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In the second quarter of 2022, TP-Link subsumed a beefy piece in its vast catalog of routers aimed at quenching the thirst of high-speed internet users.
The newly launched Deco XE200 assumes a conical paper towel roll like its predecessor, Deco X90, but with multiple advances costing $799 for a 2-pack unit.
And the best of the lot: including the newly liberated 6 GHz band (WiFi 6e band) to achieve a massive wireless throughput of up to 11000 Gbps. It’s split in a tri-band setup (6 GHz, 5 GHz, and 2.4 GHz) as 4804 Mbps, 4804 Mbps, and 1148 Mbps, respectively.
Increasing availability of smart devices has led to congestion a typical phenomenon for many apartments close together, and increased competition for bandwidth often results in speed drops.
With the wider 6 GHz frequency with additional 160 MHz channels, any multi-gig internet plan should fare well. And faster throughput means minimal latency in online games and high-definition videos.
In addition to its impressive wireless speeds, this mesh system justifies its higher cost with a highly-anticipated 10 Gbps LAN/WAN port on a mesh WiFi network, which sets a new standard for mesh networks.
Additionally, you'll have access to two standard Gigabit ports. But sadly, there aren’t any USB ports for faster media transfer.
High-speed ports mean faster data transfer with near-zero noise and the flexibility to add a few more of your bandwidth-hogging devices.
Each unit of Deco XE200 entails 16 high-gain internal antennas to live up to the expectations of a premium mesh router.
The primary router with a single node can cover up to 6,500 Sq Ft and handle up to 200 client devices.
Besides, the TP-Link Mesh technology and AI-driven mesh intelligently scan the environment to deliver seamless coverage throughout the space.
Adding the cherry to the top is its 2 GHz Quad-Core CPU over the 1.5 GHz CPU of its predecessor. Simply deducting, XE200 can retrieve and interpret instructions much faster, which means better performance in tasks like gaming and 4K/8K streaming.
Now, that’s all about hardware. Let’s talk about software.
TP-Link comes with a feature-laid Tether app that provides you control over the devices through your smartphone.
You can see the devices/clients connected to a router and remove them if needed. Or, you can grant priority to certain devices depending on the tasks they’re online on.
The Tether app further entails two security packages: HomeShield Basic and HomeShield Pro. You can choose not to pay with the free basic plan or upgrade to $5.99 monthly or $54.99 yearly for the Pro plan.
Let me run down through the security features. Starting with the HomeShield basic, there’s WPA3-personal, access control, SPI firewall, and guest network.
Meanwhile, the other powered by Tenda Micro includes a malicious site blocker, real-time IoT protection, DDoS attack prevention, intrusion prevention system, and home network scanner.
As far as I can tell, the Pro subscription is particularly advanced and should keep cybercriminals at bay from accessing valuable and sensitive data. With data taking precedence in this smart age and increasing cyber threats side-by-side, these features come in handy.
Aside from network security tools, parents can invoke parental controls so their kids don’t access any explicit or potentially dangerous content. They also can pause the internet to prevent them from overspending their valuable time online.
Deco XE200 further offers a plethora of customization options.
There’s QoS (Quality of Service), which by definition uses technologies or mechanisms to control network traffic and ensure the performance of critical applications with limited network capacity.
For example, prioritize gaming to allocate a maximum bandwidth to it and in turn, experience a better and latency-free experience. It has become a staple feature in most routers these days.
There’s also built-in Alexa compatibility. Now you don’t need to access a browser on a connected device to configure the network, just tell Alexa what to do, and that’s it. Technologically inept users, now rejoice!
Key Features of Deco XE200:
- Tri-band WiFi 6E setup
- Maximum Throughput Capacity of 11000 Mbps
- Number of Streams: 16
- One 10 Gbps LAN/WAN + two 1 Gbps LAN ports
- The massive coverage range of 6,500 Sq Ft with two units
- HomeShield basic security for free
- Easy setup and management with the Deco Tether app
TP-Link is betting big on WiFi 6E compatible routers with this premium and feature-laid Deco XE200. Routers in a similar range from its competitors, Linksys, Netgear, Asus, or others stay behind in one or more aspects, whether in terms of range, speed, or device-handling capacity.
But there’s a popular saying “Looks can be deceiving”, so you must go through the reviews before investing big in it.
