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A photo of a TP-Link Deco BE25 mesh router next to its retail packaging.
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TP-Link Deco BE25 BE5000 review

Meshifying your home for less.

Reviews
By published
(Image: © Future)

Our Verdict

Wi-Fi 7 in name but not Wi-Fi 7 in outright performance, the TP-Link Deco BE25's best attribute is its price tag. You're getting a surprisingly capable and easy-to-use home mesh system for very little money. Just don't expect blistering speeds throughout your house.

For

  • Affordable home mesh
  • Easy to set up and configure
  • Separate guest, MLO, IoT networks

Against

  • No 6 GHz band or 320 MHz channel
  • Only two LAN ports
  • Phone app required to set up and configure

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Here's a conundrum to start this review: When is a Wi-Fi 7 networking device not really a Wi-Fi 7 networking device? The answer is when it's the TP-Link Deco BE25. It might seem very harsh to start things so negatively, but it's best to get the most important point about this home mesh system out of the way first.

Basically, unlike most Wi-Fi 7 routers and mesh networks, the Deco BE25 doesn't support the 6 GHz band or the 320 MHz channel. You just get 2.4 and 5 GHz, plus a maximum 240 MHz channel, making it not better than an average Wi-Fi 6 system. On paper, at least, because the little wireless hubs have a trick or two to make up for it all.

TP-Link Deco BE25 specs

A photo of a TP-Link Deco BE25 mesh router. if (window.sliceHydrationLazy) { } else { console.error('%c FTE ','background: #9306F9; color: #ffffff','no lazy slice hydration function available'); }

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A photo of the underside of a TP-Link Deco BE25 mesh router showing its WAN/LAN ports.
(Image credit: Future)

With the best performance being found using the BE25's MLO mode, one nice feature about TP-Link's mesh devices is that you can set up separate networks to have relevant devices kept away from each other. For example, you can have a 2.4 GHz network just for IoT/smart devices, alongside a dedicated MLO network, as well as a 5 GHz guest network. They're all sharing the same bandwidth, of course, but they'll never see each other as the networks are isolated.

All of this is done via a simple setup process, but if you're used to handling router configurations via a browser on your PC, then you might be disappointed to learn that TP-Link requires you to use its phone app to do all of this. It's a very nice bit of software—clean and simple to use—but poking settings with your finger does feel somewhat kiddified compared to how one normally does it.

Buy if...

✅ You want to step up to a home mesh system for as little money as possible: The Deco BE25's price tag is a little variable, but it's nearly always less than $250 for three nodes, which is incredible value for money.

✅ Your Internet connection is 1 Gbps or slower: Spending more for a faster mesh might be a waste of money if you can't take advantage of it. The BE25 will be more than quick enough for a lot of web users.

Don't buy if...

❌ You need more speed than 5 Gbps: Despite using the Wi-Fi 7 standard for all its wireless connectivity, the Deco BE25 doesn't include the ultra-fast 6 GHz band, so you're no better off than if you used a Wi-Fi 6 system.

Certain aspects of the software package are hidden behind a paywall, such as advanced parental controls, customisable VPNs, and other security features. While I found this to be rather unacceptable on the $700 Deco BE68, I can excuse it for the much cheaper BE25. I dare say that a good number of potential buyers for the little mesh system won't really care about the extras and will just be happy with the controls that you do get.

However, they might care about the total absence of USB ports, for adding external storage to the network, or the fact that the BE25 looks remarkably like a smoke detector, or that adding additional nodes to an existing network can sometimes fail or run into glitches. But when the whole caboodle is this cheap, you can't complain too much.

Admittedly, the relatively small price tag is the main reason why you'd consider the TP-Link Deco BE25 over anything else, because why else would you choose a Wi-Fi 7 mesh system that isn't giving you Wi-Fi 7's best features? If you just think of it as an affordable Wi-Fi 6 home mesh system, albeit with a slightly misleading specification, then you'll be fine.

TP-Link Archer GE800 Wi-Fi 7 router
Best gaming routers 2025

1. Best overall: TP-Link Archer GE800

2. Best mid-range: TP-Link Archer BE9700

3. Best budget: Asus TUF AX4200

4. Best mesh: TP-Link Deco BE68

5. Best budget mesh: TP-Link Deco BE25

6. Best for wired: Asus RT-BE88U

7. Best Wi-Fi 6E: TP-Link Archer AXE75

The Verdict
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TP-Link Deco BE25

Wi-Fi 7 in name but not Wi-Fi 7 in outright performance, the TP-Link Deco BE25's best attribute is its price tag. You're getting a surprisingly capable and easy-to-use home mesh system for very little money. Just don't expect blistering speeds throughout your house.

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