TP-Link Deco BE23 BE3600 Dual-Band Wi-Fi 7 Mesh System, 2-Pack

Which kit this is and what comes with it

The listing's tables give the model number and manufacturer part number as Deco BE23(2-Pack), UPC 840030712500, unit count two, number of packs two and item weight 3.94 pounds. TP-Link's page is headed Deco BE23 and subtitled Deco 7 BE3600 Whole Home Mesh WiFi 7 System, and its datasheet is titled BE3600 Whole Home Mesh Wi-Fi 7 System, Deco BE23.

TP-Link's package-content block for the 2-pack lists two Deco BE23 units, one RJ45 Ethernet cable, two power adapters and a Quick Installation Guide. The listing's included-components field lists the same four things and then adds WPA3-Personal to the end of the list, which is an encryption standard rather than a box item.

Each unit is 5.91 x 5.91 x 2.44 in (150 x 150 x 62 mm) on TP-Link's specifications tab and datasheet. The tab lists one Reset and one WPS button and has no USB row, and the datasheet places the Reset button on the bottom and the WPS button on the back.

Two 2.5 Gbps ports per node, and no third socket

TP-Link's specifications tab and datasheet list two 2.5 Gbps Ethernet ports per Deco unit with WAN/LAN auto-sensing, and the listing bullet says the same. TP-Link lists no third port, and the listing's title names 2x 2.5G ports and wired backhaul.

TP-Link's footnote says only one port can serve as WAN at a time and that 2.5 Gbps internet speeds require a compatible service plan. The kit ships with one RJ45 Ethernet cable, and TP-Link's package-content block gives one cable for each pack size.

BE3600 is two bands, and the channel width is 160 MHz

TP-Link gives the two numbers behind BE3600 as 2882 Mbps on 5 GHz and 688 Mbps on 2.4 GHz, both labelled 802.11be, and the datasheet gives the same figures. There is no 6 GHz band. The standards line covers 802.11be/ax/ac/n/a on 5 GHz and 802.11be/ax/n/b/g on 2.4 GHz, and the capacity block lists Dual-Band, OFDMA and 4 Streams with four high-performance internal antennas.

The listing title says 160 Mhz, and TP-Link's Advanced Features list says 160 MHz Channel, along with Multi-Link Operation, 4K-QAM and Multi-RUs. TP-Link's footnote says Wi-Fi 7 features require clients that support them, and a further note says this Deco may not support all mandatory 802.11be features.

One listing bullet does not match its own title. The first bullet says the system has 4-stream dual-band Wi-Fi 7 up to 5 Gbps, then in the same sentence gives 2882 Mbps on 5 GHz and 688 Mbps on 2.4 GHz, while the listing title and TP-Link both say BE3600 and up to 3.6 Gbps.

Three coverage numbers across two documents

The listing says seamless coverage up to 4,500 sq. ft. for a 2-pack and 150 devices. TP-Link's overview page headlines Whole-Home Coverage Up to 6,500 Sq. Ft., and its feature panel lower down says up to 2,500 sq. ft. (1-pack). None of the three figures follows from the others, and nothing on either page explains the spread.

TP-Link's overview page and datasheet say over 150 devices, and TP-Link footnotes the device claim as based on laboratory test data on the 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz bands. If square footage decides your purchase, ask TP-Link which coverage figure applies to a two-unit kit.

Encryption, VPN and the listing fields

TP-Link's specifications tab lists Wi-Fi encryption as WPA-Personal, WPA2-Personal and WPA3-Personal. The listing's security-protocol field says only WPA-Personal and WPA2-Personal, while WPA3-Personal turns up in its included-components field instead.

Two other listing fields differ from TP-Link. The manufacturer field reads BE3600 Whole Home Mesh Wi-Fi 7 System, 2-Pack rather than TP-Link, and the antenna field says two while the listing bullet and TP-Link say four antennas per node.

VPN server and client are listed for OpenVPN, PPTP and L2TP/IPSec, and WireGuard is not listed for this model. Network security covers an SPI firewall, access control and a HomeShield block listing IoT protection, a malicious site blocker, an intrusion prevention system, DDoS prevention and a network scanner, with a guest network on each band.

HomeShield, environment, power and warranty

TP-Link's HomeShield footnote for the BE23 says HomeShield includes both basic and advanced features and that advanced features require a paid subscription. TP-Link's Advanced Features list also names Alexa and Google Assistant support.

Environment limits on the specifications tab and datasheet are 0 to 40 degrees Celsius operating, minus 40 to 60 Celsius storage, 10 to 90 percent operating humidity and 5 to 90 percent storage humidity. The specifications tab lists CE, FCC and RoHS certification, while this US datasheet lists CE and RoHS.

The datasheet gives a maximum draw of 14.9 W per unit without the adapter, and a 12 V 1.5 A adapter. The listing's warranty field says 2 Year Manufacturer; the TP-Link documents recorded for this guide give no term, so confirm it with TP-Link.