Using EE Smart Hub with a TP-Link Deco Mesh setup

[BonhardBeej]

Hi all,

First up, apologies, as I know these type of questions have been posted many times, although I am somewhat confused with the range of answers. Hoping that XRaySpex can maybe provide me with a conlcuding answer as to the way forward.

I won't go into the reasons as to why I am installing a TP-Link Deco M9 Mesh System, sufficed to say I live in an old stone-build farm property. I would like to continue to use the EE Smart Hub, although forcing it into acting as a Modem only, which I would then plug up with my first TP-Link node. I have seen many people stating that this cannot be done, and then some saying it can, and then some contradicting themselves.

I have a fibre plan with EE, although the fibre is only to the box down in the village, which is then standard copper up to the Farmhouse, about 500 - 600 yards up the road, so I am on ADSL. I get between 47 and 40Mb download, which believe me is good for my rural area, and acceptable to us for what we need to do. My plan is to switch off the WiFi in the Smart Hub config pages, and do the same with the DHCP. Cannot actually switch off NAT, as there is no option for this, although I do not have any Port Forwarding setup anyway, so that shouldn't be a problem.

I called EE Broadband technical help this morning, and a chap named Paul told me to excatly the same as I have decribed above, and all would be well in the world. But based on the feedbacks I have read on this and other forums, I am looking for that warm to hot feeling that what I intend to do is correct, acceptable, and wil work.

Thanks so much in advance for any help you lovely people can offer up.

[Mustrum]

@marsm   If you set the Deco up with PPOE and use your EE username and password then yes.

[marsm]

So I've plugged the ethernet cable from the ONT directly into the Deco M9 and it just flashes red. So I can't set up a new network and input the PPOE info.

When I've connected the ethernet to the ee smart hub, and in turn connected that via ethernet to the Deco master unit, the network runs OK. When checking the speed via the deco app, it's the max fibre speed. Great. However, when I've checked the speeds on laptops and other devices, the speeds are pitiful at around 3.5Mbps on devices connected via the deco network. 

Any thoughts or advice?

[XRaySpeX]

@marsm : Don't connect the Deco into the ONT until you have set up the EE BB PPoE Username & pwd in it.

[marsm]

Thank you. Is the ee username and password the one that we use for our account?

[XRaySpeX]

@marsm : Not your MyEE a/c. You read them out from the Advanced Settings > Technical Log > Information page of the EE router when connected.

[marsm]

I can see the "Broadband username" under Advanced settings > Technical log,  but there's no password.

[XRaySpeX]

@marsm : If your username looks like PRODUCTIONHQNUN123456@FS, your password will look like HQNPASS123456. Simply replace the numbers in the password, with the ones found in your username. 

[marsm]

Brilliant. That worked perfectly. The bummer is that the speeds are still pitiful.

Speed test on the Deco mast unit (that is directly connected to the ONT) is around 500Mbps down and 69Mbps up.

The speed of my laptop (which is connected via WiFi to the same Deco unit) is labouring at 3 Mbps down. 

Any thoughts?

[marsm]

Do ee's smart discs (https://shop.ee.co.uk/broadband/smart-wifi) deliver better internet speeds around the property? Would it be better to can the Decos and run smart discs?

[bobpullen]

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@marsm wrote:

The speed of my laptop (which is connected via WiFi to the same Deco unit) is labouring at 3 Mbps down. 

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Is that experience mirrored by other devices you have connected wirelessly? If not, then the finger needs pointing at the laptop.