How to set up Tenda Nova mesh for wired backhaul - MW5, MW6, etc.

[Justhomester]

With the large number of nodes, the Capacity-oriented mode setting might be the culprit.  Another possibility is a device roaming issue, which is where devices cling on to the first 5GHz node until the signal gets too weak, then switch to the 2.4GHz band instead of roaming to a stronger nearby node. 

Go in to the Tenda App -> Settings (bottom left icon) and check the following settings:

Fast Roaming - This should be enabled.

Capacity-oriented Mode - Try turning this off.  When enabled, it only allows 4 devices to connect on the 5GHz channel with each node.  I think Tenda's idea here is to split devices between the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands to improve performance with the 5GHz wireless backhaul.  However, as your nodes are wired apart from the kitchen, this setting is possibly the culprit causing devices to switch to the 2.4GHz band. 

Smart Assistant - This should be disabled.  If you have any devices that require this, you can enable the 2.4GHz band of your main Internet router as a workaround.  We have one such device (Canon G4511 Wi-Fi printer), where I installed a separate 2.4GHz Wi-Fi access point just for the printer. 

With an Android phone, you can check the Wi-Fi signal readings with the app WiFiAnalyzer.  The readings only update every minute or two (Android limitation), but is useful for checking if the 5GHz band is operating and its signal strength.

I actually already had Fast Roaming enabled while both Capacity-oriented Mode and Smart Assistant were already disabled. The node in room 1 is the only nearby node but even sitting next to it, our devices don't reliably connect to the 5GHz band (happens with others as well). I'm actually in the process of having two separate routers - one for each floor of the house - whilst keeping the primary node, kitchen node and room 4 node in use for some smart devices that can benefit from having them available. It seems this will be a more reliable method to connect to 5GHz and finally benefit from the internet speed we are paying for. It's a shame that I have to abandon having mesh throughout the house and instead switching between two SSID's but it's only a first world problem ultimately.

Nonetheless, WiFiAnalyzer would still be helpful to still check my signal for my new setup so thanks a lot for your input!