🛒
Update (August 18, 2022): Nick Johansson has received the mesh system and opted to remain anonymous. The comment section is now re-opened.
(If you want to keep tabs on giveaway contests, bookmark this link!)
Update (August 8, 2022, at 12:15 PM): Thanks for participating everyone. The contest has ended and we have a winner!
(And here's the new and possibly even more exciting contest!)
Nobody made the correct guess—all entries were either too high or way too high. Here are the stats:
- Actual valid entries (participants): 34.
- Closest and winning number: 50.
- The number of winning guesses: 2—we have a draw.
- Per the rule, the winner is Nick Johansson who guessed 50 the earliest. Iurie Solomon is the runner-up.
You can view all valid entries in the comment section below, with a checked mark (✔️). Note that the social share links have been redacted.
I have sent the winner an email and will update you in 24 hours if a runner-up is needed.
If the winner wants to publish a personal message once they have received the item, it will be placed above the line below. It generally takes a week for the item to arrive.
{Below is the original contest}
In case you don't know, I generally buy the hardware I review on Dong Knows Tech with my own money. Any hardware used for giveaways is among those.
TP-Link Deco X90 giveaway
For this first time around, the hardware in question is the TP-Link Deco X90 tri-band AX6600 Mesh System, currently available on Amazon for $450. You can buy it there or get a chance to win it here.
- Condition: Brand-new, still in plastic wrap, albeit a bit dusty.
- Monetary value: $0.00—Hello, it's a giveaway!
- Practical value: This is potentially an excellent Wi-Fi solution for a large home—4000 ft2 (372 m2), give or take—with Gigabit-class broadband.
I originally intended to test the mesh set for an in-depth review but decided not to when realizing it was very similar to the Deco X5700, which itself is quite an excellent mesh.
Deco X90: Hardware specs
As mentioned above, I didn't do an in-depth review of the Deco X90. Below are its hardware specifications against the similarly-specced Deco X5700.
TP-Link Deco X90: Hardware specification
| Full Name | TP-Link Deco X90 AX6600 Whole Home Mesh Wi-Fi System | TP-Link Deco X5700 AX5700 Whole Home Mesh Wi-Fi System |
| Model | Deco X90 | Deco X5700 |
| Mesh Availability | 2-Pack (Identical Routers) | 2-Pack (Identical Routers) |
| Dimensions | 8.3 × 5.1 × 4.8 in (210.5 × 130 × 123 mm) | 8.3 × 5.1 × 4.8 in (210.5 × 130 × 123 mm) |
| Processor | 1.5GHz Quad-Core | 1.5GHz Quad-Core |
| Wi-Fi Technology | Tri-band AX6600 | Tri-band AX5700 |
| 5GHz-1 Wi-Fi Specs | 4x4 AX: Up to 4804 Mbps Channel Width: 20/40/80/160MHz | 3x3 AX: Up to 3843 Mbps Channel Width: 20/40/80/160MHz |
| 5GHz-2 Wi-Fi Specs | 2x2 AX: Up to 1201 Mbps Channel Width: 20/40/80MHz | 2x2 AX: Up to 1201 Mbps Channel Width: 20/40/80MHz |
| 2.4GHz Wi-Fi Specs | 2x2 AX: up to 574 Mbps Channel Width: 20/40MHz | 2x2 AX: up to 574 Mbps Channel Width: 20/40MHz |
| Backward Compatibility | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi |
| Wireless Security | WPA2, WPA3 | WPA2, WPA3 |
| Mobile App | TP-Link Deco | TP-Link Deco |
| Web User Interface | Yes (Limited) | Yes (Limited) |
| Bridge Mode | No | No |
| AP Mode | Yes | Yes |
| USB Port | None | None |
| Gigabit Port | 1× WAN/LAN | 1× WAN/LAN |
| Multi-Gig Port | 1x 2.5Gbps WAN/LAN | 1x 2.5Gbps WAN/LAN |
| Link Aggregation | None | None |
| Suggested Price (at launch) | $500 (2-pack) | $390 (2-pack) |
How to enter to win—Please read this part carefully!
To enter the contest for the chance to win, please do the following:
- Publicly and permanently—not via a "story"—share this post (or any other post on the site that you find more useful) via a social media platform.
- Leave a comment below using your valid email address. (Your email is never shown publicly and will be used only to contact you if you win.) Feel free to say anything, including suggestions on future giveaways—or not—but the comment must include the following to be qualified as a valid entry:
- Your best guess of the total participants in this giveaway. And
- The link to the social page where you've publicly shared the post.
Here's an example of a valid entry for a Twitter user—you can use any social media:
000 participants
https://twitter.com/DongKnowsTech/status/1554515629461319680Your comment will be held for validation.
- If validated, the comment will be kept hidden until the contest's end and published at the same time as other valid entries. The social share links will be redacted to protect your privacy.
- If found invalid, the comment may be made public immediately so the owner can have another try. In some cases, it might be deleted outright—make sure you read the entire post and follow the rules.
Keeping all valid entries hidden until the end ensures late participants have no advantage—everyone is clueless no matter when they participate. That also helps me quickly figure out the total number of entries among other comments.
All valid entries (that don't violate the comment rules) will be accepted. If you want your opinion to be heard right away, make a separate comment without the social share link.
Contest duration
This giveaway lasts 7 days until noon (Pacific Time) Monday, August 8, as you can see in the countdowns.
At that time, the owner of the valid entry with the correct number (or the closest) of the total participants is the winner. In a draw, the earliest entry wins.
The winner will receive an email detailing how to receive the item and have 24 hours to respond—make sure you check your spam folder. A runner-up will be selected if there's no appropriate and timely response.
The final winner will be announced who will have the option to show a personal message in this post, including a photo of themselves and the item should they choose to do so. Or they can choose to remain anonymous.
Since this is the first time, it will be difficult for you to make an educated guess, and there might also be hiccups on my end. I myself have no idea what the ballpark number is going to be and how the process is going to pan out. But I'll be transparent, and things will improve in subsequent giveaways. The goal is to get the hardware to the right (and lucky) person who needs it, more so than getting as many participants as possible.
Make sure you read and agree with the terms below before participating. (They won't bite.)
Important: Rules, disclaimers, and shipping
Official Rules
We play by the honor system here:
- One entry per household
- Participate only if you intend to use, or gift the item if you win, and not to sell it. This is not about monetary gain.
- This giveaway is available only to those living in the United States—the intended locale of the hardware.
Disclaimers
This giveaway transaction, if taken place, doesn't make Dong Knows Tech the seller nor the winner the buyer. Dong Knows Tech takes no responsibility for the functionality, quality, or physical condition of the item it gives you.
Specifically:
- You understand that you're getting a giveaway that's intended to carry no monetary value. You're doing this for fun and not for financial gain.
- There's no guarantee that the item will work according to your expectations.
- You might or might not be able to register it with the vendor for the general support or warranty.
- Dong Knows Tech will not provide tech support or warranty. The only thing you can expect to get from this website and its owner if you win the contest is the item itself, and nothing else.
- There's no return.
Shipping
The items will be shipped to a valid residential address within the lower 48 states of the US of the winner's choosing via standard shipping. No insurance will be included in the shipping. Dong Knows Tech is not responsible if the item is damaged or lost during transit.
If you want:
- Faster or better shipping. Or
- The item to be shipped to a territory outside of the US's contiguous states (Hawaii, Alaska, etc.), a P.O. Box, or office address. Or
- Take care of the shipping cost because think you should. Then:
You'll need to pay for the shipping by providing a prepaid shipping label or sending Dong Knows Tech the shipping cost via a method that will be provided.
By participating, you explicitly agree with the rules and disclaimers mentioned here. You understand that your chance of winning is low, and you don't receive anything when you're not the winner. At any time you want to change your mind, please contact Dong Knows Tech to have your entry (comment) permanently removed. You can also decline to receive the item if you're the winner.
Pretty to have found this website!
109 participants
Thanks for the opportunity Dong! I’m calling it at 420 entrants for sure! lol
But honestly thanks for the great articles you post! It’s nice to get unbiased feedback on devices out there.
200
Woohoo, Dong does giveaways.
Excellent news for those in the US, not so much for those of us living elsewhere 🙁
Perhaps postage could be paid for by the entrant in the future?
I’ve spread the word regardless and hope you get more than 369 entrants.
Thanks for spreading the word, Dell. Generally, Wi-Fi hardware is designed for a particular region due to regulations — more here. Consequently, you shouldn’t get one made for the US and use it in the UK, for example. By the way, shipping stuff out of the US can be complicated, and I can’t afford the time to fill the forms, etc. 🙂
Since you didn’t say where you’re from, your entry will be counted, but if you win and need the item to be shipped outside of the US, a runner-up will be picked.
150
My guess 128 participants
1201 participants
100
50
You’re the runner-up, Iurie.
Dong knows tech and has been part of my tech evolution and influencing my family for the better part of 15 yrs and counting.
One of the first routers I bought was the Linksys WRT at that time there wasn’t a lot of selection and weeding through the different articles was very tedious.
Not sure if this was the exact article but I bought it and loved it until it was long in the tooth and had to get something else.
When that time had come I scurried to Cnet to see the new and cool tech to learn about and yup Dong influenced me on the ASUS RT AC68U.
https://www.cnet.com/reviews/asus-rt-ac68u-dual-band-wireless-ac1900-gigabit-router-review/
It is funny re reading that article and thinking that $200+ for any device just to connect to the internet was insane but for top tech and a lot of convincing my wife I bought it. I wish top tech was $200 now.
Here I am again after 9 yrs and router dying and slowing down scouring YouTube and different websites on what I should get. I like many of you have this FOBO. Fear of buying obsolete anything with my hard earned money. Lol.
Yes I definitely signed up for the free giveaway. I sure hope I win. If I win I will swap anyone for anything ASUS. Over the years it has just worked for me. Accessing through the web interface or through the App. Dong I probably live too far but I can clean out your closet of any ASUS goodies collecting dust.
I am currently deciding between the XT8, ET8 or ET12. Such a hard thing to do and especially to convince the Boss on something that will range from $500 to $1000. I may just get an in between to wait for Wi-Fi 7. Thanks for letting me rant. I had to make a Instagram to enter this contest and that is my first and only post so far. For being a tech enthusiast I don’t care much for social media.
Aloha, Taz
Wow! Didn’t know I was that helpful. Mahalo for the message and your support, Taz. Your entry is in. Good luck! 🙂
For your case, I’d recommend starting with this post — and yes, I’ll make more giveaways, some will be Asus stuff.
Yes you have been a big influence for many especially me. I did have a good friend in Middle School Mihn Ngo. It always made it easy to remember your name. That article on AiMesh is a good one. Keep up the great work for many years to come. Aloha and Mahalo.
Taz
Participants 189
63 users
642 participants
1000 participants
Would love to win this. {..}
Please read the post and try again, Jacob.
I’m guessing 55 entries
Thanks for the opportunity to play!
I’m going to guess 54 participants.
{…}
https://twitter.com/coolsam23/status/1554979891409461250
Thanks for participating, Sameer, but your entry is not qualified since you limit your tweet’s viewership. You need to share the post publicly. You can try again in a different comment. If you choose to do so, make sure you read the entire post first.
Thanks for all your reviews! Very helpful.
Guess: 1000 participants?
I am not sure where my entry/comment went. I believe I followed the rules correctly but it is not here. Did I miss an explanation?
Yes, you did miss it, please read the post again, David — this part. In fact, if you click on Reply (below), you’ll see the info which you also didn’t read before leaving your comments. And I can confirm that your entry is in. Good luck!
Love your site, Dong. Thanks for all you do!
Congratulations, Nick! Please check your email.
Hi from the Philippines! I hope i could win this cuz this would greatly help me have a better coverage at home 🙂
{…}
The item is only for the US residents as mentioned in the Rules, Ian.
Hello Dong,
I myself am a user of the DECO M4 system (3 nodes) and while it performs well due to the heavy usage ( in use since 2020) I find the lack of a proper web interface a pain and the watered down functionality disturbing. As a result, I have it on access point mode and use pfsense as a router. Before the Archer A7 was in the place of pfsense. Now it is the back up router to pfsense in case sth goes wrong
Yes, Ioannis, if you want more control, the Deco line is not for you. The Archer line and OneMesh is a better idea. Your setup is great.
Very nice and generous of you! Definitely would love to win this.
1./ I think at around 1200 entries for this lottery, so my chance is very slim but never know. Keep my fingers crossed. Love your knowledge and thanks for sharing it with people.
2./ I share you the link directly on my Facebook through your Facebook shared button
I estimate around 3,000 participants.
Share Link:
150 participants
Where I shared the link:
My guess —– 1069.
I plan on winning the lottery! I will then need this Tri-band, mesh wi-fi system for my new 6000 sq ft beach vacation house. If I do not win, I’ll just use some of that lotto money to buy a TP-Link Deco X90 Mesh System
shorturl.at/eknV6
I plan on winning the lottery! I will then need this Tri-band, mesh wi-fi system for my new 6000 sq ft beach vacation house
My guess —–{…}.
Still not valid. You need to share the link that shows where you share the post, not the link to the post. 🙂
Here’s an example of a valid entry:
000 participants
https://twitter.com/DongKnowsTech/status/1554515629461319680
Dong knows maybe 1300 entries LOL
I’m guessing about 400 people will participate, I hope you get more though. This looks awesome and I’d love to be the lucky one!
Cool, thx. Shared on Twitter {…}
This is not a valid entry. You need to guess the number of participants.
My brother could really use this mesh system. He has the worst internet of anybody I know. He has a single cheap router in his basement and the signal is really bad in parts of the house. I would love to gift him this setup 🙂
Here is the retweet:
My guess is 5,862 people
Participants guess: 15000
Social Media share:
I hope I get it 😀
This entry is not qualified, Paul. The link is not working. You can try again.
A cable modem with multigig ethernet would be a nice next giveaway.
I randomly guess 847 entries.
I guess you will have 14,352 entrants for this giveaway.
Who knows, I just might win.
Social Share:
I estimate a total of 350+ participating on this giveaway.
open worldwide?
who can participate?
who pays for the shipping, customs clearance and other costs till it reaches the winner’s house?
That’s mentioned in the post. 🙂
ah, i did not notice that thing of clicking to expand.
why u limiting the give away to USA only? because the hardware is designed for the USA market?
what if i have a friend in USA and if i win i want to give it to him, then can i participate?
The item will be shipped to an address within the US only.
I accidentally stumbled across Dong’s tech blogs a couple years ago and am so happy I did! I’ve learned so much and this site is a great resource to share with others with questions. Thank you for all the hard work and expertise you bring to the world!
https://twitter.com/DougKonkle/status/1554251195836932097
Guess: 557 participants
Thanks for participating, Doug, but this entry is not qualified since the share link is not available publicly. You can try again with a new entry.
Doug,
I don’t buy a router or recommend to family and friends without looking at your reviews, Thanks.
guess=2550
Guessing maybe 72 entries?
My guess is that there will be {…} participants…
https://www.facebook.com/DAM.cyclist/posts/pfbid02j5Q4Maa7jVfzeJYM72KRhKvXSY6WzvTBAKx6QFb5Fbj5dt35c6my6n3kDV6oowx1l
Your entry is not qualified, David. The link is not shared publicly or has been deleted. You can try again — your valid and working link will be removed.
Dong I love your site. I also run a promotions company and so sweeps etc. Just fyi there are a ton of rules etc that need to be followed so be careful how you do this as there are laws around lucky winners.
You can reach me at my email below if you have questions
Thanks, Atul. Will reach out to you via email.
Thx
Love your tech content!
Best Guess- 6,152
Participants: 3879
Total Participants: 1,000,006
Love your content!!
Thanks, M. Please answer this with your guess and social share link. 🙂
I plan on winning the lottery! I will then need this Tri-band, mesh wi-fi system for my new 6000 sq ft beach vacation house
My guess —– {…}.
You need to make a separate comment with a social link sharing this post, Terry, as mentioned in the post. Only then your entry is counted. Good number, though, and good luck! 🙂
shorturl.at/eknV
You need to include the social share link AND participant count guess in THE SAME comment to make the entry valid, Terry. Make sure you read the post. You can try again with a separate new comment. Don’t reply to this.
May I make a suggestion for your future contests?
Make it a fill-in-the blank – for example …….
social share link ______________________
my guess for total participants _______________
comments ____________________________________
name ________________________
e-mail _____________________________
THANKS!
That’s a good suggestion. I updated the post accordingly in your honor. Thanks. And your last entry (hidden) is valid. Good luck! 🙂
Love this resource! Guessing 2000 entries.
I find it to be a fine resource, repeatedly
Dong Knows Tech is one of the clearest and free ways to learn reliable info that I know of.