TP-Link Quad-Band WiFi 7 BE33000 Mesh System (Deco BE95)

I recently purchased and installed the TP-Link BE17000 Tri-band WiFi 7 System with the absolutely wonderful help from Aurelia from TP-Link Support out of Singapore. The DECO App that is needed for installation kept giving me an odd error saying the TP-Link device could not connect to the Internet. I needed help from the TP-Link support. I first tried the phone number supplied on the box the BE17000 came in. That was unsuccessful since the number was constantly giving a busy signal. I then sent the Support Group an E-mail through the TP-Link website. Some details of the issue were sent with that, however, you are allowed limited space to do this so you have to be concise (to start with). Within 24 hours I had a response from Aurelia via E-mail. I supplied her my current WiFi setup, more details regarding the problem I was having, a description of what I thought I wanted and a day and timeframe she could call to discuss the situation. I did this early one morning and gave her a timeframe of later today from 5pm till 10pm or if that was not good then the next day with the same timeframe. Aurelia called me back the same day shortly after 5pm. We first discussed the problem briefly. Then we had a more lengthy discussion of what I wanted as far as setup was concerned. She was very knowledgeable on this and convinced me that an installation utilizing the same WiFi name would be possible even though I had concerns around my large IoT environment and having to reinstall devices and also the new security WPA3 offered with the new system. The old system was strictly WPA2. We discussed “mixed mode” WPA3/WPA2 which sounded like the solution. We then went through the setup utilizing the TP-Link DECO App. We breezed through this getting past the place I was hung up at previously. We named the new WiFi a temporary name and then in a subsequent step named it the same name as my current setup. The final step was to put the new system into “Access Point” mode. This is since I have an ISP provided modem that is in bridged mode and my own PC firewall router to control the network specifications. The new WiFi was up. I plugged in the second DECO and it immediately connected up with the main DECO. I started to check my devices that were busy connecting to the new WiFi. All connected successfully and I was elated and voiced this pleasure with Aurelia. Its been about 4 days since the support call with Aurelia and I have setup the new system with a dedicated wired backhaul system and turned on the new MLO (Multi-Link Operation) WiFi 7 option. You can look that one up when you get a new WiFi 7 system. All has gone well and I am completely satisfied with the new BE17000 system, but I am mostly impressed with the TP-Link support staff, Aurelia with her knowledge and determination to get my setup accomplished.

WiFi 7 is still a newer technology that is expensive for a high end and high quality product like this one. When it went on sale I jumped on it and I’m extremely happy I did!

I’ve owned other “top brand” expensive home network products. Between the feature rich software, excellent performance and incredibly easy setup, even for novices, I’ll never buy a different brand other than TP-LINK again! I’m a huge tech geek, and I even recommend only TP-LINK products to my family, friends, and clients for my tech support and repair home based business!

This is by far the best WiFi Mesh router system I’ve ever owned. I’d definitely buy it again if I had to, and obviously would recommend it to anyone who is able to afford the premium product with a premium price.

Last update: I have removed the BE95 from my office and put back the Asus ET12. The final straw was the network activity reporting that can not be turned off, I tried. The CCP will have one less users data to exploit. In the end the only GOOD part of the BE95 was the 10G and 2.5G ports. I’ll just get a switch. I was amazed yesterday while giving the mobile app one more try, having to maneuver through ads trying to sell me poor VPNs, extra security that should be included, their “AI” assistant (right) etc. to again try and turnoff reporting, I couldn’t. I know Orbi and others do similar antics. If the future is supplied hardware and their subscriptions software with useless garbage software offerings, I’ll pass.

My journey:

Over the last weeks I have done multiple updates to this review. After a back and forth with TP-Link support, here is a snippet of their final response to me, “Thank you for your valued feedback about Deco BE95.” Deco BE95 router is designed for clients who want to configure the Internet directly and quickly. Many advanced settings are enabled by default and have not opened to change.”

I will be replacing the BE95 and waiting for the ASUS ZenWiFi BQ16 Pro BE30000. I have also passed on implementing a very large system in my main house. Unfortunate, very good hardware but everything else is awful. All your data ends up in their cloud with no way of turning it off. SECURITY, PRIVACY? If I can access my router over Mobile or other Wifi networks, so can others. BTW, I received a report on my network usage from TP-Link yesterday through the app on my phone even though I have all reporting turned off. If they are reporting on my usage to me, what do you think they’re doing with my and others data? Real missed opportunity. If you would like to read my journey, it’s enclosed below:

I’m an old network type involved in one way or another for 30 years. I have the ASUS ET12 mesh in my house and separate office which for the most part it’s been good. Only faults are updates are not very regular (last one was April) and Parental controls are not great. Since Wifi 7 is on the horizon, I decided to take the plunge. To test I bought the single BE95 for my office with the intent of replacing the ASUS mesh if it worked out. I’ve learned a couple of things in the last four days using it in my separate office.

First the good:

– VERY fast by my measurements – My normal workload as a measurement, videos, large data sets etc.
– Has been rock solid
– Updates work as advertised
– Ports are great
– Hardware is fast and very good next gen

The Bad:

– I can still break anything. The installation was not as easy as the reviews I’ve seen.
– More than one mobile client
– Not as configurable as the ASUS (not even close) with configurable features in strange places
– Weird bug trying to access from a Web browser. Yes I tried forums and reaching out to support,
through their Chat and Phone and no response. I plan on trying again today.
– Subscriptions for common features that should just be supplied. GREED

Overall, I’m leaning on replacing the ET12s with the one stumbling block, web access. I will post an update when I get that resolved and more time with the BE95.

Update:

I’ve been using the BE95 for a week and here’s where I am:

Pros:

– Still VERY fast
– Happy with the hardware
– Support is good and interesting (more on this later)

Cons:

– The WEB interface is a total joke and useless. No feature parity with the mobile version.
– Always connected to their cloud, PRIVACY?
– Features, like those common with other platforms are missing so not configurable
– UI/UX is AWFUL with the features they have (very limited) in places they shouldn’t be.
– Support

OK I contacted support on a couple of features, usability issues I was having and it was a mixed bag. First, don’t go through the phone, takes too long. I used the chat function and support was quick. I asked three questions and received answers that were incomplete or wrong. Now the interesting part of this. The interactions were reviewed by other support engineers later and I received correct answers plus follow up, I liked this and set my expectations. I was also asked two days later by support what features I’d like to see. Since I’m a network type and coming off ASUS, I of course was used to being able to configure EVERYTHING and this is what I asked for. we’ll see where this goes.

The UI/UX issues are IMO mostly show stoppers for the normal user putting this into their home, unless the goal is just doing a vanilla setup and leaving it. Even then it’s leaving potentially exploitable functionality on the table.

Overall if you’ve made it this far; I’m now going to wait and see where they take the configurability and UI/UX before I replace my main system. Don’t get me wrong, the speed and hardware are great but there is so much more potential being left on the table.

I was using 4 Linksys MX5 (Mesh, Wifi 6) in my 3,700 sqft house. Using a 1GB fiber connection from my ISP. My office is at the opposite end of the house and on a different floor. Connected via ethernet on the mesh node (wireless backhaul), I was seeing around 400 of wifi speed. Now with this TP Link, I get +700 with only two nodes. Quite impressive. So better coverage and more speed. I have about 60 devices connected at all times (Sonos, Ring, Phone, Tablets, PC …) and no headache so far.
Too early for reliability feedback as I have used this less than a week. But so far, no issue, connection is stable.
The GUI offers additional tweaks vs. Linksys, that is a welcome change.

As expected, this is quite expensive, but I was ready to try. Overall, if you can afford it, it is a meaningful upgrade, not just a minor improvement. If connection stays stable in the next few weeks/months, then I will be very happy.

Upgrading from a wifi 6 mesh system from a competitor. The BE95 is much more stable and has consistent performance. Set up was easy and each tower connected to the main router instantly. Went with the BE95 to anticipate wifi 7 capable devices. Each tower can provide wired connection which is a plus.