TP-Link Archer C7 - Router Black

I bought this to add to another TP-Link Archer C7 I bought a couple of years ago with the aim of putting OpenWRT on it. I discovered this model was now no longer made but ordered it anyway since OpenWRT is known to work on it. However, it is an American model with a USA power supply (it came from Florida) but that is no problem with a UK adapter. The router is also an Archer A7 which apparently is identical to the Archer C7 according to the OpenWRT site. Seems to be working fine.

It was easy to setup. Works well in my garden room. The only problem I had was that it came with a US plug on it. So I had to get a adapter uk to us adapter.

I just finished installing the A7 TCP-Link 1750AC router replacing a 6 year old Linksys E2500--having had to replace my modem earlier in the week after it failed and went into a reboot loop. The Linksys worked but not reliably of late and it was slow for a dual band router. I opted to use the quick install and then tweak later using the full featured web interface. The install using TP's Tether app from my iPhone worked but not without a few missteps--a failure to connect to the router at first using the 5G SSID worked once I tried with the 2.4G. A second hiccup occurred when binding the router--it froze and I had to go back and repeat the step. I could have just logged in to the router from a laptop but wanted to see how well the app worked. I highly recommend this approach for newbies--as the steps involved and required knowledge of how routers work could prove a bit daunting for a total novice. That said, once installed and configured with the same SSID and password as my old router to save having to reconfigure a lot of devices (including a Netgear extender) everything worked and the entire process took less than 45 minutes. Once I had everything working I logged in to the full web app giving me access to the router through a thoughtfully designed interface . I made my security tweaks, set up a guest network, enabled Alexa control and tested every device to be sure all was in good order and then made a backup of the configuration--having been forewarned that a firmware upgrade would cause me to lose what I had just done. As it happened a firmware upgrade was indicated so I chose the automatic upgrade option but to my surprise everything stayed intact iso I did not have to resort to a restore from the backup--still I am a belt and suspender guy having sent too many years in IT and learning the lesson early on that what can go wrong will. So--the big payoff was the throughput. I used an app called Speedtest and was a very pleased to see a 3x improvement in download-regardless of which server I selected. Upload was slightly better but that is not generally an issue. My TV, Sonos products, 2 iPhones, extender, 2 computers and 2 Kindles all worked without any changes needed ( the virtue of keeping my SSID and passwords the same as before). Performance is obviously much improved. I would have given this a 5 star but for the two hiccups and a little more clarity in the basic quick setup about a few functions. Otherwise as the title say it was a near perfect install and if this router lasts as long as the linksys. Range has also improved greatly and I may not need the extender to get from the router to the most distant room but as the router is in a utility closet where the modem, Sonos bridge and a few other devices live I'll keep it up. Our house is about 2,500 sq. ft if that gives you an idea of range. The signal is robust from every room.

I don't know if it's the best but it's pretty amazing ! Without going into details, I will say it just that everything advertised is true for a very good price. Very good web interface to setup, a good app for your phone (TP-Link Tether), easy to setup. The great thing is that you can have separated logins for 2G and 5G, for regular use and guests, and you can individually turn them on/off, this is a sweet thing. For all the technical details just read the description here or on their website and enjoy. They have a more detailed manual on their website. Important note : Intel Wi-Fi cards for laptop requires 160 Mhz band to reach 1300 mbps which AC A7 does NOT have. So, if you Wi-Fi card is Intel on your laptop you will be limited to 866 mbps at 5G even if the Wi-Fi card specification says it can reach more because it requires 160 Mhz band and T-Link Archer A7 does not have. This is a great router, but if you looking for 1300 mbps on 5G I not sure how it is possible. Another important note: On phones probably you get much less than 1300 mbps. In my case, a iPhone 11, I can reach max 550 mbps. Any way it improves the speed. Compared with my old router and my Wi-Fi router provided by ATT, it was a big difference. The USB port works great for a shared drive, I could never make it work with other routers. If you install the app FE File Explorer on your iPhone you can easily save or transfers pics or any file back and forth to your computer through the shared drive without the hassle of clouds and emails, this app also works like a browser and music player on the shared drive. I particularly hate clouds :) , I prefer to have my private cloud. I ordered and will receive today a TP-Link Wi-Fi extender with OneMesh, actually a luxury for the size of my apartment :) , I will update later if it works fine.

Review originally titled, "Plan to Buy A New One Every Few Months" Here's what I originally wrote: "When this device works it's great. Mine failed after 8 months, and trying to deal with TP-Link for technical support or warranty fulfillment is an exercise in futility. Yet at this price I guess the "rent" for this unit is about $8 per month. "So I will just buy another one and hope it lasts at least that long again." I stand by what I said about TP-Link technical support. However, I was able to get this box to work again. I did buy a replacement unit but have not opened it. If my current one continues to work, I will probably return the replacement unit to Amazon unopened. My problems originated with the cable internet provider, Spectrum. Somehow, my internet modem "fell off the grid." Although we were getting internet service at home, Spectrum reported that our modem was "off line." Then after the sixth day in this status our service stopped altogether. It turned out that our modem needed to be "provisioned" again -- basically set up as though it was brand new service. Spectrum used obsolete information to do this, so it took several phone calls and two technician visits to get a working internet signal to come out of the cable modem. I could get internet service with a single computer plugged directly into the cable modem. But the rest of the household was dark. The problem was that this TP-Link router would not "shake hands" with the cable modem. The router could see the modem, but would not engage with it to deliver internet service to the router customers. None of the troubleshooting advice in the TP-Link manual or from their chat-based technical support made the slightest difference. What finally did make a difference was this: Holding the reset button in (with a bent paper clip) for more than 30 seconds. The manual says more than 5 seconds is enough, but that's wrong. After 30 seconds of reset, I was able to navigate to the router's setup screen from my laptop with a hardwired ethernet cable and re-initialize everything (language, time zone, type of service, etc.). The router finally made a successful connection to the internet signal being provided by the cable modem, and now everything works. Things have been working now for a bit more than a week, so I suspect they will continue to work with this current box. Clearly the initial blame for everything lies with Spectrum, which messed up our service by somehow un-provisioning it. But the process of getting this router to work again was needlessly difficult, which is why I offer only four stars. Performance-wise, this unit is quite good, and better than a more expensive Motorola unit that I used previously. The three antennas on the back seem to generate a very powerful wi-fi signal that easily covers our household. The wifi signal is servicing two laptop computers, two iPhones, an iPad, a Kindle Fire tablet, an Apple TV box, and a Sony Blu-Ray player's online streaming functions. They all seem to coexist happily. The unit is also servicing a Brother printer/scanner and a third computer via hardwired Ethernet (there are four outlets on the back). For the price is seems pretty hard to beat. And if I run into this kind of problem again I expect to be able to solve it much more quickly.

Using it for two years now with no issues, works good for 1200sqft house, videos speeds are up to par and simple to use.

I've had this router now for two and a half years and it's still working perfectly. Probably the best part about it is the mesh network- meaning I can, and have, hooked up a WiFi extender that works to get much better speeds downstairs while the modem and router are upstairs. The way a tech explained it, is if you don't have a mesh network then a WiFi extender actually creates a secondary network, which doesn't work so well. TP Link has one app for both the router and extender and it all works seamlessly. Today I needed to call their tech support for the first time. My product is past the 2 year warranty, but the rep still helped me without any issue. (And their 2 year warranty is already a year longer than most!) The issue was NOT the router itself, which I already knew when calling. My internet had gone out and a Comcast tech had to come out and fix it. When he did, the router stopped connecting, obviously due to something that was done with the internet connection, but since this is 3rd party hardware the Comcast tech didn't know how to help me with it. So I called TP Link to try to get help reconnecting it. My call was answered immediately, I don't think I had any hold time at all and it was 5pm PST, so peak time. The rep was patient with me- I was pretty clueless since I hadn't set it up originally. And he was able to resolve my issue and get me back up and running! After having no internet for two full days thanks to Comcast, then getting it fixed but the WiFi now not working, I was super stressed out. So I am eternally grateful for them helping me! I plan on sticking with this brand if I ever need a new one because my experience with them has been all around great.