever imaged I would to check on things and it is really easy to use and well thought out. I must say the whole system has been fantastic and exceeded my expectations. The units operate dead quiet. When initially setting up, I did have some questions and contacted support who easy to get a hold of and were very helpful. Needless to say, I love this system!

The TP-Link Deco BE85 (BE22000) Tri-Band WiFi 7 Whole Home Mesh System is designed for users demanding ultra-fast, seamless internet across large areas, making it ideal for multi-device households. Featuring next-gen WiFi 7 technology, it offers unprecedented speeds of up to 22 Gbps through its tri-band setup (6 GHz, 5 GHz, and 2.4 GHz), perfect for high-definition streaming, gaming, and smart home devices. ### Key Highlights: - **Exceptional Speed**: With combined wireless speeds of up to 22 Gbps, the Deco BE85 leverages the new WiFi 7 technology. This includes 11520 Mbps on the 6 GHz band, ensuring congestion-free performance, especially useful for heavy internet activities such as 4K/8K streaming or virtual reality gaming. - **Wide Coverage**: The system covers up to 9,600 square feet, making it suitable for large homes or multi-story buildings. With seamless AI-Roaming, devices are automatically connected to the best signal as you move throughout the house, ensuring consistent performance. - **10G Multi-Gigabit Ports**: Equipped with two 10 Gbps WAN/LAN ports (including a flexible RJ45/SFP+ combo), along with two additional 2.5G ports, this system is ready for multi-gig internet connections, eliminating bottlenecks and future-proofing your network. - **Mesh Flexibility**: Supports up to 200 connected devices without compromising speed, thanks to the tri-band configuration and Multi-Link Operation (MLO), which optimizes simultaneous data streams across different bands to reduce latency. - **Advanced Security and Controls**: TP-Link HomeShield provides strong security with WPA3 encryption, cyber threat prevention, parental controls, and detailed usage reports, ensuring your network and devices stay protected from online threats. - **Easy Setup**: The Deco app allows for quick setup and easy network management. It’s also compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, giving you voice control over your network. This system is a top choice for tech enthusiasts who need reliable, high-speed internet for a large number of devices and future-proofing their home network.

I upgraded from a Netgear Orbi PRO 6 Mesh system. I have Fios. What a difference in terms of speed and system stability. My Orbi PRO 6 router was defective upon receipt. It would not broadcast an SSID. Netgear replaced the router. But the system was never stable in terms of signal. The signal on the Orbi Pro 6 had frequent drops. Then the second Orbi PRO 6 router failed. Had to reboot the router 2 or 3 times daily to get a signal which would then drop. The new TP Link BE85 (BE22000) Wifi 7 system is superior in all aspects to thr Netgear Orbi PRO 6 in terms of speed, signal strength and system stability. The TP Link BE85 has cutting edge component build quality in comparison to the Netgear Orbi Pro 6. The TP Link app, Deco, is very user friendly and I am more than satisfied with the interface. The reach of TP Link BE85 is impressive. I have a large home on 2 acres. I bought the BE85 3- pack on sale for $1299. I now have stong wifi signal inside my entire home and all around the outside of my house even at the ends of the boundary line. Impressive. I also have experienced no fan noise from the BE85 units. They run silent. Compare the price of the TP Link Deco BE85 to the new and current Orbi 970 at $2299. This decision to purchase the TP Link BE85 over the Orbi 970 made sense in terms of the cost to purchase (a thousand dollar difference), system stability and wifi signal strength/ reach inside and outside of the home. I think that the decision to purchase the BE85 was a better investment even over the BE95. Read the reviews. I am now a big fan of TP Link! Go Deco! Highly recommended! 5 Stars.

TP-Link Tri-Band, Deco BE85, WiFi 7 BE22000 Whole Home Mesh System was a purchase that I debated about and researched well. I am happy with it but will mention one picky issue. Once I upgraded from 1.2 Gbps Xfinity cable internet to 8 Gig fiber optic, I also wanted to upgrade my mesh router. I was using the Google Nest Pro WIFI 6e mesh router and was happy with it but the ethernet ports on it were only 1GB and I wanted to take advantage of my newer higher speeds. I knew that I wanted another mesh system and definitely a WIFI 7 one. There were several options but, years ago, I had the TP-link OnHub router which was the first router that never gave me any problems. I decided to stick with the tried and true and then debated between this system and the BE95. Although I have a phone and a laptop that are WIFI 7, most of my other devices are WIFI 6e or lower so I realized that the BE95 would exceed my needs for many years. I got the three pack of the BE85 since I have a large two story home with smart devices in the front and back yards as well as the garage. I’m glad that I did because the three units give me complete coverage everywhere. Each of the three routers are the same so any of them can be selected to be the main router. I like this because it means that if the main one ever malfunctions, I can easily switch and not be without internet. They all have 4 multi-gigabit ethernet ports. I have three of my older devices on ethernet and the speed up and down is over a gigabit on each. The WIFI 7 phone and laptop routinely have over 1.5 Gb up and down wireless speeds. The installation was as easy as expected with the Deco app. The app was updated a couple of weeks after I got this system and version 3.7.14 works very well. I have a SmartHome with a lot of different devices and this app makes it so easy with a menu option to set up an IOT (Internet of Things) for those devices that work exclusively on the 2.4ghz network. It also features a network optimization selection which scans the network looking for any areas of interference. One can give a device priority and even choose a dedicated band and router for connection. I get all the information that I need easily without any monthly fee. The only bit of complaint that I have is the power plugs. At first I thought that I might have a defective router until I noticed that the power plug green light was not on. Maybe it had to do with how tightly they were wrapped but, at first, all the power plugs were so touchy that a slight bump could turn off the green light and power. I’m not taking any stars off for that since they are working well now but also they are not in an area where they get bumped very often. I am very happy with this purchase. The system is stable and connections hold well. The speeds compared to my old WIFI 6e system are so much better. I do recommend this to anyone who has a multi-gigabit internet service.

The BE85 is only a tri-band which I approached with a degree of caution, but this purchase has (so far) be absolutely delightful. In 2020 I purchased a set of three Wifi 6 mesh nodes (RBK853) from Netgear for $999.99 and its lasted me for 4 ½ years (though the first year or so was pretty rocky). My office iMac would get 6-700 mbps on a satellite LAN port or Wifi, but I knew that I'd been lucky with no real hardware issues for that entire period. Meanwhile, my internet service has increased in speed to 2 gbps/350 mbps and I've only been able to use that speed as a network aggregate - so I decided to get a three pack of BE85s to try them as a possible replacement. I was able to drop a 10gb private network I needed for high speed NAS access and fold the NAS units into my normal network, and the speed at my office iMac has changed like night and day. The iMac runs like it was hooked up directly to the cable modem getting 2200-2300 mbps/350 mbps off a 10gb LAN port on my office satellite. And this for the exact same price as I paid for the RBK853 mesh in February of 2020. (So cheaper if you factor in inflation.) I love this thing (so far) and it's nicely designed with a real inline AC power supply and plain plug so it fits on my UPS without blocking other sockets. Each node comes with two RJ-45 10gb ports and two RJ-45 2.5gb ports and a SFP+ slot which can substitute fibre for one of the RJ-45 10gb ports. So no 1 gbps bottlenecks anywhere in the network. I don't have ethernet cable running through my house, so I'm getting these speeds using a wifi backhaul. Edit: I was experiencing internet failure, and decided to replace my Deco BE85 mesh with BE95s in case the Decos were the point of failure - I always regretted getting the BE85s rather than the BE95s because quite frankly at the time I thought that the BE85s were the top of the line, as all the Deco models at the time were sold as seperate Amazon products. Anyway, the problem did not turn out to be the BE85s but rather the Xfinity modem's WAN port - which I fixed with a cable modem swap, thought the migration to be BE95s proved to be problematic because I eventually found that swapping an Xfinity modem required the modem to be activated, and for some reason the Xfinity system would not accept a QR code scan or manual CM MAC entry of the new modem and an agent had to handle the activation manually. So anyway, I upgraded the Deco Wifi 7 system to BE95/BE33000 and the increase in speed has not really been noticable because the BE85/BE22000 was not saturated due to insufficient internet offerings from Xfinity and because my backup NAS in the family room is powered by a puny Intel Atom CPU limiting internal NAS backup throughput. The BE95 offers an additional 6 ghz radio which should pretty much future proof my home network, and for $1,099 which is just slightly more than I paid for the BE85s (there's a sale on now on Amazon that is $400 off a set of 3). l've reconfigured my local LAN from 192.168.1.0/24 to 192.168.0.0/22 so I won't run out of addresses, so I should pretty much be set until Xfinity starts offing > 4 gbps service (after which I'll have to see if I can find someone to wire my house for 10 gbps ethernet).