TP-Link Deco XE75 Wi-Fi 6E AXE5400 Tri-band Mesh router (network review)

The TP-Link Deco XE75 Wi-Fi 6E AXE5400 is the first Tri-band Mesh router we have reviewed. The review is helping us understand the nuances of Wi-Fi 6E and the differences between how different brands handle Wi-Fi 6E mesh.

In TP-Link’s case, it is a Tri-band 2.4/5/6GHz router that uses the 6GHz band for mesh backhaul to the router. While it is great to use the uncongested and faster 6GHz band for backhaul, the trade-off is that the satellites need to be closer to the router, especially if the signal has to pass through walls, doors, cupboards etc.

Our tests confirmed that around 7 metres is the maximum satellite/router distance, but we still got acceptable results out to 10m.

TP-Link Deco XE75 Wi-Fi 6E AXE5400 Tri-band Mesh router

An XE75 Pro is coming. The main difference is a 2.5GHz Ethernet port replacing one of the three Gigabit ports.

WebsiteProduct Page
Price$999 for the three-pack
FromCE retailers like Harvey Norman, Bing Lee, Officeworks and computer stores. You may have to order it or use the Bing Lee eBay store.
Warranty36-months
CompanyTP-Link (Est 1996) is a privately owned Chinese company. Products include high-speed cable modems, wireless and mobile routers, range extenders, switches, IP cameras, powerline adapters, switches, print servers, media converters, wireless adapters, power banks, USB Hub and SMART home technology devices.
MoreCyberShack TP-Link news and reviews

We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it should be and a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed.

You can click on most images for an enlargement.

First impression – Pass

After reviewing the stylish art-deco shaped TP-Link Deco X90 AX6600 Mesh router is fast, very fast (review), I was a little disappointed in the more squat cylinder design. It is not ugly by any means, but I would not make a feature of it as I would the X90.

Setup – a no-brainer – Exceed

The 3-pack contains three identical devices. The one that you connect to the Internet becomes the router. The LAN port (there are three) you use automatically becomes a WAN port.

Download the TP-Link Deco App for Android or iOS, plug the first ‘router’ in, and once the LED flashes blue, the App takes over. You need a TP-Link account, and there are no overt privacy issues. The admin password is your account password. Nominate the SSID name, password, and give the first device a location like ‘office’. Voice assistants also use that location.

Adding a satellite is simple too. Power it up near the router, and the App finds and sets it up—ditto for a room. Once added, you can move the satellite to the new location and optionally use Ethernet backhaul simply by plugging in a cable back to the router.

The App does not have a satellite-to-router signal strength indicator, so be careful with distance. If a Satellite cannot mesh over Wi-Fi 6E backhaul, you may see a flashing Red LED.

The App is basic – it will list clients on the network or connected to each satellite. There is a scan function and channel optimisation (HomeShield free)

HomeShield – Pass

Like many brands, TP-Link has a 30-day trial of an optional HomeShield subscription protection package. The price is A$8.99 per month or $89.99 per year. The subscription includes (included in free and paid versions *)

Network security scan *Public Wi-Fi scan *Real-time IoT protectionMalicious content filteringDDoS Protection
Port Intrusion preventionBlock Websites *Pro Content Filter *Pause the Internet *Flexible bedtime
(Free has one bedtime)
Time LimitsTime RewardsTraffic StatsUsage reports*New access devices *
Insight *Device TypeSafety statsFamily Online time rankingVisited URLs

Fast Specs – TP-Link Deco XE75 Wi-Fi 6E

  • Tri-band 2.4GHz HE20/40 574Mbps half-duplex, 5GHz 2402 HE160 full-duplex, 6GHz 2402 HE160 full-duplex
  • 6 streams 2 x 2 MU-MIMO with OFDMA
  • Guest network on all bands
  • WPA2/3
  • Can change LAN IP address and basic parameters
  • 6GHz band can be used for dedicated Wi-Fi backhaul to another XE75, or you can use it for 6E devices and Wi-Fi backhaul.
  • Intelligent AI-driven Mesh sorts out signal congestion and BSS colouring to avoid neighbours’ Wi-Fi
  • 3 x Gigabit Ethernet ports (one becomes a WAN)
  • Access via the App or basic details via the web interface
  • 105 × 105 × 169 mm each plus plug pack
  • Power consumption: 12V/2A/24W – uses about 3-7W (Average 5.3W) per device per hour. A 3-pack is .382kWh/24 hours or about 10 cents daily (at 30c/kWh).

Mesh smarts

As I used the system more, I came to see how TP-Link automatically does a lot of things – hence its simple interface. For example:

  • It can swap and change traffic over the 2.4 and 5Ghz bands (Adaptive Path Selection)
  • It can aggregate unused bandwidth to give a 2400Mbps connection
  • Self-healing if other nearby routers use the same bands
  • Bluetooth and Zigbee as well as Wi-Fi (IoT Mesh)
  • Supports other IEEE 802.11.11k/v/r Mesh devices
  • 2 x Smart Antenna and beamforming between router and satellites
  • Its AI-driven Mesh is among the fastest I have seen for roaming handoff to satellites – about 2 seconds is all it takes.
  • Has a Stateful Packet Inspection firewall (no need to disable the gateway firewall, DHCP or NAT).

Device support

TP-Link claims up to 200 connected devices, and in theory, that is possible. But the reality is more like 30-40 if you have Wi-Fi-hungry devices like security cameras and 4K streaming.

Pros and con of 6GHz Wi-Fi backhaul

  • Fast and largely uncontested
  • Maximum distance between satellite and router 5-7M unless using Ethernet backhaul
  • In AU, only 3 x 160MHz channels and lower transmit power (US 7 x 160MHz)

Test: Router only.

Samsung S22 Ultra. -dBM – lower is better. Mbps – higher is better. Ms – lower is better. Maximum NBN speed is nominally 100/20.

 5GHz -dBm/Mbps6GHz -dBm/Mbps5GHz DL/UL/Ms6GHz DL/UL/Ms
2-28/2401-33/2041100/20/21100/16/21
5-44/1725-50/1361100/20/28100/15/25
10-50/1300-63/524100/20/29100/13/27
15-55/897-68/433100/17/33100/12/49
5m through 2 walls and cupboards-65/1814-68/272100/17/44100/15/99

Conclusions: The 6GHz band exceeds -60dBm (becoming unusable) before 10m, although it still has enough power to get the full NBN 100Mbp DL and UL speeds to drop off. The 5m through wall test proves that the 6GHz is best in line-of-sight.

This confirms our observations with the Netgear RAXE500 AXE11000, Wi-Fi 6E Router (network review).

Tests: Satellites

5m away through two walls/cupboards with Wi-Fi 6E backhaul

 5GHz -dBm/Mbps6GHz -dBm/Mbps5Ghz DL/UL/Ms6Ghz DL/UL/Ms
2m-21/2401-22/2041100/19/21100/18/40

7m line-of-sight Wi-Fi 6E backhaul

 5GHz -dBm/Mbps6GHz -dBm/Mbps5Ghz DL/UL/Ms6Ghz DL/UL/Ms
2m-22/2041-29/2041100/17/36100/16/54

We retested at 10m from the router, and the results were about 30% lower in Mbps and far longer ping times.

Gigabit Ethernet backhaul

 5GHz -dBm/Mbps6GHz -dBm/Mbps5Ghz DL/UL/Ms6Ghz DL/UL/Ms
2m-21/2401-21/2401100/19/21100/19/27

Daisy-chain

We tested a Wi-Fi 6GHz backhaul Satellite>Satellite>router, and while the satellite transmission speeds were identical, throughput on the furthermost away (15m) from the router dropped by about 30%. This is fine as it still matched NBN Speeds, albeit at 70-90ms ping times.

Conclusions: The satellites perform well using Wi-Fi 6E backhaul, but we recommend no more than 7 metres line-of-sight or 5m through walls, built-in cupboards etc. When you use Wi-Fi 6E backhaul, it dedicates approx. 360Mbps of the 6GHz bandwidth hence the difference between 5GHz 2401 and 6GHz 2014Mbps.

Ethernet backhaul gives 2401Mbps to the Wi-Fi 5 and 6GHz channels, reducing ping latency times.

In any case, all configurations could deliver close to the full NBN UL/DL, with the main difference being ping times.

Effective distance/area – Pass

Typically, 2.4GHz can span 30-40m line-of-site and does not lose much through walls. 5GHz at about 10-15m (losing about 20% through walls) and 6GHz at 5-7m. You will need extenders or a mesh system if you want whole-home coverage.

The limitation here is using Wi-Fi 6E backhaul, and our advice is to keep the satellites to 7m.

That means coverage is as follows

<7 metres>Satellite<7 metres>router<7 meters>satellite<7 metres> or 28m length x 14m diameter 392m2.

Now that is a little at odds with TP-Link’s 650m2, but remember that in Australia, the 6GHz transmit signal strength and 480MHz contiguous bandwidth is lower than in the US with 1200Mhz. That may change, and the Deco is firmware upgradeable.

Note: TP-Link states, ‘Deco XE75 is compatible with every other Deco model to form a Mesh network. Expand Mesh Wi-Fi coverage anytime by adding more Decos’.

We advise against mixing Wi-Fi 5 and 6 Deco devices on a 6E backhaul.

CyberShack’s view – TP-Link Deco XE75 Wi-Fi 6E AXE5400 mesh at the value end of the scale

We have only tested the Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500 AX11000 router that costs more than the Deco 3-pack. It is not fair to compare AX11000 with AX5400. Nor will it be fair to compare the Orbi Quad-band RBKE963 router that costs $2799 for a 3-pack.

The good thing about the TP-Link Deco XE75 Wi-Fi 6E is that you get decent throughput, at least matching NBN 100/20 speeds from the router and its satellites. If you have line-of-sight, use the Wi-Fi 6E backhaul; otherwise Ethernet cable is best. That is our standard advice for any Mesh system.

And if Wi-Fi 6E is not part of your foreseeable future, look at TP-Link’s Deco Wi-Fi 6 range.

Rating

We have yet to rate any Wi-Fi 6E router because we have little to compare it.

We are happy to say there is no downside to other Deco XE75 Wi-Fi 6E Tri-band Mesh for medium-sized homes with up to NBN 100/20Mbps access speeds.

Pro

Extremely simple to setup

Affordable with a 3-year warranty

Reliable and consistent speeds

Either Wi-Fi 6E or Ethernet backhaul or daisy chain etc

Cons

No signal strength meter for satellite connections

Very basic App functionality

Use Ethernet if you plan to place satellites more than 7-10m from the router

Only one SSID for 2.4/5Ghz (a separate one for 6GHz)

Don’t mix older Deco satellites with this