TP-Link Deco X20 Review | Low-cost mesh Wi-Fi router supporting Wi-Fi 6

Even though you can communicate comfortably in the living room with your home Wi-Fi, the connection is poor when you go to a specific room... To eliminate such Wi-Fi dead spots, a mesh Wi-Fi router introduction is recommended.

A mesh Wi-Fi router enables stable communication anywhere in the house by literally spreading Wi-Fi radio waves like a mesh (network) using multiple routers. .

Recently, mesh Wi-Fi routers have appeared from many manufacturers, and it is very difficult to choose which router to choose, but if you want a mesh Wi-Fi router that supports the latest Wi-Fi 6, How about introducing TP-Link's "Deco X20"?

This time, TP-Link provided a sample of Deco X20, and when I actually built a Wi-Fi environment at home, I was able to build a comfortable Wi-Fi environment quite easily. . I would like to introduce the features and good points of this router in detail in the same review.

Design

TP-Link Deco X20 is a mesh Wi-Fi router that supports the next-generation high-speed wireless LAN standard "Wi-Fi 6 (IEEE 802.11ax)".

This time, the author provided a set of 2 routers, and there are also 1 routers and 3 routers, depending on the size of your home or office. You can purchase as many as you like.

In general, routers that claim to be compatible with Wi-Fi 6 are often large in size, but this product is compact at 11.0 x 11.0 x 11.4 cm, so there is almost no problem with where to place it. The good point is that it is simple and easy to match with any furniture or room because the antenna does not protrude outside.

On the back, there are two power cable outlets and two gigabit WAN/LAN ports. Common routers often have separate WAN ports for inserting cables from modems and LAN ports for wired connections to each device, but in the case of Deco X20, both are used. Therefore, it works without problems no matter which way it is inserted.

In addition to the reset button on the bottom of the main unit, the MAC address and SSID are listed. If you want to use a filter by MAC address, take a picture of the back before installing it, or write down the MAC address.

This product comes with a quick start guide, a power cable, and a LAN cable for connecting to a modem. If you want to use a wired connection for a stable connection in games, etc., buy as many LAN cables as you need.

Router specifications

The Deco X20 supports Wi-Fi 6, so it can be used with the latest iPhone 12 series, iPad Pro/Air, and MacBook Pro/Air/Mac equipped with the M1 chip. If you have a Wi-Fi 6 compatible device such as mini, you can use high-speed communication.

Even if you don't have a Wi-Fi 6 compatible device yet, it is expected that new devices that will appear in the future will continue to support it, so build a communication environment with Wi-Fi 6 now. Keeping it shouldn't be a bad choice.

This product has a dual band specification, and one radio wave in the 5 GHz band and one in the 2.4 GHz band are emitted. The communication speed is 1201 Mbps in the 5 GHz band, 574 Mbps in the 2.4 GHz band, and 1800 Mbps in total for both bands.

However, even if two radio waves are flying, only one SSID is displayed, and Deco X20 automatically connects each device to the optimal frequency band, so which frequency band to use It is very simple to use without the need to consider

By the way, the maximum number of devices that can be connected to this product is 150. Recently, there is a tendency to use network-based devices such as smart speakers and IoT home appliances, but the Deco X20 should be able to use it with peace of mind.

The Wi-Fi environment can be easily set up using the dedicated Deco app. If you follow the instructions in the app, you shouldn't have any trouble setting it up. In addition, all TP-Link Deco series are compatible, so even if you purchase a new model, you can use the existing model, but this setting can also be done from the app.

The Deco X20 is a mesh Wi-Fi router that is especially recommended for beginners who are using a mesh Wi-Fi router for the first time, and for those who are not very familiar with Wi-Fi but want to make communication at home comfortable. I can say

I actually built a Wi-Fi environment

The status lamp turns yellow during startup

I actually used two Deco X20s to build a Wi-Fi environment at my home. Since my home has two floors, I installed Deco X20 on the first and second floors and measured the communication speed in various places.

The results are as follows. After all, the closer to the router, the faster the communication speed, especially in the living room, a speed of 230 Mbps was confirmed. In other places, the speed is basically about 100 to 200 Mbps, and you can communicate comfortably anywhere.

1st floor living room (distance to router: close)

2nd floor bedroom (distance from router: far)

I have been using the network built with the Deco X20 for about a month, and I feel that the communication is fairly stable without interruptions.

Since the author had already built a network with a mesh Wi-Fi system, the introduction of the Deco X20 did not significantly improve the environment, but the mesh Wi-Fi system was introduced. Before that, there was a phenomenon in which the communication speed decreased in a specific room. Even if you introduce the Deco X20, you will not encounter such problems, so it seems that there was a meaning in introducing this product.

TP-Link says the product will cover up to 370 square meters. If you can't cover the whole house with one router like the author, it seems worth introducing.

In addition, if you often play online games on PS5, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, etc., you can use communication with less delay by connecting Deco X20 directly to the game console using a LAN cable. Anyway, if you play a game that emphasizes line speed, it is recommended to place the router and game machine close to each other and connect them by wire.

Summary

This time, I reviewed TP-Link's mesh Wi-Fi router "Deco X20".

The biggest feature/attraction of the Deco X20 is that it can implement a mesh Wi-Fi system using the latest Wi-Fi standard Wi-Fi 6 (IEEE 802.11ax) at a relatively low cost.

The communication speed may not be as high as the high-end model, but due to the characteristics of the mesh Wi-Fi router, you can later purchase additional Deco X20 or other "Deco" series to expand the network. Flexibility is one of the attractions.

If you are dissatisfied with the current Wi-Fi environment, why not try building a network with the Deco X20?

Deco X20 is on sale at Amazon, Rakuten, PayPay Mall, etc., and the reference price is 20,800 yen (tax included). For detailed specifications of the Deco X20, please check the TP-Link official website.

▶︎ Purchase Deco X20 at each store
・Rakuten Ichiba
・PayPay Mall