TP-Link Deco XE75 Pro Tri-Band Mesh System

The TP-Link Deco XE75 Pro is a two-piece Wi-Fi 6E mesh system offering 6GHz connectivity, multi-gig Ethernet, and strong throughput and signal range performance. As with most mesh systems, it is a breeze to install and manage, and it comes with basic parental control and network security software. The XE75 is an excellent mesh option, but you’ll get faster performance and a few more features with the Asus ZenWiFi ET8 mesh system.

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Climb Aboard the 6GHz Band(wagon)

TP-Link sent us the two-piece Deco XE75 Pro for review, which is designed for homes of up to 5,500 square feet. For larger homes, TP-Link offers a three-piece system (A$999) which provides coverage of up to 7,200 square feet. The cylindrical nodes look similar to the nodes that come with TP-Link’s Deco W7200 system. They are white with a black top, and stand 6.7 inches tall by 4.1 inches wide. A small LED indictor on the bottom is solid yellow when the node is starting up, pulses blue when ready for setup, is solid green when connected and working properly, and is solid red when the node has an issue.

The rear panel holds a 2.5GbE WAN port, a useful feature if your ISP offers gigabit or better speeds. There are also two auto-sensing 1GbE LAN ports and a power jack at the back. A reset button can be found on the base. Inside, each node contains four internal antennas and a 1.7GHz quad-core processor. Missing are USB ports for connecting external storage drives or other peripherals.

The XE75 Pro is a Wi-Fi 6E system that uses the uncrowded 6GHz radio band in addition to the 2.4GHz and 5GHz radio bands. By default, the 6GHz band is configured for wireless backhaul, but you can open it up to client devices in the settings menu. You can also use one of the LAN ports for wired backhaul between nodes.

An AXE5400 system, the XE75 Pro can reach theoretical data rates of up to 574Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and up to 2,402Mbps on both the 5GHz and 6GHz bands. It supports the latest Wi-Fi 6 technologies, including OFDMA packet transmissions, direct-to-client beamforming, WPA3 encryption, MU-MIMO data streaming, and 160MHz channel bandwidth.

The XE75 Pro can be controlled using the Deco mobile app or with a web console, but the mobile app is more user-friendly. It opens to an Overview screen that displays a list of online and offline clients and an Internet icon. Tap the Internet icon to see a list of nodes, check their wireless signal strength, and see which clients are connected to them. Tap any client name to view upload and download speeds and to give that client bandwidth priority. A gear icon in the upper right corner of the client screen takes you to a screen where you can view the client’s IP and MAC address, connection type (wired or wireless radio band), and which node it is currently connected to.

At the top of the Overview screen is a Plus button that lets you add more nodes, add a node location, and add smart devices such as TP-Link plugs and Philips Hue lights and control them from within the Deco app.

At the bottom of the Overview screen are buttons labeled Overview, Smart Actions, HomeShield, and More. The Overview button takes you back to the main screen from wherever you are in the app, and the Smart Actions button launches a screen where you can create client shortcuts that let you give the client bandwidth priority. Here you can also create automations to have connected smart devices work with each other.

Use the HomeShield button to access parental controls, including assigning web filters, blocking websites, and setting bedtime access rules. Here you can also perform a basic network scan that checks for performance issues, password strength, and firmware updates. For more robust parental controls and network security tools, you’ll have to subscribe to TP-Link’s HomeShield Pro service. For $5.99 per month or $54.99 per year, HomeShield Pro offers parental control time limits, time rewards, and traffic statistics. Network security upgrades include malicious content filtering, port intrusion protection, safety statistics, online usage reports, and security reminders.

The More button opens a screen where you can access settings for Wi-Fi, Port Forwarding and DHCP, LED control, and UPNP. Here you can also configure notifications, change the operation mode (router, access point), enable beamforming, and configure IPv4 and IPv6 settings. Other settings allow you to update the firmware, block specific devices, connect to clients using WPS, and allow other users to access management settings.

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Setting Up the Deco XE75 Pro: Let's Begin

Installing the XE75 Pro system was quick and easy. I had the Deco app installed from previous reviews, but if this is your first TP-Link Deco device, you’ll have to download the app and create an account. Or, you can use the web-based console.

I opened the app, tapped the Let’s Begin button on the welcome screen, and selected the XE75 Pro from the list of supported devices. Following the onscreen instructions, I powered down my modem, disconnected my old router, and connected a Deco node to the modem. I powered up both devices, confirmed that the LED was pulsing blue, and allowed the Deco to join my network.

Within seconds, the Deco router was recognized, so I gave it a location, selected Dynamic IP (the default), and gave the new network a name and password. The app needed around 30 seconds to save my settings, at which point it performed an internet connectivity test. I was instructed to plug in the second node, and after two minutes, it was automatically added to the network. I gave it a location, and the installation was complete.

The XE75 Pro turned in respectable results in our throughput performance tests. The router node’s score of 853Mbps on the 5GHz close-proximity (same room) test was faster than what we saw with the Linksys Atlas Max 6E router (806Mbps) but not quite as fast as the Asus ZenWiFi ET8’s score of 869Mbps. The wildly expensive Netgear Orbi RBKE963 remains the fastest mesh router we’ve seen, with a score of 920Mbps. On the 30-foot 5GHz test, the XE75Pro router delivered 322Mbps, once again outlasting the Linksys Atlas Max 6E router (300Mbps) but not the Asus ZenWiFi ET8 (350Mbps) or the Netgear Orbi RBKE963 (362Mbps).

The XE75 Pro satellite node turned in a score of 801Mbps on the 5GHz close-proximity test, besting the Asus ZenWiFi ET8 (787Mbps) and the Linksys Atlas Max 6E (792Mbps) nodes, but not the Netgear Orbi RBKE963 node (853Mbps). On the 5GHz 30-foot test, the XE75 Pro satellite node’s score of 512Mbps trailed the Asus ZenWiFi ET8 node (531Mbps), the Linksys Atlas Max 6E node (515Mbps), and the Netgear Orbi RBKE963 node (531Mbps).

The XE75 Pro’s 6GHz performance was also impressive. The router garnered 900Mbps on the 6GHz close-proximity test, while the Asus ZenWiFi ET8 router scored 918Mbps, the Linksys Atlas Max 6E router scored 929Mbps, and the Netgear Orbi RBKE963 scored 943Mbps. On the 30-foot test, the XE75 Pro router matched the Asus ZenWiFi ET8 with a score of 371Mbps and beat the Linksys Atlas Max 6E router (258Mbps). The Netgear Orbi RBKE963 took top honors with 389Mbps.

On the 6GHz close-proximity test, the XE75 Pro satellite node’s score of 601Mbps was faster than the Asus ZenWiFi ET8 node (580Mbps) and the Linksys Atlas Max 6E node (598Mbps) but came in behind the Netgear Orbi RBKE963 node (842Mbps). Similarly, the XE75 Pro node’s score of 382Mbps was faster than the Asus ZenWiFi ET8 node and the Linksys Atlas Max 6E node (333Mbps and 218Mbps, respectively) but couldn’t match the Netgear Orbi RBKE963 node's much higher score of 685Mbps.

We use an Ekahau Sidekick Wi-Fi diagnostic device and Ekahau’s Survey mobile app to test wireless signal strength. This combo generates a heat map that shows coverage throughout our test home. (Ekahau is owned by Ziff Davis, PCMag's parent company). Dark green areas on the map represent the strongest signal measurements, while lighter green and yellow areas represent a weaker signal. The circles represent the location of the router and the satellite node.

As illustrated on the map, the XE75 Pro did a good job of providing a solid combined 2.4GHz and 5GHz signal to all corners of our test home (our Sidekick does not measure 6GHz Wi-Fi signals).

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Verdict: Multi-Gig, 6GHz Excellence

If you’re ready to hop aboard the 6GHz bandwagon, the TP-Link Deco XE75 Pro mesh system is worth considering. It offers solid performance and a user-friendly app with built-in parental controls, and it installs in minutes. You don’t get any USB ports with this system, and some HomeShield features require a subscription, but it does offer multi-gig WAN for high-speed networking.

If USB connectivity is a must, consider our Editors’ Choice winner for Wi-Fi 6E mesh systems, the Asus ZenWiFi ET8. It also offers slightly better all-around performance, as well as free lifetime parental controls and anti-malware protection.