TP-Link AX1800 WiFi 6 Router (Archer AX21) – Dual Band Wireless Internet, Gigabit, Easy Mesh, Works with Alexa - A Certified for Humans Device, Free Expert Support

This is one of the best WiFi routers I’ve ever gotten. This router has 4 antennas and the range can go pretty far. I love it. It was super easy to install and it works amazing. The app is awesome too it tells you everything you need about your signal, who’s connected and the speed it has. Awesome. Highly recommended. A+

Wow, ordered at 04:00PM and had it that day just 4 hours later. Great product, a little uncertain about how they get connected, as the instructions are vague and I'm not computer savvy. Works great and the price was very competitive.

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. PERFORMANCE Now, 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! SOFTWARE The 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. SUMMARY Overall 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.

I would consider myself a novice when it comes to routers and networking. I can do simple tasks (network set up) adding removing devices..etc changing passwords etc. For the past few months, i have been on the fence about replacing my ISP provided router, so i took the plunge and orderd this model (archer ax21). my old netgear router (supplied by my ISP (charter spectrum) died back in november and I called customer service and they sent me a new "advanced wifi" router. that router was complete garbage, ISP's don't even let customers go in and modify their own home wi-fi networks. if you type the ip address for the router, it directs you to a page that says "login using the spectrum app". well, their app only allows you to change the SSID name and password..NOTHING ELSE. very frustrating. ISP provided routers now combine the 2.5ghz and 5ghz bands, and many of my devices are older and ONLY use the 2.5 ghz band. so, natrually there were conflicts and frequent disconnects. I also own a accurite iris 5 and 1 weather station. in all my years of using a pc and wireless networks.. I have never seen or had a device that is so tempermental. I needed to be able to isolate the 2.5ghz and 5ghz bands so that i could assign specific devices to each band. the older things go on the 2.5ghz, and newer things like ipad, smart tv, xbox one..go on the 5ghz band. setting this up was very straight forward. simply power down your ISP modem, and reboot. wait for everything to reboot and ensure you have internet connectivity through the modem. then plug ethernet cable from back of modem into the WAN port on the Archer X21 router. then power up the router and wait for all the lights to turn green. takes about 1-3 minutes tops. you can set up either via APP (which is what i did), or you can set up using pc with ethernet cable. I have a chromebook, so it has no eithernet jack. i actually ordered one on amazon, it's a usb to ethernet adapter. works like champ. but for most people you should be able to set up just using the app.. if you want to do more advanced things (dchp customizations, etc) i would set it up on the webpage through the ethernet connection. simply follow the instructions from the app, enter your new network name and new password and you will be good to go. the app shows each device connected on each network as well as real time uploads/downloads so you can see if there is a issue with a particular device. if you are having issues with devices disconnecting/reconnecting/slow speeds etc. i would suggest at the start that you DISABLE the 5ghz band. after you get everything connected and confirm that the devices are working, then go ahead and re-enable the 5ghz band. for some reason, (not sure why) on inital setup there can be conflicts. there are tons of options for this router, far to many to get into much detail for this review. go ahead and download the manual prior to purchase, so you can read up on what this router can/can't do before you purchase. you can actually update the firmware over the air by hitting the update button, or you can speciify a certain time of day for the updates to be installed. a good rule of thumb would be set it to sometime after midnight that way, you will be asleep more than likely when the updates happen. out of the box, mine needed a firmware update. took less than 5 minutes. i've had/currently have other tp-link products (smart bulbs/cameras) and they all work as expected. the app is very intuitive and straight forward. i didn't have to have any special settings from my ISP, i just plugged in the router, went through the setup, and everything connnected flawslessly on the FIRST attempt. no errors/timeouts etc that i was getting with my ISP supplied router. the router is sleek and has 4 antennas. my range is about the same as with my previous isp supplied router. currently have a linksys re6300 extender out here in the living room to boost the 5ghz band. my house isn't that big but is very old. (its a single wide from early 70's with A-Frame roof). so i think my signal loss has alot to do with the aluminum siding on my house. your range/results will obviously vary. I currently have 16 devices on my network and all are staying connected flawlessly and seem faster than with the ISP supplied router. there is also a option for guest network. I'm using that for guests and my accurite weather station. hoping this will help me troubleshoot the accurite when the inevitable disconnects start. also wanted to mention that the accurite iris 5-1 weather stations are full of problems. if your considering one, go with another brand. it's not worth the headache. the only reason i took a star off was becase the antennas on the back of the router were wrapped in plastic that was hard to take off. other than that, i think this router is perfect. it's affordable, has tons of options and doesn't have performance issues that ISP supplied routers do. pick one up today, i'm sure glad I did. ***update 9/24/24*** 1 year and 8 months later, router still performs PERFECTLY! no issues at all, adding static ip addresses to devices is very easy, and great connectivty. never had one single issue with this router. i have multiple devices across both bands (2.5ghz and 5ghz) and i haven't had any problems, even my nightmare accurite weather station works perfectly. the key to that device, was connecting it to the 2.5ghz guest network by itself. may want to keep this in mind for devices that are giving you trouble, i have found by isolating troublesome devices, they tend to stay connected when connected by themselves. this router offers many options, lots of them i don't even use. even after multiple power/interent outages, once power/service returns, everything reconnects in less than a minute. every tp link product ive ever owned has performed perfectly. great job tp-link! update 3/27/25*** so nice, i bought it twice! my nephew has moved in next door to assist me in caregiving for my 77 year old mother with dementia. they have charter spectrum service over there just like I do at my house. the charter spectrum supplied routers, continue to be complete trash. I needed to be able to assign security cameras and other devices to the 2.4GHZ network, and for some stupid reason, charter spectrum doesn't allow you to do that with their equipment. not sure why but it is what it is. so i got another one of these routers 2nd hand. plugged it in, added to tether app, no problem. however, it would only stay connected for about 8-12 hours and then drop the connection. turned out, charter spectrums POS supplied modem was the issue, technician came out and replaced the modem. for some reason, if your router is set to FASTER bandwith speed, then charter spectrum modem will just randomly disconnect. looking around on some forums, i found that i could adjust the bandwith settings on the router. I changed the settings to 100mpbs (the speed tier plan on the account). that, in combination with the new modem seems to have worked. i never had this issue with the 1st router i set up at my house, and it's the same ISP. very weird, but in the end, it all worked out.

So far no disconnects or any trouble. Easy hook up and so far connected up easily and keeps connected.