TP Link AC1900 Smart WiFi Router

My Old Fellow WBY tell us NO FRILLS - GREAT SIGNAL - LOW COST TP-Link AC1900.

My Netgear router from 2013 was starting to fail so I figured it was time to get a replacement so that I could avoid downtime. I paid about $170 for the Netgear back then, and, after looking at various choices I really wasn't swayed enough to spend the same amount (or more) on its replacement. So I read a bunch of reviews and critiques on non-Negear routers and thought I would take a chance on this model, the TP-Link AC1900 @ $79.95. It arrived the next day and I found it easy to set up (about 10 min). Frankly, I was blown away at the D/L speeds I was getting from this inexpensive device! With our old router, we were able to get 40-50Mps on the opposite side of our house, using several devices and I thought that was pretty good. But with this new router, the D/L speeds shot up to between 180-225 Mps on the 5Ghz band - exceptional. Unless this router craps out in some short period of time, I can recommend this to be the best $80 you could spend for a no-frill basic wireless router.

My Old Chap rtk11226 experience I bought this router (AC1900) primarily because of the good reviews!.

Sadly I had problems. Right out of the box the router was super easy to install and configure. No problems and no questions. After using it for several hours I noticed the speed was no where near what my old router provided. Comparing the speed when directly connected to the modem and then with a connection to one of the lan ports I found that the speed was less than 10% of the direct connection. I contacted Tech Support, which was very good and they had me do thorough testing (several times). I had changed the default LAN address to 192.168.1.1 from the default. When I changed back to the 192.168.0.1 default I found the speed went up significantly. 70% to 80% of the direct modem connection. Since I expect near 100%, I assumed I must have a defective router. I requested a return from Amazon and within a day I received another router. Hooked it up, did my testing and STILL only 70% - 80% of the max speed. I worked with Tech Support for 5 days with no solutions to my problem. They referred the ticket to the senior support folks but I can't wait on a solution that may never come. Luckily my old router still had WiFi functioning (but no working LAN ports) so I'm still limping along until I decide on a new router.

I suggest new buyers do the following as soon as you plug in the router: 1) Update the firmware first thing. 2) Don't make any changes to the default LAN address (yet) 3) Do a speed test between your PC and modem and then do another from one of the LAN ports on the router. Make sure it's pretty close to the modem speed (my old router is between 96% and 99% of max) 4) If all looks good at this point make your changes to the LAN address (if needed) and check again. Hopefully all will be fine. Unfortunately my experience was not so good.

My Buddy prince.tap said Works with Verizon FiOS.

Despite the misgivings of our Verizon technician, whose job is to offer and sell Verizon’s router, I was able to use their ONT box and Ethernet cable with this router, no problems and no hardware tweaking necessary. I had come prepared to adjust it to make it work, but it connected straight out of the box. We save $12/mo on our FiOS bill by using our own router so it will pay for itself in under eight months. Very pleased. Take note, there’s a small paper in the installation box that gives you the router’s initial set-up ID and WPA2 password. Don’t lose it. Once you log onto TP’s website it’s a cakewalk to set up your own security ID/password from there.

My Old Chap Bob in NJ said Does all that I need.

I have typically changed ISPs every year or two when they jack up the introductory rates. Each time it is necessary to change passwords on every wireless device and set up a new router with port forwarding, DDNS, etc. The last straw was when I was recently denied access to my ISP's router settings because of their "maintenance". So I decided to get my own router to end that nuisance and meddling. I don't need more speed than required for 2-3 HD video streams, so at less than $100, the TP-Link AC1900 Archer A9 seemed attractive.

So in a week the router has been configured without problems for about 5 wired (with an ethernet switch) and 5 wireless devices, including two slingboxes and an industrial temperature monitoring computer requiring static routing and port forwarding with DDNS service. (TP-Link provides its own free dynamic DNS service or for use of NO-IP or DynDNS.) There is a downloadable 112 page user manual with live indexing that seems easy to use, although I've barely touched on topics like VPN and remote management. I do not even know what MIMO may be useful for yet.
I have confirmed that the router's WPS button works for easily connecting my wireless printer; and that it also turns the wireless signal off/on if it is pressed more than momentarily.

The router's 2.4 GB wireless signal is more than adequate for my house and yard. My Dell laptop speed tests at 20-25 mbps max up/down in most places up to 25 feet away in the house and 50 feet away in the yard when the signal is set to "medium" strength. At 100 feet from the house the signal dropped to about 3 down, 6 up or 12 down, 12 up depending on laptop orientation. On "high" strength the poor orientation values doubled. Similar low speed tests and laptop orientation effects were noted in a bathroom separated from the router by twelve feet and six one inch thick plaster wall layers. In no case would I expect problems streaming a video.

My hardwired computer speed tests at 200 Mbps down, 35 up, which is what my ISP provides, so I cannot comment on higher speed results. Nor have I needed any tech support. The router does all that I require, is reasonably priced and has the unexpected bonus of its own free DDNS service.

My Old Neighbor Hawkstv said Nice Router but....

...the setup wasn't easy as advertised. You literally must power off your modem first and then connect your modem and other devices to the TP-LINK. Once the modem is fully powered on, then power on the TP-LINK. At this point you should see green solid lights for internet and wifi. If you don't do anything else make sure you change the default admin user name and password. I'd also recommend making the network name your own and changing that network password too. Enable any security settings to fit your needs ie DOS, Firewall, VPN Server, etc. If you're unsure, then I recommend that you don't bother these settings.

I removed a star because my Pixel 3, One Plus 7 Pro, and Pixel 3 a XL couldn't keep a connection to the network or wouldn't connect at all. I called phone support and there was a language barrier. The rep refused to let me speak to anyone else. They do offer chat support at tplink.com which is available 24/7/365. I recommend the chat support.

I have attached my speeds when connected via Ethernet ( first photo) and connected via WiFi (second photo). The third photo is my speed connected to VPN. As you can see that the speeds vary depending upon your connection. The Internet service providers only guarantee the speed for a wired connection and not WiFi or VPN.

So far so good, I will follow up with an update should anything change.

My Buddy R. Bolin tell us I've tried a bunch of routers....

this one is a winner. With both myself and my wife working from home all the time now my trusty Netgear R7000P just couldn't handle the work load and we'd both drop VPN and Wi-Fi connections several times a day. After reading the Wirecutter review I decided to give this unit a shot and I'm very pleased. First off, even though the design looks a little over the top the device is low profile and disappears behind my TV, and thankfully there is an option to turn off all the front status LEDs. The user interface is well done and the advanced view strikes a balance between usability and depth better than most consumer routers I've used recently (TP-Link's work with Google on the OnHub is showing here I think). And performance is superlative, with over 28 devices on my network and the majority via Wi-Fi I need reliability and this router strikes the balance perfectly. I've had zero connectivity issues, amazing throughput and reliability and unlike my previous router when I do have to reboot it everything reconnects very quickly.

My Old Man Daniel tell us Decent.

Overall, the WiFi Router is decent, as said in the title. I have a few complaints, though. Firstly, the WiFi range is not the best. I have a fairly long house, and didn't really see a better house coverage compared to the router/modem that my ISP sent me. Secondly, there are some problems with WiFi connectivity. Occasionally, the WiFi signal on various devices, and on both bands, would simply cut off. After about 30 seconds, you could connect again, only to find after a few seconds, it would cut off again. This would continue to happen a few times until it eventually would stay connected. This did not happen on the router/modem that my ISP sent. Thirdly, and the one I'm most annoyed about, is the QoS control doesn't really do anything. I prioritized my gaming computer over WiFi in the QoS settings. However, it didn't seem like it had any prioritization. For example, if anyone else in my house started streaming or downloading, my games would lag, and all the bandwidth would be given to said streaming or downloading, seemingly ignoring the prioritization. Another thing on QoS prioritization, there is only non-prioritized devices, and prioritized. There is no option to allot say 60% bandwidth to certain devices, 30% to others, and 10% to the rest, which would be very nice.

On a different note, I do like the guest network functionality. It's great, well, when I have guests over. It's also great that I can use my Alexa devices to turn it on, although turning it off with Alexa is sometimes weird.

My Old Fellow D. Moore said Excellent product!.

After much deliberation, I decided on this TP-Link Archer A20 to upgrade a Cisco Linksys E3200 (circa 2010). Wow! Should have done this sometime ago. Essentially doubled my speed. Seeing almost 94 Mbps down with 2.4 and about 112 Mbps down with 5G. Range is excellent. Had terrible signal loss with the old Cisco in my bonus room over garage (router was placed in the center of my home). With the TP-Link I'm now getting signal strength with the 2.4 Ghz upstairs that I was seeing downstairs with the old Cisco. Setup was easy enough and the TP-Link Tether App is fairly intuitive. Great product!

My friend Honest Abe experience L2TP-IPsec provides weak security benefits.

I have only owned this router for about six weeks and I have problems with it. Started out fine for a couple of weeks but went down fast after that. I was getting faster speeds with it too but all that seems to have changed. Weak signal coming from router even when I test the modem plugged into a laptop gives me fast speeds without the router. After checking on buying a VPN I found information that said the protocol used on this router is obsolete and weak and less secure. One of the very top VPN providers says that the LP routers are now incompatible with their service. Not good to hear after I just bought this router off of Amazon. I double-checked to be sure that I didn't have any unwanted guests using my service. I even hardwired my TV from my wireless router with little improvement. Update going from one star to three stars to be fair to the manufacturer. After I wrote this review, I went into the advanced section of the setup menu and found that there was a firmware update that I downloaded onto the router. I also made a direct wired connection to m 4k ultra TV. I changed the frequency to 5g which will reduce the transmission distance but increase the router speed. ( the speed can not be faster than what is coming out of your modem). After doing those changes I had an increase in speed, in fact much better speed than the very old TP-Link router it replaced. However, after shopping for a VPN to set up on a router, these companies said my security was weak and obsolete. For that reason I asked to return the router. I did buy in its place a TP-Link. I did purchase a TP-LINK AC4000 and set that up this morning. It was difficult to set up because the setup menu for the previous TP-Link kept popping up when I tried to set it up. The software kept telling me that the wan was not plugged in. That was not true and the problem was the MAC set up, which depends on your service provider. Anyway I figured it out and the phone company saw something on their end and called me on the phone, and they finished the connection. Runs very fast and I recommend it. Check to see if it is still an Amazon Prime Deal. PS TP-Link, your support is very slow, I found my solution on your customer posts.

My Old Chap Andy in California tell us Engineering design problem?.

I used this router (TP-Link AC1900 Archer A9) as an Access Point for all the wireless devices in the house. It was the only wireless router or access point in the network. I shut off the 2.4GHz band and used only the 5GHz band. At first, everything seemed great, BUT.....

Two problems cropped up quickly. First, when more than 2 or 3 wireless devices were connected to this Access Point, throughput (ie speed) slowed down by 30-40%. But the BIG problem (indicative of very poor design, under-engineering and/or too much cost-cutting) was this: With WPA security disabled (so no security, no password, unsecure wifi), I got the full expected speed, which was 210 Mbps in my case. But when I enable WPA2-AES security, the speed dropped to 95 Mbps! Note that this had nothing to do with legacy TKIP-related slowdown for 802.11 because I used WPA2-AES which should not caused a slowdown. I contacted TP-Link support chat and they said "reset the unit". I did that and of course, it didn't work. You cannot fix a poorly designed, ultra-low cost product by resetting it.

Anyway, I returned this and bought a Netgear R6700v3 AC1750 wireless router instead (and reviewed it) and it's doing a fabulous job as an Access Point for 10+ wireless devices.

In summary, just like this router, I have had to eventually return every TP-Link product I've purchased. They simply suck. Pay the extra dollars and buy a reputable brand unless your time is worth nothing. As several reviewers have mentioned here, the TP really does stand for Toilet Paper.