Turning existing routers into part of a mesh is now officially a trend. Early 2018, Asus's announced AiMesh, then later of the same year, Synology introduced its similar mesh feature via the release of the MR2200ac. Today, at CES 2109, TP-Link announced its own OneMesh approach.
Leveraging multiple hardware units, old and new
Similar to AiMesh, OneMesh is available via a firmware update, allowing users to turn their existing TP-Link routers into mesh points when using multiple hardware units. On top of that, TP-Link also releases OneMesh-ready products.
The networking vendor says it will offer OneMesh in all of its SMB and home product lines, including wireless routers, range extenders, XDSL, 3G/4G routers, powerline adapters. The new feature will deliver seamless roaming, adaptive path selection, band steering, and centralized management features.
OneMesh will be available in April when TP-Link ships the AC1200 dual-band RE300 range extender, which carries a friendly price of just $49.99. Existing router, such as the Archer C7, or Archer A7, will also get OneMesh via firmware updates during this time. TP-Link will introduce more OneMesh-ready products in the future.
First Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) mesh system
Speaking of the future, TP-Link today also unveiled its first Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) Whole Home Mesh Wi-Fi System, the Deco X10. Before this, the company has introduced two Wi-Fi 6 routers, the Archer AX6000, and the Archer AX11000.
TP-Link says the Deco X10 uses the AX2700 tri-band setup and has a dedicated backhaul connection of 1.95 Gbps. Consequently, it'll be able to deliver Gigabit-class Internet speed in full.
Details on the new Deco X10 are still sketchy since it won't ship until the third quarter of the year. However, TP-Link says the system will carry the retail price of $349.99 for a pack of two units.
I reccomend to update D-Link to TP-Link where it was mixed up.
Thanks, Jack.
Don’t hold your breath I have been waiting since March 2019 after I bought 2 of these in January 2019 and was told it would be out in a few months as every other brand had this feature except TP-Link and now we are in March 2021 !!!!!
Same with the RE650 V2. I bought 3 RE650 V1’s and then was told these were the best TP-Link has but will never be mesh compliant and I will have to wait for the V2. This was in December 2017 and yes we are in March 2021 !!!!!
You’re right, MJ. Thanks for the input. 🙂