Problem with mesh WiFi connection and streaming YouTube on a smart TV.
Problem with mesh WiFi connection and streaming YouTube on a smart TV.
I've just enhanced our home WiFi by installing a mesh network, mainly using the TP-Link Deco W3600. Everything seems to be functioning smoothly, and now the whole house enjoys strong WiFi coverage. Still, I'm facing an unusual problem. I can't stream videos from YouTube on my phone to my TCL Roku TV. I've tried various solutions—disconnecting both devices, rebooting everything, even ensuring they're connected to the same Deco unit—but YouTube still won't appear. I can link it using the provided code, but it's quite inconvenient. I'm curious if a mesh network might interfere with YouTube casting. Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!
How many repeaters are connected to the primary router? In a mesh setup, each hop between repeaters cuts the bandwidth in half and raises the delay.
Inside the Deco app, I configured all our TVs for "High Priority" to ensure optimal speeds during streaming. Next, I set my phones to High Priority as well. Now the YouTube app recognizes them properly. I’m still puzzled about the exact reason, but at least I solved the issue.
The visual is highly misleading because the bandwidth loss mainly comes from repeatedly sending the same data between repeaters on the same channel. Simply connecting to the primary WiFi doesn’t solve the problem—if one device uses 15Mbit in the last unit, there’s no bandwidth left even for the first access point. This assumes basic repeaters without dedicated backhaul radios and that devices are chained together rather than all linked to the main AP. I understand this isn’t directly related to your current situation, but I thought it was important to clarify.