TP-Link Deco E4 (3-pack) review

The Deco E4 3-pack is a three-unit Wi-Fi 5 mesh system. TP-Link rates the pack for up to 4,000 sq ft and says that figure is test-based, not guaranteed. The box holds three Deco units, three power adapters and one Ethernet cable. It targets homes where Wi-Fi reach across several rooms matters more than wired performance or the newest standard.

The E4 is dual-band. The 5 GHz band uses 802.11ac/n/a with a signal rate of 867 Mbps. The 2.4 GHz band uses 802.11b/g/n at 300 Mbps. There is no third band and no Wi-Fi 6.

Owners notice. One complaint is that Wi-Fi 5 is dated, and one owner expects a move to Wi-Fi 6. On the other side, one owner report calls the Wi-Fi adequate for broadband up to about 500 Mbps. With an 867 Mbps 5 GHz signal rate, the system suits lines in that range better than a household planning to pay for much faster broadband.

This is the weakest part of the spec sheet. Each unit has two 10/100 Mbps auto-sensing ports that serve as either WAN or LAN. There is no dedicated LAN port. Any wired device plugged into a node, such as a NAS, a desktop or a games console, is limited to 100 Mbps by those ports.

Owners raise the same point. One complaint is that the 100 Mbps Ethernet ports cap wired speed. For a homelab with wired servers or a network that moves large files between machines, that limit decides the question. For a home where most devices connect over Wi-Fi, it matters less.

Three units in the pack gives you a node for each of several areas of a larger home. The 4,000 sq ft rating is the headline figure. Treat it as a ceiling under test conditions, as TP-Link does. TP-Link says the figure is test-based and not guaranteed, so it is not a promise of what any one home will get.

The feature list includes an SPI firewall, guest networks on both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, parental controls, QoS, port forwarding, VLAN and IPv6. The datasheet says the app notifies you of firmware updates through Online Upgrade.

Security encryption stops at WPA-PSK and WPA2-PSK. WPA3 is not listed. No VPN server is listed either. That makes the E4 a reasonable choice for ordinary home networking with a separate guest network. It is a weaker choice if you want WPA3 or a built-in VPN server for remote access.

Retailer ratings are high. Currys shows 4.7 out of 5 from 845 reviews, and PriceRunner also shows 4.7. The complaints are specific and match the specifications: 100 Mbps Ethernet and an ageing Wi-Fi standard. One owner thread calls the Wi-Fi adequate for broadband up to about 500 Mbps, and the other praise is the high retailer ratings.

The E4 3-pack suits a household with a mid-speed broadband line, mostly wireless devices and a need to cover a lot of floor space with three nodes. If you need wired speeds above 100 Mbps, Wi-Fi 6 or WPA3, the specifications point elsewhere.