Super hub 3 and TP link deco m5

[Omq1]

Hi 

I’ve bought the TP link deco m5 with 3 units to work with my super hub 3 in order to give me better WiFi around the house. The reason was that I was getting lots of blind spots where there was no WiFi and the WiFi was also very unstable and kept dropping out.

I’ve connected the main deco unit to the super hub with a cable and then wirelessly connected the other 2 units to the main unit. I’ve left the super hub in whatever mode it was in and used the router mode for the decos. So I think the super hub is still in router mode and the decos are also in router mode. I can connect to either WiFi. I also have various devices connected by Ethernet cable to the super hub router. 

It all seems to work, but I’ve read various threads suggesting I should use the super hub in modem mode with the deco. I just want to ensure I’ve got the fastest and most stable connection around the house. Can anyone advise if my set up is ok or if I should turn off router mode on the super hub (or alternatively switch the decos into AP mode - which I understand turns them into extenders of the super hub WiFi connection). And if I do turn off router mode on the super hub will that mean everything currently connected by wired connection to the super hub will stop working. 
Many thanks in advance for any advice. 

[Roger_Gooner]

Have you connected only the Deco to the hub when it's in modem mode?

[gary_dexter]

You have to do it in a certain order.

Power off the hub and the Deco (having set the Deco up in router mode and the hub in modem mode).

Power on just the hub and allow it to initiate.

Plug the Deco into the bottom Ethernet port of the hub, then power on the Deco and allow that to initiate.

You should now be able to connect to the internet via the Deco system. 

[YS]

Only the Deco was connected when hub in modem mode.

i did follow the correct order first time round but I ended up resetting to factory settings on both devices and it still didn’t help... will try again in the right order tomorrow!

[legacy1]

If you got your laptop to work in modem mode you can log in to the deco and find the MAC clone option to copy your laptop MAC to the deco then connect the deco up to the hub and it will work.

[YS]

I tried linking the deco to the hub after restarting everything and in the right order but still didn’t work.

ended up doing the Mac clone option on the deco settings, set it to the laptop address and all now works fine.  Thanks for the help!

Are there any issues with this Mac cloning I need to watch out for in the future?

[legacy1]

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@YS wrote:

Are there any issues with this Mac cloning I need to watch out for in the future?

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No not really its well tested proven option to use.

[pemass48]

I’ve been following this topic but I have the e4. I’ve tried everything but the deco always shows the red light when I join the network. The hub is in modem mode and the unit set to router. The deco Wi-Fi is visible to all devices. It all works when the hub is set back to router mode but then I have to use a different SSID which defeats the object as all my devices search for the hub’s SSID. The MAC clone won’t work as the laptop never sees the internet in wifi mode when the hub is in modem mode. Changing dns to 8.8.8.8/8.8.8.4 has no effect either. I’ve initiated the devices in the order described - no result. Could it be that I cannot use the hub’s SSID?  I’m stumped, so any clear directions as to how to make it work would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Woody26]

I found a solution when buying Deco 5 triple pack on Amazon. Go to that section and one of the reviews gives very detailed instructions for setting up your hub3 and Deco 5s. Worked for me so have a try.

[KenWright]

Roger, been trawling though the thread, and thinking you just hit on my issue, but I don't understand why it's an issue, so was hoping you could help. I just added a Deco Mesh M9 plus setup, which all works perfectly, except I am getting some issues I think with Double Nat, so I switched Hub3 to Modem mode. I had 4 cables coming out of hub with Deco being top port and others going to a switch and a desktop and a TV.

Deco light stayed red and nothing worked. I just unplugged everything, powered it all off, plugged the Deco M9 into the Hub and powered on the Hub. Waited till it initiated then powered on the Deco M9. Deco initially turned white for a couple of minutes, then red for a minute, but then turned green (was expecting blue). It works, it all works. Now I connected the second port on the Deco to a 5 port switch, and connected the remaining cables that were going into the hub previously into the switch. Powered on the switch and life is now great again. Do thank you thank you thank you for that..... BUT 😊 why can't I use the remaining ports on the hub? Is it because the hub is now only a modem and can only feed the router (now my Deco) which now has to do all the traffic management please. That would make sense to me, but I just want to confirm please. 

[KenWright]

Thanks Gary, much appreciated.