TP-Link AX1800 VDSL Whole Home Mesh Wi-Fi 6 Router
TP-Link AX1800 VDSL Whole Home Mesh Wi-Fi 6 Router, Dual-Band with 4x Gigabit WAN/LAN Ethernet ports, Connect up to 150 devices, Super VDSL2 Speed, HomeShield Security, Works with Alexa (Deco X20-DSL)
Faster Streaming, with Less Lag
The Deco X20-DSL gateway supports Super VDSL with internet downlink speeds up to 350 Mbps, shared by super-fast Wi-Fi 6 with speeds up to 1,800 Mbps, enabling lag-free online activities such as 4K streaming, cloud-gaming, and video calls.
Meet the Potent Mesh Wi-Fi 6
Seamless Coverage up to 200 m²
With clearer and stronger signals enhanced by BSS Color and Beamforming, Deco X20-DSL boosts broader whole home Wi-Fi coverage up to 200m².
Wi-Fi 6 Speeds up to 1,800 Mbps
Superior Wi-Fi6 speeds up to 1.8 Gbps – 1201 Mbps (5 GHz) and 574 Mbps (2.4 GHz) dual-band Wi-Fi with Wi-Fi 6 technology
Connects over 150 Devices
With 4× the average throughput on connected devices in dense environments thanks to Wi-Fi 6 technology. Deco X20-DSL is tested to connect over 150 devices without dragging down performance†.
Seamless Roaming with One Wi-Fi Name
TP-Link Mesh means Deco units work together to form one unified network. Your phone or tablet automatically connects to the fastest Deco as you move through your home.
TP-Link HomeShield’s kit
Gain full statistics and insights to help you know your home network better.
| Weight: | 1.26 kg |
| Dimensions: | 10.5 x 10.5 x 16.7 cm; 1.26 Kilograms |
| Brand: | TP-Link |
| Model: | DECO X20-DSL |
| Colour: | White |
| Batteries Included: | No |
| Manufacture: | TP-Link |
| Dimensions: | 10.5 x 10.5 x 16.7 cm; 1.26 Kilograms |
My Vodafone supplied router died so while I was waiting for a replacement, I bought the TD-W9970 as a temporary replacement and future backup.
I plugged it in to my fibre to the cabinet DSL socket and tried to configure, using “other” as my ISP as Vodafone is not listed. I had to call Vodafone support to get my user name, which is in the form dsl*********@broadband.vodafone.co.uk, and the 8 character password. I set VLAN as 101 and eventually it connected. All good.
When my Vodafone replacement arrived, I disconnected the unit and tested it using a 4G dongle that Vodafone had supplied ,as a back up, as part of my broadband package. Again all good.
I have now set the unit as a Wireless Router connected to my new Vodafone modem over ethernet. Again all good.
For the price, it is a brilliant piece of kit. Very functional.
So fast and easy to install (10 mins). The mobile driven app is at first odd not to be a PC Web page app but this is the way to go. I get alerts when new equipment enters my large network so I can keep track of what gear is on the system. Only shortcoming is the range which is less than the Netgear 4XS 7800 that it replaced. Wifi signal is barely connecting with Deco whereas Netgear was almost always connecting. Hard to hard wire extender to deco to get firm distance connectio
It’s maybe a tip that everyone knows but here goes just in case. Years ago after buying a new router, I encountered the horror of having to change the WiFi credentials on a houseful of connected devices. Subsequently when changing to a new router I always change the network name and password to the details of the old router and ta-da – no need to change anything on your connected devices.
So as before I did the same with this router but that didn’t work. Only my iPhone connected so I had to change the settings on all the individual connected devices. What I hadn’t realised was the default WiFi security protocol was a newer version on this router, meaning that it wasn’t allowing those devices to connect, even though the login details were correct. Changing the security protocol would have saved that headache. Lesson learned.
Performance wise it’s very good and I’ve not experienced any dropouts. If you’re a tech nerd you may not like having to change settings through a phone app as the functionality is quite limited
Unfortunately for me, my App no longer links to the modem, so I cant get any engineering level access to it all all!
I have yet to test technical support, as its been years since I had to ask someone else to help me access my modems internal settings! Such a requirement seems fundamental to me, and should not need technical support.
So, good wifi, but a hopeless user interface.
I was with Sky broadband for many years and the Sky Q system caused huge network instability with hardwired boxes dropping on and off the network and speed falling off a cliff. When they wanted 40 a month i swapped to Vodafone. Loosing the mesh Sky gave me even if it was poor meant i needed something to replace it with. Knowing issues that you can have by adding a mesh system to an existing router i chose the TP Link system as i can configure it with my FTTC service. Whilst the Voip element no longer works i am really not bothered as every one now calls the mobile and there seems no way to get it to work.
Set up was very simple indeed, the app is very intuitive and as long as you have the settings from your ISP don’t forget the VLAN setting for vodafone 101 it was up and running in around 15 mins. The nodes i also purchased the X50 were the same easy.
The app is very clever and i can name items connected if not known by the app which is a nice touch. Finally i did like the ability to turn off the LED lights which means less LED light pollution in the bedroom at night.
Wifi coverage is very good although one more unit in the extension would make it full signal everywhere in the house but i am nit picking as everything has a decent signal with good decibels.
I do highly recommend this unit if you don’t need your isp’s voip and the ability to set it up on fibre using the WLAN option is also a future proofing feature which is great.
On the other hand, a number of features I would expect on a 130 router are locked behind a paywall, which granted are more ‘power user’ than for most people, but I would still expect them to just be a feature not something artificially blocked for everyone. For instance, want to see the most visited sites on your network? You can… If you pay for HomeShield Pro which is 5.99 a month or 53.99 a year. Simple DDOS protection? Part of HomeShield Pro. Want to see how much data a specific device has sent or received? Nope. Can’t see that at all! (from what I can see!). Honestly, the only real gain you get from HomeShield Pro is viewing the top 5 visited sites per profile, which is usually just tracking cookie URLs, and instead of just setting bedtimes, you can set time limits and a hard ‘off time’ (which just looks like a bedtime?!) to profiles. I can’t see TP-Link making much money on this! And you 100% don’t need it for a secure and performant network!
Another bugbear is you get a LOT more settings and control via the app on your phone or tablet than you do by going to the router via your browser. Almost all of the above I mentioned can only be set in the app, not via the web portal. Via the web portal you can only really change your wifi password, see live traffic data (as in, see what the current up and down speed is of a device) or do a firmware upgrade. But if you want to do a WPS connection, set bedtimes, rename or blacklist a device on the network… You need the app. And both the router and the app need a TP-Link account to work, you can’t just plug and play without it.
I must stress, for 90% of people who want a solid replacement for their broadband providers standard ASDL router, this is a phenomenal buy. It’s the little bits, mostly around the seemingly surplus HomeShield Pro and the lack of a proper admin panel for a desktop user, that make me not give it 5*’s.
This new model comes in at a good price with some really solid modern network features.
Setup:
Setup was a breeze. The quickstart guide is simple and using the TP Tether app helps speed it all up. It also lets you monitor and manage the Router remotely which is a bonus as my most regular phone call from my other half when I’m at work starts “the internet is broke”. It isn’t usually!
Wifi:
5GhZ and 2.4Ghz speed were a significant boost on my previous model, giving much better range also. I have a range extender in our old 1930’s house to get to the loft extension but have no need for it anymore. With our fibre connection capped to 40Mbps I can comfortably get 30-38Mbps on 5Ghz anywhere in the house, including on the top floor.
The Router user interface is also smartened up compared to my 5 year old model. It’s slick and easy to understand, breaking out key functions.
USB Storage:
This is where it falls over a little. This router uses a protocol for transferring data on a shared network called SMB V1. Microsoft abandoned native support for this in Windows 10 in favour of SMB V2. It’s a simple google search to enable it again, but you will need to do this before files sharing is nice and simple. After doing this the 64G USB thumb drive plugged into the side was right there in the windows explorer.
Another nice feature is the button on the router that enables lights out. The Router is already better in that all lights are soft glow and static (as opposed to flashing). Pressing the button means the router has no visible lights on it. great if you want to put it in a room with people sleeping.
Apart from that, it was boringly simple to setup and get going, and now we have super slick and much quicker access to our fibre. The Wifi channel hopping seems a little cleverer too, avoiding the neighbours wifi with ease.
The router features a 2.4 and 5GHz guest network if you need it. I use ours for the kids so you can easily set a time window for access. You can also set access time for certain devices so that kids can’t access the internet after a certain time.
A few minor niggles. It only comes with a 1m phone line connection BT45 socket cable, and a 1m RJ45 LAN cable. 2m should be the bare minimum if you actually want to sit the router somewhere sensible.
So far so good, and really happy with my choice. If I get another 5 years out of this one I’ll be happy. The bonus is that TP link provide a 3 year warranty so if taking a gamble on a new device, this makes it an easier choice.