Quote:
Originally Posted by zuluking
Many thanks for all the responses! Question about the powerline backhaul... do the devices have to be on the same electrical circuit for this to work? if i don't have a circuit that has outlets on each floor, is the powerline backhaul useless?
As for the mesh, if i had a unit on each floor with the one on the top floor wired to the router, does the basement unit connect to the main floor one that connects to the top floor? or does each unit have to connect back to tethered one, meaning the basement still sucks generally speaking?
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I hope I am not over simplifying...
If your home has a single electrical panel, you'll probably be fine. Each node is still effective even without power line back haul as long as it can receive the signals from any other node via wifi. The back haul feature is kind of like a backup plan in the event that the signal strength isn't as strong as it can be due to interference, walls etc. and the power line back haul function kinda tops it up. The nodes will not be useless without power line back haul if the nodes are in wireless range to each other.
The Deco P9 uses power line as a back haul. I believe the Deco M4 would use ethernet as a back haul. Make sure you grab the correct one of the two. Power line back haul might mean you can stick it wherever whereas the M4 with no ethernet you'd possibly have to reposition to improve overall performance.
Essentially, if you aren't power line back hauling, but the nodes are still connected to your network, they are still repeating/amplifying the signal between nodes (ie: Upstairs to main floor to basement). The difference perhaps is that the basement "might" have slightly better signal strength and speeds with the power line back haul because there is a little bit less signal interference and less hand offs etc. that is going on. But it shouldn't be ineffective and "sucks" in the basement without power line back haul as long as the signal strength is OK. It may mean you have to reposition the unit in the basement to make it work better though.