I currently have a tplink ac750 travel router, I connect to a xfinitywifi hotspot (external wifi connection) for the internet to my network(this travel router is plugging back into my home router which my devices connect to)

I've tried upgrading to mesh devices (tplink 1200outdoor and unifi mesh) and I cannot seem to get them to work. Even trying for testing sake go from

Internet(mobile phone) > mesh >ethernet to router >

Connecting to either the router or mesh at any point i don't get internet

But for whatever reason my 30$ cheap thing works... I'm not sure if this is because WDS...

I mainly need to upgrade because I get disconnections sometimes. This is mainly due to my travel router needing a second cord for power. I can get these mesh systems in good spots with POE but right now I haven't gotten a single packet through. Is the feature these systems are missing that i need to specifically look for when buying?