30/07/2023, 03:32 PM
Your Ethernet wiring all appears fine. As Plusnet has mesh capability (with a second Plusnet node), I wonder if the Tenda nodes are falsely detecting it as another mesh node, particularly if Plusnet also operates the 5GHz band on channel 40. I do know that each manufacturer uses its own proprietary mesh protocols that are not cross compatible, so this shouldn't be the case.
The <--> should indicate that node is using wired backhaul. You can check this by plugging a wired Ethernet device such as a laptop in its second Ethernet port, then run a continuous ping to an outside host such as the router IP or 8.8.8.8. Unplug the wired backhaul port and the pings should time-out. If the pings continue, then that node is connected by wireless backhaul.
If you using an Android phone, run the utility "Wi-Fi Analyser" (I use the Open Source app) to check the phone is on the 5GHz band. I find mine sometimes drops to the 2.4GHz band particularly after walking between the coverage zones of each node. The 2.4GHz band typically performs around 60Mbps even right next to the node.
If you decide to replace your kit with TP-Link or another manufacturer, I suggest going tall nodes such as TP-Link's X50 or X60, ensuring it's Wi-Fi 6 capable. From the reviews I've come across, slim / pancake shape nodes such as the TP-Link M series, Amazon Eero, etc. tend to have worse Wi-Fi performance and coverage than taller Wi-Fi mesh nodes such as the TP-Link X models, Netgear Orbi, etc. This is likely due to taller nodes having larger / better optimised antennas with the additional space inside each unit.
The <--> should indicate that node is using wired backhaul. You can check this by plugging a wired Ethernet device such as a laptop in its second Ethernet port, then run a continuous ping to an outside host such as the router IP or 8.8.8.8. Unplug the wired backhaul port and the pings should time-out. If the pings continue, then that node is connected by wireless backhaul.
If you using an Android phone, run the utility "Wi-Fi Analyser" (I use the Open Source app) to check the phone is on the 5GHz band. I find mine sometimes drops to the 2.4GHz band particularly after walking between the coverage zones of each node. The 2.4GHz band typically performs around 60Mbps even right next to the node.
If you decide to replace your kit with TP-Link or another manufacturer, I suggest going tall nodes such as TP-Link's X50 or X60, ensuring it's Wi-Fi 6 capable. From the reviews I've come across, slim / pancake shape nodes such as the TP-Link M series, Amazon Eero, etc. tend to have worse Wi-Fi performance and coverage than taller Wi-Fi mesh nodes such as the TP-Link X models, Netgear Orbi, etc. This is likely due to taller nodes having larger / better optimised antennas with the additional space inside each unit.