I am not very practical with WLAN systems. If I buy 2 M4 towers, can I
1) Use one M4 to DIRECTLY substitute my modem and the 2nd one as a repeater? (therefore get rid of my modem and not have two big devices close to the fiber wall)
2) Or will the 1st M4 always need to be connected via ethernet to my already present Modem, and the 2nd one is a receiver? If this is the case, is it plug and play to the modem, or do I need to enter the modem and modify some settings? Other questions mention turning off the WLAN on their modem etc and it confuses me.

Thank you for your help and patience !

Question

I am not very practical with WLAN systems. If I buy 2 M4 towers, can I
1) Use one M4 to DIRECTLY substitute my modem and the 2nd one as a repeater? (therefore get rid of my modem and not have two big devices close to the fiber wall)
2) Or will the 1st M4 always need to be connected via ethernet to my already present Modem, and the 2nd one is a receiver? If this is the case, is it plug and play to the modem, or do I need to enter the modem and modify some settings? Other questions mention turning off the WLAN on their modem etc and it confuses me.

Thank you for your help and patience !

Accepted Answer

To answer it shortly: The Deco M4 is not a fiber modem, thus won't replace yours. Option 2 is the way to go.
Idea: I put all my cables, devices and cables in a wooden Ikea KNAGGLIG box, upright with the open side facing the wall. It looks neat and clean, it's not completely closed, the signal works perfectly. Don't forget to turn off your modems own Wi-Fi after the setup.

Answer

I agree with springo8.
The M4s can be used as a router/AP (Access Point) or just an AP (Access Point). However, they are not a modem. An upstream modem is required.
As a router/AP or AP only, it's effectively plug&play with extremely little configuration to do except in the case of Wi-Fi and LAN customisation, which allows a few options such as port forwarding in router mode, for example... but it can't replace a modem.
If your Wi-Fi is not MESH compatible (I'm not going to go into detail here), it is indeed advisable to turn off the modem's Wi-Fi because it could interfere with the M4's MESH Wi-Fi as the M4s are not simple repeaters, they are a MESH Wi-Fi network, which is somewhat different from a repeater.
Alternatively, create a second Wi-Fi with a different name... why not...
Best regards
David

Answer

Well, it all depends on your provider. Since you mention a modem, most likely you just set the modem to bridge mode and connect it wired to the Deco Device, the second Deco will extend the WiFi, there‘s an app to configure it all, pretty straight forward.
Probably won‘t be the solution to get rid of the modem…

Your data. Your choice.

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