TP-Link AX1800 WiFi 6 Router (Archer AX21) – Dual Band Wireless Internet Router, Gigabit Router, USB port, Works with Alexa – A Certified for Humans Device

10 reviews for TP-Link AX1800 WiFi 6 Router (Archer AX21) – Dual Band Wireless Internet Router, Gigabit Router, USB port, Works with Alexa – A Certified for Humans Device

1. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Marlo Casabar – January 18, 2020

   I am completely happy with my new setup.For years, my home network was run by two (2) hard wired Airport Extremes. With the 2nd Airport Extreme extending the WiFi.The past year, as we have started streaming more devices, I was noticing that our two WiFi AppleTVs would start to lag. On top of that, certain areas of the house had terrible reception. It got to the point, it was better to just switch phone to cellular than try to deal with the lag.After realizing that Airport Extreme hasn’t had an update in 3 years and they were not WiFi 6 while all of our Apple Devices are WiFi 6 capable, I started to research various Routers with WiFi 6 capabilities.My final solution in our 2 story 3,300 sq. foot house consists of the followingTP-Link AX1800 RouterTP-Link RE700X Range ExtenderTP-Link RE600X Range ExtenderThe areas with the dead spots are completely covered and speed test regularly between 90Mbps down/up.The furthest point of the house now test regularly over 150Mbps down and 100 up.The AppleTV in the living room is now using the ethernet connection on the RE700X and works wonderfully.As a side note, the tether app could never see the extenders. It was much faster just pressing the WPS button the router, then pressing the WPS button on the extenders.

2. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   JustMe – February 18, 2020

   Long review but hopefully helpful:Bought this to replace an aged Airport Extreme and give my Oculus Quest 2 a better WiFi connection. So far so good.Set up was okay but I had some trouble getting the Ethernet light to go green despite all the others being green and I was unable to get online via wired or wireless connection. If you reboot your modem and this device, go make coffee or something when it is starting back up because the router takes a while to restart. The light finally went green but it did feel like it took an inordinate amount of time.I understand the frustration that comes with setting up these new things and the rage factor sometimes enters the picture. If it does: unplug the cable modem and the router, leave everything unplugged for 5 minutes, plug in the cable modem and wait until it is fully booted up, plug in this router and walk away for a bit. Give it 5-10 minutes and hopefully you’ll be good to go.The interface looks a bit dated and clonky but most do. Seems the least priority is given to creating a clean, attractive interface for all these things, but coming from an Airport Extreme where you have essentially no features to work with, this is a dream. The ability to edit the names of the clients is something I was never able to do before and it really makes a difference.I wanted something with the ability to kick clients off the network while I am using the Quest to ensure it has no bandwidth competition with devices that are not in use at the time the Quest is being used, but then put them back on without having to jump through hoops, re-entering passwords and such. I have a lot of devices on my network and while they may not be in use, they are still hovering around and eating up some bandwidth even while idling.This router allows that in an easy peasy way but the icons used are confusing. First, if you go to the Network map, clients section, you will see a list of all the clients on your network. You can click the pencil next to the name of the device and change it to make life easier. On the right side, if you click Block, that client gets blacklisted and cannot connect to the network. If you click View Blacklist, you will see all of the blocked clients and there is a garbage can icon on the right. This is a confusing and poor icon choice because most people would think that this will remove the client entirely. It doesn’t. It simply puts the client back on the whitelist. It’s a great thing to have, for example:Let’s say you have a Zoom meeting and want to ensure that there’s as little connection issues as possible. You can block all other clients on the network that are not needed and have all the bandwidth to yourself for your meeting and when it’s over, just click the garbage can on each device in the blacklist and poof! they are all able to connect again.I am not really understanding the point of the QoS feature on this device because in the past when I’ve set up QoS in a work environment, you are able to directly allocate bandwidth to devices. Ideally, this would be what you would use if you had a Zoom call rather than kicking clients off for a time. With this router’s QoS, you have two choices: On or Off. Each device listed has a Priority switch that is turned on or off. You can turn on the Priority switch for one, some or all devices, but there’s nothing else, so you have no idea how bandwidth allocation is implemented here.Under the On/Off switch for QoS, there is a bandwidth allocation box for both upload and download with each set at 1000. You can change this number, but again, it doesn’t tell you how it will divvy out that bandwidth to the clients. If you only have one device with the Priority turned on, you are left to wonder what that client is getting as opposed to other devices on the network. That’s kind of a shame because you can prioritize a device for Always or for a couple of hours. Would seem the perfect set up for a Zoom meeting as you can give Priority to your device for a set amount of time and the router will release that restriction at the end of the hour or two or whatever you chose without you having to interact with the admin page at all. Unfortunately, you cannot enter times: i.e,. Priority from 10 a.m. to noon. You can choose Always, 1 hour, 2 hours, or 4 hours.I’m not sure what people are talking about regarding monthly fees for Parent Controls. I don’t have kids, but opened it up and you can add a child’s computer as a device, block certain keywords from being searched online and limit the days/times that your child can get online. I didn’t see anything about fees or payment for those features.I have noticed more zip in my Quest 2 since setting up this router and am quite pleased with it so far. I set up a 5ghz network set to AX only for the Quest’s exclusive use, a 2.4ghz Guest Network for all the Echos, Kindles, switches for lights, etc., and a 2.4ghz network for laptops, iPads, etc.

3. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Joel – February 18, 2020

   I had been using a Comcast-supplied modem/router combo, and decided to purchase my own rather than continuing to lease. I went with this as my WiFi router, and the difference was immediately noticeable. I have either full signal or one bar short of it everywhere in my 2 story house and out to the edges of my 8,000 sq ft lot. I was actually able to walk down the block past my neighbor’s house and across an alley before my phone lost its WiFi signal. And it’s not just a strong signal – it is also fast. The improvement is noticeable.On top of the much-improved WiFi over the Comcast modem/router, managing the router via the web interface and the Tether app is much better. It loads more quickly, it’s more user-friendly, and it gives me much more control than I previously had. I am very pleased with the improved ability it gives me to manage my home network.Overall, this router has been a real win for me – it is superior to the device it replaced in every way.

4. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   D. B. – April 17, 2020

   This router has excellent connectivity with both wired and wireless connections. The speed with wi-fi 6 is more than I need, but it is impressive. I have echos, rokus, smart tv’s, light switches, electrical outlets, thermostats, computers, gaming consoles, printers, tablets, and cell phones all connected to it without any problems. The tether app works well on my phone an allows me the opportunity to make changes to the network if needed, however I mostly use it to see the routing table and note what’s connected or not at any given time. Your average modern home with streaming televisions, cell phones, tablets, smart devices, etc. all seem to work well with this router and keep a reliable connection. I do have it bridged with an older TP-Link wireless router, which helps to expand wireless coverage through my home. They seem to work well together, but I allow the AX1800 to manage the routing tables and assign the ip addresses for everything. Definitely consider this wireless router if you don’t specifically need the very best in speed and don’t want to spend a ton of money. It does a nice job.

5. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Richard L. Grier – April 17, 2020

   This WiFi router has provided me with a significant upgrade to my WiFi system. My prior Tp-Link router was WiFi 5 (AC) and its 5GHz connection was a marginal performer, upstairs at about a 40-foot distance.This new, very reasonably priced WiFi 6 router is better in all areas. I am able to keep all of my current BGN network connected devices (Alexa, security system, and IOT) with the same network name because both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks now use a common name. This is a significant benefit. And, WiFi 6 does enhance both coverage and data speed.w

6. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Beverlyn A.L. Taylor – May 17, 2020

   I read the reviews of other routers and found this one to best for today’s technology.The setup was spot on and I was very proud of my self of doing it alone.However, I did need help with splitting the internet (something I never heard of) with certain devices within my home. I called tech support and explain the situation for example with one of the product that needed a lower GHz, The Ring Doorbell but I did need the WiFi 6 with the majority of my other devices in order for them to work.To my surprise he understood exactly what I was trying to say and less than a minute he walked me through the process and showed me how to identify which devices needed the lower GHz and those needing the highest GHz and how to name them on my WiFi YEA!!!I felt knowledgeable after conversing with him and a feeling of self worth in my accomplishment of replacing an older router.It’s rare now a day’s to speak to a live person and this was a plus but to listen and understand what I was trying to convey and get it is really what I consider Customer Service Top Notch Service.

7. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   UAstudentn – July 12, 2020

   I wanted a more secure WiFi router while also saving money on the rental from my cable provider, so I was suggested to purchase this by a very experienced tech and cyber security wiz. Now, I personally don’t feel that I know much about anything technical these days, but I have really enjoyed this so far. Performance wise, but more than anything I REALLY love the security of the back-office type of controls the TP-Link gives you.PERFORMANCENow, my current home is 1500 sq ft and a split level home, so most of the areas I use WiFi at home are never too far from the router. I placed the router right on the TV stand underneath the TV so that certainly is as close as it gets. When I’m upstairs (technically 1.5 levels up from the router) I still seem to get fine enough WiFi when I’m browsing on my phone. I will say that the WiFi randomly cuts out for me, but, this is definitely an issue I had with my previous equipment so I don’t blame the router itself, it is my provider. Or the wiring outside my house.. not really sure. I have noticed however that when the service does go out, ever since changing to the TP-Link, the service returns much faster and I never have to reset it. With my old provider-provided router, it would be out for hours and I always seemed to have to manually reset the equipment. So in summary, the service and performance for me has been exemplary!SOFTWAREThe primary reason I got this was to make sure nobody could hack into my WiFi. With other routers, I am not sure if the same service is available, but this was the first I’ve ever seen it. Yes… we all know that WiFi is password protected. BUT. Someone can easily hack into it, right? Well not with the TP-Link! You can access the router security through the routers IP address, and you set a password for that as well. The user interface is pretty simple for even a dolt like myself to understand. You can control who can access your WiFi by using a blacklist or a whitelist. A blacklist means that all who have the login details *except* for specific IP addresses you’ve blocked can access. A whitelist means that ONLY the IP addresses you have added to your list can access the WiFi. I am using the whitelist, since I do not want anyone random or unwanted accessing my service. Let me tell you, it works perfectly! Sometimes I forget that I have this setup, and I have tried many times with many different devices to try and access the wifi… heck, even the guest network, that I thought was specifically setup for this, doesn’t seem to let random users access it. It also shows you who is currently accessing it, although I find that feature doesn’t seem to be totally accurate sometimes. I give the software 5 stars for the simple fact that it is so easy to control access through it.SUMMARYOverall I am very happy with this purchase. It does what I want it to do, very securely. Setup was a little confusing because if I recall correctly, nobody could access it until we were able to get into the back-office software and setup password first. Other than that I really have had no issues and enjoy using it. When I need to change a setting it is super easy to get in and make any adjustments.

8. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Miss Vee – September 6, 2020

   “5 stars” to Von Ibanez who came in like the calvary and saved the day! I purchased the router and was sure I had the hardware set up correctly. I struggled to get the internet connection and even called my ISP tech. Well, only after several futile attempts with the tech did I reach out to TP-Link support and as luck would have it I got Von. He asked the right questions, in the right order, gave me the right instructions and what do you know: Success!!!! I appreciate him very much. He’s a pro. This is day one so I hope the router will continue to do as well as Von did.

9. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Westsoc – September 17, 2020

   Archer A7/AX21 2.4G speed for iPhone 11 from 300M Verizon Fios5* review for successfully resolved my low 2.4G speed problem, excellent support from TP Link and fast 5G speed that exceeds Verizon Fios max speed of 300Mbps.The purpose of this review is to compare the 2.4G and 5G speeds of the TP Link Archer A7(AC1700) WiFi 5 router and AX21(AX1800) WiFi 6 router using an iPhone 11 which supports WiFi 6. The highest speed I can test is 300Mbps limited by my Verizon Internet plan. Measurement results using show that using the WiFi 5 router, the 2.4G speed is 60M/80M (UL/DL) and the 5G speed is 307M/330M, whereas using the WiFi 6 router, the 2.4G speed is 110M/120M and the 5G speed is about same.Newer routers’ real life 5G speed is very high and normally is not a problem, but real life 2.4G speed could be slow. It is not entirely sure which part of the wireless link is limiting the 2.4G speed. Below examines the speed limit of the WiFi standards involved, the router and iPhone 11. The routers are TP Link’s Archer A7(AC1700) and AX21(AX1800). Measured speeds at 2.4G and 5G will also be given.Router (TP Link) Specs and Supported WiFi Standards1) Archer A7(AC1700) has has 3 antennas is a WiFi 5 router2.4G : 450Mbps5G: 1300M bpsSupported Standards: AX21(AX1800) : 802.11ac(Wi-Fi 5), 802.11b, 802.11ax(Wi-Fi 6), 802.11n(Wi-Fi 4), 802.11g802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax are also called Wi-Fi 4, WiFi 5 and WiFi 6 respectively.2) AX21(AX1800) has 4 antennas is a WiFi 6 router2.4G: 574M bps5G: 1200M bps.Supported Standards: AX7 (AC1700) 802.11b, 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11acA7 (AX1800) is a low cost ($60) popular (listed as “Amazon Choice”) WiFi 5 router which supports 802.11 ac whereas AX 21 is a low cost ($90) WiFi 6 router which supports 802.11 ax. WiFi 6 (max speed 9.6G) not only has higher speed than WiFi 5 (max speed 3.5G) but also can support more devices using orthogonal frequency division multiple access. The main differences are given in picture 1. (Picture 1 from : https://www.mwrf.com/technologies/systems/article/21849959/whats-the-difference-between-wifi-5-and-wifi-6)Comparing the specs of these two routers, one has a higher 2.4G speed while the other has a higher 5G speed. But in real life, according to my measurements, at 2.4G, the WiFi 6 router has almost twice the speed than the WiFi 5 router. I don’t have a high enough wireless speed plan to test the 5G speed. In my house both routers have the same speed of 310M, limited by the max speed allowed by Verizon Fios 300M.Speeds specified by the WiFi standards are speeds the router manufacturers trying to meet and they are not the limit, but speeds advertised by the router are the speeds that customers want the router to be able to reach. They become upset if they are unable to get the speeds advertised by the router.Routers often do not specified under what link conditions these seemingly advertised high speeds could be realized. For example what is the required bandwidth, the number of antennas (the so called MIMO) and how pure the signal has to be (the signal to noise ratio). Is the bandwidth 20, 40, 80 or 160M? Is the signal to noise ratio has to be greater than 10dB?In real life, link speed depends on how far from the router (the signal strength) and radio interference which falls in band (the signal to noise ratio). The former can be solved by doing the speed test right next to the router, where the transmit signal from the router is at maximum. But for the latter, unless one has a so called Faraday Cage, there is no way to block in-band interference especially at 2.4G, which are used by microwave ovens, Bluetooth and many household devices. Interference is hard to quantify without using a spectrum analyzer and could become an excuse if one calls the router support line complaining low speed.Another limit is the device itself, and in this case iPhone 11. It’s specs are given below.Wi-Fi specifications for iPhone 11802.11 standard, name, frequency Maximum PHY data rate Maximum channel bandwidth Maximum MCS index Maximum spatial streamsax@5 GHz 1200 Mbps 80 MHz 11 (HE) 2/MIMOac@5 GHz 866 Mbps 80 MHz 9 (VHT) 2/MIMOa/n@5 GHz 300 Mbps 40 MHz 7 (HT) 2/MIMOax@2.4 GHz 195 Mbps 20 MHz 9 (HE) 2/MIMOb/g/n@2.4 GHz 144 Mbps 20 MHz 7 (HT) 2/MIMO(From: https://support.apple.com/guide/deployment/iphone-wi-fi-specification-details-dep268652e6c/web)https://mcsindex.com gives more details about how the speed on each band is affected by modulation scheme, number of antennas, bandwidth and WiFi standards used, not only for iPhones but for routers as well.From the iPhone 11 specs, only “n” and “ax” support 2.4GHz if we ignore the older standards “b” and “g”. At 2.4G, The maximum speeds for “n” is 144M whereas for “ax” is 195M. The max bandwidth for both is 20MHz which needs to be set in the router. Setting the bandwidth to 40MHz could lower the speed as the noise power will be doubled.However, at 5GHz the speed for ac (WiFi 5) is 866M with 80M max bandwidth whereas for ax (WiFi 6) is 1200M also with 80M max bandwidth. These bandwidths should also be specified in the router. Setting the bandwidth too high or too low could lower the speed.From the iPhone 11 max speeds, it is clear that the wireless link’s speed is not limited by both the A7 and AX21 routers and the standards, but by the iPhone 11 at 2.4G and by Verizon Fios at 5G.I have Verizon Fios 300M download and upload. Initially, I used an A7, thinking that at 2.4GHz, the router speed is 450M which is higher than iPhone’s 144M(“n”) and 195M(“ax), surely shouldn’t be a problem. But speed test showed that I got only 60M download and 80M upload from the best channel and 20M bandwidth (I tested all the channels and bandwidth combinations).60M is too slow for me because I have several devices (such as security cameras) using 2.4G. So I called TP Link support line to see what I had done wrong. Most customer supports didn’t know what the problem was the and finally I was connected to a high level support. She said that in real life, I had to multiply the speed by 30-50% and guided me through the various specs of the wireless link. I don’t know where the 30-50% comes from, perhaps it was her empirical experience. If I use the average of 40% and assume that applies to the lower speed of the router and the iPhone, which is 144MHz. 40%x144M is 57M. This was about what I got at 2.4G using the A7 router.But she also said something about WiFi 6 router and got me thinking perhaps a WiFi 6 router could improve the speed. (I must say that I got excellent support from TP Link, I had gotten calls twice from the specialist unsolicited and many followup emails. All trying to help me solve the low speed problem.)I then change the A7(AC1700) to an AX21(AX1800), which does support WiFi 6 “ax”.The main advantage of using AX21 is that it raised the iPhone 11 max speed at 2.4G from 144M to 195M, a gain of 51M. And as a result, in real life, the 2.4G link speed seemed to have increased by about the same amount. Speed test showed that at 2.4G, I now got ~90-110M(download, previously 60M when using A7) and 100-120M(upload) with the channel and bandwidth set on auto. Though the download speed is still less than 195M, the link speed has increased by changing to a router that supports ax and has 4 antennas. Have no idea if a more expensive router will further increase the 2.4G speed.However, at 5GHz, both routers give 307M download and 330M upload, limited by Verizon Fios max speed of 300M.When doing speed test, I shut off all 2.4G emitters. I live in a rural area and I suspect there is little interference.A7 has 3 antennas whereas AX21 has four. Is the speed improvement at 2.4G due to the additional antenna or the support of WiFi 6 or both?

10. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    JohnD – September 18, 2020

    I recently helped a family member cut cable tv out of her life and set her up with fibre internet. I bought this router to help her avoid paying monthly equipment rental fees for the router the provider would supply. I’m also not a fan of the out-of-the-box features/performance of “supplied” routers.I had read great reviews on this router so I thought I’d give it a chance with her setup. I couldn’t believe this router had a quad core processor in it at this price point. I’m expecting wifi performance to be excellent when all of her grandkids are in town trying to use the internet. Being a WiFi 6 router, MU-MIMO is a feature of this router which should greatly improve the experiences of simultaneous wifi users.EDIT:. This router is NOT equipped with a quad core processor. It’s only a dual core which means it won’t handle multiple simultaneous users as well. I found this out after opening the admin page through the web and watching there CPU activity. It appears the V3 revision of this model was reduced to a dual core CPU. I suspect it could be fired to overheating problems from older quad core versions. Be aware.:END EDITSetting up the router was done by simply setting up a tplink id on their website and then using the TPLink Tether app to setup the router. This was easy and no PC or ethernet cable was needed. The app itself offers access to the most basic functions of the router including client bandwidth monitoring. For the more advanced features, you’ll need to access the router’s admin page via a web browser. I’m a little disappointed in the limited function of the Tether app and would expect it to offer a similar suite of controls as the admin page does.The router itself needed to cover about a 2000 sq ft house and it does this. I can go anywhere in the house and get a strong signal. The speeds are not limiting at all. The ISP itself provides 250mbps down and 135mbps up and those speeds are with wifi 6 supported devices. The more traditional wifi 5 devices come in at around 200mbps at their weakest locations in the house. I’m very happy with the overall performance.