TP-Link recently launched the new Deco X80 which is a Wi-Fi 6 AX6000 mesh Wi-Fi system. It will deliver great speed thanks to the AX6000 configuration that will provide bandwidth up to 6000Mbps. However, unlike the more expensive Deco X95, the Deco X80 comes in a dual-band configuration.
I really liked the sleek and minimalistic design language of the Deco X80. It blended well with the interior decor of my property easily. That’s important as mesh Wi-Fi systems shouldn’t be placed inside a closed cabinet. It should be placed at somewhere open for the optimal performance.
At RM1599 for the twin-pack model, the Deco X80 is positioned right below the flagship Wi-Fi 6 Deco X95 model. It also comes with 3 years of warranty and sales support in Malaysia. TP-Link says they will be selling the 3-pack and single-pack model eventually as well for further expansion.
Mesh Wi-Fi Performance
The performance of the Deco X80 was great. It covered an entire 2800 sq ft double-storey landed house easily with speed good enough for smooth 4K streaming on the entire property. At a short distance, the Deco X80 can provide speed more than 800Mbps easily on my iPhone.
The loaded latency on the mesh node is still fairly low which make the system a good choice for gaming as well. TP-Link’s certainly improved their congestion management and that’s good news for latency sensitive applications such as gaming, conference call and live streaming.
Moving on the mesh performance test, the mesh node will deliver Wi-Fi speed more than 500Mbps reliably after two walls when running speed test on my Wi-Fi 6 supported device. That’s already faster than the previous flagship, Deco X90 despite being just dual-band.
The system proved to be really reliable during my testing period. I do not encounter any crashes and unexpected disconnections from the Deco X80. The self-learning AI-driven mesh works really well at optimizing the connection and ensure all my devices always have a great speed.
That resulted in a fairly good good mesh roaming experience with seamless node steering and band steering. That’s partly due to Deco supported the 802.11k/v feature which will enhance roaming performance. It also supported 802.11r fast roaming for an even faster roaming speed.
Hardware and Specs
While it looks similar to the Deco X68 from TP-Link, the Deco X80 is unrelated to that product. The Deco X80 comes with Mediatak MT7986B SoC. It’s a Quad-Core 1.6GHz ARM-A53 CPU with 512MB RAM. That is even faster than the CPU on the previous flagship, Deco X90.
The Deco X80 comes with a 2.5G Ethernet WAN port which makes it compatible with 2Gbps Internet connection. There are also 2 Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports and that can be used for wired backhaul to the mesh node or connected to a Gigabit Ethernet switch for more ports.
I also done a quick teardown of the Deco X80 just to have a look on the internal of the device. TP-Link is still pretty generous with generous sized heatsink given on both sides of the PCB. There are a total of 4 antennas in the device.
Deco App and Features
The Deco app that controls the mesh Wi-Fi system is really user-friendly and simple to use. It will show you the list of connected devices and their current network speed. There’s also some other handy tools such as guest Wi-Fi, QoS, device restriction and more.
TP-Link’s HomeShield Pro parental control is available on this model. It’s a really great feature if you have kids at home as the system can restrict content access based on category for selected devices. There’s also a time usage limitation and Internet access time scheduling feature.
The report feature of the HomeShield Pro is another great tool to keep your kids in check. It can show Internet usage trend and top browsed webpages. However, these additional features will require the HomeShield Pro service with a monthly subscription required.
For those Malaysians using TM Unifi, Maxis Fibre and CelcomDigi Fibre, the IPTV/VLAN settings is needed if your connect the mesh Wi-Fi system to the modem. Then, you’ll need to key-in the PPPoE username and password on the Deco app in order to connect to the network.
Should you buy it?
The Deco X80 proved to be another reliable and fast mesh Wi-Fi system from TP-Link. It’s fast enough to provide a consistent speed up to 500Mbps on the mesh node and 800Mbps on the main unit. I also really liked how user-friendly it is to manage the system from the Deco app.
The greatest part of the Deco X80 mesh Wi-Fi system is the reliability and consistency. It performed really well with a really smooth and seamless connection even when the network is busy. It’s a great product who those looking for a mesh Wi-Fi system that just work with decent performance.
TP-Link Deco X80
8.8
Tubi Rating
pros
- 3 LAN/WAN on each unit
- Great mesh performance with fast speed and seamless roaming
- Good congestion management resulting in low loaded latency
cons
- Monthly subscription required to get more features from HomeShield Pro
Which one to choose between xe75 vs xe80? For 500mbps
Their performance are very similar and I will choose the Deco XE75 as it is a tri-band model. Tri-band is always better for mesh Wi-Fi.
Hello and thank you for the review! I wanted to ask whether you had any input for my situation, I would really appreciate it. I am trying to decide between this model, the X80, and the Deco X75. I don’t really want the XE75 as – although wifi 6E is cool – I believe that model uses the 6 Ghz band as wireless backhaul… in my property, the 6 Ghz bands would never reach each other, the nodes would be too far apart, so it would have to use the 5 Ghz and even the 2.4 Ghz band for backhaul,… Read more »
While the range of 6GHz is weaker than 5GHz, it’s only around 10-20% weaker and not by a huge margin. I will still recommend the tri-band model as it ensures sufficient capacity when more nodes are added. Dual-band mesh Wi-Fi system might struggle once you have more than 2-3 nodes on wireless link.
Hello, and thanks for the review. I currently own two Deco M5 units and have been considering to upgrade to any of the Deco X series models. Do you happen to know if this Deco X80 has way better range, including through concrete walls, than the M5? If so, do you recommend this model or is there any other model that has better range? Our plan is 300mbps but it doesn’t reach that speed consistently, despite the main M5 unit being connected wired to the main modem. Unfortunately we are quite limited to how we can set up our units… Read more »
The Deco X80 is miles ahead of the Deco M5. The coverage is significantly stronger with faster speed thanks to Wi-Fi 6 technology. It will be a huge upgrade from your Deco M5. If budget is not an issue, get the Deco X95 for the absolute peace of mind.
I am under Unifi 500Mbps plan, with wifi 6, I suppose… Will you recommend this model or this is overkill?
Not an overkill, in fact you will need it if you intend to get at least 400-500Mbps on your entire property.
Is this significantly better than the Deco X60? I am planning to get a 3 pack whichever of the two.
Yes, it is significantly faster than the Deco X60. It’s more reliable and consistent as well.
Hi, I just got the AX55 router from Tplink to replace the 5 year old stock UniFi router. I was thinking if I should get one of these new X units to replace the Deco M3/M5 units I currently have. If I am on the 100mbps plan with 5 devices constantly connected via Wifi, would this be a good upgrade option? Internet is used for online gaming and media streaming.
If you already got the Archer AX55, I will suggest just adding the OneMesh extender or another Archer AX55 as the mesh node than buying another mesh Wi-Fi system.
How big a step up is this from the X20? Covering a 3300sq ft home, wired backhaul with ~35 devices and just 60/6 WAN, do you think it’s worth 3x the cost?
Although the Deco X80 is a really big step up over the Deco X20 in Wi-Fi speed and routing performance, I don’t think it’s gonna benefit you with your current 60/6 WAN. The Deco X20 is good enough for your current WAN speed.
Hi Blacktubi,
For a 1500sq ft condo, which would you recommend between XE75/X80/X95?
I’m planning to use wired backhaul, hope it can improve overall Wifi quality for 3rd room and some far corners.
Users : 3-4
Usage : Video Conferencing, Online Gaming & Movie streaming
Devices : About 6-8 at any given time
Internet Speed : TIME100mbps (Upgrading to 500mbps later)
Current challenges : Congestion due to many wifi signals near my Condo. Sometimes no internet connectivity even connected to wifi full bar.
Since you already planned to use wired backhaul, the benefit of Tri-Band is not really relevant. Hence, I will recommend to get the best dual-band model which is the Deco X80.
Nice to finally see a review on this model.. i own it and im happy with it.. its been solid.