I couldn't find much discussion here for mesh wifi noobs, but as I expand our living space into a basement, I'm finding the need to expand the wifi coverage for all typical devices, including a couple more TVs. Looking at some deals lately, a few fall into the sub $200 range including TP Link's Deco M9 Plus ac2200, and Deco X20 ax1800. From their site, I copied a few of the comparisons below. This is in a stick-built 3000 sq ft 2 story house with basement, all interior walls are drywall. Our cable / ethernet / etc hub is in the master closet in one 2nd floor corner of the house. Typical cable access speed - I think it's 200 or 300 Mbps? Whatever it is, it's plenty fast for typical family tech requirements. Looking at the comparison below, I see plusses and minuses to each, but I know very little about this stuff. Any thoughts from the gurus?
| Deco M9+ | Deco X20 | |
| Wi-Fi 5 | Wi-Fi 6 | |
| IEEE 802.11ac/n/a 5 GHz | IEEE 802.11ax/ac/n/a 5 GHz | |
| IEEE 802.11n/b/g 2.4 GHz | IEEE 802.11ax/n/b/g 2.4 GHz | |
| Bluetooth 4.2 | ||
| ZigBee HA 1.2 | ||
| WiFi Speeds | ||
| AC2200 | AX1800 | |
| 5 GHz: 867 Mbps (802.11ac) | 5 GHz: 1201 Mbps (802.11ax) | |
| 5 GHz: 867 Mbps (802.11ac) | 2.4 GHz: 574 Mbps (802.11ax) | |
| 2.4 GHz: 400 Mbps (802.11n) | ||
| 4-6+ Bedroom Houses (3-pack) | 4-6 Bedroom Houses (3-pack) | |
| Optional Ethernet backhaul work together to link Deco units to provide seamless coverage | Optional Ethernet backhaul work together to link Deco units to provide seamless coverage | |
| 8× Antennas (Internal) | 2× Antennas (Internal) | |
| WiFi Capacity | ||
| Medium | High | |
| Tri-Band | Dual-Band | |
| Distribute devices to different bands for optimal performance | Distribute devices to different bands for optimal performance | |
| 4×4 MU-MIMO | MU-MIMO | |
| Simultaneously communicates with multiple MU-MIMO clients | Simultaneously communicates with multiple MU-MIMO clients | |
| OFDMA | ||
| Simultaneously communicates with multiple WiFi 6 clients | ||
| 4 Streams | ||
| More than enough bandwidth for connected devices | ||
| HARDWARE | ||
| Processor | ||
| Qualcomm 717 MHz Quad-core CPU | 1.5 GHz Quad-Core CPU | |
| Ethernet Ports | ||
| 2× Gigabit Ports | 2× Gigabit Ports | |
| *Per Deco Unit | *Per Deco Unit | |
| Supports WAN/LAN auto-sensing | Supports WAN/LAN auto-sensing | |
| Power | ||
| 12 V ⎓ 2 A | 12 V ⎓ 1.2 A | |
| SECURITY | ||
| WiFi Encryption | ||
| WPA-Personal | WPA-Personal | |
| WPA2-Personal | WPA2-Personal | |
| WPA3-Personal | ||
| Network Security | ||
| SPI Firewall | ||
| Access Control | ||
| HomeCare™ Antivirus | HomeCare™ Antivirus | |
| Malicious Site Checker | Malicious Site Checker | |
| Port Intrusion Prevention | Port Intrusion Prevention | |
| Infected Device Isolation | Infected Device Isolation | |
| Notification and Log | Notification and Log | |
| SPI Firewall | ||
| Access Control | ||
| Service Kits | ||
| HomeCare™ | HomeCare™ | |
| Smart Hub | ||
| Certifications | ||
| CE, FCC, IC, NCC, BSMI, IDA, RCM, JPA, JRF, VCCI, KC, RoHS | CE, FCC, IC, RoHS, RCM, JPA, JRF, VCCI |
