Best Wifi Channel For Gaming (2024 Updated)

After years of pain and suffering dealing with systems that are not systems … at last … one that works. We have to cover a facility and two acres … and this does the trick seamlessly. We have at last count over 3 dozen Wi-Fi devices that need fast and seamless internet.

We plugged in three Google devices on a CAT6 wired LAN with absolutely no problem to cover a 5000 SF facility with lots of solid wood walls and steel material. We also installed three outside yard units without LAN wire and two wireless gap fillers inside the house.

All 8 hooked up and are working without issue. I may be the exception but not one time have I had to do trouble shooting. It was plug and play the whole way … and I was really skeptical. The guest capability is very nice for friends that visit and additional peace of mind for us.

The units are nearly invisible with no antennas and blinking lights … the wife really likes that we can hide them away. Yes – I’m happy with my system.

This TP-Link mesh router has way out performed the D-Link DEL 2020 I had previously installed. These routers broadcast both 2. 4 and 5ghz on the same network rather than two separate networks, one 2.

4 and the other 5. My wifi thermostat and my printer didn’t work reliably with the single network of the D-Link so I had to split it into two networks, which then worked. The D-Link died after 16 months and I replaced it with this TP-Link Mesh router with 2 nodes.

My thermostat and printer now work with the single broadcast network, which is a good thing since TP-Link doesn’t allow you to split it into two networks. The single network implementation of TP-Link must be better than D-Link since it actually works.

Also the TP-Link warranty is 2 years instead of the 1 year D-Link warranty. I had better signal strength on the main floor because with the mesh. I had the main router in the lower level and the other node on the main level which worked very well.

The more traditional D-Link broadcast wifi from the lower level and the signal was not as strong in some areas of the main floor. I’m so happy!!.

Having been in the computer networking industry since its inception, I have owned at least 40 different types of WiFi routers, from top of the line enterprise equipment to inexpensive consumer-grade devices.

Over the past couple of decades I’ve experimented with just about every type of WiFi device. I’ve designed my own custom antennas to improve WiFi coverage and tried hundreds of different system configurations, but since the debut of mesh wireless networking many of the inherent problems with wireless networking have been eliminated.

Even though this particular system designed by TP Link isn’t exactly enterprise grade equipment, the value to price ratio is impossible to beat. My current home network setup consists of four TP Link Deco AX1800 units, and I couldn’t be happier with the quality of the product.

Using four of these units, I am able to control the 50 I. O. T devices including lights, electrical switches, and home security components. In addition to my I. O. T. devices, I have about 30 more devices on my network including computers, printers, multimedia devices, and voice controlled smart home assistants, including Google Home devices and numerous Alexa devices.

Each and every device on my network is working flawlessly with this Deco Mesh network, and I consistently get 600 – 800 Mbps speeds, which is quite impressive considering this is a wireless network. I have a gigabit (1000 Mbps) internet connection, and getting real-world speeds of up to 800 Mbps is very impressive.

My mobile devices seamlessly switch between the four access points with no loss of signal or connection. Four of these AX1800 units easily provide coverage across nearly 5,000 sq feet of living space.

I am absolutely amazed by the signal quality and speed of the Deco units, which are performing better than some of the $1000 enterprise systems that I have used in the past. Mesh technology has advanced at a breakneck pace, making traditional, non-mesh WiFi routers a thing of the past.

The initial setup of this system is so easy that anyone who can use a smartphone SHOULD be able to get this system up and running in a matter of minutes. The user interface is simple, but adequate for any home network.

The only addition I made to my Deco mesh network was to add an enterprise-grade hardware firewall to ensure that the security of my network can not be compromised. The built in security features are very nice, but somewhat limited if you want ironclad network security.

Having spent only $300 for four of these units, there is no better value on the market (that I’m familiar with). Aside from adding a hardware firewall to my Deco mesh network, the system is basically plug-and-play.

Any half-way intelligent person should be able to easily set up this mesh network with minimal effort. I HIGHLY recommend this system to anyone who needs reliable seamless wireless coverage across their home or business.

TP Link’s Deco AX1800 has redefined value and quality!.

I had a 5-year old Securifi mesh network, but it had become less dependable of late, and with the company all but defunct, I decided to update to a more well known brand that’s apt to still be around in 6 years.

So, I did my research, and bang-for-the-buck, the TP-Link W3600 came out on top in this price range for the features, especially adding WiFi 6. Keep in mind, WiFi 6 isn’t going to make your internet any faster than what you’re paying for with your ISP – if your paying for 200mbps, you’re still going to only get 200mbps.

Also, a network card on an electronic device, be it a laptop, computer, gaming console, or cell phone. has to be WIFI 6 capable, otherwise it’s going to be limited to its compatibilities. But, if you have WIFI 6 compatible network cards and/or if you pay for gig speeds with your ISP and your current WIFI router can’t handle them, then this is a great and affordable place to start.

Coming from the Securifi routers, I guess I got spoiled, because they were very granular. I could turn things on and off, make my 2. 4 and 5GHz networks run independently, create MAC filtering, assign individual items a static IP on one or the other of the bands, modify my DHCP table to specific ranges for specific devices, setup port tunneling, setup DMZ’s, parental controls and tine limits, and on and on.

But even though you can’t do ALL of that with the TP-Link W3600, you can still do a lot through the Android or IOS app. The painful one for me is not being able to segregate my bandwidths, which can make it quite painful if you have smart devices – all of which run over 2.

4GHz – because the band steering algorithm can be fairly slow. For instance, I have a Wyze outdoor camera, but it took the router algorithm and the camera literal hours to agree that it wants to use the 2.

4GHz network, even with the 5GHz network disabled completely (though I think this is just as much an issue with the camera firmware coding as it is the routers). Nevertheless, patience persevered, and all is good.

On the plus side, the router does have some security features I appreciate, like the IPS (Intrusion Prevention Service) functionality, and some kind of hybrid anti-virus component, though I can’t verify the true functionality and voracity of either.

But if they ARE working like a paid prescription otherwise would, then there’s a lot to be said for the functionality for the price. And if you’re a parent, these can be good features for the less-security conscious youth.

Added to the parental controls, it’s a good suite of features for a family household. Even at WIFI 6 and AX speeds, though, I still can’t detect much improvement over my previous AC speeds, and there are times when I wonder if it’s actually slower.

But then I open the Deco app and open the ‘Network Optimization’ tool, and it seems to fix things. I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be some kind of learning AI feature or it checks itself against some other criteria to determine it needs to “Fix” something, but still, it helps, even if just a little.

I can stream without issue, and no longer get the buffering pause when loading Netflix for the first time that day, so the logo opens up without stuttering, which is oddly satisfying after years of that logo pausing and the sound cutting out right in the middle of the animation.

But other than that, streaming is the same, which is to say, great. As to gaming, I can’t offer you any knowledge, because I’m an old techie who hasn’t been much into gaming since DOOM! was first released almost 30-some years ago.

The range is MUCH improved over my previous mesh network, which delights me since I don’t need to have a string of extenders to get signal out to my shop anymore. But the node-switching feature seems.

lacking? For instance, if I go out to the shop then to the back where the signal from the primary node is weakest, it doesn’t automatically kick me over to the closest node, and unless I turn WIFI off then back on again, it will still try to deliver me signal from the primary, furthest node with the weakest strength.

Not a deal breaker, but I hope it’s something TP-Link is looking at fixing. Once I turn WIFI off then back on it picks the closest node and strongest signal, and I can make it all over my property with signal from there.

It’s just an inconvenient pain, and a first-world problem, for sure. I recognize I should be embarrassed for my “Entitled” whining, and I am. 🙂 Anyway, a strong product for the price, in my opinion.

Others, of course, will balk because of this or that and demand you must pay more for something much better or you’ll be branded a failure for life. For me, it works fine. Great, even. But I’m a simple man, and I’ve never been one who is constantly looking for some life-altering moment or epiphany.

If it works, it works. Is there better? I’m sure there is. Worse, too. But it more than fits my needs, and as such, I recommend it.

The TP Link router arrived packaged well with all items. Included were the router, an ethernet cable, power cord, instructions, and a card identifying the SSID names and factory assigned password. The router itself is sleek, shiny black with four antennas.

The instructions were straight forward and easy to follow. I have set up routers before but I believe a person with only limited understanding of routers would be able to follow the instructions. The setup time took about 15 minutes.

About the only minor issue I had in the setup was not waiting long enough for my desktop to recognize the TP Link router. It can also be setup with a phone app. I setup the router as the primary network work router.

It can also be setup as an access point which is expanding your existing network by setting up this router to the existing wifi router. I did not do this but I did have an existing Netgear extender which I did setup to communicate with the TP Link router which worked fine using the TP Link instructions I found online.

The existing router I had is a Netgear R6300 which I have had for approximately 3 years. I did purchase another Netgear router a few months back but returned it because it did not improve the broadcast area or increase the speed.

I did speed tests for the current Netgear router for a baseline to compare to the TP Link at different locations throughout the house. Both the existing Netgear router and the TP Link router are dual bands having 2.

4 GHZ and 5G. The 2. 4 band for routers has bigger broadcast areas but are not as fast as the 5G. The 5G band is just the opposite, having a lesser broadcast reach but faster speeds. Our internet plan is 100mbps so the TP link is capable and will probably have a higher throughput speed but my test is limited by our internet plan speed.

Interestingly, the 5G band speed for downloads was about the same for both routers at about 105mbps. But the speed of the 2. 4 band was substantially improved with the TP Link router. The existing Netgear router download speed for the 2.

4 band was around 40 to 45 mbps. The TP Link router on the same band tested around 60 mbps at any location except for my worse location in the house which was 11. 1 mbps for the Netgear router and 28.

8 mbps for the TP link router. We live in an older two-story house that are notoriously difficult for wifi router broadcast reach. I’m sure a more recently constructed house would have better range and speed.

The upload speed for both routers was about 10. 5. I tested the wifi with two Roku TV’s with about the same result. On the 2. 4 band the signal was excellent. On the 5G band the signal was excellent in one location and fair in the other location for both routers.

I played a movie on Netflix using each of the routers and the results were excellent in both cases. I tested download speed of an Xbox game on the TP Link router and the download speed varied (as always) but was between 75 and 116 mbps running on the 5G band which is about the same as the Netgear router.

I played a game on the Xbox using the TP Link router and it worked fine. FYI, you will have to login to the new router with the new password on each device which is not included in the setup time above.

Overall, the TP Link router improved the speed on the 2. 4Ghz band significantly and based on the results of the worst reception area in the house, improved the broadcast range. I have used Netgear routers for about 20 years and this is my first experience with a different brand but I was pleased with the results.

Purchased this router, been using less than a week, seem to be working. Purchased based on reviews. The customer service was very helpful, took a bit of time waiting to talk to someone to help with connecting issue.

The instruction for the Tether could be better (this is where the customer service was very helpful), there’s nothing needed to do except connect the proper cable to the modem and locate the wireless router on the internet connection.

It’s best to get on the website to change the router name, etc. suggest not to make changes on the TP-Link app. The signal a bit weak for the garage, I had to get a repeater, will see if this solve the issue with my garage door device.

Had used other TP devices and performance is good. Office Depot online purchase was easy and pick up was a cake.

Fought with Eero for several years. Fell down a rabbit hole of adding new devices. Was told I needed more devices then was told I had too many. At $100-$400 a piece it became incredibly frustrating. I purchased this newer router in a last ditch effort to try and get things to work correctly.

In the end my system was using backhauled EERO pro’s and this device as the gateway. Backhaul means that the eero devices send and receive data over (Cat6 in my case) Ethernet in the walls rather than using additional Wi-Fi bandwidth to communicate between units.

Hypothetically it should be far more reliable and faster than simply using extenders or Eero devices without a hardwired connection. It wasn’t. The network would do this thing where it would have rolling blackouts where devices would disconnect and then reconnect within 5-30 minutes.

Sometimes it was noticeable and sometimes it was not so I can’t say how long it was going on for. My iPhone hates Eero (or vice versa?). Sitting on my couch 5’ away from the gateway and suddenly my internet would stop working.

Turn Wi-Fi on/off, repeat. Sometimes every 5 minutes…sometimes hours. Even replaced my phone to try and fix it. So I bought this stupid thing because I’m in well over $1,000 in Eero stuff so might as well go forward…set it up as the gateway and it says “we need to update your network.

” Ok. We’ll go out to a movie and run some errands. All day I get “your devices are disconnected” and “your device has reconnected. ” We come home 6 hours later and it’s still dropping and adding and disconnecting eero devices.

Reset. Try again. Gave up after another 3 hours and returned it. My personal favorite tech support call was when I was told that one of my units was getting a “little hot” and when I asked where he could see that, he literally laughed at me and said he had access to soooo much more information than I do.

About my product. That I purchased. Another time the routers “decided” that my two sons couldn’t play Minecraft on the same server. Was told this time that Eero knows what’s best for me. What does that even mean? I had to have one of them Connect to LTE.

What’s worse is that these Eero devices are not that fast. They’re mid-range quality devices loaded with sensors and analytics software. You can spend $300 on TP-Link, Netgear, or Asus devices and have a more secure connection, no spyware, better reliability, and cover 8,000sq ft vs $400 for a single Eero device with poor 5ghz connectivity.

They’re ripping you off and stealing your information. We replaced the system with Asus hardware and I was shocked to learn that local videos via SMB that would buffer for 30-60 seconds now loaded in 1-2 seconds.

I guess they needed to check to make sure the content was ok and let Amazon know what I was watching first. My speed test from within the router went from 800Mbps on EERO to 1. 2Gbps on our Asus router.

Those speeds are also reflected in hardwired devices too. Sitting on my same couch my iPhone speed test has gone from 100-200Mbps to 700+. I was able to use backhaul at 2. 5Gb to connect my Asus router and mesh devices and it actually works.

What’s better is that I can change and see everything in a comprehensive app and an even more in depth web page portal. I can set device preferences to keep devices connected to certain routers to load balance.

I can turn off QOS and analytics easily. I implore people to stop buying these devices. They are no more “easy” or “plug and play” than any other router product. You can spend far less, never touch a menu, and still get fantastic and more reliable Wi-Fi service than Eero provides.

I wrote a 1 star review for the first router I received (which is still posted). I ended up exchanging that router for a replacement. This one worked perfectly out of the box and was easy to set up. The extenders I have I really don’t need, but use them for my printer and other equipment that requires ethernet.

Streaming is instantaneous on any of my equipment and, while I am not a gamer, this router handles all of my home network service traffic and printers with no problem at all and it worked out of the box in less than 15 minutes of set up to assemble and configure it with all of my network and extenders.

So hopefully you get one the first time that isn’t a dud. What other reviews have said about TPLink Support is accurate. I sent over an hour trying to get the first one working and never got the email follow-up I was promised to finish troubleshooting.

The lady I spoke to kept asking me about which LEDS were lit (There is only one big symbol LED on this thing—I told her this repeatedly and told her it was a C5400X gaming router. she kept asking if the world LED was lit up.

there is no world led. *sigh*) So when it works, it works very well. when it is not functioning as expected, I suggest you just get it replaced if it is a recent purchase. B&H replaced my router in a week with the RMA process and even though that was inconvenient, it was still easier than dealing with TPLINK support.

The Archer AX3000 is a small, stylish router with an easy setup process, excellent performance, and a few neat extras to help it stand apart from the competition. There aren’t any real surprises in the setup for anyone who’s installed a router before, and if you haven’t I don’t think you should run into many issues.

You have the option of either using a web interface or going through a proprietary app (tether, in this case) which will help walk you through the directions and add in some capacity for remote management to boot.

By default the internet is connected to a single 2. 5gbps ethernet port, though if you don’t have a fiber line and would rather reserve that for high speed intranet you can switch it over to a more conventional gigabit port.

All in all it should only take about twenty minutes for you to get up and running, and once you do you have full access to WiFi 6 speeds that can easily match (and occasionally rival) a wired connection.

The configuration options for both the web interface and the app are decent, though not exceptional. TP-Link seems very much aware that they’re building for general consumers more than power users, so you’re not going to find much in the way of bells and whistles.

Still it has everything I’d consider essential in a modern router (single SSID support, guest networks, WPA3, etc. ) as well as a few nice to have features such as support for mesh networking for particularly large homes.

Range is as good as you’d expect from a WiFi 6 device too – placing this thing next to a window let me get all the way across the street from my home before the signal cut out. There is some room for improvement though.

The presence of a single 2. 5gbps networking port and the fact that it defaults to the WAN hookup seems a little odd to me, as it’s pretty hard to find a residential internet connection that can actually make full use of it.

And if you could, you’d probably want to be able to take full advantage of it with whatever workstation or gaming PC you’re feeding with it. It seems to me that if you’re going to include the high speed ethernet port you should allow for two at a minimum or preferably just bite the bullet and upgrade the entire switch so you don’t have to choose.

I’m also a little concerned by the fact that the WiFi antennas seem to be permanently attached rather than removable as you get with most routers these days, as I’m always concerned about the cat deciding to play with one and doing something I come to regret later.

But, to be fair, I’m also a bit of a power user. I’d recommend this to anyone looking for a high powered WiFi 6 system without any of the fuss that often comes from more complicated units aimed at gamers and other prosumers.

It’s nice to finally see Wifi 6 more abundant and affordable these days. This router isn’t going to break the bank in terms of routers but offers enough features to keep most people happy, I think. It looks like a router instead of an alien spaceship that seems to be the “trend” with more of the “gaming” focused routers (I truly don’t understand that phase at all) but it performs well enough for it’s price.

Setup is going to be as dependent on your particular setup as can be. If you’re just plugging this router into your own modem or swapping out an existing router, setup will probably just be a matter of unplugging the old and inserting the new.

For more particular setups or if you’re connecting to another router (like your ISPs provided router) you may have some extra hoops to jump through that you’d need to jump through for any other router in existance.

But just getting it up and running is pretty straight forward. You can set this up with an app but I prefer to use the web interface. Unlike some other routers I’ve used (*coughlinksyscough*), even if you connect to the router’s web interface via your mobile device, it just lets you on through to use the web interface instead of forcing you to download their app that actually does less.

I may still be jaded from that experience but it’s nice to just be able to use this as you want to instead of being forced into using apps that are unnecessary. The options you have are pretty robust and I’m having trouble deciding which I like better between the comparably priced ASUS RT-AX55 and this one because for the price point, routers seem to be offering a lot more than what they used to as far as customization and just more “advanced” features.

One thing that sets it apart is the optional 2. 5Gbps port if you happen to be lucky enough to have an ISP that gives you more than 1Gbps OR so you can connect to the rest of your network at 2. 5Gbps (if the rest of your hardware supports it).

Sadly, I don’t fall into either of those categories just yet but I’m hoping to in the future so it’s nice to have that available. Another nice feature of this router is the ability to sort of piece-meal a mesh network together.

There’s a fairly large selection of supported “OneMesh” routers and extenders you can use to make a mesh network if you need more coverage on your own terms instead of needing to drop hundreds of dollars at once for a kit that probably includes more mesh points than you need.

This way you can just judge if you might need a little extra range and add one of their OneMesh supported devices to your network to help out. I like that and will probably be taking advantage of this since I’ve always had issues with certain parts of my home getting the signal I’d like.

As stated before, I think this router is priced closer to “budget friendly” than it is to the more prosumer market and at the price point, I think you’re getting a pretty robust and reliable router. Being able to setup multiple VPN clients and assign them to specific devices.

Or to setup a VPN server right on the router. Or their “HomeShield” (that does require an app) that has some pretty decent security features if you’re OK with sacrificing a little bit of bandwidth. Plus the 2.

5Gbps port if you can use it and a decent range (along with all of the great features Wifi 6 provides itself), this is a really nice router that will probably tackle 95% of home users needs without breaking the bank.

Home networking equipment might not be the flashiest new technology to consider, but with more and more internet-connected devices in our homes it’s grown ever more important. Virtually anyone with internet access has to use a wifi router, and the difference between an okay router and a good router (or an old router and a new router) can be one of the most noticeable smart home purchases you can make.

As someone with dozens of smart home gadgets and internet-connected devices network reliability is paramount to me — there’s nothing like going to turn on the lights or lock the front door and being stymied by an unresponsive wifi signal.

I don’t have a large area to cover, just a two-bedroom apartment, but I do have devices at the far reaches of each room, and a swarm of interference from the routers of my neighbors in the building. When looking to upgrade my wifi 5 (802.

11ax) router from 2018, I knew I wanted to move to wifi 6 — the current wireless standard, and the successor to wifi 5 — and I wanted a router from a company known for reliability. I’m not a gamer or super-heavy streamer, so I didn’t need the absolute fastest or highest-end router, but I did want to maximize the use of my 400 mbps connection and have a bit of future-proofing so I wasn’t looking for a new router in a year or two.

TP-Link’s Archer series have been universally well-reviewed for a few years now, and this led me to one of their latest entries, the Archer AX3000 Pro. This newest model slots toward the higher end of the midrange in the extensive Archer product line, with dual-band wifi 6 technology, a dual-core Qualcomm processor and the typical 4 ethernet ports plus a modem line-in port and USB 3.

0 connection. Visually, the AX 3000 Pro looks identical to the AX50, but seems to have the innards of the AX55, insofar as I can tell. It also adds a 2. 5 gbps modem line-in port, giving it the ability to handle extremely-fast internet speeds.

I don’t have access to speeds like that but I appreciate the inclusion of this should I be so lucky as to get these speeds in the future. In addition to the solid specs I was looking for, I was after TP-Link’s easy setup and management, which I’ve used once before and found impressively straightforward.

Not all router companies take the time to make their mobile apps and web-based router management portals easy to use, but TP-Link has, and this is a great benefit. What’s the point of the latest technology if you can’t figure out how to set it up? The Archer AX3000 Pro came simply packaged, including just the basics: router, power cable and ethernet cord.

The router itself is small, lightweight an completely inobtrusive, with only a few non-blinking green lights on the front that can be turned off if you’d like. The four antennas coming out the back are pretty standard, too, and easily manipulated into position.

Quick Start instructions were included, with basic setup able to be handled with TP-Link’s Tether mobile app or via the web portal on a computer. I chose to use the Tether app to get things started, and for the sake of simplicity I maintained the same network name and password as before.

After plugging in all the cables it was simply a matter of registering for a TP-Link account in the Tether app and connecting to the default network SSID that shipped with the router. The Tether app walked me through connecting the cables, naming my network and giving it a password, and installing a firmware update.

After all this was done I had to reboot the router once and boom, everything was up and running, as evidenced by the green lights on the front of the machine. I expected perhaps a bit more drama. but that really was it.

My devices found the network and connected with no issues, and I didn’t receive any major errors, which in my book is pretty rare when it comes to network setup. After getting the basics done with the Tether app I headed over to my computer and logged into the router’s web management portal to check more advanced settings.

I do recommend giving this a try as some important features included with wifi 6, like beamforming and MIMO, were turned off by default. Turning these settings on can greatly improve speeds and reliability when using compatible devices.

I also used the web portal to set up an IPv6 connection, which my internet provider supports, and was pleased to see the Archer AX3000 Pro could automatically detect and get this connection up and running.

Nice! So setup is easy and the router itself blends right into any setup, but how’s the performance? Wifi speeds and reliability are extremely variable and entirely dependent on everyone’s unique setup, but suffice it to say I’ve been very pleased with the Archer AX3000 Pro.

Since installing it I’ve had exactly zero network issues, with no dropouts or unnecessarily slow connections. For the sake of some comparison I decided to run the free Speedtest. net app on my phone in a few spots around my apartment and compare it to my previous router in the same locations, to see if I’d really notice a difference.

Both routers managed to give me real-world speeds of roughly 300+ mbps download and 23 mbps upload all over my apartment. The biggest difference, though, is that the Archer AX3000 Pro gave me 450+ mbps download in every single location I tried, while my previous router varied greatly depending on where I took the test.

The Archer never dipped below 450 mbps download, averaging closer to 460 mbps, while my previous router went as low as 283 mbps when I put a few walls between it and my phone. Not so with TP-Link’s Archer: it kept me humming along between 450-460 mbps everywhere, even outside on my front porch.

This dogged consistency is a boon, as in real-world use I haven’t noticed a difference in speed anywhere in my apartment, whereas before I would feel things slow as I got farther from the router. Consistently good speeds and high network reliability are key to keeping today’s smart home running in tiptop shape, and I’m happy to say the TP-Link Archer AX3000 Pro excels at both.

With no dropouts, a very simple setup process and solidly above average speeds anywhere within my apartment, this router is a great choice for those looking for a great balance of speed, price and features.

Add in the USB 3. 0 and 2. 5 gbps options for a bit of future-proofing and you’ve got a great choice on your hands for most people in most situations. While your individual setup may demand more or less from a router, I think this is a great place to start and another great option from TP-Link.

For the money, this midrange gigabit router delivers a lot and has good 5-GHz performance. TL;DR If you don’t have lofty goals for your home network—the USB-A 2. 0 ports on the back aren’t the best for sharing media and its overall performance isn’t good enough for folks with heavy bandwidth demands—and just need a reliable router, the Archer C7 AC1750 is the best you can buy at this price.

There’s only two people in our household, eight devices (two laptops, one desktop computer, two phones, a tablet, as well as one printer and a Nest thermostat) and we have pretty average needs when it comes to WiFi performance (Zoom, Netflix, and web browsing on Comcast Xfinity’s 50 Mbps plan).

After reading a ton of reviews (it was on many “Top Routers for 2018 lists” and was the most affordable one) of which routers would work best with Xfinity and our NetGear CM400 modem, I decided this one had the best value for what we needed.

(P. S. It currently has 49,662 4. 5 star reviews on Amazon). The good: Setup is quick and easy, its performance on the 5-GHz band is good for its price (ideal for streaming 4K), it has two USB ports for connecting peripherals (eg, create a media server to easily share your USB drive content), 4 Gigabit LAN ports with quick access to multiple connected wired devices (would work great as a gaming router), there’s an on/off switch for wireless transmissions (essentially turning it into a wired router for when you go on vacation and want it to stop broadcasting), it includes parental controls, and the Tether app is great.

Also, you can generate a QR code from the router’s admin page, print the code, and put it somewhere easily accessible so that when you have guests over, they can easily connect to the internet by just scanning the code.

I’ve had the router for over a month now and have yet to experience any dropped signals. The not-so-good: If you plan on connecting peripherals that require faster data speeds, this router uses the older and slower 2.

0 spec, the performance on the 2. 4-GHz band is lacking, it doesn’t include automatic firmware updates, and doesn’t have MU-MIMO for efficiently managing network traffic. Also, it lacks Amazon Alexa comparability (this wasn’t a problem for us, but if you want Alexa compatibility, get the nearly-identical Archer A7 AC1750).

I Googled its specs: Wi-Fi Spec: 802. 11ac/Dual Band Number of Antennas/Removable: 6/3 are removable Ports: 4 Gbps LAN, 2 USB 2. 0 Peak 802. 11ac performance: 1750 Mbps (450 Mbps for 2. 4-GHz, 1,300 Mbps for 5-GHz at 5 feet) Range: 110 feet Size: 1.

4- by 9. 5- by 6. 0-inches This was my first TP-Link router and I was impressed with how easy the setup was — it couldn’t have been easier! The router’s login page is very user friendly. This is a great router for most people and I highly recommend it!.

TP Link AC 2300 MU-MIMO Wi-Fi Router — Archer C2300 I’ve had to use several routers to have connectivity in my houses over the past 20 years and I’m pretty good at setting them up to work with my internet connections.

I recently moved from a home that had a metal roof and was on a slab so getting a good signal was difficult but we had 100+ mbps speed. I moved 5 months ago and all we are able to get in my rural town in Maine is DSL with a max speed of 25mg.

The router is a dual band 5 GHz and 2. 4 GHz which is overkill for my data speed, but Maine is trying to provide fiber optic speeds in many rural communities in the near future. There are many features I like with this modem.

First it has 4 gigabyte Ethernet ports which means I can run lines to laptops, desktop computer and smart TV without losing speed using the wireless connection. There is also the WAN port that goes directly from your modem into the router.

We are a couple of seniors, but rely heavily on our electronics. Not only do we have 2 desktops, 3 laptops, 2 iPhones, 2 Kindle tablets, iPad, and Samsung Galaxy but we stream videos from Netflix, Prime, and STARZ.

All of these need to be connected through a router or wirelessly. This TP Link router has the ability to use something called “beamforming” to send the WiFi signal to the device that needs it for a stronger signal.

I don’t profess to know what all the technical stuff means or does. I just want to be able to plug in the product, connect the wires, and have everything work. I get easily frustrated when things don’t work as expected and this was not the case with this particular router (yay).

Anti virus and parental controls that you set up are included as well as a guest network for when people come to visit. they can log into an “open” connection with an easier password that you create and it will not interfere with your secure system for all of your home computers, protecting your data from being taken off your computer.

The router has 3 external antennas that you can bend and point in different directions for the best signal. There is also an internal antenna which all has to do with getting the best signal strength in which to get online.

I didn’t have any trouble setting the router up because it has some sort of “smart connect” that scopes out your available devices and lists them for you to connect to. As usual the most difficult thing was reading and tiny serial number under the router.

I have used several brands of routers over the years and one of my chief complaints is having to pay for tech support after the warranty is up. I’m not able to judge their customer service or tech support because it was a breeze to get it up and running.

One of the pluses for this specific router is the gold label on the front that says TP Link wireless router was rated #1 in customer service in 2019 by JD Power (a big, recognized name in the field).

So far I’m impressed. I look forward to when fiber optic lines come to my town so I can take advantage of the blazing speeds! Until then I’m happy that I have a consistent signal that doesn’t drop and I’m not rebooting my modem / router several times a week because if dropped signal!.