Superhub 3 incompatible with TP-Link Deco M5

[Jeremy_K]

After changing from a Superhub2 to a Superhub 3 my TP-Link Deco system stopped working.  After tests and discussions with TP-Link it appears that the Superhub 3.0 does not correctly pass through the IEEE 1905.1 packets that the Deco system uses for ethernet backhaul.

This would seem to be an unfortunate incompatibility.  Has anyone else found this?  Virgin, please sort out the deficiencies in your hub.

[Jeremy_K]

Hi James

The setup you have already is OK.  If you want to connect the Deco units wirelessly then you don't need a TP_LInk switch.  The problem that the TP-Link switch solves is that if you want to connect the Decos via cable then they can't just go through any old switch because not all are compatible.  My Netgear switch wasn't compatible and neither was the Superhub.  The compatibility issue is only to do with cables between the Deco units, not the cable between the Superhub and the 1st Deco.

I'm not familiar with the powerline adapters but my immediate reaction is that they address a similar issue to the Decos but in a different way.  I'm not convinced they would help very much.  Unless, you could perhaps use the Netgear powerline connections if you wanted a wired connection to your laptop.  This then would be independent of the Deco network.  I hope this makes sense.

Finally, the zoom/skype problem seems to be widespread and pretty much unavoidable.  I wouldn't necessarily assume it's a wifi problem.  For example, I get these messages all the time but my laptop is connected via cable to the hub and I get 200Mbit/s when I run speedtest.

All the best.

Jeremy

[JNuck81]

Hi Jeremy,

Thank you for the swift reply - most kind.

I had intended to completely remove the M5 Deco units and replace them with the Netgear Powerline adaptors due to their proven compatibility with the Virgin Superhub. 

Before I installed the Deco M5 units I never had any problems using Zoom/Skype in the rooms closest to the Superhub. The problem I am now experiencing has only come into play since setting up the Deco Mesh network no matter where I am in the house, I had therefore assumed there was a compatibility issue between the superhub 3 and Deco M5 setup, which I believed this forum was addressing.

There is probably some simple and obvious fix to the issue I am experiencing at present but as I say I am not very technically minded. In normal times I would just get an AV/IT engineer out to look at the setup but what with the lockdown this isn’t possible and I need to have a good stable WiFi connection in order to work from home using applications such as zoom etc. 

thank you for your assistance in this matter.

kind regards

james

[holmesy69]

So hi guys,
 
I am not savvy at all when it comes to all of this, but if you could answer a question or two for me regarding this deco m5, then I would appreciate it very much.

So does the m5 work ok wirelessly if connected to my router (tp-link archer c9) while my superhub is in modem mode.

But as soon as I want to connect an ethernet cable to any of the other 2 m5 units to use them say upstairs on a ps4 etc, I will have problems?

All I want is to have better wifi around the house with the added benefit of a better option than the current home plugs I have in use for my kid's devices.

Thanks in advance for any potential replies I may get.

[Jeremy_K]

James I only just saw your message.  There is a compatibility issue between the Superhub 3 and the Decos.  But it is a very specific issue that will not affect most people.  Basically you cannot connect more than one Deco through the Superhub.  You will see that the Superhub has 3 or 4 ethernet sockets.  If you connect more than one Deco into these sockets you will have problems.  This is because the Decos talk to one another using a certain protocol, and the protocol is not supported.  So the messages get lost.  So provided you have not done that, and the lights on the Decos are green, then you are OK.  

The same thing applies if you try to connect the Decos together through certain other switches such as the Netgear switch.  TP-Link switches are fine though.

[Jeremy_K]

Hi Holmesy69.  Take a look at my recent reply to James.  The crucial thing is how the Decos are connected together.  Just don't connect them via wire through the Superhub or a non-TP-Link switch.  If you have the Superhub in modem mode then presumably you have the router and then the main Deco.  You'd have the Deco in AP mode.  Alternatively, have the Deco connected to the  modem and the router configured as a switch after that.  I hope this helps.

[ynysygwas]

Hi

The short answer to your question would be Yes you can connect ethernet devices to your other M5 units and all should work. I have two Deco M4 units Meshed with an M5 base and they have provided better ethernet access than the Devolo powerline units I used before. 

FWIW I have my SH3 in modem mode connected to a Linksys EA7500 router. Then a Deco M5 in AP mode wired to one of the EA7500 lan ports. then two Deco M4 units connected wirelessly to the M5 unit. One of the M4 units has a Slingbox 350 and an old Virgin Tivo box plugged into the the lan ports.

This setup works for me - most of the time. The tivo connects to the two V6 boxes in other rooms and allows me to watch what is recorded on their discs and vice versa. The EA7500 is the DHCP server for the network and it has been ok. Skype has always been flaky, before the Decos were even bought. I think it has got worse since Covid-19 and assumed it was down to everybody else in the country being online at the same time instead of being at work!

I set it up this way because I still use the other lan ports on the EA7500 for wired connection to my smart TV and another slingbox (I have 5!).

I'd also add that if things don't work properly it is worth doing complete resets on everything and trying again. It has taken me about six goes to get a system that works as I want but haven't needed to change anything for a couple of months now.

SH3 in router mode=definite no no,. SH3 modem mode with M5 router mode was ok but not enough lan ports,. SH3 modem mode with M5 router mode with a 4 port Netgear switch attached to the spare lan port worked but seemed slow. It might have been better with a TP-link switch but I wasn't going to buy another one when I already had one! In the end I reattached my old router and put the M5 into AP mode. It is possible to run the old router wifi network  and the new M5 network alongside each other but you need to change the old router ssid first. I have disabled the old router 5ghz and renamed the old 2.4ghz for guest use and just to allow access to the router. The M5 now has the old ssid the router used to have so my Echo devices, printer and smart bulbs still work. Might still be better to start from scratch, though.

[abs4190]

I've done what you've done, I've got the deco m5 3 pack. I've got the SH4 in modem mode connected to a d'link dir 882 router.  the main deco unit is connected to the d'link in AP mode this allows me to continue using the d'link router with my wired devices plugged into the back. I've not messed with any other settings in the SH4 like you've done (ssid) etc and I can still access WiFi connected to the d'link router as well as the m5.

The other m5 is in an adjoining room connected wirelessly and the third one upstairs connected to a wired switch. 

Is there anything else I should change?  My speeds haven't been too good, I'm on 350mb but I'm getting less than half. It's the same without the m5's so I think it's an issue with virgin. TIA

[MikeRobbo]

In a mesh network, every link, or “hop,” between routers will decrease the bandwidth by half. This happens because wireless links can only do one thing at a time - transmit or receive. In a long “chain” of mesh links, this results in a very slow connection from end to end.

[Nikinp]

Dear JeremyK and all

I am going through a similar issue at the moment with TP Link Dec S4s.

I have Superhub 3 in modem mode -> main deco -> Netgear 50 port managed switch -> slave decos (all via ethernet cabling) and lots of other ethernet devices

I want to use ethernet only backhaul for Decos.  The slaves setup as ethernet backhaul and a couple of days later (one or both slave Decos) switch to WiFi backhaul.  TP link support have been running diagnostics for last 3 hrs.  They say its issue with the switch, but I'm not convinced as they setup with ethernet backhaul and then switch over some time later. They say that the "ethernet backhaul sync packets are being sent to the switch by both main and slave but not being received" - hence it may be the switch.

Interested to hear on two things:

1. Anyone else had this "worked on ethernet backhaul first, then moved to wifi backhaul"

2. If I introduce another switch that wires the Decos together, and have one of the slave's link back to the 50 port managed netgear switch, if the issue is still likely to persist because of the presence of the netgear switch in the network at all

Many thanks in advance

[sophist]

if the netgear you have doesn't pass the specific type of frame, then you can't connect a deco unit to it.. you could use it elsewhere in your network, but not with a deco. 

what model of netgear switch do you have?