OneMesh’s Solid Successor| Dong Knows Tech

If I put “TP-Link” and “mesh” in a sentence, you’d likely think of the popular Deco family. And you’re not wrong. That’s the networking vendor’s most recognizable brand name in the realm of home Wi-Fi systems.

However, unbeknownst to most, the company had another lesser-known do-it-yourself alternative, called “TP-Link OneMesh,” available in its Archer standalone router lineup for years. The irony is that, without having enough time to make a mark, this feature was replaced by “TP-Link EasyMesh” starting in late 2023.

The whole thing is a bit of a mess, and this post will explain the latter in great detail. The gist, though, is that from the users’ perspective, EasyMesh is essentially the same as OneMesh. However, as a latecomer, it has introduced a couple of significant improvements.

While some existing devices will remain with OneMesh, virtually all TP-Link’s Wi-Fi 7 Archer routers (and the company’s home-grade extenders and access points) feature EasyMesh.

That said, with a correct combo, TP-Link EasyMesh has the potential to be a robust, do-it-yourself approach to building a Wi-Fi system. Let’s find out more!

Dong’s note: I first published this piece on November 6, 2023, and last updated it with the latest information on June 10, 2025.

(TP-Link) EasyMesh: What’s the deal?

As the name suggests, TP-Link EasyMesh is part of the Wi-Fi EasyMesh movement, which was initiated by the Wi-Fi Alliance to streamline Wi-Fi functionality across vendors.

To understand TP-Link EasyMesh, we need to know Wi-Fi EasyMesh. However, TP-Link is the only hardware vendor, so far, that has a significant representation of Wi-Fi EasyMesh. So, TP-Link EasyMesh vs. Wi-Fi EasyMesh is a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation mixed with a catch-22. As they currently stand, you can call one for the other.

Wi-Fi EasyMesh in a nutshell

Wi-Fi EasyMesh is Wi-Fi Alliance’s certification program, first announced in early 2020, that aims to simplify the building of mesh systems by creating universal mesh protocols. The idea is that any Wi-Fi EasyMesh-certified hardware from any vendor will work with one another to form a seamless Wi-Fi mesh system. Per the organization, here are the highlights of EasyMesh:

• Increased network capacity: Supports more simultaneous services and higher realized throughput when operating in Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E
• Flexible design: Allows for the best placement of multiple APs to provide extended coverage
• Easy setup: Delivers seamless, secure device onboarding and configuration using QR codes through Wi-Fi Easy Connect technology
• Network intelligence: Advanced diagnostics for Wi-Fi 6 capabilities through Wi-Fi Data Elements facilitate service provider support and respond to network conditions to maximize performance
• Effective service prioritization and Quality of Service (QoS) support: Capability to prioritize low-latency applications when needed and guide devices to roam to the best connection and avoid interference
• Scalability: Enables the addition of Wi-Fi EasyMesh APs from multiple vendors

The adoption of the new program has proven slow. By late mid-2023, only Netgear and TP-Link had joined the movement.

The former uses it in its Nighthawk purpose-built mesh family, first represented by the MK63 and MK83—none are standalone routers. TP-Link, on the other hand, started transitioning its OneMesh—available in standalone routers—into TP-Link EasyMesh in August 2022.

Generally, we need the hardware of at least two vendors working together to know that Wi-Fi EasyMesh is universal. But then, things can get complicated in terms of liability or tech support. If a mixed Wi-Fi EasyMesh system is not working as expected, it’s hard to know which hardware vendor is at fault, and consumers might be stuck between two networking companies that point fingers at each other.

But simplification is the key here. Generally, here’s how Wi-Fi EasyMesh works:

1. You pick an EasyMesh-compatible router and set it up as a single router. This router will decide the features and flavor of your network—it’s the primary unit of the system, a.k.a. primary router or primary node.
2. When you want to extend its coverage, select another EasyMesh-compatible device (router, access point, or extender) and link them together via WPS or another method. And that’s it. The two now work together as a system, with the second unit serving as the satellite, and the first unit functioning as the primary node of the mesh.
3. Repeat step 2 if you want to extend the network even further.

Other than that, in my real-world experience with TP-Link hardware, EasyMesh has proven to be generally less robust than other mesh approaches, whether canned or DIY, in terms of features and settings.

Overall, with EasyMesh, simplicity comes at the expense of performance, features, or settings. Most importantly, for the time being, you should expect to build a system using hardware from the same vendor, TP-Link.

With that, let’s continue with a bit more details of TP-Link’s rendition of EasyMesh, which is based on its OneMesh.

EasyMesh vs. OneMesh: Similarities and differences

TP-Link EasyMesh and OneMesh are add-on mesh features of its Archer family, a brand of primarily standalone routers.

To build either, you must start with a supported Archer router—not all Archer routers are mesh-capable, but most are. (The Archer AX50 is an example; it doesn’t support OneMesh or EasyMesh.) After that, you can add more supported broadcasters to form a system.

The table below summarizes the differences and similarities of the two mesh approaches.

	(TP-Link) EasyMesh	TP-Link OneMesh
Availability	2023	2019
Wi-Fi Standard Support	Most Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E, All Wi-Fi 7	Wi-Fi 6E, Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 5
Compatible Devices	Select TP-Link Archer routers, Select TP-Link Range Extenders	Select TP-Link Archer routers and Range Extenders
Not Supported TP-Link Hardware	Deco and Business Hardware (Omada, etc.)
Mesh Protocol	Wi-Fi Alliance’s EasyMesh Certification	TP-Link proprietary
Mesh Composition (primary unit + satellite)	Router + Router or Extender	Router + Extender
Maximum Mesh Points (hardware units)	10 (the primary router included)
Backhaul	Wireless or wired	Wireless
Dedicated Wireless Backhaul	No (each band of the satellite will work both as back- and front-haul by default)
AP Mode (as a mesh system)	Yes (with some work)	No
Current Hardware	TP-Link’s EasyMesh Hardware list	TP-Link’s OneMesh Hardware list
Status (by late mid-2025)	current	being phased out

According to TP-Link, OneMesh will remain compatible with existing hardware as a distinctive feature, coexisting alongside EasyMesh. Eventually, EasyMesh will take over when OneMesh-enabled hardware is no longer relevant.

Specifically:

• Existing legacy OneMesh routers (mainly Wi-Fi 5 and older) will remain unchanged, while newer routers (most Wi-Fi 6 and later) will transition to EasyMesh through firmware updates. (It’s worth noting that by early 2025, the flagship Archer AXE300 Wi-Fi 6E router and the Wi-Fi 6 Archer GX90 still didn’t get the EasyMesh upgrade.)
• All existing OneMesh extenders can work as satellite units of an EasyMesh system. When updated, their OneMesh labels (in the web interface) will be changed to EasyMesh; however, they can still work with OneMesh routers.
• New Archer hardware (and extender) will support EasyMesh and no longer carry the OneMesh notion. (Or they don’t have mesh capability at all.)

In terms of mesh functionality, TP-Link’s EasyMesh encompasses what its OneMesh can do. If you’re unfamiliar with OneMesh, the information below provides a quick overview.

And then TP-Link Easymesh has two new noteworthy items:

1. It can turn a router into a satellite unit, similar to the case of Asus’s AiMesh or Synology Mesh.
2. The support for wired backhauling.

It’s essential to note that wired backhaul support applies only when using a router as a satellite. When you use an extender, even one with a network port such as the RE715X, you cannot use its network port as the uplink unless you use it as a standard access point, in which case it doesn’t form a Wi-Fi system.

So, if you use an Archer router and an extender to build a TP-Link mesh system, it doesn’t matter which you use, OneMesh or EasyMesh. Things remain the same. But if you intend to have wired backhauling via multiple Archer router units or want to turn an old Archer router into a satellite of a new one, TP-Link’s EasyMesh is the answer.

TP-Link EasyMesh vs. TP-Link Deco vs. TP-Link Omada

It’s important to note that TP-Link Deco hardware does not support EasyMesh. Specifically, you can’t use an Archer router as the primary unit and then use a Deco unit as the satellite, or vice versa. The two have no way to collaborate and form a system.

It’s also worth noting that TP-Link’s Omada hardware doesn’t support EasyMesh, either, and belongs to an entirely separate ecosystem. You also can’t use Deco and Omada hardware together as a system.

This lack of common hardware support is the biggest drawback when you compare TP-Link EasyMesh with other DIY Wi-Fi mesh solutions, such as Asus’s AiMesh or Ubiquiti’s UniFi.

TP-Link EasyMesh: All you need to know

Over the past couple of years, I’ve tried various TP-Link EasyMesh hardware combinations, including two Archer GE650 in my latest tests, in an attempt to see if they support Multi-Link Operation (MLO) as the backhaul. More on that below

My experience has shown that they are more of a situational solution than a planned one.

Specifically, EasyMesh is helpful in cases where you need to extend the coverage of an existing Archer router unexpectedly. There is no situation where you should purposely build a Wi-Fi system using TP-Link EasyMesh. Instead, consider one of these DIY options or opt for TP-Link’s Deco lineup.

In any case, whenever possible, make an effort to use wired backhauling, which is typically the best-case scenario for all Wi-Fi systems.

With that, let’s proceed with setting up a TP-Link EasyMesh network.

Standard and straightforward setup process

EasyMesh is simple to set up. First, you need an EasyMesh-ready TP-Link Archer router and set it up to your liking—this is a standard process for any router with a web-based user interface.

In my case, as shown in the screenshot below, I used a pair of Archer GE650 routers, one as the primary unit and the other as the satellite. If you use any other EasyMesh-enabled Archer router as the primary unit, the process is the same.

Once the primary router has been set up, navigate to the EasyMesh menu section within its interface. You’ll then note that the router itself is listed as the first “EasyMesh Device.” Now, click on “Add” or “Add Satellite Devices” depending on the hardware, and you’ll be presented with three options:

1. If you have another EasyMesh-ready Archer router as a satellite:
   • Place it, factory reset, near the primary router, or connect its LAN port to a LAN of the primary router—it’s OK to have an unmanaged switch between the two
   • Connect it to power and turn it on. It’ll take a minute or two to boot up fully.
   • Follow the first option, the “TP-Link Router”, as shown in the screenshot above. After a few minutes, it’ll become part of the system.
2. If you have a OneMesh or EasyMesh-ready extender:
   • Place it, factory reset, within a few feet of the primary router.
   • Connect it to power and turn it on. It’ll take a minute or so to boot up fully.
   • Use the WPS function on both to sync them up, which will take less than a minute.
   • Place the extender where it delivers the best coverage.
3. This third option involves using non-TP-Link hardware as a satellite, which has not been previously available.

In my case, I added another Archer GE650 as a wireless satellite, and the process took about a minute.

Signal loss is the norm in a wireless setup

Once added, the satellite is listed in the primary router’s EasyMesh section of the interface. Here, click on its Edit button to view the link status. A couple of things to note:

• Like the case of OneMesh, the satellite duplicates each band individually. In other words, none of the bands work as the backhaul. Instead, all of the satellite’s bands work both as backhaul and fronthaul.
• You can click on the “Manage” button to open the satellite’s web user interface and further customize it.

TP-Link’s EasyMesh has undergone significant changes over the past couple of years. Now, in mid-2025, several key considerations should be kept in mind when building a system that utilizes wireless backhaul.

First, if you use a router and an extender combo, each band of the extender will work both for backhaul and fronthaul. As a result, only 50% of each band’s bandwidth is available to the client.

Second, if you use a combination of a router and another router, in most cases, each of the bands also works as both backhaul and fronthaul by default.

However, in certain combos, you can use one of the satellite’s bands, preferably the 5GHz or the 6GHz, as the backhaul. In this case, the satellite’s bandwidth is limited to 50% of that band’s bandwidth. For example, in my trial with the Archer GE800 (router) and Archer BE230 (satellite) in a wireless setup, the fastest sustained connection I got from the latter was at around 700Mbps at best.

No MLO as backhauling

With Wi-Fi 7 hardware supporting EasyMesh available, the first question in everyone’s mind is whether MLO works as the backhaul. On this front, TP-Link told me that its routers “support EasyMesh and link aggregation (i.e., MLO function) that combines all bands into one pipeline.”

However, that turned out to be simply untrue. First, though, we need to acknowledge that MLO itself can be complex, as it has been with other hardware brands.

For one, you can’t expect MLO when you mix hardware. Clearly, Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 6 hardware doesn’t support this feature, and even if you use Wi-Fi 7 hardware throughout, MLO is naturally not available when mixing hardware of different grades or numbers of bands. For example, a tri-band router (such as the Archer BE550) and a dual-band one (such as the Archer BE230) can’t have an MLO wireless link, as their Wi-Fi hardware differs. If you want to have MLO, the first requirement is that you must use the same routers as the primary unit and the satellite. That’s just how MLO is.

So, in my case, as mentioned, I decided to get a pair of Archer GE650 to see once and for all if MLO would be available. The answer is no.

When I logged into the user interface of the satellite unit, there was no option to select MLO (or any specific band) as the backhaul link. This is not a huge deal considering the Archer GE650 (and most other Wi-Fi 7 routers from TP-Link) feature only MLSR MLO anyway, which doesn’t increase the bandwidth.

That said, if you decide to use EasyMesh, I’d advise against relying on MLO. Instead, get your place wired and use that for the backhaul.

Problematic AP mode, no virtual SSDs

In its early stages, TP-Link EashMesh, like OneMesh, didn’t support the Access Point (AP) mode.

However, with the latest firmware, that has changed, as shown in my case, where I used two Archer GE650 units, although the process wasn’t smooth sailing.

Specifically, when I changed the primary router’s unit to Access Point (AP) mode, the EasyMesh setup was broken—the primary unit had the EasyMesh feature turned off by default. However, when I enabled that feature via the web user interface, the satellite was automatically added to the system, and now the two devices worked as a system in AP mode.

Additionally, I found that I could also create the EasyMesh when the primary unit is already working in Access Point (AP) mode, where things were a bit more straightforward.

The point is that, with some work, you can use EasyMesh as an extension of an existing router without having to deal with a double NAT, which is particularly useful when you cannot replace an existing router or gateway in your network.

Unfortunately, this time around, I also found something quite disappointing: only the main SSID(s) of the primary router were available at the satellite unit. Specifically, when I created multiple virtual SSIDs, such as those for IoT devices or additional MLO SSIDs, those were available through an EasyMesh system, but only at the primary router unit.

TP-Link EasyMesh: Typical performance, mediocre hand-off

If you use EasyMesh in the router + extender combo, the performance is likely the same as that of OneMesh. However, if you use the router + router combo, things can be quite different.

I tested a few combos over a long period, and here were my observations:

• As mentioned, in a wireless setup, the performance at the satellite unit was generally half of what it could do as a router. To put it in numbers, I achieved a sustained speed of around 700 Mbps with the Archer BE3600 working as the wireless satellite of the Archer GE800. The dual Archer GE650 combo also provided me with low Gig+ speeds at best, but only at close distances from the satellite.
• In a wired backhauling setup, the satellite can deliver the same speed as when it works as a single broadcaster.
• Regardless of the setup I used, the seamless handoff was always a hit or miss. Specifically, clients would more often than not not automatically move from one router to the satellite or vice versa. I generally needed to manually disconnect and reconnect the device to make sure it used the closest broadcaster.

In 2024, most EasyMesh combos failed my 3-day stress test, and clients experienced disconnections several times during this period. Now, in mid-2025, with the latest firmware, the system has proven more reliable in most cases.

It’s worth noting that, like all DIY mesh systems, the experience changes depending on the hardware combo. Generally, things work better if you use the same hardware throughout. However, it’s safe to say that in a wireless mixed hardware setup, TP-Link EasyMesh is significantly less reliable than other commercial or DIY mesh systems.

That said, if you decide to use TP-Link EasyMesh, rely on it only when you need to extend coverage by a bit more via a single extender or if you can link the hardware units (namely, supported Archer routers) using network cables.

Conclusion

TP-Link EasyMesh can be a handy option if you want to quickly extend your router’s coverage just a bit more.

This situation applies when you have a single Archer router that can nearly cover the entire home. Now, get an EasyMesh extender, and it’ll finish the job. If you need more than one extender, chances are things will get significantly worse and less reliable.

So, if you can buy a couple of Archer routers at a low price and have a wired home, a big if, EasyMesh can be a worthwhile option for building a Wi-Fi system from scratch.

Still, in most cases, you’d be better off going with more established DIY options, such as Ubiquiti’s UniFi or Asus’s AiMesh. Or stay with TP-Link’s Deco family.